Ayodele Casel Interview, 1998-05-15
Abstract
This is the May 15, 1998 interview (currently compact disc and transcript) of Ayodele Casel and Ellie Sciarra. Sciarra performed interviews of female tap dancers for her thesis at University of Colorado.
Dates
- 1998-05-15
Biographical / Historical
Ayodele Casel started tap dancing at 18, when she started college for acting at NYU. Thanks to a required movement class, she chose tap over Tai Chi. She also danced hip-hop. Casel's sister also danced at Julliard.
Her first dance teachers were jazz dancer Jeffrey Fergeson, Charles Goddard, and tapper Baakari Wilder. At an open mic, she performed tap, impressing Eli Savion. Quickly after learning under Savion, Casel performed on live television for Monday Night Football. She also performed at Radio City amd was on the Jerry Lewis Telethon.
Casel helped lead "Savion Glover, Live Communications", a 2-hour dance production that was off Broadway. It was performed in a concert style at the Variety Theater.
In Casel's interview with Sciarra, Cassel says, "Every time we dance, we teach... We are a reflection of what's going on right now." Cassel has also taught tap dancing to children and adults. Casel also shares, "[Dancers are] artists' extension of the person."
Extent
From the File: 1 Items : (1) record box
Scope and Contents
This series contains cassette tapes, floppy disks, cds, transcripts, and related material on the interviewees for Ellie Sciarra's "Taps are Talking: Women in Tap" production.
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections and Archives Repository