Diary of a Tap Dancer by Ayodele Casel

FUN HOME, TOAST, and HAMILTON! Not since the mid 90’s have I been this excited about theater.

Not since the mid 90’s have I been this excited about theater. I remember being at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Acting major. Black/Puerto Rican girl from the Bronx feeling not only lucky but accomplished by having been accepted. One of two people of color in my class at the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute. Eugene Byrd was my partner in crime. We held it down. I was thrilled to be attending my first school of choice. Prestigious. Embarking on my life of artistry. One problem. Lack of diversity. It was real. “The Latin Explosion” had yet to hit, Ricky Martin’s declaration of living the wild life hadn’t been made and the world had yet to become obsessed with Jennifer Lopez’s booty. Scene assignments left me feeling so discouraged because I didn’t feel like I would ever be cast in any of the material we studied. My other p.i.c. Pedro Pascal must have been very aware of this fact as well. It was because of him I was able to work on material that represented people who looked like me. Pedro brought scenes for us to work on from James Baldwin novels and current films like Fearless, starring Rosie Perez and Jeff Bridges. Working on that material brought in some much needed contrast for me in the classroom. 

Something happened my sophomore year in college. Bring in da Noise/Bring in da Funk opened at The Public Theater and Rent opened at New York Theater Workshop totally rocking my world. Daphne Rubin Vega’s face was on posters everywhere in the city and I remember thinking that there was hope for me in a theater community and in this entertainment industry. 

This past week I experienced 3 shows I’m so freaking excited about. Fun Home, written and composed by Lisa Kron and the amazing Jeanine Tesori, respectively. RUN, DON'T WALK to see this beautiful show.  It has been called "the first mainstream musical about a young lesbian” but that is a surface level description and I challenge everyone to see it and find a theme they can’t relate to. Every relationship in this show is universal.

I am so thrilled and proud to see the multi talented Lemon Andersen’s ToasT, at The Public Theater which opens in late April. I’m inspired to see work by artists who are authentic, intelligent, have great respect for their voices and the medium they choose to express themselves in.  Get your tickets pronto because I am certain this will be sold out, if it isn't already. 

Hamilton. Hamilton. Hamilton. Lin-Manuel Miranda is simply brilliant. The show is worth all the hype it has received. I loved everything about it. To have a Broadway-bound show about American History, American presidents, immigrant founders and contributors to this country created by a young, PUERTO RICAN artist and portrayed by Black and Latino actors makes me feel like I’ve died and gone to heaven…except, once again, I’m so inspired to be alive and an artist living in 2015 and grateful for how far we’ve come since my NYU days. Now I must get to work. The wheels are turning and after a long period of paralyzing fear I'm going along for the ride! See you soon. Wink. 

Ayodele Casel

April 2015

 Oh,  how I miss Fazil's...

...and how I don't like the displacement of tap and percussive dancers in NYC since it was torn down...for apparently no good reason.

It was here that I realized I wanted to be a tap dancer for the rest of my life. In 1995, I stood in amazement as Baakari Wilder laced his shoes while simultaneously laying down subtle rhythms during our very first workout session (more aptly named- a private lesson). 

It was here that I, and countless other tap and flamenco dancers (student or professional), could walk up those well worn stairs and rent a room to practice until our legs wore out and a few hours after that...and it was $8-$13/hour. 

It was here where I would meet Gregory Hines to dance for an hour whenever he came to visit NYC, however briefly.

It was here, where after a particularly challenging time in my life, I found my way back to the dance through sharing all I knew about it with then 9 year old aspiring tap dancer, Warren Craft. 

You came to Fazil's NOT to be discovered by the casting agency holding auditions down the hall, but to work tirelessly and diligently on your craft, your skill AND as a TAP dancer you were able to do that on a WOOD floor. You weren't banned, castigated, or made to feel irrelevant and/or inferior for DANCING... in a dance studio. The only reason you couldn't rent a room was if there wasn't space available not because there was a Yoga, or acting, or ballet, or music class, or meeting, or an audition for that matter underneath or surrounding your designated room. You certainly weren't banned for wanting to tap dance in a studio with a wood floor.

In a 1989 New York Times article Jennifer Dunning wrote:

"A Broadway chorus boy named Jimmy Cagney once climbed its stairs to attend tap classes in the studios. Paul Draper and Eleanor Powell rehearsed there, and so did the Condos Brothers and the Nicholas Brothers, Jose Greco and Carmen Amaya, and the hoofers from several Broadway shows. Hanya Holm taught modern dance in one studio; Honi Coles taught Dick Cavett to tap in another. Alvin Ailey worked with his first, small company at what is now Fazil's Dance Center. And memories of the studio gave Gregory Hines the idea for Sonny's, the dance studio that is home to the old hoofers in the film ''Tap.'' "

I've been working professionally as a tap dancer for almost two decades. I consider myself to be a conscientious and respectful human being, artist, and professional. The fact that a note next to my name and the names of other tap dancers at prominent NYC rehearsal studio Ripley Grier reads: "CANNOT book studio with wood floor" is reprehensible to me. At RG, a marley floor is my only option as I was told a previous tap dancer who rented allegedly got shoe polish on the floor. It seems like a minor infraction to me considering that it IS a rehearsal studio with all sorts of traffic on its floors throughout the day but according to RG the appropriate punishment for ALL tap artists is marley. Why would I spend $25+ an hour to hear a muffled and flat version of whatever I am working on? Absolutely not. 

I am aware that there are other options. In fact, I happen to love Chelsea Studios and its wide, expansive wood floor rooms. They are also very friendly and accommodating. I will choose to spend my money there or any other place that recognizes a professional or simply a paying customer who just wants to shut the door to a rented room and dance (responsibly, of course). 

Ayodele Casel 

NYC 2013