“It’s been a mission of mine to transform the way audiences view and experience tap dance,” critically-acclaimed dancer and choreographer Ayodele Casel told Observer. “Every show I do is an opportunity for that to happen.” We were discussing the world premiere of The Remix, which opens at The Joyce Theater tomorrow (May 28) and runs through June 8. This is her third show at the venue, but this one is different from anything else she’s presented there. “It’s very chill,” she said. “It has the feel of a living room, a lounge, a club. We have the dancers on stage. We have couches on stage. It’s like Nuyorican Poets Cafe meets Smalls Jazz Club meets Joe’s Pub meets The Joyce.”
Part of what Casel wants to transform is the expectation that tap dance should only entertain or only move “fast and funky.” She wants more people to understand that the genre has always been sophisticated, with a depth of expression. “Historically, we have seen that in the beauty of a soft shoe. We have seen that in the showmanship of the Nicholas Brothers and the cool, classy style of Sammy Davis, Jr., and the funky authenticity of Gregory Hines.”
The Remix, which Casel co-created with her wife and creative collaborator, Torya Beard, is rooted in history, but in a more recent period. It remixes highlights from Casel’s two-decade repertoire while paying tribute to the music, movement and cultural spirit of the 1990s. The nineties are significant for Casel for two reasons: it was the time of the major tap renaissance in the U.S., brought on in large part by Savion Glover’s hit musical Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk (1995), and the beginning of her career as a tap dancer.
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Casel, who was born and raised in The Bronx (minus a few formative years spent in Puerto Rico), did not grow up taking formal dance classes, but that didn’t stop her from wanting to be a Janet Jackson dancer. “I was, like, Rhythm Nation-ing myself all over the place,” she said with a laugh. “With my friends, and alone in my living room.” She also grew up watching Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies, enthusiastically “faking” their footwork in front of her bedroom mirror.
While attending NYU Tisch School of the Arts to study drama, Casel took her first tap class and experienced “the sheer joy of pretending that I was Ginger for a year.” But it was when she met classmate Baakari Wilder (“a real tap dancer”) that Casel saw what tap could do and be. She realized that tap was more than show tunes and movie musicals, that it had vast expressive possibilities. And it was when she first saw Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk at The Public Theater in 1995, that she understood that the history of tap came from her ancestors, rooted “in the souls and the feet of Black people,” that this was something she, too, could do.
Casel devoted herself to this percussive art form that was rapidly changing before her eyes. She “showed up to everything and practiced like a maniac.” She begged a construction worker for an extra 4×4 piece of wood and dragged it through Union Square and onto the 5 train so she could practice at home. She danced to the music she was listening to then, “as a young Black and Puerto Rican human woman in the Bronx”—mostly Hip Hop and R&B.
In 1997, Glover spotted her tapping after a show at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in the Lower East Side and was impressed. He invited her to join and tour with his new company, Not Your Ordinary Tappers, along with Jason Samuels Smith and Abron Glover. This is where she received, as she says, the best education on the road.
Casel was feeling nostalgic about that time in her life, when she would tap to The Fugees and Digable Planets because it felt so good on her body and in her feet, when she spent most of her time practicing with and learning from friends. Beard said, “Well, maybe we should make a show about that.” So they did.
The Remix is a 90-minute show choreographed by Casel and directed by Beard, containing reimagined excerpts from Casel’s diverse body of work, including Audrey (2005), Where We Dwell (2021), Funny Girl (2022), Push/Pull (2022), and Diary of a Tap Dancer (2024), along with new works by guest choreographers Naomi Funaki & Caleb Teicher, Quynn L. Johnson, and Ryan K. Johnson. The result is a celebration of Casel’s career, and also something entirely new.
The ensemble consists of nine top-of-their-game tap artists (including Casel), a poet (Tony McPherson), a freestyle artist (SuB a.k.a. Elijah Bullard), and two musicians (Keisel Jiménez on percussion and Raúl Reyes on bass). Liberty Styles will DJ as well as dance, and tap artist Jared Alexander created a new musical score inspired by the music of the 90s, with odes to Queen Latifah, A Tribe Called Quest, and The Fugees woven throughout.
Casel has worked with all of the artists (except SuB, who she described as “the missing link”) for many years, so creating a show that celebrates community, friendship, and collaboration came easily for everyone. “In this time, in 2025, with everything that is going on in the world, everybody can use a jolt of joy,” Casel said. “That is one of the things that I hope people feel when they sit down and join our living room.”
She also hopes audiences feel a deeper understanding and appreciation of the art form she’s dedicated her life to. “Tap is constantly evolving,” she explained. “So when you come to see us, you have to expand beyond what you expected to see and or hear. These are world-class artists. They are constantly investigating. So stay with us. Go with us on this journey. And stay open.” You just might be transformed.
Ayodele Casel’s The Remix runs May 28 through June 8 at The Joyce Theater in New York City.
