WHO'S WHO IN THE COMPANY
TORYA BEARD (Co-Creator/Director) Broadway: Funny Girl (Assistant Director), Waitress (Assistant Director), The Lion King (Swing, Dance Captain). Regional: Diary Of A Tap Dancer, A.R.T. (Director); Educational: Sophisticated Ladies, University of Michigan (Co-Director/ Choreographer), Pippin, Syracuse University (Director). Other: Jesus Christ Superstar: Highlights from the All-Female Studio Cast Recording (Executive Producer), 2023 Bessie Awards (Creative Producer).
Torya's creative partnership with Ayodele Casel has been a significant collaboration. The pair has developed numerous projects. Among them, While I Have The Floor, Rooted for ALL ARTS' Past, Present, Future Film Festival, Bessie Award-winning dance film, and subsequent stage production, Ayodele Casel: Chasing Magic, Freedom... In Progress for Max Roach 100, Ayodele Casel + Arturo O'Farrill. New York City Center commissions include the digital series Diary of a Tap Dancer V.6: Us, Where We Dwell, the inaugural five-borough tour of On The Move, and Ayodele Casel | Artists At The Center. Beard and Casel are Resident Directors of Dance Lab New York's Tap Project and were co-curators of the Little Island Dance Festival. Torya is the recipient of APAP's Inaugural CIPA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Creative Producing, studied dance at The University of Michigan, is Artistic Director at Excellence Community Schools, Co-Founder of the social enterprise tall poPpy (with Darren Biggart and Jeanine Tesori) and sits on the boards of Earl Mosley's Diversity of Dance, percussive dance company Sole Defined and Raja Feather Kelly's dance-theatre-media company, the feath3r theory (TF3T). Learn more about Torya at toryabeard.com @thatgirltorya
AYODELE CASEL (Co-Creator/Choreographer), a Doris Duke Artist in the dance category, is an award-winning and critically acclaimed tap dancer and choreographer. Born in The Bronx and raised in Puerto Rico, her practice centers on highly narrative works rooted in expressions of selfhood, culture, and legacy. Casel is hailed as a "tap dancer and choreographer of extraordinary depth" (The New York Times) and is known for her skilled and imaginative improvisation. Casel's projects include her concert and Bessie Award-winning film Chasing Magic, Drama Desk-nominated work as tap choreographer for the Broadway revival of Funny Girl. In 2024, Casel wrote, choreographed, and performed Diary of a Tap Dancer (dir. Torya Beard), at the American Repertory Theater. Ayodele co-directed with Torya Beard, a short film Rooted for PBS' ALL ARTS channel. In Rooted, Ayodele Casel reflects on the historical figures and events that have shaped society through an oral history with civil rights lawyer Sherrilyn Ifill and features performances from a multi-generational/multi-cultural group of artists. Casel was a 2019-2020 fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, an artist-in-residence at Harvard University, and is the recipient of a United States Artist Fellowship, Herb Alpert Award, Doris Duke Artists award, and Hoofer and Flo-Bert award. In 2021, Casel was depicted on a U.S. Postal Service Forever Stamp celebrating tap dance. Casel is an alumna of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and The William Esper Studio. Her origins in theater and love for storytelling and tap dance have significantly contributed to the narrative nature of her work. A dance educator for over 25 years, Casel is the co-director of Operation Tap, an online tap dance educational platform, DLNY Tap Dance Project, and serves on the Board of New York City Center. ayodelecasel.com, @ayolives
JARED ALEXANDER (Tap Artists), a Hudson Valley native, is a New York City-based tap artist and multimedia-curiosity-inspired creative. A 2019 alum from Pace University's Commercial Dance BFA program, Jared's artistic view connects life experiences and an obsession of music to various dance genres, forming his unique tap dance style. Alexander, a 2021 DLNY choreographer alum, has presented his work at ArtBath NYC (2025) Asbury Park Dance Festival (2024), Hamptons Dance Project (2024), Asbury Book Cooperative "After Dark" series (2023 & 2024), For the Love & Autumn in New York for Pace University's Dance Program (2021), as well as collaborating with Naomi Funaki for Bryant Park's Picnic Summer Series (2024), Dre Torres & Gerson Lanza at Little Island Summer Dance Festival NYC (2021-2022), and Tomoe "Beasty" Carr for Artists at the Center at New York City Center (2023) with a world premiere of Interlaced. Alexander has professionally worked under Ayodele Casel and Torya Beard for multiple projects including: Rooted (2024) an All Arts documentary, Artists at the Center, City Center (2023), Rooted Tour (2023-24), Chasing Magic (2022-2024) at The Joyce Theater, Spoleto Dance Festival & McCarter Theatre; Dance Against Cancer, Lincoln Center (2023); MET Gala (2022), Fords Gala (2022), and a Warner Bros. Project in Bordeaux France. Jared has worked under Caleb Teicher & Co. in Bzzz (2023) at The Joyce Theatre, Lincoln Center, Jacobs Pillow, and Artists at the Center (2023) in collaboration with Naomi Funaki. He recently performed at 92NY's Uptown Rhythm Festival in celebration of Max Pollak's company "Rumba Tap" 25th-year Anniversary (2025). Jared is an Adjunct Professor at Marymount Manhattan College, teaching Tap, and will appear as a dancer in the upcoming Warner Bros. film The Bride.
SUB a.k.a ELIJAH BULLARD (Freestyle Artist) is an up & coming artist not in the sense of being in the early stages of artistic practice, this common tagline plays more into describing his ever rising growth as a creative force. Along with being one of a few identifiable resident Technical Director's in New York theater, Sub has spent years training the skill set of Freestyle you will witness as a part of The Remix. He is also a producer, writer, and visual artist, placing him amongst the new wave of multidisciplinary/multimedia talents contributing their work worldwide. Born and raised in New York, Sub's latest endeavors are centered around establishing artistic strongholds throughout the city. Starting with the LES in 2025, seeking to hold residency, Sub will be hosting his first night at The Delancey on May 29th, 2025. If you're available and wish to see more of Sub in action, feel welcome to visit The Delancey later as a continued celebration of the influence of hip hop in today's artists.
NAOMI FUNAKI (Tap Artist/Choreographer) is an award-winning tap dance artist from Tokyo, Japan, living in New York City. Since moving to New York in 2016 to pursue her career in tap dance, she has performed at New York City Center, Lincoln Center, The Joyce Theater, Radio City Music Hall, the MET Gala, Guggenheim Museum (New York City and Spain), Vail Dance Festival, and All Arts TV. Naomi is a 2025 Jadin Wong Fellowship recipient, 2023 Princess Grace Award winner, a 2024–2025 Joyce Creative Residency artist, and was one of Dance Magazine's "25 to Watch" in 2024. She has worked with Ayodele Casel, Caleb Teicher & Company, Music From The Sole, and Dorrance Dance. Choreography credits include Ayodele Casel's Artists at the Center at New York City Center, Associate Choreographer of
Diary of a Tap Dancer at The American Repertory Theatre, Assistant Choreographer for Bzzz at The Joyce Theater, and Assistant Tap Choreographer for New York City Center's Encores! Wonderful Town.
IZAIAH MONTAQUE HARRIS (Tap Artist) is a tap dancer, actor, and singer from Chicago, IL, and based in New York City. Izaiah's highlights include "Eddie Ryan" in the First National Tour of the Broadway Musical Revival Funny Girl; ensemble in N.Y. City Center's AyodeleArtists At The Center; "Dorian" in Kaleidoscope Entertainment's The Lady Valentina's Emporium of Success; ensemble in New York City Center's Tap Dance Kid, and "Demetrius" in Loft 51's Midsummer, A SHAKESPEARIENCE. His international credits are "Tap Brother" in a Dublin residency for the 25th Anniversary of RIVERDANCE; and "Tap Mathematician" on N.C.L.'s Escape Ship in the Broadway Musical After Midnight. When in New York, he entertains as Lead Vocalist and Tap Dancer for JC Hopkins's Biggish Band. Izaiah was awarded "Outstanding Actor" at the Black Theater Alliance Awards and was among the many who won "Best Ensemble" at the Jeff Awards for The Scottsboro Boys. Izaiah studied at Columbia College of Chicago, is a company member in the Chicago tap dance company MADD Rhythms, and is an alumnus of the 2021 Jacob's Pillow Tap Ensemble Intensive. Izaiah is represented by CESD and is a member of Actors Equity Association (AEA).
KEISEL JIMÉNEZ (Percussionist) is a percussionist specializing in timbal, congas, and drum set. Born in 1983 in Camagüey, Cuba. Jiménez works as a session musician as well as a live performer and is especially known for his work with Alexander Abreu y Havana D'Primera and Issac Delgado amongst others. Since 2017, he is an integral member of Arturo O'Farrill and Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra and has regularly performed at renowned venues globally such as the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, and the Elbe Philharmonic Hall in Hamburg, Germany.
QUYNN JOHNSON ED. M. (Tap Artist/Choreographer) is a Harvard and Howard University graduate, award-winning choreographer, and global arts educator from Flint, Michigan. A master tap dancer and teaching artist, she uses rhythm and movement to tell powerful stories in classrooms and on stages around the world. As co-founder of SOLE Defined, Quynn's work fuses tap, body percussion, and education, reaching over 150,000 learners across the U.S., Africa, and the Caribbean. She is the 2020 Awardee of the Kennedy Center Local Dance Commission Project. Her work has been featured at Maui Arts and Cultural Center, Dance Place, and more. Performance highlights include Ayodele Casel and Torya: Diary of a Tap Dancer, A.R.T.; Ayodele Casel: Chasing Magic, The Joyce Theatre; Great Gatsby, The Washington Ballet; Dormeshia: Unsung Sheroes of the 20th Century, Jacob's Pillow; Zaz: The Big Easy; Latida Negro, Gala Hispanic Theater; Savion Glover's TiiDii3000 Company. Tour: After Midnight (Soloist), Norwegian Cruise Line. She's also the author of Lucky's Tap Dancing Feet, a children's book about dreaming big and dancing louder.
RYAN K. JOHNSON, MFA (Percussive Dance Artist/ Choreographer/ Assistant Director) is the first body percussionist to receive a Guggenheim Choreography Fellowship (2024) and is the Executive Artistic Director of SOLE Defined Percussive Dance Company from Baltimore, MD. He has performed with notable figures like Gregory Hines and Marvin Hamlisch, appeared in Ayodele Casel's Diary of a Tap Dancer v.6, was featured rhythmic performer in Musicá by Amazon studio, and danced in popular shows such as STEP Afrika!, STOMP, Cirque Du Soleil, Rose Rabbit Lie, and resident tap dancer with The Washington Ballet under the direction of Septime Weber. His company has performed at venues like The Kennedy Center, The Lincoln Center, Jacob's Pillow, and Maui Cultural Arts Center, showcasing the joy and power of percussive dance. In 2023, he was excited to be awarded The John F. Kennedy Center's Social Impact Office Hours Residency to create The Pulse, which premiered at Jacob's Pillow. His current project, ZAZ: The Big Easy, is an awardee of the New England Foundation of Arts National Dance Project. He received the 2021 Bakers Award, the 2012 Coppin State University Dance Legacy Award, the 2010 DC Metro Award for Outstanding Individual Performance, and the 2008, 2017, and 2020 Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award. For more information: @rkjdance/ www.soledefined.com
JOHN MANZARI (Tap Artist) is a dancer, singer, actor & choreographer. Stage: Funny Girl (OBC); Anything Goes (MUNY); The Tap Dance Kid (Encores!); Bzzz. Television: Law & Order SVU; Black Broadway: A Proud History, A Limitless Future; Rooted; The Kennedy Center at 50. Concerts: one man shows Recenter & The First Set; guest appearances with the NYPops, NSO, Seattle, Houston, Vancouver symphonies and others; The Hot Sardines; Fall for Dance; Fall for Dance North; Amelia Island Dance Festival. Short Films: I Get Knocked Down; Ghost; To: Everything I Love; Slip. Documentaries: Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back; Leonard Soloway's Broadway.
TONY MCPHERSON (Poet) is a biracial-Black poet, dancer and artist from Oklahoma, based in New York City. His work appears on Button Poetry, Write About Now, SlamFind, Huffington Post, Upworthy, The Good Men Project, and elsewhere. Poems also appear in the Emmywinning documentary Brooklyn Slams, and Love Beats Rhymes by Lionsgate Films. Currently a Cave Canem fellow, McPherson creates poetry programming with the National Museum of African American History & Culture, and the Nuyorican Poets Cafe
RAÚL REYES (Bass/Composer), Cuban-born bassist and composer, moved to the United States in 2010 after seeking a new direction for his music career. Raul has been described as "a bassist with an advanced sense of rhythm," beautiful sound, time, and solos." Reyes's versatility in traditional jazz and contemporary jazz trends has earned him opportunities to work with artists such as Arturo O'Farrill, Geoffrey Keezer, Victor Lewis, Ayodele Chasel, among many others. In 2021, Raul moved to New York City to attend The Juilliard School. Since then, he has become a regular featured musician at premier jazz clubs such as Birdland, Dizzy's, Smalls Jazz Club, Mezzrow, and Blue Note.
FUNMI SOFOLA (Tap Artist) is an NYC-based multidisciplinary dancer from Seattle, WA. She is an alum of Jacob's Pillow, YoungArts, Dance Lab New York, and Pace University as a BFA Commercial Dance graduate. Funmi has worked with artists and companies such as Ayodele Casel, Caleb Teicher, Dormeshia, Jared Grimes, Marshal Davis Jr., Jessie Sawyers, SOLE Defined (Directed by Ryan K. Johnson, MFA and Quynn Johnson), Elements of Sound (Directed by Sydney Burtis), and Alchemy Tap Project (Directed by Josh Scribner). Stage credits include New York City Center (Encores! Jelly's Last Jam), The Joyce Theater (BZZZ), and American Repertory Theater (Diary of a Tap Dancer). As a choreographer, Funmi has had the privilege of presenting her work at the Young Choreographers' Festival and choreographing for Pace University (FTVC). She is inspired by music, culinary pursuits, Kurzgesagt videos, and all that brings her joy.
LIBERTY STYLES
(Tap Artist/DJ) concocts music that incorporates their voice and dance rhythms. With roots in the DIY music scene in Western Mass, Liberty is an avid beatmaker and tap dancer since moving to NYC in 2012. Liberty performs their live electronic set across NYC and internationally, bringing in exciting collaborators across jazz, hip hop, and dance. Credits include American Repertory Theater, New York Live Arts, and the Apollo Theater. They have toured the UK as a featured tap soloist with BBC Jazz Musician of the Year Xhosa Cole, , and have also performed in projects by Ayodele Casel, Orlando Hernandez, Ian Berg and Michela Marino Lerman. Liberty has been featured by Jazzwise, Billboard, and The Guardian.
CALEB TEICHER (Choreographer) is a New York City-based performer, choreographer, director, and curator regarded as a leading voice in musically-driven dance and interdisciplinary collaboration. Their stage presentations (Caleb Teicher & Company, SW!NG OUT, A Very SW!NG OUT Holiday, Bzzz, Counterpoint, Caleb Teicher & Nic Gareiss) have toured nearly every major arts presenter in the United States. Alongside New York City engagements, Caleb’s work will be presented in over twenty North American cities this year. Recently, Caleb founded the SW!NG OUT Community Fund to uplift and sustain social swing dance culture in New York City. They also continue to teach at international Vernacular Jazz & Lindy Hop festivals. Caleb has known Ayodele for over 20 years and is honored to be included in her latest production. www.CalebTeicher.net / Instagram: @CalebTeicher
JULIE BALLARD (Lighting Designer), USA829, is a professional lighting designer, ETCP-certified electrician, and theatrical technician. She is affiliated with IATSE Local 2 and the Actors' Equity Association. Additionally, Ms. Ballard is the owner/operator of OverlapLighting Productions, LLC, a freelance production company specializing in lighting design and production/stage management. She has designed for the Rennie Harris PureMovement, Giordano Dance Chicago, Ballet West, and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. She has freelanced for over two decades in and around the Midwest, touring regionally, nationally, and internationally with Hubbard Street, Pilobolus, Ladies of Hip Hop, The Seldoms, and David Dorfman Dance, among others. Theatre audiences have seen her designs in the U.S., across Europe, Siberia, and South Africa. Ms. Ballard holds degrees in Theater (BA, 1999) and
Lighting Design (MFA, 2004) from Kent State University and the University of Florida, respectively. Her digital footprint can be found at overlaplighting.com
CAMILLA DELY (Co-Costume Designer) is a South African costume designer and visual artist working across theater, opera, and dance. Her work spans international, regional, and off-Broadway productions in both traditional and unconventional spaces. Past designs include: King Lear (Almeida Theater, London), Diary of a Tap Dancer (American Repertory Theater), Akira Kurosawa Explains His Movies and Yogurt (Woolly Mammoth), Mary Gets Hers (The Playwright's Realm), Sense and Sensibility, Sisters, Beauty and The Beast (Northern Stage), Hurricane Diane (People's Light), A Christmas Carol (Trinity Rep), La Traviata (City Lyric Opera), Attempts on Her Life (TUTA), and Little Comedies (Alley Theater). Camilla is a Watson Fellowship and 1/52 Project Grant recipient and holds an MFA in Design for Stage and Film from NYU Tisch. camilladely.com
TATIANA KAHVEGIAN (Scenic Designer) is a Tony-nominated scenic designer based in Brooklyn, NY. She is originally from São Paulo, Brazil, and is of Armenian descent. Recent credits include: Broadway: The Outsiders (co-designed with Brett J. Banakis and Christine Jones), Bernard B. Jacobs Theater. Off-Broadway: Give Me Carmelita Tropicana! (co-designed with Mimi Lien), Soho Rep. Regional: Diary of a Tap Dancer, American Repertory Theater; Attempts on Her Life, Tuta; Sisters, Northern Stage.
AMANDA ROBERGE (Co-Costume Designer) is a New York-based costume designer for theater, opera, and film. She was associate costume designer for Ayodele's Diary of a Tap Dancer at A.R.T. and is thrilled to collaborate with this team for a second time. Recent works include the Climate Change Operas, (BAM, world premier), Ford/Hill (Public theater/ Wooly Mammoth), Pamela Palmer (Williamstown, world premier), Glass Menagerie, And Then There Were None (Alley theater), and Abe Lincoln in Illinois (Berkshire Theater Group). MFA NYU Tisch School of Design for Stage and Film.
ERIN MCCOY (Stage Manager)'s works include Diary of a Tap Dancer (American Repertory Theatre) Max Roach 100, Rooted Tour 2023, Artists At The Center ’23 (New York City Center), Chasing Magic (The Joyce Theater & Spoleto Festival), Fall for Dance ’22 (New York City Center) with Ayodele Casel. Theatrical works include Broadway/ National Tour: Bernhardt/Hamlet, Hamilton. Off-Broadway: Ain’t No Mo, Tiny Beautiful Things, Dry Powder, Buzzer, (Public Theater), The Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest (Public Theater Shakespeare in the Park), Sugar In Our Wounds (MTC). Regional: Moby-Dick (American Repertory Theater), The Folks at Home, Shakespeare in Love, Jazz (Baltimore Center Stage).
ALBERTO RUIZ (Technical Director) is a New York based production manager from Chicago. He’s currently the production manager at NYU Skirball and The Vail Dance Festival. Previous credits include work on the Broadway productions of Sunset Blvd. and Ain’t too Proud, several shows with the Atlantic Theatre Company, Tfana, and The Public theatre and 5 years at New York City Ballet.
MAYA ROSE ZEPEDA (Company Manager/Assistant Stage Manager) is a NYC-based recent graduate from Syracuse University. Works include The Little Mermaid (Syracuse Stage, SM Intern), Titus Andronicus (Southern California Shakespeare Festival, ASM), Romeo & Juliet (Southern California Shakespeare Festival, ASM). Educational: Sender (Syracuse University, ASM), Barbecue (Syracuse University, ASM), Touched (Syracuse University, PSM), Pippin (Syracuse University, PSM).