In My Body

Crazy Smooth is one of Canada’s leading street dance ambassadors, as well as a choreographer, dancer, sought-after instructor, judge and community leader. He is the founder and artistic director of Bboyizm, an award-winning dance company that has been instrumental in the preservation and proliferation of street dance in Canada and abroad.

Smooth founded Bboyizm in 2004, and the company has successfully brought authentic street dance choreography into professional theatre settings. Four of his full-length creations — THE EVOLUTION OF B-BOYING, IZM, MUSIC CREATES OPPORTUNITY and IN MY BODY — have toured throughout Canada.

Crazy Smooth was named the 2020 recipient of the Clifford E. Lee Award by the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity for his then work-in-progress IN MY BODY, developed during his 2019–2021 long-term residency at the Centre de Création O Vertigo in Montréal. The project received a CanDance Network Creation Fund grant and significant investment from the NAC National Creation Fund.

IN MY BODY won four Dora Awards in 2022, including Outstanding Performance for its co-presentation by Canadian Stage, dance Immersion and TO Live; Outstanding Original Choreography (Crazy Smooth); Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble (Bboyizm Company Dancers); and Outstanding Achievement in Design (Multimedia/Video Design, Thomas Payette).

Crazy Smooth was named Dancer of the Year at the 2023 Dynastie Awards, Québec’s foremost celebration of the province’s Black creators working in the cultural, entertainment and media industries. He is also the recipient of the Atlantic Presenters Association Touring Performer of the Year Award (2013) and the Ontario Presenters Network Emerging Touring Artist of the Year Award (2012).

Crazy Smooth has performed, taught, mentored and served as a judge at competitions and events in cities throughout the Americas and Europe.

Interview with Crazy Smooth (2023)

Why is it particularly difficult for a b-boy or b-girl to come to terms with an ageing body?

It is a human experience that we all share, but for a b-boy or b-girl it is particularly significant because, often without even realising it, their identity becomes closely tied to their physical abilities. There is also the way others see you, which has a powerful influence on how you see yourself.

I often say that when you begin a career in breaking, you sign a kind of contract that gives you superhero powers: you can achieve extraordinary things and inspire admiration in others. But in the small print, the contract also says that it will not last. Those powers will be taken away from you relatively quickly. When that happens, it can be a real shock.

Personally, I have been somewhat spared from that. The identity of “Crazy Smooth” is tied more to a certain kind of presence than to my physical abilities. But I have often heard these concerns expressed by people in the community. There is a certain fatalism, and even a sense of shame around no longer being able to live up to expectations. IN MY BODY offers many different perspectives on the ageing body. It begins with my own experience, but it is also about something we all share.

You bring three generations of performers together on stage. What does each generation contribute to the group dynamic?

First, there are the “OGs”, the original generation, also referred to as the elders or pioneers. Without them, it is just a circus. Their presence guides us. They are our “living libraries”. Their experience has a value that cannot be measured. We dance differently when they are there.

At the other end of the spectrum, the younger generation brings a sense of hope, much like in society as a whole: the possibilities seem endless. Constraints and responsibilities do not weigh on them in the same way yet. The liveliness and energy they bring to the group are essential. Street dance is rooted in youth culture. We need them.

Then there is my generation, the one in between. We act as a bridge between the younger dancers and the elders. Without us, there can be friction. We reassure the pioneers that what has been built will be preserved, and we reassure the younger generation that they will be heard and understood, while also keeping them grounded. It is an ecosystem you find throughout the world of street dance, and I wanted to bring that dynamic onto the stage. None of these groups can exist without the others.

How do you preserve the codes of street dance — strength, intensity and power — while also allowing vulnerability to be visible?

It is a major taboo. Part of hip-hop culture — and street dance culture as well — is about presenting yourself as the best, the strongest, the richest. Artists from this culture do not tend to talk about the things in life that make us vulnerable. The same is true for dancers.

Movement becomes harder as you get older. That is simply part of life, but we do not talk about it. I wanted to expose that taboo rather than present an image of perfection.

In the performance, we accomplish incredible physical feats to music... and then the music stops. Suddenly, you hear the physical effort the performer is making, and the internal struggles they are dealing with become visible. The dancers are at war with their limbs, with their joints. A certain beauty emerges through the rhythm of contact and through the performer’s breathing as they fight with their own body to maintain that level of intensity.

That is where the vulnerability lies: in openly revealing what is happening “in my body”.

What does the Ghanaian word “Sankofa”, which is central to the narrative structure of the piece, mean?

Sankofa is about the transmission of tradition. Literally, in Twi, a language spoken in Ghana, the word means “to look back into the past”. We stand on the shoulders of our ancestors and build on what they have achieved in order to create what comes next. It is the only way to keep an ecosystem in balance.

No one escapes the friction of ageing. Sankofa is also about acceptance. Accepting that you are growing older can bring a certain inner peace. It is a form of freedom.

One of my mentors, Tedd Robinson, once told me the metaphor of the pianist. At first, the pianist reads the notes. Gradually, they forget the score and simply play. That frequency, that state of being in which you play without thinking, is about being fully present in the moment.

That is also what I call the “izm”, which is where the name of my company, Bboyizm, comes from. I am always striving towards that ultimate state of being.

Source: FTA – Festival TransAmériques

https://fta.ca/fr/nouvelles/entretien-avec-crazy-smooth-2023

«[Crazy Smooth] challenges the myth that aging is the death knell for a dancer » (Q, Tom Power, CBC Radio one, Feb, 24 2022)

« Powerful multi-disciplinary performance showcases bravery in battle against time » (Andrew Stuetz, The Toronto Observer, March, 5, 2022)

« In My Body shows us that age is merely a number and that the bravest thing a dancer can do is grow old. » (Andrew Stuetz, The Toronto Observer, March, 5, 2022)

« an impressive cast of intergenerational dancers » (Andrew Stuetz, The Toronto Observer, March, 5, 2022)

« In My Body is a major accomplishment for street dance in Canada. Crazy Smooth and crew deliver jaw-dropping choreography while carrying a powerful message of intergenerational community and resiliency. Our audiences were as energized as they were moved by the high-level artistry of the production. In My Body satisfies on every level: the dancing is exceptional, the production values are strong, and the message is uplifting. » (Brendan Healy, Artistic Director, Canadian Stage, 2022)

Choreograph Crazy Smooth Assistant choreographer + Rehearsal director Saxon Fraser  Dancers Crazy Smooth, DKC Freeze, Tash, Nubian Néné, JC Fresh, Montuu, Savage Rock, JK-47, Ange, Anyo (zweite Besetzung) Artistic advisor Melly Mel Original Music DJ Shash’U Writer Alejandro Rodriguez Costume designer Sonya Bayer & Melly Mel Dramaturgical consultancy Sophie Michaud Lighting Design Chantal Labonté Programming Charles-Éric Gandubert (Interactiv Box) Multimedia Thomas Payette (mirari) Video Vincent Papineau Set design Xavier Mary (mirari) Technical Director + Production Achille Martineau Tour Manager A.J. Morra International representation Maison Verso Guest performance support Conseil des arts du Canada (CAC), Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ), Vertretung der Regierung von Québec in Berlin Creation University of Alberta, Timms Centre for the Arts, 4. März 2022

Production Centre de Création O Vertigo (CCOV), mit Unterstützung von National Arts Centre’s National Creation Fund Co-production Bboyizm, The CanDance Network Creation Fund, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Brian Webb Dance Company, Yukon Arts Centre, Dance Immersion, Canadian Stage Funding Conseil des arts du Canada (CAC), Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ)

https://www.bboyizm.ca