Tap dancing sensation Ayodele Casel’s passion for dance started as a little girl in the Bronx. But as a Black Puerto Rican child, she was fairly certain tap dancers had to look more like Ginger Rogers than her own family and friends. But that didn’t stop her from memorizing dance routines, practicing and eventually, attending so many performances of off-Broadway’s “Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk” starring Savion Glover, that she eventually ended up performing in Glover’s dance company Not Your Ordinary Tappers.
Now considered one of the top tap dancers in the country, Casel’s recent projects included a sold-out two-week show “Chasing Magic” at New York’s Joyce Theatre and choreographing the tap dancing for Broadway’s Funny Girl. She joins Here & Now‘s Robin Young to talk about her life and career.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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