LaVelle Smith Jr is an American

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

and dancer. Known for his work in the music videos of singers such as

En Vogue En Vogue is an American vocal girl group whose original lineup consisted of singers Terry Ellis, Dawn Robinson, Cindy Herron, and Maxine Jones. Formed in Oakland, California, in 1989, En Vogue reached No. 2 on the US Hot 100 with the single "Hol ...

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

and

Beyoncé Knowles Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

, Smith has won the

MTV Video Music Award The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...

for

Best Choreography The MTV Video Music Award for Best Choreography is a craft award given to the artist, the artist's manager, and choreographer of the music video. From 1984 to 2007, the full name of the award was Best Choreography in a Video. The biggest winner ...

five times.

Biography

Smith had originally wanted to pursue a career in drama, auditioning at the

Youth Performing Arts School The Youth Performing Arts School (YPAS) is a performing arts school in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, that concentrates on various vocal, instrumental, theatre, musical theatre and dance disciplines for high school students. Students who a ...

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

. Upon failing the audition, Smith was given the option to study dance. Graduating from YPAS in 1983, Smith moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and was employed by

Gus Giordano Gus Giordano (July 10, 1923 – March 9, 2008
''New York Times'', March 13, 2008), born August Thomas Gi ...

in the dance troupe Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago. Unhappy with the level of pay, Smith auditioned for numerous dancing roles, while facing

racial prejudice Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

. "When that happens, you realize that you have to be even better or move to L.A. where it doesn't matter," he said later. Noticed by singer

, Smith landed a job as a dancer before becoming his choreographer. Smith worked on three of Jackson's world tours;

Bad Bad or BAD may refer to: Common meanings *Evil, the opposite of moral good * Erroneous, inaccurate or incorrect * Unhealthy, or counter to well-being * Antagonist, the threat or obstacle of moral good Acronyms * BAD-2, a Soviet armored troll ...

Dangerous Dangerous may refer to: Film and television * ''Dangerous'' (1935 film), an American film starring Bette Davis * '' Dangerous: The Short Films'', a 1993 collection of music videos by Michael Jackson * ''Dangerous'' (2021 film), a Canadian-Ameri ...

and

HIStory History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

. He also worked as a choreographer in

Michael Jackson's Ghosts ''Michael Jackson's Ghosts'' is a 1996 short film starring Michael Jackson, directed by Stan Winston, and written by Stephen King and Mick Garris. It is based on a story by Garris, Jackson and King. ''Ghosts'' tells the story of an eccentric man ...

, and for the musical '' Thriller - Live''. Smith appeared on the concert tours of

The Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its cov ...

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

and

Rhythm Nation 1814 Tour The Rhythm Nation World Tour 1990 was the first headlining concert tour by American recording artist Janet Jackson. It was launched in support of her fourth studio album ''Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814'' (1989), and also contained material ...

. Smith also worked for

Victoria Beckham Victoria Caroline Beckham (; born 17 April 1974) is an English fashion designer, singer, and television personality. She rose to prominence in the 1990s as a member of the girl group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Posh Spice. Wi ...

after the Spice Girl made a return as a solo artist. Smith was awarded four MTV Video awards for co-choreographing En Vogue's music videos "

My Lovin' "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)" is a song by American pop/ R&B group En Vogue, released in March 1992 as the lead single from their multi-platinum second album, '' Funky Divas'' (1992). The single reached number two on the US ''Billboa ...

" (1992), "

Free Your Mind Free Your Mind may refer to: * ''Free Your Mind'' (Cut Copy album), 2013 * ''Free Your Mind'' (Maliq & D'Essentials album), 2007 * Free Your Mind (MTV award) Free Your Mind is an award granted by MTV during its shows in order to award actions or ...

" (1993), "

Whatta Man "What a Man" is a song written by Dave Crawford, and originally recorded for Stax Records' Volt imprint by Linda Lyndell, whose recording reached number 50 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart in 1968. The song was sampled and reinterpreted as "Whatt ...

" (1994) and Michael Jackson's duet with sister Janet, "

Scream Scream may refer to: *Screaming, a loud vocalization Amusement rides * Scream (Heide Park), a gyro drop tower in Soltau, Germany * Scream! (ride), a tower ride at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags New England * Scream! (roller coaster), at ...

" (1995). The music video for

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

's "

Crazy in Love "Crazy in Love" is a song recorded by American singer Beyoncé, featuring a rap verse and ad-libs from her future husband Jay-Z from her debut solo studio album '' Dangerously in Love'' (2003). The song was released as her official debut single ...

" won Smith his fifth

MTV Video Music Award for Best Choreography The MTV Video Music Award for Best Choreography is a craft award given to the artist, the artist's manager, and choreographer of the music video. From 1984 to 2007, the full name of the award was Best Choreography in a Video. The biggest winner ...

in 2003.''Thriller Live'' creative cast
. '' Thriller - Live''. Retrieved on February 13, 2009 His other awards include a SSDC Bob Fosse award and an

Emmy award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

. Smith was also the youngest inductee into the Millers Gallery of Greats. Smith has choreographed ''Invincible: A Glorious Tribute To Michael Jackson'' featuring Jeffrey Perez and Pete Carter. Smith's work with Michael Jackson is the subject of the 2019 documentary film ''The Man Behind The Dance.''

Personal life

Moving from

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

back to Louisville in 2001, the choreographer wanted to get away from the expensive party lifestyle of the city. In his leisure time, Smith enjoys inspiring others to pursue their dreams and holds a free dance class at the Home of the Innocents. The free entry is due to Smith recalling "being young and not being able to afford dance classes. I just want to inspire them. There are opportunities out there, and it may just be a sentence that you say that they latch on to and that sparks them."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Lavelle, Jnr American choreographers American dancers Emmy Award winners Living people Artists from Louisville, Kentucky Year of birth missing (living people) African-American choreographers 21st-century African-American people