Flying Into New Territory
At 24 years old, Braham Logan Crane is moving to the forefront of contemporary jazz choreographers. He is young, passionate and produces innovative work. Currently living in Philadelphia, Crane began dancing at age two at his mother’s studio, Crane Performing Arts School, in West Chester, PA. He came from a family of performers and is a self-proclaimed 3rd generation dancer. Crane’s grandmother danced in vaudeville and owned the dance studio where his mother studied.
“Family holidays are fun. They used to be different when my grandmother was still around. She used to sing or do dances on the holidays. She had a studio in the basement of her house so sometimes she would take us grandchildren downstairs and teach us dances. But now, our holidays are pretty much like everyone else’s. We aren’t doing crazy kick lines at Christmas like people might think.”
Crane began his studies with tap and hip-hop, feeling it was more masculine and mainstream, but quickly added ballet and jazz to his repertoire. Among his many training pursuits, Crane studied at Interlochen Arts Center in Michigan at the age of 12. He went on to train at the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Arts and studied privately with world-renowned choreographer Eddy Toussaint and at the Miami City Ballet School in Miami, FL.
In 2003, Crane created the Artists Simply Human (ASH) Contemporary Dance Company. The company began with six dancers and blended elements of jazz, hip-hop and ballet as well as other forms. With this company, Crane won the Leo’s Gold Medal for excellence in jazz dance choreography at the Jazz Dance World Congress International Choreography Competition in Buffalo, NY. At the age of 19, he was the youngest choreographer to ever receive this prestigious honor. With all the complexities of directing a professional non-profit dance company, it is remarkable that Crane was able to accomplish this at such a young age. He credits his upbringing.
“Having the background I had definitely gave me an advantage. Being around the studio at a young age makes you grow up quickly. I was teaching already at 14 and I was even helping to run the studio when I was in high school. It definitely taught me responsibility and organizational skills.”
In 2004, Crane collaborated with Carlos Lopez, soloist with American Ballet Theatre, on the piece “Con Te Partiro.” Although Lopez is an extremely balletic dancer, it did not interfere with his ability to perform strong jazz movements. “Con Te Partiro,” which has more classical influence than some of Crane’s other works, is ballet-based with clean lines of the upper body. Crane originally choreographed the piece for Lopez to use for ballet galas such as “Stars of the 21st Century.”
Photo by Deborah Boardman
“Had I choreographed ‘Con Te Partiro’ for the company, perhaps it would’ve looked different. Carlos and I had to meet in the middle to serve the purpose of the piece.” His most recognized work with ASH is “History.” The movements, in contrast to those in “Con Te Partiro,” have a soft upper body, with many of the motions initiating from the extremities and flowing through the spine. There are ballet elements as well as the use of modern releases and spiral techniques. An important influence on his creation of “History” was his unique relationship with musician Angela Ai. Their relationship began in 2003 when Crane was living in New York. Crane went to a singer/songwriter showcase where he met Ai and fell in love with her music. “We worked in a recording studio for a bit beforehand. The music came first in terms of choreography but we made a lot of changes to her compositions to enable them to fit my vision. Angela now performs the versions that we worked out together. Who knows, maybe I’ll be her next music producer in my next career!”
Ai and Crane started working on “History” in September 2006.
“The first day of rehearsal, we didn’t dance at all. We sat and talked about what the songs meant to her and then the dancers talked about their own similar experiences. This went on for 8 hours. We were all connected on this journey, and truly committed to the piece. You can’t force genuine connection to your work, it has to come from an honest, real place.”
Though exciting, the burden of being an artistic director began taking its toll on Crane. It consumed all his time, time that he would have rather devoted to his choreography and art.
“Having a company for me was like getting my master’s degree. It taught me so much. From all the castings, fundraisers, grant writing the list goes on and on. Right now I am parting from the idea of having a full-time company. If I devote all my time to that, I won’t have the time or energy to pursue other goals. I don’t need a full-time company to do all the projects I am committed to.” These days, Crane is focusing more on independent projects and commissions. For 2009, he has been commissioned to set his work for Odyssey Dance Theatre in Utah and the Houston Metropolitan Dance Company. He also hopes to break into commercial work for television and film. Crane is grateful for his experience directing ASH and feels the lessons learned and the experiences gained as artistic director are invaluable. Crane recently collaborated with Rasta Thomas’ company Bad Boys of Dance. He set his signature piece “Ghosts of Things to Come” on the company, which is currently being performed on tour. Crane also set a new contemporary duet on Thomas and his partner/wife, Adrienne Canterna. He enjoyed watching Thomas’ group perform his ideas and concepts without the headache of being the artistic director, an opportunity that gave him more freedom to focus on his craft.
In addition to choreography, Crane is a teaching professional. He served on the faculty at the Virginia School of the Arts and currently guest teaches at Broadway Dance Center. With a bold style that ranges from hip-hop to ballet, Crane likes to push his students beyond their comfort zones.
“I challenge the students to go to that place that may be uncomfortable and to connect their movement through their mind, body and soul… When you are in the moment and truly committed, it is art. This is what separates dancers from artists.”
Braham Logan Crane will be departing his home in Philadelphia and moving back to New York City in the fall. To find out more, visit www.brahamcrane.com.