about torya

Torya Beard is a New York-based director, producer, choreographer, and creative consultant whose dynamic career spans over 25 years in dance, theater, and arts leadership. Renowned for her ability to move seamlessly between creative development and strategic production, she has been a steadfast supporter of performing artists, offering expertise in general operations, marketing, public relations, creative consulting, and producing. As the founder of thatgirl006, Inc., a creative consultancy firm, she operated for over a decade, she worked with Philadanco, Tiffany Rea-Fisher, Evidence: A Dance Company, Charlotte Brathwaite,The Classical Theatre of Harlem, and Deeply Rooted Dance Theatre, among others. 

 

In 2022, Beard was honored with the inaugural CIPA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Creative Producing, recognizing her visionary leadership in the field. That same year, she was featured in Variety and Lifetime's Power of Women: The Changemakers special for her work with the arts-based youth development organization, A BroaderWay Foundation.

 

Her producing and directing credits include Ayodele Casel: The Remix, Freedom... In Progress for the Max Roach Centennial (co-creator), select events/productions for L’Alliance New York’s 2024 Crossing the Line Festival, the 2023 New York Dance and Performance Awards—The Bessies (creative producer), and the all-female Jesus Christ Superstar – In Concert and companion studio album Jesus Christ Superstar: Highlights from the All-Female Studio Cast Recording (executive producer), and directed the American Repertory Theater's 2022 Gala. Broadway credits include Swing/Dance Captain for The Lion King, Assistant Director for the Broadway revival of Funny Girl (2022). and Waitress (2021). 

 

At the heart of Torya's creative life is her enduring partnership with tap artist Ayodele Casel. Together, they have created works that blend dynamic tap rhythms with intricate storytelling, creating an entirely new language for the dance form. These collaborations have not only pushed the boundaries of traditional tap dance but also explored themes of identity, culture, and the Black American experience. Their shared vision has earned them recognition across the industry, with their performances being lauded for their emotional depth and technical brilliance.

 

Their work together has included pieces such as Chasing Magic (Bessie Award-winning film and subsequent stage production) and Diary of a Tap Dancer, both presented at major performance venues such as the American Repertory Theater and The Joyce Theater. They also co-directed Rooted, a film for PBS ALL ARTS that reflects on the historical figures and events that have shaped society. The project blends oral history—featuring civil rights lawyer Sherrilyn Ifill—with original performances by dancers, composers, and writers, exploring lineage, justice, and creative expression. The film received a 2025 NY EMMY Nomination. Additionally, they created commissions for New York City Center, including Where We Dwell and Rooted (which toured all five boroughs as part of the Center's inaugural On The Moveinitiative), and have served as Resident Directors of Dance Lab New York's Tap Project since 2020.

 

The duo recently formed Chasing Magic, Inc., a creative endeavor venture which formalizes their partnership and provides a structural container for their creative and advocacy work. Through this venture, they design and maintain archives of their own and others' works, develop educational resources, produce new performance projects, and support independent artists as they navigate relationships with arts institutions and presenters.

 

As an arts educator, Torya is deeply committed to developing the next generation of artists and leaders. She has developed educational arts programs, led residencies, taught dance/theatre master classes, and directed productions at high schools, colleges, and universities across the country. Most recently at Syracuse University (MT), the University of Michigan (MT/Dance), and Yale (Dance). Her 13-year tenure with a youth-centered nonprofit—where she rose from dance teacher to creative director to Executive Director—remains foundational to her approach, informing her belief in the transformative power of arts education at every level. She has also served as Arts Admin Consultant for Harvard University ArtLab. Torya has been the Artistic Director at Excellence Community Schools—a network of high-performing public charter schools committed to college preparation and arts integration—since 2021.

 

An alumna of the University of Michigan's dance program, Torya performed as a company member with Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, David Rousseve/Reality, Ronald K. Brown/Evidence, Deeply Rooted Chicago Dance Theater, The Kevin Wynn Collection, and toured with Donald Byrd's The Harlem Nutcracker, and was featured in the film Idlewild. 

 

Torya is Co-Founder of tall poPpy, an artist-led social enterprise committed to equity and expression through the arts, alongside collaborators Darren Biggart and Jeanine Tesori, holds a High-Performance Leadership Certificate from Cornell University and serves on the board of dance-theatre-media company, the feath3r theory (TF3T).