Tapas Das in Blogs

How Braylon Browner Balances the Spotlight and the Studio

Since finishing in the Top 8 of “So You Think You Can Dance” Season 18, Braylon Browner has continued to carve out a dynamic presence both on and off the stage. Currently a sophomore at University of Southern California’s Glorya Kaufman School of Dance, he’s balancing teaching opportunities at conventions and studios across the country with a growing online fanbase. His improvisational videos, often filmed in Kaufman’s sun-drenched studios, have become viral highlights on Instagram and TikTok. “People message me all the time to say how healing my videos have been for them,” Browner says. “I think they’re drawn to the authenticity of it.”

Browner’s dancing is a unique blend of spontaneity and control, transitioning from intricate floorwork to textbook pirouettes with ease. His social media platforms also serve as a video diary, documenting his process of exploring and expanding upon choreographic phrases. As Browner continues to work toward his degree at USC Kaufman, he has no plans to stop sharing videos of his dancing—but he understands the responsibility that comes with such a platform. “I’m surrounded by such talented people at Kaufman, and I constantly have ideas to feed off of. It’s really inspiring to take choreography that resonates with you and play with it enough that it fully becomes your own.”

Photo by Julia Rose, Courtesy Browner.

Eternal Evolution

“In a recent class, Spenser Theberge said to us that you need to be allergic to the idea of ‘done.’ This mentality has helped my creative process so much—a finished product is great, but what if it could just always be evolving? It’s allowed me to create from a place of no pressure.”

Normalizing Off Days

“It would be dishonest to say that I love dance every single day, and that’s something I want to share with my audience. It may look like I have a perfect relationship to this art form, but there are days that I don’t—and that’s normal.”

Cutting the Cameras

“When I book studio time with the intention of filming, I always make sure to dance without a camera rolling for at least a few minutes before and after. It’s the most healing part for me. If I’m constantly filming just to capture that perfect moment of footage to post, I’m not growing—I’m just tearing down my self-esteem for no reason.”

The post How Braylon Browner Balances the Spotlight and the Studio appeared first on Dance Spirit.

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Tapas Das: Tapas Das, a young entrepreneur of our times started TWIST N TURNS in 2005. A person who is kind, generous, creative and down to earth wanted to start his own one of a kind dance academy. According to him, Dance is a language of movements that involves space, time and the human body. He was born and grew up in Kolkata, the cultural hub of India. Being appreciated in the field of dance all his life, he is extremely talented. He has been dancing since the age of four. Once he finished his high school, he learned jazz/modern and contemporary dance. His horizons were broadened even more when he started dancing Bollywood with Beat Busters for 4 years, which then was the most upcoming dance crew in Kolkata. After that exposure, he studied how to be a dance teacher, which later started helping him impart his knowledge about dance. Thus, in 2005, with the help of family and friends, he started TWIST N TURNS. Starting with a mere number of 40 students, today TWIST N TURNS currently has over 500 students. Over the time Tapas has taught and performed all over the country. He has performed in cities such as Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai, Jhansi, Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Udaipur etc. He has been an active participant in the Salsa India Congress in the cities of Bangalore and Bombay, and he has also visited various International Salsa Congresses in Europe, namely in Berlin ,Singapore, Hong Kong,Dubai. He is been also trained recently at Broadway Dance Center (New York), Alvin Alley (New York) and Steps on Broadway (New York). He is not only a dancer or teacher. He is a successful choreographer and has coordinated various shows without difficulty in our country. His leadership skills are exceptional, thus he is where he stands today. His aim in life would be to become a dance educator. He wants to share his tremendous knowledge in the right way to the right people. He is also, simultaneously running other brands like Zumba Kolkata, Bollywood Studio ArtistWala.com and India International Dance Institute.