ANJI CRAIN

Director/Facilitator

Anji Crain, a Louisiana native, is a choreographer/filmmaker, director of A+ Productions, and producer of the International New Dance Cinema Festival.  She has created over 25 dance films with professional dancers and students and has worked with top-tier performers from the likes of New York City Ballet, Parsons Dance, Philadanco, Ballet Hispanico, Broadway, So You Think You Can Dance, Freestyle B-boys/girls and more.  Her works have been featured live and in film festivals around the globe and she has been honored to present, perform and speak at festivals including the International Women in Arts Festival in Kendal, England and the Inaugural Women in Dance Leadership Festival in Baton Rouge Louisiana.  As a dancer, Anji has toured internationally with Decadancetheatre, Kinematik Dance and various independent artists and has had the opportunity to perform in such esteemed venues as Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Citi Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Southbank Center in London among others. Commercially, she has choreographed for such names as Macy’s, Nike, Kit Kat, State Farm, Reebok, the BBC, Red Hot Music, Sony music artists and more.  As a teacher and veteran arts educator, Anji has spent 8 years on staff at Peridance Center in NYC and works extensively in public education including with NYC Public schools and various initiatives such as Community Word Project and  Erasmus European partnerships for inclusive intercultural exchange (Germany, Poland and Greece).  Currently, Anji is completing her MFA at Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London - building upon her BA in Dance/Sociology from New York University. 

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For over 15 years Anji has been working within the industry of hip hop dance on the professional, academic and community arts levels.  Embedded in her work has been a commitment to honoring hip hop's foundations as well as the inherent potential for encouraging personal expression and empowerment.  Her growth in this field has included years of professional development in community settings and engagement with workshops and panels discussions on culture, race, appropriation, whiteness and the application and evolution of the art form.  Her work has been inclusive of all demographics, ages, abilities and gratefully, within an array of national and international contexts and locations. 

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Artist's Statement

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As a Louisiana native, I have always understood that the mixing of cultures here was unique, powerful and troublesome at the same time and have always felt indebted to those who have shaped this land.