Ayodele Casel is a top-shelf tap dancer, as generous of spirit as she is precise in technique. But years ago, she discovered that even appreciative audiences didn’t always grasp all that she was trying to communicate with her feet.

Ayodele Casel on the August 2020 cover of Dance Magazine

“She’s illuminating, she’s electric, she’s mesmerizing,” Mr. Mattocks said. “And that’s before she even starts dancing.”

AYODELE CASEL—internationally acclaimed tap artist and educator born in the Bronx and raised in Puerto Rico—is riding especially high this year. In September, New York’s Joyce Theater presented her world premiere collaboration with four-time Grammy-winning Afro-Latin jazz artist Arturo O’Farrill. Casel was named the 2019–2020 Frances B. Cashin fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, where lucky students will draw from her scholarship of tap’s cultural roots while she researches and readies her next narrative work. Dance writer EVA YAA ASANTEWAA recently caught up with Casel to learn more about her inspiration (including Gregory Hines) and the new future of tap.

I love that after all these years of practice and performance, I am still inspired and intrigued by this musical art form. I am still trying to figure it out. Still learning. Still growing.

In this episode, tap dancer Ayodele Casel discusses the roots of tap dance, the female tappers who inspire her, and how she became one of today's top tap dancers.

Speaking in Dance | “I am always concerned with being honest, musical, playful and obeying the moment,” said the tap dancer and choreographer Ayodele Casel. “And whether that be chill or whether it’s energetic, it’s whatever that moment is.”

Beyond Words Conference

A profile of Ayodele Casel, one of today’s most dynamic tap dancers and a passionate advocate for her art form.

Close to two decades ago, I had the honor of seeing tap dancer and choreograhper Ayodele Casel perform in Savion Glover's dance troupe Not Your Ordinary Tappers (N.Y.O.T.). I was so excited to see a female holding her own in the world of tap, and was elated to see a recent article about her in the New York Times.

@ayolives, a #tapdancer of unquestionable radiance, brought out her portable board and set the sidewalk on fire near her home in the Bronx, performing a phrase that she once improvised in a performance.

"You know what really irritates me? When people say 'I didn't know women tap danced.'" Yes, that's a real comment Ayodele Casel actually gets, most recently three weeks ago, and it's one that drives her crazy. For a woman who has been defining the tap dancing game for the past 20 years, it's hard to believe someone might not imagine a person like her in it.

Growing up, Ayodele Casel, found it difficult to express herself. She couldn't speak Spanish when she moved from New York City to Puerto Rico at 9 years old to live with her grandparents. Six years later, when she returned to New York, she struggled to re-learn English.

Ayodele Casel, Tap Storyteller, Lets Her Feet Do the Talking by Vincent Mallozzi

with Stage and Candor

BROADWAY WORLD Blog: Hannah Seewald - Interview With Ayodele Casel: A Shuffle Ball GAME-Changer

What inspires master tap dancer Ayodele Casel to lace up her shoes and tap away? We spoke with the native New Yorker—who will take the Festival stage at the Woolfe Street Playhouse for six performances of her semi-autobiographical world premiere, While I have the Floor (CLICK HERE for tickets! Due to high demand, a performance has been added on Saturday, June 3 at 2:00pm.)—to find out. Below, she shares 10 songs that help motivate new bits of choreography and elaborates on a few of her selections.

Ayodele Casel, one the smoothest-footed stars to emerge from the resurgence of tap dance in the 1990s, watched from the wings of a San Francisco theater as Arthur Duncan took the stage.

Ayodele Casel is one of my favorite hoofers of all times. Lucky for us she is one of the five that are part of Savion Glover’s STePz currently at The Joyce until July 6. Ayodele was kind enough to answer some questions about her time with Glover as a young dancer and now in the current show.

The Text is a short film created by tap dance greats Ayodele Casel and Anthony Morigerato. The title captures both the storyline and the commentary provided with its melding of 1930s style with contemporary realities. Dance Informa had the pleasure of speaking with Casel and Morigerato, who say, “As artists, we create because we must. We don’t have a choice, but it is awfully nice when what you create speaks to the audience in a meaningful way.”

With positive attitudes like that, it’s no wonder big things are happening and on the horizon for this duo and the newly formed open forum for dancers and artists they helped create and are calling Operation: Tap. You’re going to want to keep your sights on these two!

Saladin Deir sits with the women of Savion Glover's STePz, his latest production at the Joyce Theater in New York City, to discuss fashion and femininity in an art form dominated by men.

Ayodele Casel reflects on her career in Tap.

Casel is surely an inspiration and a dream maker. Here, she shares her love of dance and her other interests with Dance Informa.

RedEye talks to Robyn Watson, Ayodele Casel and Sarah Savelli of tap dance show 'Stepz'

I have had the pleasure of seeing her perform a few times. She is phenomenal. In person she is polite and upbeat, with an unforgettable smile! Her passion shines through. I am happy to finally present to you, the first tapper of this series Ayodele Casel…………….

An interview with tap superstars, producers and educators Ayodele Casel and Jason Samuels Smith (July 2007)