MUSIC FROM THE SOLE Speak

Interview questions by Celia Ipiotis

This week at the Joyce Theater, Brazilian tap dancer and choreographer Leonardo Sandoval and bassist/composer Gregroy Richardson lead eight dancers and a five piece band in a performance that explores tap’s lineage and connections to other Afro-Diasporic forms.

Prior to their season, I forwarded questions to Sandoval and Richardson. Here are their emailed responses to my questions.

Do you both tap? 
(Sandoval) No! Although Greg plays a lot with tap dancers and co-directs the company, he hasn’t quite made the jump to tap dancing yet. But Greg does a lot of body percussion, and I’m learning the guitar so we’re slowly learning each other’s skills too.

(Richardson) I don’t tap, but I’ve taken a few classes! I enjoy doing body percussion on stage during the show. And I definitely spend a lot of time at the club dancing to House music!

With whom did you both study? 
(Sandoval) I studied in Brazil- ballet, jazz, hip hop- at a local dance school, and my tap teachers there were Heloaldo Castelo Silva, Christiane Matallo, and Steven Harper. Then I studied in the US taking classes with Jason Samuels Smith, Chloe Arnold,  Sam Weber, Derick Grant, Michelle Dorrance in NYC and at the School at Jacob’s Pillow.

(Richardson) I studied primarily with my family as a young child. My father was a guitarist and blues singer. He also sang in the church. He raised my brother and I with lots of instruments in the house, including a 4 track tape recorder that was a big deal at the time, but would now be considered primitive. 
My high school had instruments that we could use (but not take home) so I joined orchestra and chamber ensemble. But most of my learning has come from working with my peers. 

Who do you look up to in the dance and music/jazz community?
(Sandoval) A lot of people! In tap dance of course the people I studied with, but also Dormeshia, Camille Brown, LaTasha Barnes, Josette Wiggan- they’re all amazing dancers connected to the jazz tradition. A few years ago I got to meet Germaine Ingram and I’m really inspired by her work and the conversations we’ve had. And then going back, the Nicholas Brothers, Gregory Hines, Sammy Davis, Jr. For musicians, just from the ones around today, I love Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, and the whole Tropicalia movement artists, Djavan, Esperanza Spalding, Cecile McLorin Salvant, Liniker… too many to list!

(Richardson) My favorite dancers are actually the people I see at House music clubs! It’s more interactive than watching a stage. But Michelle Dorrance, Nicholas Van Young, and Leonardo Sandoval have probably been my biggest influence professionally, just by proximity.
Musically, I have more idols than I could name. Most of the people I aspire to emulate are in our band! Aren’t I lucky? But if I had to name someone living today, Victor Wooten and Michelle Ndegeocello. They’re a bassist that I’ve been listening to since I was very young, and whom I still follow to this da

EYE ON THE ARTS, NY — Celia Ipiotis