Skip to main content
Close
Vilcek Foundation
  • About
    • About

      The Vilcek Foundation raises awareness of immigrant contributions in the United States and fosters appreciation of the arts and sciences.

    • Our Mission
    • Board & Staff
    • Press Center
    • Contact
  • Prizes
    • Prizes

      The Vilcek Foundation Prizes are awarded to foreign-born individuals for extraordinary achievement in the arts and sciences.

    • About the Prizes

      Learn more about the Vilcek Foundation Prizes and the prizewinners.

    • Vilcek Prizes

      Awarded to immigrants with a legacy of major accomplishments.

    • Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise

      Awarded to young immigrant professionals who have demonstrated outstanding achievement early in their careers.

    • Vilcek Prize for Excellence

      Awarded to immigrants who have had a significant impact on American society, or to individuals who are dedicated champions of immigrant causes.

    • Prize Recipients
    • Grants for Organizations
  • Art
  • Events
  • News
Sign Up Search
Home > News > Leonardo Sandoval: Finding rhythm in the city’s soundscape

Leonardo Sandoval: Finding rhythm in the city’s soundscape

News | March 15, 2022
Tags
artistic director Brazil choreographer choreography contemporary dance dance jazz performance tap dance
Share this page
Twitter Facebook LinkedIn

Leonardo Sandoval wearing overalls standing in the middle of a street.

Leonardo Sandoval was born in Piracicaba, São Paolo, Brazil. A tap dancer and percussive dancer, Sandoval receives the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Dance for his dynamic choreography that expands the boundaries of tap as a genre. His practice engages elements of Afro Brazilian dance traditions including samba, forró, maracatu, and passinho.

The language of dance

Sandoval’s earliest memories include hearing music in his home. His father was a musician, and Sandoval recalls that even as a toddler, “me and my brothers were always bouncing to music… feeling that pulse and the sound in our bodies.”

At the age of 6, Sandoval’s parents enrolled him in ballet classes. His ballet teacher recognized Sandoval’s natural affinity for rhythm and encouraged his parents to enroll him in a tap dance class. Through tap, Sandoval was able to connect his passion for rhythm and movement, using his body as an instrument to create his own music.

Leonardo Sandoval in a yellow sweater tap dancing next to his colleague playing a standup bass.

Sandoval continued practicing tap, traveling to cities in Brazil to study with teachers from around the globe. “The first time I [worked] with an American tap dancer from the United States, I didn’t speak any English and they didn’t speak any Portuguese,” he says. “Even so, we found a way to communicate. Dance is definitely a language. You can communicate and have conversations through dance and through rhythm.”

Leonardo Sandoval sitting inside with his tap shoes on the floor next to him.

Bustling cities and busking

In 2013, Sandoval made the decision to move to New York. The city that never sleeps provides a constant source of inspiration for Sandoval. “I love a community of people living together very densely… there’s no place like New York for that,” he says. Sandoval finds rhythms in the city’s soundscape: from the clatter and crush of the subway to the wails of sirens and horns.

Sandoval’s plan on arriving in New York was to busk, take classes, and connect with other tap dancers in the city. Sandoval loves the instant response and gratification of busking; seeing and connecting with an audience directly, and contributing to the city’s artistic environment in a raw and accessible way. “It has the ability to change somebody’s day,” he says. “It’s an instant mood shift. You can change the environment.”

Leonardo Sandoval in overalls smiling on a basketball court.

In 2013, shortly after arriving in New York, Sandoval connected with Michelle Dorrance, with whom he previously had studied and taught. Dorrance invited Sandoval to join her company, Dorrance Dance; he quickly became a core member, and has danced and toured with the company since.

Roots and reach

As Sandoval grows in his career, he connects more deeply with the roots of tap as an art form that developed among African American people, and with his own roots and heritage as a Black man from Brazil. “I feel deeply connected to tap dance because it’s an African American art form that is born through a history of a lot of painful experiences,” he says. “Even though I am not American, I can deeply relate with the African American diaspora.”

Leonardo Sandoval in front of mural of Bill "Bojangles" Robinson.

In 2015, Sandoval founded his own company, Music from the Sole, with composer and bassist Gregory Richardson. Music from the Sole is a tap dance and live music company that blurs the line between concert dance and music performance, and celebrates tap’s roots in the African diaspora.

Tags
artistic director Brazil choreographer choreography contemporary dance dance jazz performance tap dance
Share this page
Twitter Facebook LinkedIn

Related News

April 12, 2022

Alice Gosti’s ‘keys to my city’ unlocks new perspective on dance

The Vilcek Foundation partnered with Italian-born choreographer and performance artist Alice Gosti on the production of a new performance, keys to my city.
Alice Gosti with her arm raised, wearing a dress made with house-keys.
March 22, 2022

Soledad Barrio: “When I dance, I am my true self”

Dancer and choreographer Soledad Barrio receives the Vilcek Prize in Dance for her commitment to the growth and evolution of the genre of flamenco, and for her artistic leadership with Noche Flamenca.
Soledad Barrio with her hands on hips looking directly at the camera.
March 8, 2022

Tamisha Guy: Finding her voice through movement

Dancer and choreographer Tamisha Guy has established a performance language all her own, shaped by a diverse range of influences.
Headshot of Tamisha Guy smiling in a pink shirt.

You may also be interested in

2022 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Dance

Leonardo Sandoval

Born in Brazil
Leonardo Sandoval receives the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Dance for his dynamic choreography that expands the boundaries of tap as a genre and his unique practice that engages elements of Afro-Brazilian dance traditions including samba, forró, maracatu, and passinho.
2022 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Dance

Tamisha Guy

Born in Trinidad and Tobago
Tamisha Guy receives the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Dance for her evocative and intuitive performance style that blends elements of contemporary, modern, and narrative dance traditions, and for her commitment to furthering her own practice through instruction, collaboration, and mentorship.
Portrait of Tamisha Guy
2022 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Dance

Tatiana Desardouin

Born in Switzerland
Tatiana Desardouin receives the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Dance for her presentation of hip-hop and house dance that brings the vernacular tradition of these genres in the Black diaspora to her performances, choreography, and artistic direction.
Portrait of Tatiana Desardouin

Join our mailing list

Sign Up
Vilcek Foundation
21 East 70th Street
New York, New York 10021

Phone: 212.472.2500

Email: info@vilcek.org

  • About
    • Our Mission
    • Board and Staff
    • Press Center
    • Contact
  • Prizes
    • Vilcek Prizes
    • Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise
    • Vilcek Prize for Excellence
    • Prize Recipients
    • Grants for Organizations
  • Art
  • Events
  • News
  • Careers
Connect with us
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Youtube
  • Vimeo
  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility Statement
© 2022   Vilcek Foundation