WEBVTT - How I Made It: Ayodele Casel

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<v Speaker 1>This is me.

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<v Speaker 2>So my entry point to it was Ginger Rogers, but

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<v Speaker 2>really this is my legacy.

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<v Speaker 1>This art form is my legacy.

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<v Speaker 3>From futro media and pox. It's Latino Usa. I'm Maria

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<v Speaker 3>nor Posa today, a yodel Cacil, the decorated Afro Latina

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<v Speaker 3>tap dancer and how her art is part of her legacy.

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<v Speaker 3>For Ayodelic Cascill, tap dancing is not just a series

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<v Speaker 3>of steps, it's magic. It's when she feels the most

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<v Speaker 3>free and is able to connect to her cultural heritage.

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<v Speaker 3>The Bronx native was born to a Puerto Rican mother

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<v Speaker 3>and a Black father. She discovered tap through the silver

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<v Speaker 3>screen at a young age, transfixed by Fred Astaire and

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<v Speaker 3>Ginger Rogers, so much so that she started recreating their

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<v Speaker 3>move in her Bronx bedroom. But it wasn't until she

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<v Speaker 3>was a sophomore at the NYU Tish School of the

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<v Speaker 3>Arts that she took her first tap dancing class, and

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<v Speaker 3>she's been dancing ever since. During her almost three decade

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<v Speaker 3>long career, Ayodetta has received a number of accolades and awards,

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<v Speaker 3>despite the field being dominated by male dancers. Ayodette was

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<v Speaker 3>the first woman to be invited to dance for Savion

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<v Speaker 3>Glover's Not Your Ordinary Tap Dancers group, and she's performed

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<v Speaker 3>in places like the White House, Radio City Music Hall,

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<v Speaker 3>and Carnegie Hall. In twenty nineteen, she was featured in

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<v Speaker 3>a series of forever stamps from the US Post Office,

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<v Speaker 3>the Black Heritage Stamp Series. A documentary about Ayodeeda's development

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<v Speaker 3>as an artist, titled Tapping Into Our Past Tapping Into

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<v Speaker 3>Our Future, premiered in twenty twenty two. In that same year,

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<v Speaker 3>Ayodeeda's tap choreography in the Broadway revival of Funny Girl

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<v Speaker 3>earned her a Drama Desque nomination. Her work calls attention

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<v Speaker 3>to how tap dancing is an expression of identity, culture, language,

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<v Speaker 3>and communication, but also to the forgotten history of black

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<v Speaker 3>tap dancers. Here's Iodlica said as she taps us through

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<v Speaker 3>her journey in a story we first aired in twenty

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<v Speaker 3>twenty one.

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<v Speaker 1>My name is Iodele Cassell.

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<v Speaker 2>I am a tap dancer, choreographer, actor, lover of tesla

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<v Speaker 2>and stake. My name means joy has arrived and it

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<v Speaker 2>is Nigerian Yoruba.

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<v Speaker 1>My father named me. It's one of my favorite things.

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<v Speaker 2>I am a native New Yorker, proud Bronx native. When

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<v Speaker 2>I was nine, my mom sent me to Puerto Rico

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<v Speaker 2>to live with my grandparents.

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<v Speaker 1>What I do remember the most, at least for.

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<v Speaker 2>That initial landing, was feeling like, how am I going

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<v Speaker 2>to communicate?

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<v Speaker 1>I didn't speak the language at all. I knew one word.

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<v Speaker 1>I knew how to say ola, and that was it.

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<v Speaker 2>My grandparents didn't speak English that well, and my grandmother

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<v Speaker 2>would teach me with like a letter stencil, who doosday

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<v Speaker 2>squadro one thing at a time. While I remember struggling

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<v Speaker 2>with the language, there was a seamless transition of when

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<v Speaker 2>you just are speaking it fluently. And I was there

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<v Speaker 2>until I was fifteen. I was supposed to be there

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<v Speaker 2>for one year and ended up being six. At the

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<v Speaker 2>age of seventeen, I was a senior in high school.

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<v Speaker 2>My English teacher she started a course called history with

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<v Speaker 2>the movies. That's when I first saw FREDI standing Gerrogers.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, I think I was in lovely Van Hook.

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<v Speaker 3>I know, you were.

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<v Speaker 1>This world that seemed really interesting to me.

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<v Speaker 2>Like I thought Fred and Ginger were like magic, so graceful,

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<v Speaker 2>and they had such great chemistry.

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<v Speaker 1>It was just like it was beautiful to watch.

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<v Speaker 2>There's something in the format of a musical that is

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<v Speaker 2>sort of fantastical, and as somebody who just did not

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<v Speaker 2>grow up seeing that, it was really intriguing. And then

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<v Speaker 2>of course tap dancing, if you don't know what goes

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<v Speaker 2>into it, it is a little bit like magic. It's

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<v Speaker 2>like you see people like moving their feet and all

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<v Speaker 2>of these sounds are coming out. I just wanted to

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<v Speaker 2>be able to move my feet in the way that

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<v Speaker 2>they did. And I remember like I would go home

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<v Speaker 2>after school and I'd go to the library to like

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<v Speaker 2>rent their movies, and I just close the door and

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<v Speaker 2>try to move like they were.

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<v Speaker 1>What if I could do that?

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<v Speaker 2>What if I could be Ginger fully knowing that there's

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<v Speaker 2>no way that this black and Puerto Rican girl was

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<v Speaker 2>gonna ever be considered anything like Ginger Rogers, because I

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<v Speaker 2>didn't see people like me who were on screen like that,

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<v Speaker 2>especially during those thirties and forties and fifties. So I

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<v Speaker 2>remember just sort of that being a fantasy. And then

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<v Speaker 2>I was an acting major at YU and my sophomore

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<v Speaker 2>year they offered two movement classes that the actors had

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<v Speaker 2>to take, and it was tap dancing and tai chi,

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<v Speaker 2>And I was like oh yeah, Oh my God, Like, finally,

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<v Speaker 2>this is going to be my chance to really get

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<v Speaker 2>to move my feet in the way that I saw

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<v Speaker 2>Ginger Rogers doing. So I signed up for tap immediately,

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<v Speaker 2>and I even got like some shoes that looked like

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<v Speaker 2>one of her shoes in the movie. I went to

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<v Speaker 2>pay Less shoe source, because you know, the dance school

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<v Speaker 2>has cheesy shoes. I got these really cool like heel

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<v Speaker 2>suede shoess and I got them tapped up, and I

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<v Speaker 2>felt like I walked into my first class in style.

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<v Speaker 1>And I was so happy to do my first shuffle.

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<v Speaker 1>I was living my life.

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<v Speaker 2>About a year after that, I met someone who was

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<v Speaker 2>a freshman and he was actually a real hood for

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<v Speaker 2>His name is Bookarie Wilder.

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<v Speaker 1>He was like, yeah, you Tap dance. I was like yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>He was like, oh, we should go jam. I was like, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>let's go.

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<v Speaker 2>Jam. He took me to that studio and I'm putting

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<v Speaker 2>up my shoes with my shuffle hopstep for lap ball change,

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<v Speaker 2>just all of the joy and the spirit in the world.

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<v Speaker 1>As I'm lacing up, he starts to warm up. I

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<v Speaker 1>heard him go I had never heard that ever. I

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<v Speaker 1>had heard Dad Dee d d day. So I realized

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<v Speaker 1>very quickly that I did not know what I was doing.

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<v Speaker 2>It was a really formative time and really impactful because

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<v Speaker 2>he was like, oh, wait a minute, you know Gregory Hines, right,

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<v Speaker 2>And I was like, no, I don't know him.

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<v Speaker 1>Do you know, like Sammy Davis Junior. I'm like, god,

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<v Speaker 1>I didn't know know the Nicholas Brothers. No, he said,

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<v Speaker 1>tap dancing is.

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<v Speaker 2>Not just a series of steps, and it's not combinations

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<v Speaker 2>that you do in dance class. This is a real

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<v Speaker 2>form of expression because it comes from you. He's like,

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<v Speaker 2>you don't even need music. He taught me that this

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<v Speaker 2>art form was really rooted in the history of black

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<v Speaker 2>people in this country, that it.

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<v Speaker 1>Is my legacy.

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<v Speaker 2>I think this art form of tap dancing speaks really

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<v Speaker 2>directly to the history of this country and lands squarely

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<v Speaker 2>at the intersection of race and gender and appropriation. And

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<v Speaker 2>we talk about the development of the slave codes of

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<v Speaker 2>seventeen forty, for example, born out of the rebellion that

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<v Speaker 2>black people in this country they knew rhythm. They were

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<v Speaker 2>so connected to their power in that way that they

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<v Speaker 2>could start revolts across plantations through communicating with specific rhythms

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<v Speaker 2>and so when that was discovered, laws were enacted in

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<v Speaker 2>this country to basically ban them.

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<v Speaker 1>What I love about that story.

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<v Speaker 2>Even though it's completely steeped in oppression and a dehumanization,

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<v Speaker 2>is that the spirit of a human being, in the

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<v Speaker 2>spirit of black people, that what happens when somebody attempts

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<v Speaker 2>to take away your mode of expression and to take

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<v Speaker 2>away your instrument, you find another way. You're not gonna

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<v Speaker 2>give me a drama. I can make sound with my feet,

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<v Speaker 2>I can make sound with my body, I can make.

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<v Speaker 1>Sound with my hands.

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<v Speaker 2>The one thing you learn very quickly as a tap

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<v Speaker 2>dance student is that it thrives on your individual expression.

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<v Speaker 2>If I could describe it for somebody who doesn't do it,

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<v Speaker 2>is like if you have an impulse and then naturally

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<v Speaker 2>something starts to build and you get ideas that are

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<v Speaker 2>in rhythm form and your feet are able to communicate that.

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<v Speaker 2>So we have steps that have a different number of notes.

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<v Speaker 2>For example, a step is just one note. A shuffle

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<v Speaker 2>has two sounds, shuffule one two. A cramp roll has

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<v Speaker 2>four sounds. It starts to boil up into a rhythmic pattern,

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<v Speaker 2>and it's influenced by really your upbringing. I grew up

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<v Speaker 2>listening to Hector Lavo to Ray Boretto, and I grew

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<v Speaker 2>up listening to Orestis and Fania All Stars. And I

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<v Speaker 2>also grew up in the nineties, which is like the

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<v Speaker 2>height of hip hop. Everything that has entered your ear

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<v Speaker 2>has become part of your makeup, is available to you

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<v Speaker 2>when you get this impulse to move.

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<v Speaker 1>So if I had sad, Sad, dad, and then I can.

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<v Speaker 2>Go on and on and on. But all of these

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<v Speaker 2>things just live there and they are available to you

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<v Speaker 2>to come out in whichever way that.

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<v Speaker 1>You so choose.

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<v Speaker 2>I think it was the beginning of a journey of

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<v Speaker 2>really getting to know myself as a human being. But

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<v Speaker 2>what made me think I can do this forever as

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<v Speaker 2>a career was when I saw Bringing the Noise in

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<v Speaker 2>the Funk at the Public Theater in ninety five. Bringing

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<v Speaker 2>the Noise, Bringing the Funk basically told the history of

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<v Speaker 2>Black people in this country through tap dancing from the

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<v Speaker 2>Middle Passage all the way through current times.

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<v Speaker 1>It was revolutionary because it was the.

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<v Speaker 2>First time that tap dancing was seen and heard in

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<v Speaker 2>a way that was not common like the way that

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<v Speaker 2>we think of tap dancing as like timesteps and everybody

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<v Speaker 2>in Unison with arm choreography, kind of like forty second.

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<v Speaker 1>Street type thing.

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<v Speaker 2>It was really a true authentic representation of how the

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<v Speaker 2>form was living in America. And when I went to

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<v Speaker 2>that show and I saw young black actors, young black

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<v Speaker 2>tap dancers really on stage like having a story that

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<v Speaker 2>was told through them at a theater that was around

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<v Speaker 2>the corner from my school, That's when I thought, Oh,

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<v Speaker 2>I want to do that. And not only do I

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<v Speaker 2>want to do that, but I want to do it

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<v Speaker 2>to the best of my ability and I want to

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<v Speaker 2>dance with the best. And that is when I first

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<v Speaker 2>saw a way to do this long term. When I

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<v Speaker 2>started to dance professionally and I happened to come up

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<v Speaker 2>at a time when the focus was on a lot

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<v Speaker 2>of young men.

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<v Speaker 1>The audience members at.

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<v Speaker 2>The end of the show would say to me, I

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<v Speaker 2>did not know that women's have danced, or they'd be

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<v Speaker 2>like you, girl, you dance like a man. They would

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<v Speaker 2>say this as though they were giving me compliments. So

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<v Speaker 2>it was that moment of constantly hearing other people say

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<v Speaker 2>those things that made me look for the women that

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<v Speaker 2>look like me. Because I knew about ginger rogers and

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<v Speaker 2>Eleanor Powell and Vooby Keeler, and I knew about all

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<v Speaker 2>those women, but I didn't know of Jenny Legan. I

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<v Speaker 2>did not know of Lois Bright, I did not know

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<v Speaker 2>about Juanita Pits. I started to call out these names

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<v Speaker 2>just as I was learning them, and I would just

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<v Speaker 2>say Cora La Red, Juanita Pits, Louise Madison. I feel

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<v Speaker 2>like I can't change the past. What I can do

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<v Speaker 2>is I can bring them into my experience so that

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<v Speaker 2>when people see me tap dance, they understand that I

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<v Speaker 2>didn't just get plopped here, and there is a legacy

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<v Speaker 2>of women behind me who were doing it and who

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<v Speaker 2>should be named and recognized. It has become a practice

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<v Speaker 2>for me over the last twenty five years. I hold

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<v Speaker 2>them with me anytime that I'm dancing. Then we could

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<v Speaker 2>talk about appropriation, how a lot of the white dancers

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<v Speaker 2>were royalistic in these black communities and taking their work

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<v Speaker 2>and performing it while black people did not have the

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<v Speaker 2>right and ability to perform themselves. Even when we talk

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<v Speaker 2>about the silver Screen, we know Fredistang and Gerrogers, and

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<v Speaker 2>we celebrate Freda Stair very easily, but we don't know

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<v Speaker 2>that one of his teachers was John Bubbles, who was

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<v Speaker 2>a black dancer who actually revolutionized the art form by

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<v Speaker 2>dropping his heels into the ground and allowing more.

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<v Speaker 1>Notes to be played with his feet.

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<v Speaker 2>We don't know about Jenny Leaghan, a black tap dancer

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<v Speaker 2>who's actually the first black woman to dance with Bill Robinson,

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<v Speaker 2>who was a huge star at the time. But we

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<v Speaker 2>know Shirley Temple, we know oh Sammy Davis Junior and

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<v Speaker 2>Jimmy Slide and Buster Brown and Chuck Green and all wonderful,

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<v Speaker 2>beautiful tap dancers, but we don't know the women that

0:13:09.440 --> 0:13:13.079
<v Speaker 2>were their contemporaries, their colleagues who were also trying to

0:13:13.440 --> 0:13:26.040
<v Speaker 2>work in the same way. Really, the one of my

0:13:26.160 --> 0:13:31.360
<v Speaker 2>missions is to really transform the way people view tap dancing.

0:13:32.280 --> 0:13:36.079
<v Speaker 2>So I'm happy that Chasing Magic kind of allowed that

0:13:36.760 --> 0:13:41.160
<v Speaker 2>window into that. We were invited by Aaron Maddox at

0:13:41.160 --> 0:13:43.760
<v Speaker 2>the Joyce Theater. Aaron reached out and said, Hey, do

0:13:43.800 --> 0:13:46.959
<v Speaker 2>you want to do something for our virtual season? And

0:13:47.360 --> 0:13:49.080
<v Speaker 2>I was like, I haven't seen any of my friends,

0:13:49.480 --> 0:13:51.480
<v Speaker 2>and I thought, well, how are we going to do this?

0:13:52.280 --> 0:13:56.360
<v Speaker 2>I sent tapes, just video recordings of some choreography, and

0:13:56.440 --> 0:13:59.080
<v Speaker 2>we had one day of rehearsal and then two days

0:13:59.120 --> 0:14:01.240
<v Speaker 2>of actual shooting and that was it.

0:14:01.960 --> 0:14:07.920
<v Speaker 1>So it came together like magic, actually very quickly.

0:14:08.320 --> 0:14:13.439
<v Speaker 2>But because we had really wonderful, committed and focused and

0:14:13.520 --> 0:14:20.280
<v Speaker 2>generous dancers, we made it happen. And Chasing Magic, you'll

0:14:20.280 --> 0:14:28.680
<v Speaker 2>see solos, duets, trios, You'll see full group numbers. We're

0:14:28.680 --> 0:14:34.040
<v Speaker 2>gonna see numbers that are a cappella, numbers that swing

0:14:34.960 --> 0:14:35.640
<v Speaker 2>Latin jazz.

0:14:36.080 --> 0:14:41.360
<v Speaker 1>You're gonna hear an African and six' eight rhythm just

0:14:41.520 --> 0:14:42.000
<v Speaker 1>done with our.

0:14:42.040 --> 0:14:44.440
<v Speaker 2>Feet we're gonna dance to a soft shoe and a

0:14:44.520 --> 0:14:48.720
<v Speaker 2>waltz and we're gonna like really hit it. Hard What

0:14:48.840 --> 0:14:51.000
<v Speaker 2>i'm trying to do is just show really the depth

0:14:51.160 --> 0:14:53.000
<v Speaker 2>of the art form and how much we.

0:14:53.040 --> 0:14:56.720
<v Speaker 1>Can accomplish with just two pieces of metal on our.

0:14:56.840 --> 0:15:02.720
<v Speaker 2>FEET i Think Chasing magic is a celebration of, collaboration, friendship, art,

0:15:03.840 --> 0:15:08.840
<v Speaker 2>life honoring our, experiences honoring our, history and just like

0:15:08.960 --> 0:15:11.080
<v Speaker 2>how all those elements sort of come together to really

0:15:11.160 --> 0:15:15.120
<v Speaker 2>create these little magical. Moments i've read a lot of

0:15:15.200 --> 0:15:17.680
<v Speaker 2>things lately about agism and, dance and one of the

0:15:17.760 --> 0:15:21.320
<v Speaker 2>things That i'm really inspired by about tap dancing is

0:15:21.400 --> 0:15:25.120
<v Speaker 2>that we dance until we no longer, can whether you're

0:15:25.160 --> 0:15:28.440
<v Speaker 2>into your eighties or your. NINETIES i grew up knowing

0:15:28.520 --> 0:15:31.440
<v Speaker 2>that the older you, get the better you, get and

0:15:31.600 --> 0:15:34.320
<v Speaker 2>So i've never felt, like, OH i got to get

0:15:34.360 --> 0:15:35.840
<v Speaker 2>make sure that to get all my things Before i'm

0:15:35.880 --> 0:15:39.320
<v Speaker 2>thirty or Before i'm. Forty IF i feel like tap

0:15:39.400 --> 0:15:41.240
<v Speaker 2>dancing is one of those art forms that it's like,

0:15:41.360 --> 0:15:43.520
<v Speaker 2>wine you get better with, AGE.

0:15:46.520 --> 0:15:47.400
<v Speaker 1>I think one of the.

0:15:47.480 --> 0:15:52.600
<v Speaker 2>Things THAT i have been building towards now is amplifying the.

0:15:52.680 --> 0:15:57.160
<v Speaker 2>Message What i've been working so diligently and so many

0:15:57.200 --> 0:15:59.720
<v Speaker 2>of my peers is for people to understand that tap

0:16:00.280 --> 0:16:02.600
<v Speaker 2>is more than, entertainment that tap dancing is more than

0:16:02.680 --> 0:16:05.280
<v Speaker 2>just people dancing in. UNISON i want people to know

0:16:05.400 --> 0:16:10.120
<v Speaker 2>that tap dancing is a really sophisticated and beautiful, expression musical.

0:16:10.200 --> 0:16:16.080
<v Speaker 2>Expression it thrives off of music and. Freedom you're connected

0:16:16.440 --> 0:16:18.920
<v Speaker 2>to something else that nobody can really take away from.

0:16:18.960 --> 0:16:27.360
<v Speaker 3>You ayodeli hopes to keep expanding people's understanding of tap.

0:16:27.480 --> 0:16:30.800
<v Speaker 3>Dancing she wants to bring the art form to a larger.

0:16:30.920 --> 0:16:54.600
<v Speaker 3>Audience this episode was produced By Maria eskinka and edited

0:16:54.640 --> 0:16:58.000
<v Speaker 3>By Met Trevlon. Shahi it was mixed By Julia, carusso

0:16:58.120 --> 0:17:02.640
<v Speaker 3>with engineering support From Jay. Grubin The LATINO usa team

0:17:02.760 --> 0:17:08.320
<v Speaker 3>also Includes Roxanna, Guire Fernando, Chavari Jessica, Ellis Victoria, Strada,

0:17:08.600 --> 0:17:14.919
<v Speaker 3>Dominiquinestrosa renaldo Leanoz, Junior Stephanie, Lebau Andrea Lopez, Grusado Luis,

0:17:15.119 --> 0:17:20.920
<v Speaker 3>Luna Marta, Martinez Dasha, Sandoval Lor saudi And Nancy, Trujillo Benileei,

0:17:21.000 --> 0:17:24.680
<v Speaker 3>Ramirez Marlon, Bishop Maria garcia and myself are co executive

0:17:24.680 --> 0:17:28.120
<v Speaker 3>producers And i'm your. Host Marianno. Rossa join us again

0:17:28.160 --> 0:17:30.119
<v Speaker 3>on our next. Episode in the, Meantime i'll see you

0:17:30.240 --> 0:17:33.879
<v Speaker 3>on social media and as, always notte Maa, yes Lunga.

0:17:34.240 --> 0:17:41.160
<v Speaker 4>Jao LATINO usa is made possible in part by The Ford,

0:17:41.240 --> 0:17:45.240
<v Speaker 4>foundation working with visionaries on the front lines of social change,

0:17:45.400 --> 0:17:47.000
<v Speaker 4>worldwide The JOHN.

0:17:47.080 --> 0:17:48.000
<v Speaker 1>D And CATHERINE.

0:17:48.000 --> 0:17:53.440
<v Speaker 4>T MacArthur, foundation and The Heising Simons foundation unlocking, knowledge

0:17:53.800 --> 0:17:58.480
<v Speaker 4>opportunity and possibilities more at hsfoundation dot.

0:17:58.640 --> 0:18:05.359
<v Speaker 2>Org i've rarely, stretched And i'm not proud of. That

0:18:05.560 --> 0:18:07.960
<v Speaker 2>and whoever's listening and wants to be a tab, answer

0:18:08.080 --> 0:18:10.520
<v Speaker 2>don't take that. Advice please stretch and roll