Saturday, Sep 20, 2025 at 4:00pm
Ayodele casel: freedom... In progress and new work
In partnership with Works Process LaunchPAD and building from last year's critically acclaimed phenomenon Freedom… In Progress, tapper Ayodele Casel once again creates a new work by ambitiously joining jazz legends Max Roach and Cecil Taylor—from their uncompromising 1979 improvised recording—with rhythmic love, control, sensitivity, and liberation.
Casel is sought after as a "tap dancer and choreographer of extraordinary depth," and a "force of wit and wonder" (New York Times). Known for her highly skilled and expansive improvisation, Casel's projects include her concert and Bessie Award-winning film Chasing Magic, and her Drama Desk-nominated work as tap choreographer for the Broadway revival of Funny Girl.
The performance on Friday, September 19 will include a post-show artists talk led by fellow festival artist Kayla Farrish.
Tivoli's newest restaurant addition and immediate hot spot, Club Sandwich, is offering specially curated picnic options for folks spending Saturday, September 20 on our beautiful grounds in between extraordinary dance events. Order meals when you buy your tickets and have them delivered onsite! Menu options appear after entering your contact details in checkout. Order by 12 PM, Thursday, September 18. Three picnic options are $20 each and come with a pickle, bag o' chips, and a Spindrift beverage. Vegan/Vegetarian/GF options available.
Kayla Farrish: Docile And A Beast
Two brand-new works from the insatiable dancemaker Kayla Farrish (2024 Annual Festival, Limón Dance Company commissioned choreographer) that draw on Black histories, jazz's reimagination, and magical realism.
DOCILE is a study on untaming, a play on light and darkness, inspired by James Baldwin's seminal questioning Notes of a Native Son as he bridged the decision of finding freedom outside of America's borders or returning home in the 1960s to commit himself to resistance movements. Turning towards and colliding with a vibration of freedom, this work witnesses a Black woman in a discovery of truth and a journey of release, asking "What transformation and wildness is possible in reclamation and seeing our full humanity?"
A Beast is an intimate and eruptive conversation between two people as they make sense of one another. They hold one another and listen, opening up to greater depth and feeling. Their words and songs spill into flight and physical risk. They uncover their personal power within, unraveling and finding themselves through the confrontation.
Schedule
4 PM - Ayodele casel: freedom... In progress and new work
7 PM - Kayla Farrish: Docile And A Beast
Additional Dates:
