Today we’d like to introduce you to Brie Crane.
Hi Brie, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Braham and I both come from dance families. His mother owned a studio growing up, and my grandmother danced professionally in New York, so I think it’s quite literally “in our blood”.
We both grew up training, competing and taking every class we could get to. Learning is what still sets my heart on fire today. I love to be inspired and we both strive daily to be better than the day before.
Braham started ARTISTS SIMPLY HUMAN 15 years ago. He has grown it in to one of the best avenues for dance education there is. Anyone that attends his convention leaves feeling changed. They travel to 20 cities around the United States and teach close to 1000 students per city.
I always knew I was meant to teach. I opened Mia Bella Academy Of Dance 16 years ago, and feel like this is a huge part of the fulfillment of a childhood dream. We aspire to be a place for everyone to dance. You want to be a professional-we got you. I have dancers in numerous college dance programs, elite collegiate dance teams, NFL teams, NBA teams, NHL teams, movies, TV…etc. My kids have done all the things. You want to enroll your 18 month old in a baby ballet, we have that, too. Want to fall somewhere in between-check. We service all ages, all levels, our oldest client is 91 years young. We do it all, and we do it all with style!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
COVID 19 was a huge speed bump for both of us and our businesses. You would think that when we were home bound for 3 months, people in our industry would have down time! Not us!
We hosted virtual classes, virtual competition nationals, online forums, private lessons, dress up days, and two car parades complete with live music!
We both feel like we worked even harder during the pandemic than usual! And I was pregnant with our last son, Judah, at the time also!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Braham started Artists Simply Human to be a legacy for his brother, Asher, who suffers from severe mental and physical handicaps. He is most proud of being able to give Asher a lasting contribution to the world.
I am most proud of being able to show the young woman of today that hard work, dedication and grit can lead you where ever you want go! Dance is the language I use, my medium, but I am teaching so much more than that!
How do you think about luck?
We believe when you work hard you create your own luck!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ashdance.com, www.miabelladance.com
- Instagram: @artistssimplyhuman, @miabellacademyofdance
