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.

Amanda Castro is a Puerto Rican-American multidisciplinary Bessie-winning artist rooted in rhythm. Most recently seen in Rhythm is Life by Dormeshia Sumbrey Edwards and Chasing Magic by Ayodele Casel, Castro is a graduate of California Institute of the Arts where she studied under Glen Eddy of Nederlands Dans Theatre and Andre Tyson from Ailey Company. Once a principal dancer of the renowned company, Urban Bush Women, she’s gone on to star in musical theatre productions such as Singing In the Rain in the role of Kathy Seldon, Jared Grimes’ ensemble in 42nd Street, “atomic” performances as Anita in Glimmerglass Festival’s West Side Story (NYT ‘18) and Lyric Opera of Chicago, among others. Castro has worked for and collaborated on various projects with artists from around the country including Soles of Duende, Justin Peck, Julio Monge, Caleb Tiecher, Michael Heitz, Jared Grimes, Francesca Zambello, and many more. She’s been fortunate to work with innovative artists in the field and is constantly on the search to be a part of stories that help elevate our collective humanity. www.acastrodance.com for more info! 

Arielle Rosales is a Bessie-nominated Performing Artist who interweaves the worlds of Flamenco, Percussion, Theater, and Improvisation as a means to explore concepts of duende. As a performer, she has graced the stages of Carnegie Hall and The Joyce, been featured on “The Today Show” (NBC) and “Good Morning America” (ABC), and commercials for Nokia and Target. Her choreography has been featured in Man of La Mancha (Shakespeare Theater Company, Washington DC), The Latin Quarter Show (REVEL Casino & Resort, Atlantic City), and as the Flamenco Consultant for Mrs. Doubtfire on Broadway. Her most recent short film, “Becoming Mother Duende: An Ode to NYC” premiered in 2020 for CapitalOne CityParks Foundation SummerStage. Arielle is a Teaching Artist and the 2020-2021 Artist in Residence with Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana. She is a Co-Founding Dancer with the all-women percussive dance trio @solesofduende and a Band Member of the all-women Afro-Brazilian samba reggae band @batalanewyork. Follow @ariellerosales and visit www.ariellerosales.com for more info!

Brinda Guha identifies as a non-disabled, caste-privileged, cisgender, and queer South-Asian American, and is a Bessie-nominated Kathak dancer for over 20 years. During training and performing for years in the Kathak (Malabika Guha) & Manipuri (Kalavati+ Bimbavati Devi) dance disciplines, as well as Flamenco (Carmen de las Cuevas; Dionisia Garcia) and Contemporary Fusion vocabularies, she co-founded Kalamandir Dance Company in 2010.  She’s choreographed for many national stages and self-produced original feature-length dance productions which earned her artist residencies at Dixon Place (2018) and Dancewave (2019) to continue to develop work. Now, she is represented by CESD Talent Agency and is pursuing artistic direction, performance and arts education. She trains in Kathak, Manipuri and Contemporary. Her dream of having art meet activism was realized when she created WISE FRUIT NYC, a seasonal live arts installment (est 2017) dedicated to the feminine divine and honoring select women-led organizations, and she is the lead researcher and curator of NCCAkron’s How People Move People Podcast, Season 4. For her day job, she works as the Senior Producing Coordinator for dance service organization based in the values of JEI: Dance/NYC. Visit www.brindaguha.com.