Ayodele Casel News

New York City Center today announced a studio series of master classes and conversations with artists and other guests as part of the ¡Adelante, Cuba! Festival. This celebration of the rich and vibrant artists of Cuba begins Sunday, April 22, with an evening of music and conversation at The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space at WNYC & WQXR featuring jazz giant Arturo O'Farrill, tap artist Ayodele Casel, and trumpet player Yasek Manzano Silva. Offering an up-close look at the work of these inspiring artists, the festival also includes intimate conversations, held in City Center's studios, exploring the Cuban American Songbook and what it means to be an Afro-Latin artist today. Master classes for advanced students and professionals will be hosted by dancer Carlos Luis Blanco of Acosta Danza and choreographer Ronald K. Brown (City Center Choreography Fellow), and Arturo O'Farrill and Yazek Manzano Silva will deconstruct Afro-Latin jazz in a master class open to the public to observe.

New York City Center today announced a studio series of master classes and conversations with artists and other guests as part of the ¡Adelante, Cuba! Festival. This celebration of the rich and vibrant artists of Cuba begins Sunday, April 22, with an evening of music and conversation at The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space at WNYC & WQXR featuring jazz giant Arturo O'Farrill, tap artist Ayodele Casel, and trumpet player Yasek Manzano Silva. Offering an up-close look at the work of these inspiring artists, the festival also includes intimate conversations, held in City Center's studios, exploring the Cuban American Songbook and what it means to be an Afro-Latin artist today. Master classes for advanced students and professionals will be hosted by dancer Carlos Luis Blanco of Acosta Danza and choreographer Ronald K. Brown (City Center Choreography Fellow), and Arturo O'Farrill and Yazek Manzano Silva will deconstruct Afro-Latin jazz in a master class open to the public to observe.

Chicago Human Rhythm Project (CHRP), presents the 28th annual summer festival of American tap and percussive dance, Rhythm World, featuring three generations of foot drummers including tap masters Dianne 'Lady Di' Walker and Sam Weber, STOMP cast members, many of Chicago's finest including, Star Dixon and Martin 'Tre' Dumas, and CHRP's Artist in Residence, Dani Borak leading Stone Soup Rhythms. Intensive educational programs will be offered in the Fine Arts Building and the American Rhythm Center, July 16-22. Performances take place July16-18, at the Jazz Showcase, Curtis Hall and the Polk Bros Performance Lawns at Navy Pier, with culminating concerts, JUBA! Masters of Tap and Percussive Dance, on July 20 and 21, at the Studebaker Theater featuring a host of virtuoso soloists and ensembles showcasing a mix of audience favorites and world premieres.

It's a busy weekend coming up here at In The Lights, ! Check out what's happening on the west side this weekend, from the stage of Aaron Davis Hall with the new EMD, now under the direction of Tiffany Rea-Fisher, to an informative evening with the Actors Fund at Steps On Broadway.

Elisa Monte Dance (EMD), the newest organization to call Harlem home, will return to City College's Aaron Davis Hall for two original evenings of collaborative works in celebration of their 37th season. Artistic Director Tiffany Rea-Fisher, who succeeded founder Elisa Monte in 2016, will present her newest work The Best-Self Project, a full-length premiere on March 16. Rea-Fisher has also curated a mixed-bill program on March 17 that will showcase a collection of new and restaged works featuring celebrated icons Tony Danza, Clifton Brown, Ayodele Casel, and more. 

New York City Center today announced a studio series of master classes and conversations with artists and other guests as part of the ¡Adelante, Cuba! Festival. This celebration of the rich and vibrant artists of Cuba begins Sunday, April 22, with an evening of music and conversation at The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space at WNYC & WQXR featuring jazz giant Arturo O'Farrill, tap artist Ayodele Casel, and trumpet player Yasek Manzano Silva. Offering an up-close look at the work of these inspiring artists, the festival also includes intimate conversations, held in City Center's studios, exploring the Cuban American Songbook and what it means to be an Afro-Latin artist today. Master classes for advanced students and professionals will be hosted by dancer Carlos Luis Blanco of Acosta Danza and choreographer Ronald K. Brown (City Center Choreography Fellow), and Arturo O'Farrill and Yazek Manzano Silva will deconstruct Afro-Latin jazz in a master class open to the public to observe.

New York City Center today announced a studio series of master classes and conversations with artists and other guests as part of the ¡Adelante, Cuba! Festival. This celebration of the rich and vibrant artists of Cuba begins Sunday, April 22, with an evening of music and conversation at The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space at WNYC & WQXR featuring jazz giant Arturo O'Farrill, tap artist Ayodele Casel, and trumpet player Yasek Manzano Silva. Offering an up-close look at the work of these inspiring artists, the festival also includes intimate conversations, held in City Center's studios, exploring the Cuban American Songbook and what it means to be an Afro-Latin artist today. Master classes for advanced students and professionals will be hosted by dancer Carlos Luis Blanco of Acosta Danza and choreographer Ronald K. Brown (City Center Choreography Fellow), and Arturo O'Farrill andYazek Manzano Silva will deconstruct Afro-Latin jazz in a master class open to the public to observe.

Indian Kathak dance and American Tap dance are continents and ages apart, yet they share parallel stories of struggle and perseverance.  They join forces in a unique and sensational collaboration - as The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage presents SPEAK: Tap & Kathak Unite, a program that brings together MacArthur Fellow Michelle Dorrance, Founders of Leela Institute for the Arts Rina Mehta and Rachna Nivas, and Broadway performer Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards, for three performances only, March 22 - 24.

Elisa Monte Dance (EMD), the newest organization to call Harlem home, will return to City College's Aaron Davis Hall for two original evenings of collaborative works in celebration of their 37th season. Artistic Director Tiffany Rea-Fisher, who succeeded founder Elisa Monte in 2016, will present her newest work The Best-Self Project, a full-length premiere on March 16. Rea-Fisher has also curated a mixed-bill program on March 17 that will showcase a collection of new and restaged works featuring celebrated icons Tony Danza, Clifton Brown, Ayodele Casel, and more. 

The Joyce Theater Foundation, Inc. will welcome back to its stage MacArthur Foundation Genius Fellow Michelle Dorrance and her internationally renowned company Dorrance Dance from December 19 to 31.

Royal Family Productions, a non-profit theatre company known for its innovative productions and development of new original work, concludes its week-long workshop of Ayodele Casel's DIARY OF A TAP DANCER V.4, directed by Torya Beard at the Royal Family Performing Arts Space (145 West 46th Street, 3rd Floor) with a benefit performance tonight, November 16, hosted by Daphne Rubin-Vega.

The Joyce Theater Foundation, Inc. will welcome back to its stage MacArthur Foundation Genius Fellow Michelle Dorrance and her internationally renowned company Dorrance Dance from December 19 to 31.

Royal Family Productions, a non-profit theatre company known for its innovative productions and development of new original work, will present a week-long workshop of Ayodele Casel's DIARY OF A TAP DANCER V.4, directed by Torya Beard at the Royal Family Performing Arts Space (145 West 46th Street, 3rd Floor) from November 12-16, 2017.

Notwithstanding the lingering leeriness I feel about going to see them, one-person shows can be memorable and truly special. Billy Crystal's 700 Sundays, Frank Gorshin's Say Goodnight, Gracie and Colin Quinn's Long Story Short stand out as the best that I've seen by men, while I'd point to Julie Harris's Belle of Amherst, Lily Tomlin's The Search for Intelligent Life in the Universe, and Tova Feldshuh's Golda's Balcony as the best by women - plus two more at Spoleto this year, Avital Lvova's Angel and Ayodele Casel's While I Have the Floor.

Tap dance company Dorrance Dance, founded by Artistic Director and 2015 MacArthur Fellow Michelle Dorrance, announces New York City performance dates, new works, and tour schedule for the 2017-2018 season. The season will include performances at renowned venues across the United States and in Canada, Germany, and France.

Jersey Tap Fest, NJ's sole dance festival featuring world-class tap faculty and extravaganza, celebrates its eighth year, August 10-13, in East Hanover and Bloomfield, NJ.

Jersey Tap Fest is a dance festival that features world-class tap dancers, faculty, and an exceptional extravaganza to celebrate the life and legacy of tap dance in New Jersey. Since its founding in 2010 by Hillary-Marie, this annual festival has become a way to bring the tap dance community together, teach its history, preserve its unique percussive and improvisational style, and increase respect for this cherished American dance form.

New York City wasn't exactly the most magical place for a child to grow up in back in 1975. Crime and poverty rates were inhumanely high and when the city begged for federal assistance, the president, at least according to a Daily News headline, replied 'Drop Dead.'

Led by Artistic Director Michael Friedman, the popular Encores! Off-Center series returns for its fifth season of landmark Off-Broadway musicals, continuing with Carole King and Maurice Sendak's family musical Really Rosie, directed by Leigh Silverman (August 2-5).

Encores! Off-Center Artistic Director Michael Friedman continues his first season at the helm of the popular summer musical theater series at New York City Center with REALLY ROSIE, beginning tonight, August 2nd.