Neo Soul Ties (NST) is a full-length tap dance and live music show directed and choreographed by Victoria Miller, featuring choreography, improvisation, jazz, and neo soul, with original arrangements of music by Erykah Badu, Roy Hargrove, Jill Scott, and D’Angelo. Tap dance and neo soul music are Black American artforms with lineages to jazz. NST honours and celebrates this by bringing the two artforms together through passion, groove, and community.

The genre of Neo Soul was created by a group of friends jamming to their favourite songs, merging aspects of jazz and soul with hip hop and RnB, and creating a series of albums that defined a new sound of the 90s. In Victoria’s personal experience, her art is also created through her jams with friends, dancing to their favourite music, studying past Tap Masters’ historical repertoire and techniques, and merging them with the techniques of her current communities. Both are celebrations of connection, lineage, and innovation.

Due to the element of improvisation in Neo Soul Ties, each tune will be played “of-the-moment”- unique to the energy of the audience and cast, with each show being different than the last.

The choreography references the voices of Tap Masters Eddie Brown and Leon Collins, learned from Victoria's time spent with Heather Cornell, Dianne Walker, and Max Pollak.

With a 6-dancer and 4-musician cast of emerging to established artists from both Toronto and Vancouver, NST will show audiences the joy, grit, and soul of tap dance, neo soul, and music and dance expression.