Interview with Tap Superstars Ayodele Casel and Jason Samuels-Smith
Welcome to Great Dance Podcast! My name is Eva Yaa Asantewaa, and I'm delighted to bring you the first interview in this ongoing series of talks with performers, choreographers, master teachers and collaborators devoted to the great art of dance.
Who’s on tap today?
Ayodele Casel and Jason Samuels-Smith-–two of my favorite performers, now appearing in Tap City, New York’s annual festival of all things tap!
Ayodele and Jason--both native New Yorkers and great ambassadors of tap--are not only master performers but also educators. I caught up with them this afternoon at the festival’s workshop site at Chelsea Studios on West 26th Street in Manhattan.
Listen to audio interview (30 minutes - MP3 format)
Ayodele Casel
Ayodele Casel’s career includes not only tap dance but also television, film and stage acting. She toured internationally as the only female member of Savion Glover’s N.Y.O.T. troupe and also toured with the Jazz Tap Ensemble. She has appeared nearly everywhere–from Bill Clinton’s White House to Madison Square Garden at half-time for the New York Liberty! And that’s not to mention her three sold-out, solo tap shows here in New York.
Jason Samuels-Smith
Emmy-Award winning choreographer Jason Samuels-Smith joined the Broadway cast of Bring in Da’Noise, Bring in Da’Funk at the age of 15. Like Ayodele, he also danced with Savion Glover’s N.Y.O.T. troupe. He has been honored by the City of Los Angeles for founding the Los Angeles Tap Festival in 2003, which he continues to direct. In 2004, he launched his own dance company, A.C.G.I (Anybody Can Get It).
Produced by Tony Waag and his American Tap Dance Foundation, Tap City features four nights of performances at the Duke on 42nd Street and numerous workshops, showcases, lectures, films and talks about tap. One of summer’s hottest tickets, it draws performers, dance instructors, students and ardent fans from across the U.S. and around the world.
Tap City runs from Wednesday, July 11 through Saturday, July 14 at 7pm and 9:30pm at the Duke on 42nd Street with a different program each evening. For a full schedule and ticketing details, visit www.atdf.org.
Still Tappin’
And if that’s not enough tap for you, Susan Goldbetter, Circuit Productions invites you to check out some free neighborhood shows this summer:
Composer/percussionist Andy Algire teams up with the Feraba: African Rhythm Tap Dance, Wednesday, July 18 at 1pm at Riverbank State Park, 679 Riverside Drive at 145th Street, Manhattan (212-694-3612) and on Friday, July 20, 6:30pm at Brooklyn Children’s Museum, 145 Brooklyn Avenue (718-735-4400).
Max Pollak and RumbaTap–who mix tap with Afro-Cuban rhythms and spiritual traditions--will also appear at Brooklyn Children’s Museum on Friday, August 17, 6:30pm (718-735-4400).
Also, Riverside Park South and Summer on the Hudson presents Tap Happens!, curated by tap dancer/producer Laraine Goodman on Sunday, July 22, 2pm-4pm at Pier 1 (70th Street on the Hudson River), including performances and a free-for-all tap jam (646-263-7926).
Posted by Eva Yaa Asantewaa on July 9, 2007 5:30 PM
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I loved this! I felt like I was right there in the room. I liked the easy breezy way you have of interviewing your guests and drawing things out of them that they might not have said if they weren't so completely relaxed. Thank you for this peek into the world of Tap!