Inside the Pillow Lab:
Music from the Sole

Inside the Pillow Lab:
Music from the Sole

May 20, 2021 at 7pm Eastern | Screened on YouTube

Directed by tap dancer and choreographer Leonardo Sandoval (recently named one of “25 to Watch” in 2021 by Dance Magazine) and composer and multi-instrumentalist Gregory Richardson, Music from the Sole is a ten-member tap dance and live music ensemble. Richardson, who is the co-musical director of Dorrance Dance, and Sandoval, a dancer with the company, incorporate various Afro-diasporic dance and music styles in their creations with Music from the Sole, drawing on traditions from Sandoval’s native Brazil such as passinho (Brazilian funk) and samba as well as house and other social dances. These juxtapositions allow not only for insight into the similarities and common roots of different styles, but also for the development of narratives and questions surrounding race, cultural identity, and the intersectionality of the Black experience. During their Pillow Lab residency, Richardson, Sandoval, and their ensemble will continue developing a new work commissioned by Guggenheim Works and Process.

Inside the Pillow Lab is an intimate new film series that captures works in process and behind-the-scenes moments of what it’s like for artists to live, work, and rehearse together again in COVID-compliant residencies on the Pillow’s retreat-like campus. 

The Pillow Lab, the Pillow’s year-round center for research and development, provides artists the crucial space and time in development, research, and technical stages of choreography-driven projects.

This event is produced in collaboration with