New York Puerto Rican dancer Ayodele Casel is one of New York’s reigning queens of tap dance. Dance producer Torya Beard is the other side of the coin.
Ayodele Casel Artists at the Center
Ayodele Casel Artists at the Center is basically Ayodele and friends performing six World Premiere tap dance commissions at New York City Center, that show everything that tap dance can be today. It’s way more than you think.
This is a crop of some of today’s best young tap dancers. Tap dance comes from the African Diaspora, but there are forms of tap dancing all over the world. And these artists are New Yorkers from all over. How cool is that?
- Brinae Ali 🇺🇸
- Gerson Lanza 🇭🇳
- Caleb Teicher 🇺🇸
- Naomi Funaki 🇯🇵
- Jared Alexander 🇺🇸
- Tomoe “Beasty” Carr 🇺🇸
- Amanda Castro 🇺🇸
- Michelle Dorrance 🇺🇸
- Dario Natarelli 🇺🇸
- Ayodele Casel 🇵🇷
Directed by Torya Beard with music by Crystal Monee Hall.
There’s tap dance to a live band, a toy piano, dub, house, latin, Gershwin and more.
Tap Dance is More Thank You Think
In the Latin world, if there is music, we’ll dance. But tap is dance that creates its own music. It’s a symphony of movement that makes a symphony of sound. It’s a drum line in tap shoes. It’s drumming to dance. It’s dancing to drum.
It’s amazing what these young artists do. Tap dance is the rhythm of joy. Happy flows off the stage. That’s the feeling we get when we get together and become one, just like in a call-and-response chorus. Go get happy with Ayodele Casel and friends.
Ayodele Casel Artists at the Center is the next generation of tap dance stars: Brinae Ali, Gerson Lanza, Caleb Teicher, Naomi Funaki, Jared Alexander, Tomoe “Beasty” Carr, Amanda Castro and Ayodele Casel; dancing six world premieres at New York City Center; Thursday-Saturday, April 13-15, 2023 at 8pm. From $35. nycitycenter.org 🇺🇸 🇭🇳 🇯🇵 🇵🇷
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