Toru Dodo
(Performer) Toru Dodo, a Tokyo-born, Grammy-nominated pianist, composer, arranger, producer, and author, has been a resident of New York City since 1998. A proud alumnus of Berklee College of Music, Dodo has released five albums as a bandleader. As one of New York's most in-demand sidemen, Dodo has worked with jazz legends such as Kenny Garrett, Benny Golson, and Curtis Fuller. He currently performs frequently and travels worldwide with the artist and vocalist Somi. Dodo has also made his mark in theater, serving as a regular pianist for the acclaimed Off-Broadway show Sleep No More from 2011 to 2024.His collaboration on Somi’s Holy Room: Live at Alte Oper with Frankfurt Radio Big Band contributed to the album’s nomination for the 2021 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album.
Jabu Graybeal
(Performer)
John Manzari
(Performer) John Manzari is a dancer, singer, actor & choreographer. Stage: Funny Girl (OBC); Anything Goes (MUNY); The Tap Dance Kid (Encores!); Bzzz. Television: Law & Order SVU; Black Broadway: A Proud History, A Limitless Future; Rooted; The Kennedy Center at 50. Concerts: one-man shows, Recenter & The First Set; guest appearances with the NY Pops, NSO, Seattle, Houston, Vancouver symphonies and others; The Hot Sardines; Fall for Dance; Fall for Dance North; Amelia Island Dance Festival. Films: Reimagined. Short Films: I Get Knocked Down; Ghost; To: Everything I Love; Slip. Documentaries: Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back; Leonard Soloway’s Broadway.
Gregory Richardson
(Musical Director/Performer) Gregory Richardson is a composer and multi-instrumentalist specializing in upright and electric bass and guitar. He is the co-founder and co-artistic director of Music From The Sole and musical director of Dorrance Dance. His compositions for dance have been presented by Lincoln Center Education, Jacob’s Pillow, The Yard, Guild Hall, Works & Process, BAM, The Joyce, and New York City Center, including a collaboration with actor Bill Irwin. He has also performed with Toshi Reagon in her opera Parable of the Sower, toured internationally with indie band Darwin Deez, and played with Grammy-winning artists Keyon Harrold and Marcus Gilmore.
Leonardo Sandoval
(Performer)
Kathy Kaufmann
(Lighting Designer) Kathy Kaufmann is a New York City native and two-time Bessie recipient. She is resident designer at Danspace Project at St. Mark's Church, has taught at Sarah Lawrence and NYU, and has toured extensively throughout the world. She designs regularly for Dorrance Dance, Joanna Kotze, The Bang Group, Mariana Valencia, Ephrat Asherie Dance, Vicky Shick, and Music From The Sole.
Christopher Marc
(Sound Designer) is a NYC-based sound designer and production manager from Minneapolis, MN. He has designed and engineered sound for Michelle Dorrance, Music From the Sole, Variety Life Productions, Lincoln Center Restart Stages, Luke Hickey and Michael Jellick, as well as regional and Off-Broadway productions with the Kennedy Center, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, IJB Productions, Aquila Theatre, and Mills Entertainment. Marc also designs/builds custom floors for percussive dance and is owner/operator of @CMarcAudio.
Christopher Gilmore
(Lighting Supervisor) With Luke Hickey: A Swing Suite (Excerpt) at New Victory Dance Festival 2025; A Little Old, A Little New (The Joyce @ Chelsea Factory, American Dance Festival 2022, NVDF 2023)
