Percussive Dance

Percussive Dance with Brinae Ali, Luke Hickey, Barkha Dance Company, Max Pollak, Soles of Duende

We all love the sound of music, but some of the most magical evenings at Little Island happen when the night is filled with the sound of dance. A diverse and eclectic group of exceptional percussive dance and tap artists– Brinae Ali, Luke Hickey, Barkha Patel, Max Pollak, and Soles of Duende – lead a program of choreographic and sonic marvels that will take your breath away.  

Brinae Ali – Ali’s Broadway and Off-Broadway credits include Shuffle Along, STOMP, Cotton Club Parade, and “Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope”. She also served as artistic director of Tapology Youth Tap Festival in Flint, MI. Currently she is a lecturer at John Hopkins Peabody Institute while developing a work in progress with trumpeter Sean Jones called “Dizzy Spellz”articulating the African American experience through the music of Dizzy Gillespie from a afrofuturistic lense.

Luke Hickey – Luke Hickey is a NYC based tap dance artist and choreographer, named by Dance Magazine among their “25 To Watch” in 2020. Hickey made his choreographic and directorial debut with his evening-length work, A Little Old, A Little New, at the world famous Birdland Jazz Club. It then traveled to Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Battery Dance Festival and the Joyce Theater at Chelsea Factory. Hickey is also a company member of MacArthur Fellow, Michelle Dorrance’s, Dorrance Dance. Stage credits: Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, Guggenheim Museum’s Rotunda, Oslo Jazz Festival, Joyce Theater, Green Music Center and New York City Center.

Barkha Patel – Barkha Patel is a kathak dancer, choreographer, educator, and the Artistic Director of Barkha Dance Company based in NYC. She has performed solo and ensemble works at dance festivals in India and the U.S. Her work has had the opportunity to present at venues such as Dance Theatre Harlem, Jacob’s Pillow Inside/Out, Joyce Theatre and Little Island Dance Festival among others. Barkha is currently a fellow with the National Arts Club and in residence with Movement Research.

Max Pollak – Max Pollak is on the US Postage Stamp honoring Tap Dance. Seamlessly combining percussive dance and singing, he has a glowing reputation as a consummate musician, has performed worldwide with top artists in jazz, Latin, and classical music. As an award-winning choreographer and composer, he is a co-creator of the Off-Broadway hit Carmen – To Havana and Back, a sought-after educator, writer, and recording artist. His first CD RumbaTap was released in 2015.

Soles of Duende – A Brooklyn-born Puerto-Rican from New Haven, a Mexican Puerto-Rican Jew from the Lower East Side, and a Bengali Indian from Jersey walked on to the wooden floor & the rest? History. Bonded by their deep love of music, their crafts, and true connection, Soles of Duende is on a lifelong mission to elevate the joy and music of true collaboration across disciplines and the celebration of the forms they practice. Based in the sounds of Tap (Amanda Castro), Flamenco (Arielle Rosales) and Kathak (Brinda Guha) , Soles of Duende’s fire is the spirit that lives within each of these women to celebrate their connection given their beautiful differences and to uplift the forms that made them.

*This event is a part of Our Second Annual Music and Dance Festival.