Yo-EL Cassell

A dynamic, inspiring, and prolific hearing-impaired theatre artist with an accomplished and extensive movement performance, choreographic, direction, and teaching experience for Theatre (Drama, Physical and Musical Theatre), dance, opera, and film whose achievements lie in his collaborative and spirited mission of breaking through the boundaries of access via physical expression. Yo-EL Cassell‘s life-long aspiration and research focuses on three keywords: accessibility, diversity, and joyfulness—engineering the importance of allowing the practical, performative, and creative channels of movement to be accessible for all; regardless of experience, discipline, disability, gender, and socioeconomics means. Mr. Cassell’s unconventional teaching and creative approach encourages and champions the importance of how each individual’s physical instrument—their body–is the solution to expressing their inner landscape, balancing the essentiality of owning in equal measure: the expressive and informative self within the movement of creativity, performance, and life. Mr. Cassell developed The J.O.Y. approach in movement which practices the importance of embracing and embodying JOY– not merely one’s own happiness but one’s “J”ourney “O”f “Y”outh– mindset in practice, allowing one to embrace the mindset of a child when activating within time and space– particularly, the curious, explorative, creative and imaginative mindset. Due to his hearing impairment, Mr. Cassell connected with the channel of physical expression at the age of three to respond to senses he could access and fill in the blanks physically for what he was missing via the act of hearing. Mr. Cassell continuously believes that he began to “hear” when he moved, thus beginning a lifelong commitment and passion to embodying, creating and accessing movement in any shape or form.

Mr. Cassell was resident choreographer for Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, choreographing, coaching, and directing movement for nine years. Additionally, he has provided choreography/movement direction for The Lily’s Revenge at The American Repertory Theatre featuring acclaimed artist Taylor Mac and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime (IRNE Award Nomination-Best Choreography) as well as The Inheritance, Parts I and II (Elliot Norton Award-Outstanding Production and Outstanding Ensemble), for SpeakEasy Stage Company of Boston. His choreography and movement direction were also featured in productions for Celebrity Series of Boston, The Lyric Stage Company of Boston, New Repertory Theatre, The Nantucket Dreamland Theatre, Boston Landmarks Orchestra, Boston Opera Collaborative, Virginia Opera, San Antonio Repertory Ballet, Skidmore College, New England Conservatory, Actors’ Shakespeare Project, Emerson Stage and Boston Playwright’s Theatre. He has also produced, choreographed, and directed the acclaimed Off-Broadway original production of Moonlight Interior at New York’s Sande Shurin Theatre, featuring nationally acclaimed singer-songwriter Jann Klose. Additional experience includes direction and movement direction for Boston University’s Wheelock Family Theatre’s production of Gooney Bird and Her True-Life Adventures as well as choreography and movement direction for the independent films, Cultivating Stillness and Shadow of the Sun among others. Mr. Cassell was Assistant Artistic Director and Resident Choreographer for The Shadow Box Theater in NYC and is a member of The Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), The Choreographers Guild as well as The Association of Theatre Movement Educators (ATME) for which he serves as a member of the executive board. He is the key-note speaker and organizer for the ATME Pre-Conference embracing the theme of “THISability—creating accessibility for diverse bodies in space and time”. He is also on the executive board at Reagle Music Theatre in MA.

As a performer, Mr. Cassell’s experiences include an appearance on Shining Time Station with Ringo Starr (PBS, Debut Episode/Featured Performer), Anatomy of a Ballet (PBS), A Christmas Carol at McCarter Theatre (Scott Ellis, Director/Rob Marshall, Choreographer), La Fille mal Gardée, Orfeo ed Euridice(Virginia Opera/Darko Tresnjak, director), Ahab’s Wife, and Anthony William’s The Urban Nutcracker. In NYC, he was also a company member of The American Mime Theatre, The Pearl Lang Dance Theater, Spencer/Colton Dance, Heidi Latsky Dance, H.T. Chen and Dancers, Dance Compass and Palissimo Dance Theatre in which he was featured in their acclaimed production of Blind Spot at PS122 in NYC. His training includes Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance, Paul Taylor School, American Repertory Ballet, Connecticut Ballet, Alvin Ailey School, The University of the Arts, and The High School of Performing Arts in NJ.

Mr. Cassell’s teaching experience includes the NY Acting School for Film and Television, Harvard University Dance Department, New England Conservatory, Walnut Hill School for the Arts, Accademia Dell’s Arte in Arezzo, Italy, Sunshine Cottage School For Deaf Children in Texas, Commonwealth Shakespeare Apprentice Academy, Boston Ballet, Dance Complex, and Skidmore College, where he served as a guest teaching artist/choreographer in residence for three years. For the BU College of Fine Arts School of Theatre, Mr. Cassell founded and developed “InMotion Theatre”, a performance initiative that highlights storytelling–either via an original work or an adaptation–primarily through the lens of many diverse approaches of movement, including how we see physical energy in design and music. Mr. Cassell believes that creativity first begins with being curious.

“If we embrace the spine and mind of a child, we open the door of freedom to make visible our imagination.”- Keynote Speech, 2020

For more on Mr. Cassell, visit yo-el.squarespace.com.

“Yo-EL Cassell doesn’t see things the way most of us do.”— Joel Brown, BU Today staff writer

A Glimpse of Mr. Cassell’s teaching at BU:
Movement I: The Expressive Human Instrument First Year Performance Core
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mipgAmk5ypo

Publications

• Why Would We Move? Musings on Movement Practice and Training Howlround
• Meet Yo-El Cassell of Boston University College of Fine Arts School of Theatre Boston Voyager
• For CFA’s Cassell, Movement is an Expression of Inner Truth BU Today
• Boston Ballet’s Citydance program strong after 20 years The Boston Globe
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time TheaterMania
• Falling Back in Love… With Movement and Myself Broadway World
• Episode 71: Yo-EL Cassell Making Sound with Jann Klose Podcast

Awards

• Lotte Kaliski Award
• Kennedy Center Thought Leadership Fellowship
• New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) Creative City Grant
• IRNE Nomination (Best Choreography: “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime”)
• Silo Guest Artist Residency fellowship for Creative Development