Today we’d like to introduce you to Trae Turner.
Hi Trae, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’m part street dancer, part artist, part educator. I learned to dance on the streets of Chicago, trained as a professional in LA, and learned how to teach and educate as an instructor at the prestigious Lou Conte Dance Studio for over a decade. I’ve choreographed for major artists, but for the past 15 years I’ve put all my focus and energy into teaching Hip Hop, Commercial, and Black Diaspora dance at the highest level.
In 2009, I founded BOOM CRACK! Dance Company, a professional commercial dance company focused on productions and film visuals. Over the following decade, I founded two more companies: BOOM BOX!, a pre-professional company for teens pursuing a career in dance, and BANG BANG!, a pre-professional recreational company for adults. In 2012, I launched the BOOM CRACK! summer intensives — one for adults, one for teens.
I feel a deep responsibility to teach Hip Hop and Commercial dance properly, and to train the Chicago community at a high level. I’ve been faculty at Columbia College Chicago for the past 18 years, where I’ve helped build a strong Hip Hop/Commercial dance track. Over the past five years, I’ve also traveled the country doing short residencies at universities to support Commercial dance education, including Berklee, Florida State, Western Michigan, and Slippery Rock University, among others.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Trust has always been one of my biggest obstacles — trusting myself as a teacher, as a choreographer, trusting that I’m the right fit for a room or a project. And on the flip side, earning that trust from others. Losing a gig to someone else is something almost every dancer struggles with at some point — it’s part of the industry. But I think learning to sit with that uncertainty, and still show up and do the work, has been as much a part of my growth as any technique I’ve taught.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Being a creative is both a gift and a curse. My brain never stops — it’s always visualizing, conceptualizing, structuring something. The reward is watching an idea come to life. But more often than not, what actually materializes is only a fraction of what existed in your head. And that gap costs you something — motivation, hope, energy, time, sometimes even friendships. That’s the price of being a creative that people don’t always talk about.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
No.
Pricing:
- no
Contact Info:
- Website: https://boomcrack.com
- Instagram: @boomcrackdance @bangbangdanceco
