Luther Brown is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

choreographer/artistic director. Born in Kingston,

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

, and raised in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, he is best known as a

hip hop dance Hip hop dance is a range of street dance styles primarily performed to hip hop music or that have evolved as part of hip hop culture. It is influenced by a wide range of styles that were created in the 1970s and made popular by dance crews in t ...

choreographer for movies, television and commercials. Brown is a regular choreographer for the television dance competition ''

So You Think You Can Dance ''So You Think You Can Dance'' is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by '' Idols'' producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and has ...

'' and ''

So You Think You Can Dance Canada ''So You Think You Can Dance Canada'' is a dance competition and reality show that aired on CTV. Based on the original American TV show ''So You Think You Can Dance'', the Canadian series showcased the best in Canadian dancing talent. Each seas ...

'', for which he was a choreographer and a judge. Brown is a co-founder of Do Dat Entertainment. In addition to his television work, Brown has choreographed over 100 music videos for artists including

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 ...

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, Jully Black,

Shawn Desman Shawn Bosco Fernandes (born January 12, 1982), better known by his stage name Shawn Desman, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, dancer, and television personality. He was signed to Universal Music Canada. He is known for his energetic stage presenc ...

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

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Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accent ...

and

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Early life and education

Brown's father ran a community radio show, ''The Caribbean Crucible'', on Toronto's 105.5 FM, then the

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

radio station. Brown later stated that helping his father gave him an ear for music. Throughout high school he was active in dance and step teams, as well as being a songwriter. Brown continued to develop his choreographic style with the step dance squad he founded while studying at the

University of Windsor , mottoeng = Goodness, Discipline and Knowledge , established = , academic_affiliations = CARL, COU, Universities Canada , former_names = Assumption College (1857-1956)Assumption University of Windsor (1956-1963) , type = Public universit ...

Career

While still in university, Brown began to choreograph for many important artists in the Toronto hip-hop community of the 1990s. This included shows for Jully Black,

Michie Mee Michelle McCullock (born November 1, 1970), better known by her stage name Michie Mee, is a Canadian rapper and actress. Canada's first notable female MC, she is considered a national hip-hop pioneer. Early life and career McCullock was born in ...

, Dream Warriors and

Maestro Fresh Wes Wesley "Wes" Williams (born March 31, 1968) is a Canadians, Canadian rapper, record producer, actor, and author. He is known professionally by his stage names Maestro Fresh Wes (formerly Maestro Fresh-Wes) or Maestro as a musician, and is cred ...

. In 2003, he found his first opportunity to choreograph for American performers when he was invited to work on a music video for the rappers

Cam'ron Cameron Ezike Giles (born February 4, 1976), better known by his stage name Cam'ron, is an American rapper, record executive, and actor from Harlem, New York City. Beginning his career in the mid-1990s as Killa Cam, Giles signed to Lance "Un" ...

and

Mase Mason Durell Betha (born August 27, 1975), better known by his mononym Mase (formerly Murda Mase and stylized as Ma$e), is an American rapper and minister. In the late 1990s, he recorded on the Bad Boy Records label alongside its founder Sean ...

. In 2007 Brown was awarded Outstanding Choreography in a Commercial from the Choreography Media Awards for his work with

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. Beginning in 2008, Brown worked as a judge and choreographer for the Canadian version of the television show ''So You Think You Can Dance''. He was a choreographer for the final season of the American version. He has also made guest appearances on the ''

X-Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'', ''

Making the Band 4 ''Making the Band'' is an ABC/MTV reality television series that exists in separate iterations, each focusing on a specific music act. It spawned musical acts O-Town, Da Band, Danity Kane, Day26, and Donnie Klang. Except for the first iterati ...

'' and the Canadian TV show '' The Next Step''. In 2013, Brown worked with the Korean Boy Band Big Bang. Brown is a dedicated dance teacher who teaches internationally in venues ranging from community centres and high schools to large-scale dance conventions.

Choreography for ''So You Think You Can Dance''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Luther Canadian choreographers So You Think You Can Dance choreographers Canadian male dancers Living people People from Kingston, Jamaica Black Canadian broadcasters People from Toronto So You Think You Can Dance Canada Participants in Canadian reality television series Jamaican emigrants to Canada 1973 births Black Canadian dancers