Dance

Braham Logan Crane advises that anyone going to his group's show this weekend would do well to hold onto their hats. "It's going to be an action-packed performance," he raves about ASH Contemporary Dance. "The audience will be on the edge of their seats from the start to the ending bow."

Brash words indeed. And while the 22-year old choreographer is full of confidence, he's not into shouldering pretensions about what he's presenting. "I want it to be entertaining," he asserts. "I've been in pieces that are just boring. It may be art, but it's boring. I think you can be artistically fulfilled as well as keep your audience interested."

Stylistically, Crane's movement is a blend of contemporary, modern and jazz dance, though he hesitates to put specific labels on what he's doing, preferring to describe his approach as "a real fusion." The upcoming performance, featuring ASH's seven-member troupe, offers several new pieces, one of which ("3 Steps From Heaven") is choreographed by Mia Michaels, who has worked with Celine Dion, Cirque du Soleil and the Joffrey Ballet among many others. Crane nabbed the big-name dance-maker due to a friendship that began when he trained under Michaels eight years ago.

The other six selections on the program are all Crane's creations. Besides having an edge-of-the-seat energy, he promises a multifaceted evening full of technical prowess and emotion: "I think the word journey describes what the show is. It's really going to take people to a lot of different places."

ASH Contemporary Dance, Sat., Jan. 28, 8 p.m., $30, Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 3680 Walnut St., 215-898-3900 or 610-719-0144.