Ayodele Casel
Ayodele Casel, a Doris Duke Artist in the dance category, is an award-winning and critically acclaimed tap dancer and choreographer who was named one of the New York Times’ “biggest breakout stars of 2019.” Born in The Bronx and raised in Puerto Rico, her practice centers highly narrative works rooted in expressions of selfhood, culture and legacy.
Her projects include her concert and Bessie Award-winning film “Chasing Magic,” her one-woman show “While I Have the Floor,” and her theatrical and film series “Diary of a Tap Dancer.” She serves as a tap choreographer for the Broadway revival of “Funny Girl,” which garnered her a 2022 Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Choreography. A frequent New York City Center collaborator, she created an interactive show for their inaugural “On the Move” five-borough tour and is one of their 2023 featured “Artists at the Center.” Casel also choreographed Carole King and Maurice Sendak's “Really Rosie” for Encores! Off Center, and was a featured artist for Jeanine Tesori’s “Jamboree” and the Fall for Dance Festival. Her collaboration with Grammy award-winning Latin jazz composer and pianist Arturo O’Farrill is hailed by the New York Times as “next level” and “thrilling.”