Ayodele Casel is a Doris Duke Artist, award-winning tap dancer, choreographer, and writer known for her deeply narrative and culturally rooted work. Hailed by the New York Times as one of the “biggest breakout stars of 2019,” her works—including Chasing Magic, While I Have the Floor, Diary of a Tap Dancer, and The Remix—have been Critic’s Picks and consistently named to the Times’ Best of Dance lists since 2019.

She is the 2022 Drama Desk-nominated tap choreographer for Broadway’s Funny Girl and winner of Outstanding Choreography at the 42nd Annual Elliot Norton Awards. Currently, she is developing the next chapter of her acclaimed work Freedom…In Progress through residencies at Kaatsbaan and Guggenheim’s Works & Process.

Casel, who is featured on a USPS Forever Stamp, is a former Harvard Radcliffe Fellow, a United States Artists Fellow, and serves on the board of New York City Center. She is co-director of Operation Tap and DLNY Tap Dance Project. 

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