WEEK FOUR

SEPT 19

7 PM: Ayodele Casel: Freedom… In Progress (v.2)

SEPT 20*

4 PM: Ayodele Casel: Freedom… In Progress (v.2)

7 PM: Kayla Farrish: DOCILE and

A Beast

SEPT 21

2 PM: Kayla Farrish: DOCILE and

A Beast

*SEPT 20: Order a meal in advance to enjoy onsite!

Photo by Steven Pisano

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 7 PM

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER, 20, 4 PM

AYODELE CASEL: FREEDOM… IN PROGRESS (V.2)

Presented in partnership with Works + Process LaunchPAD: Following last year’s critically acclaimed phenomenon Freedom…In Progress, tap dancer and choreographer Ayodele Casel returns to the electrifying 1979 improvisation of jazz legends Max Roach and Cecil Taylor—meeting their fearless exchange with her own blend of rhythmic love, precision, and liberation. During her residency at Kaatsbaan, Casel has deepened this exploration, shaping it into a first draft of an evening-length work.

The performance on Friday, September 19 will include a post-show artists talk led by fellow festival artist Kayla Farrish.

FRI, SEPT 19: 7 PM

SAT, SEPT 20: 4 PM

$25 General Admission

$15 Students with ID

$40 for both Ayodele Casel and Kayla Farrish

60 minutes, includes intermission

Black Box Theater, Studio Complex (indoors)

Courtesy Ayodele Casel

Born in The Bronx and raised in Puerto Rico, Casel has created several acclaimed works, including her Bessie Award-winning film Chasing Magic and her Drama Desk-nominated work as tap choreographer for the Broadway revival of Funny Girl.

Matching Taylor and Roach’s flurries of notes and beats, she created counter-rhythms with her feet, listening, responding, trilling. It would be impossible for me to say how long the improvisation lasted—it seemed both eternal and to pass in the blink of an eye. There was no space for the mind to wander as it followed her arcs of thought into the present of now, and then now, and then now.

—Marina Harss, Dancing Around