Ayodele Casel: Chasing Magic at Joyce Theater

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2. Ayodele Casel: Chasing Magic

The Joyce Theater Foundation has announced that the streaming window for Ayodele Casel: Chasing Magic, will be extended for one week, now through APRIL 29 only on www.Joyce.org. The work, an evening stacked with collaborators both brand new and tried and true, was filmed on The Joyce stage in MARCH and began streaming on Thursday, APRIL 8. The week-long extension is made possible through the generous support of Earthjustice. Tickets for Ayodele Casel: Chasing Magic are $25 and can be arranged at www.Joyce.org.

The Joyce Theater utilized rigorous COVID-19-related protocols ensuring and prioritizing the safety of all performers, crew, and staff during the creation and filming of this engagement.

As 2019 drew to a close, tap artist Ayodele Casel was riding a wave of unanimous praise for her world premiere collaboration with jazz composer and musician Arturo O'Farrill-a Joyce production that landed on nearly all "Best Of" lists. After a year of artistic isolation, these two artists at the top of their game join forces yet again, along with a select group of dancers, musicians, and artistic visionaries, for another world premiere on the Joyce stage. Ayodele Casel: Chasing Magic is an evening of music and dance that captures the spark of connection and creation inherent in art-making and living in our world.

"Chasing Magic is an offering of old stuff, new stuff, and undefined stuff," says Casel. "I called on my friends, who I hadn't seen in over a year. We gathered for a short time, focused on the sweetness of being reunited, and humbly honored the fact that we are still here."

Drawing on a formula for success, Ayodele Casel also reunites with long-time collaborator Torya Beard, who steps into the role of Director for Ayodele Casel: Chasing Magic, after serving as Creative Director for Casel's 2019 Joyce engagement. Trusting in the magic of collaboration and the moment of combustion that occurs when artists finally come together again, this dynamic duo also brings into the fold singer/songwriter Crystal Monee Hall, music director and composer Annastasia Victory, and percussionist Senfu Stoney. Tap dancer and filmmaker Kurt Csolak captures this lightning in a bottle on film from the Joyce stage like no other artist can, created specifically with the home audience in mind.

Anthony Morigerato, a like-minded tap dancer and choreographer, co-creates the New York premiere of the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers inspired "Fly Me To the Moon" and "Cheek to Cheek." Fellow tap artists Naomi Funaki, Amanda Castro, and John Manzari will also lend their talents and spark of creation throughout the evening. Rounding out the impressive list of collaborators is the much-anticipated artistic fusion of Casel's thrilling signature tap and Ronald K. Brown's blend of traditional African movement and contemporary dance, set to the a capella soundtrack of Casel's own archival tapes in a call-and-response dance not to be missed.