Training in NYC

Armando Braswell is a professional dancer from Brooklyn, NY. While attending LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts, he also briefly trained at the School of American Ballet and The Ailey School. Upon graduating, Armando was accepted to The Juilliard School and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Dance in 2006. During his time in high school and college, Armando was engaged as a soloist for the Metropolitan Opera Ballet. Combined with his time as a freelance artist, Armando was fortunate enough to work with Abdel Salaam, Roger Jeffrey, Nathan Trice, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Camille Brown, Pedro Ruiz, Michael Blake, H. T. Chen, Pat Catterson, Matthew Rushing, Ronald K. Brown, Jessica Lang, Adam Hougland, Jill Johnson, Jacqueline Buglisi, and Stanton Welsh.

Performance Career in Europe

In June 2006, Armando moved to Germany to dance with Ballet Theater Munich under the direction of Philip Taylor. In 2007, he became a founding member of Gauthier Dance at Theaterhaus Stuttgart in Germany. In August 2012, Armando moved to Basel, Switzerland, to join the Ballett Theater Basel as a soloist. Armando has danced ballets by Jiří Kylián, William Forsythe, Nacho Duato, Hans Van Manen, Paul Lightfoot/Sol León, Mauro Bigonzetti, Stijn Celis, Johan Inger, Alexander Ekman, Richard Wherlock, Christian Spuck, Richard Alston, Elliot Feld, Carolyn Carlson, Alejandro Cerrudo, Stephan Thoss, Bryan Arias, Joelle Bouvier, Itzik Galili, and Hofesh Schecter.

Teaching and Workshops

Aside from his dancing career, Armando has established himself as a guest teacher in high demand. He continues to give workshops and guest classes all over the world, visiting The Juilliard School, The ABT Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, The Royal Swedish Ballet School, The School of American Ballet, The Playground NYC, LaGuardia High School NYC, Dance Alps Festival, MOVE NYC, Tanz Frankfurt, and Bolzano Danza in Italy, to name a few. From 2010-2012, Armando was a permanent Jazz faculty member at the New York City Dance School in Stuttgart, Germany. From 2014-2020, he was on the Modern faculty at The Basel Theater Ballet School. From 2015-2019, Armando was a Contemporary teacher at Migros Kulturprozent. From 2015-2021, he was the movement coach for the Opera and OperAvenir at Theater Basel. From 2019-2021, he was the Contemporary teacher at the Prix De Lausanne. Since 2022, Armando has been on the contemporary staff at Tanz Akademie Zurich at ZhdK.

In 2015, Armando began to build an arts community in Basel where dancers of all levels and body types could train in a supportive and professional environment. This idea expanded, and in 2017, he and his wife Lisa founded the Braswell Arts Center – a space for innovation and collaboration in all art forms located in Basel, Switzerland. In 2019, they officially founded the Braswell Arts Association, a non-profit arts organization dedicated to supporting emerging and established artists. Through arts education and exchange, Armando hopes to encourage collaboration, the creation of new works of art, and to promote networking and entrepreneurship within the local and international arts community.

Community Outreach

Armando’s passion for community outreach began with his participation in LaGuardia High School‘s Community Touring Group. He continued this work in Europe through the Gauthier Dance Mobil Program, performing in over 100 hospitals and senior homes. He also led “Ready to Dance” with Mercedes-Benz Bank and Theaterhaus Stuttgart, preparing youth for stage performances. In Basel, Armando was a part of the Theater Basel Junge Haus, a team dedicated to community arts programming. He also developed the BAC Kids social program, providing dance education and outreach. Recently, his cultural exchange program, Brooklyn To Basel, gave 15 young dancers from Brooklyn the chance to explore Europe.

Choreography for Stage

Armando Braswell’s choreographic works span a wide range of venues and years, showcasing his versatility and creativity. In 2024, he created “Devoted” for Desales University and “Echo” for Kunstmuseum Basel. In 2023, his piece “Mary” premiered at LaGuardia High School NYC. During the pandemic in 2020, he presented “Quarantine Creation” on TeleBasel. His 2019 works include “Hidden Figures” at Forum Würth Arlesheim and “Digital Dance” with ETAVIS. In 2018, he produced a new work for the Dance Alps Festival. In 2017, he choreographed “Uneven Variations” for Theater Basel, “Duet Duet” for IWB Filter 4, and a new piece for the JURA International Conference featuring the Ballet School Theater Basel. His 2016 creations include “Undone” at Liederhalle Stuttgart and another new work for the CLINAM Conference. In 2015, Armando presented “Duets on a Theme of Hope” at Oekolampad Kirche and “Excuse” as a part of the World Expo Milan-Swiss Pavilion. His 2014 works include “Pas-Varotti” for the Noverre Gesellschaft, “Venus and Mars” for a music video by Elaine Müller, and “Divertissement” at Theater Basel. Between 2012 and 2014, he created five new works for the Ukrainian TV show “Танцюють всі!” (So You Think You Can Dance). From 2010 to 2013, he produced five choreographies for Theaterhaus Stuttgart “Out Of The Box” young choreographers program. His 2009 works include “Duet for Six” at Stuttgart Schauspielhaus and “Push” at Rotubhulplatz Theater. In 2008, “In Passage” was showcased at Hannover Operahaus, and in 2007, he created “Meet Me Halfway” for Gärtnerplatztheater.

Interview En L’air and Other Published Writings

Armando’s online arts journal, Interview En L’air, offers a quick peek into the minds of choreographers, directors, photographers, and other dance-inspired artists worldwide. Since 2015, Armando has been a permanent correspondent for DANCE FOR YOU Magazine with his column “Real Talk with Armando Braswell,” designed to help young dancers and professionals by providing the whole truth about the challenges faced by artists on and off stage. In collaboration with Richard Wherlock and Theater Basel, Armando and his team create Inside Ballet Theater Basel, a blog about the high-quality contemporary company in Switzerland, Ballett Theater Basel. Armando continues to give live interviews and lectures at the Braswell Arts Center and abroad.

Lectures and Speeches

Armando Braswell has delivered various lectures and speeches on a range of topics across prestigious platforms. His notable engagements include Rhythm at Creative Mornings in Basel, Switzerland, and Dialogues in Dance at Marymount Manhattan Dance College in New York, USA. He spoke on Dancing in Europe at the School of American Ballet in New York City, USA, and A Career In Dance at the Prix De Lausanne Summer Intensive in Lausanne, Switzerland. Armando and his wife Lisa shared insights on Starting a Business at the Swisspeers Start-up Event in Basel, Switzerland. Armando also participated in the Entrepreneur Symposium at The Juilliard School in New York, USA, and delivered a talk titled Drive and Inspiration at Roche Pharmaceuticals in Basel, Switzerland. He engaged in and presented Desk Dancing at the Novartis Online Symposium in Basel, Switzerland.

Installations

Armando Braswell’s installations merge art, technology, and audience interaction to deliver high-quality performance art, showcased at galleries and festivals in Germany and Switzerland. His notable works include “On The Run,” a movement and sound installation premiered at the Kunst Im Klub Festival in Stuttgart in 2011, in collaboration with Phillip Kannicht. In 2012, he presented “Pacemaker//Emotion,” a kinetic sculpture, at the same festival, created with composer Phillip Kannicht and photographer Joachim Riederer. “Heart,” another installation, premiered at the Kunst Im Klub Festival in 2013, a collaboration involving composer Phillip Kannicht, photographer Joachim Riederer, and Dr. Permi Jhooti. In 2015, Armando introduced “Hueman” at the Colours Festival in Stuttgart, again collaborating with composer Phillip Kannicht, photographer Joachim Riederer, and Dr. Permi Jhooti.