Directors
Crazy Smooth
Artistic & Executive Director
B-boy Crazy Smooth is one of Canada’s top street dance ambassadors, a choreographer, dancer, sought-after instructor, judge, and community leader. In 2004 he founded Bboyizm, an award-winning dance company that has earned an international reputation for authentic street dance theatre works.
Crazy Smooth’s contributions to street dance were recognized at the 2023 Dynastie awards in Montreal, where he was named Dancer of the Year. Later that same year, Crazy Smooth was named the Executive and Artistic Director of 10 Gates Dancing Inc., completing a conversation that he and 10 Gates founder Tedd Robinson had been having before Tedd’s unexpected death in 2022. Crazy Smooth brings his authentic street dance aesthetic and years of teaching experience to this new role, where he plans to continue Tedd’s work promoting the development and performance of contemporary dance creations across Canada, now with a focus on the street dance community.
Gillian Reid
General Manager
Gillian began her foray into the performing arts world in 2006 when she joined the board of the Chester Playhouse, a 176 soft-seat venue in her hometown of Chester, NS. Through the work she undertook as a volunteer, Gillian was introduced to the milieu and immediately saw the fit for her unique skill set and background in project and event management.
Gillian’s past and present roles include large event production for both performing arts and corporate clients; consulting through Strategic Arts Management; producing work such as the 2017 Merritt Award winning production of I, Claudia directed by Ann-Marie Kerr; artist representation through her own organization FeLIX Productions; and Tour Producer for the award-winning dance company Bboyizm.
Gillian sits on the board of CAPACOA, where she currently holds the roles of Vice Chair and Chair of the International Market Development Committee.
Gillian has a degree in administrative and commercial studies from the University of Western Ontario. She lives and works in Nova Scotia, Mi’kmaw traditional territory, in a coastal village called Chester.
Collaborators
Saxon Fraser
Collaborator
A third-generation dancer with a B.A. in Dance Kinesiology, Saxon’s versatility has brought her together with Cirque du Soleil, Moment Factory, W&M Physical Theatre (Poland), and Dragonfly Orchestra (China). She was a prominent choreographer on Radio Canada’s series Les Dieux de la Danse, TVA’s Revolution, and the award-winning short film La Volière. As Artistic Director of Art-Terre, she brought her show Temnein to audiences in Haiti before creating the company Juxtapose, whose production disˈtraktəd was presented at 100LUX and Toronto’s world-renowned Breakin’ Convention. Saxon and Crazy Smooth premiered Patina at NAC’s Dance Forth in 2020, and she joined him as Associate Choreographer for Bboyizm’s recent creation In My Body, which received four Dora Awards in 2022. Her choreography for Olympic Ice Dancers Guillaume Cizeron and Gabriella Papadakis of France won Gold at Beijing’s 2022 Winter Olympic Games. Saxon has collaborated with the fashion industry, choreographing for Aubainerie, Y! D.N.A. Collection, Saco International, X-presion (Madrid), L’Oréal, Filler Magazine, and Noize (London). Travelling worldwide, her creations have been presented at the Royal Albert Hall in London, the Vancouver Olympics, Le Zénith in Paris, and the incredible Kremlin Palace in Moscow.
Alejandro Rodriguez
Collaborator
Alejandro Rodriguez is a writer & director based in New York City and Miami, Florida. His writing has been featured in collaborations with choreographers, musicians, and filmmakers all across the globe. His first evening-length work, Sorry, enjoyed two sold-out runs at the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center (LPAC) in New York, and his earlier work, Now is the Time, was produced three times in NYC, including at The Joyce. His most recent show, In My Body, a collaboration with the street dance company, Bboyizm, toured across Canada in 2022 and received four Dora Awards including for Outstanding Production. Directing credits include Letters from Cuba and Anna in the Tropics for The Acting Company, Wilder & Wilder for PlayMakers Repertory Company, and many more. He began his career as an actor and performed in theaters across the United States such as the Kennedy Center, the Guthrie Theater and the Humana Festival, as well as on television. Formerly, he served as the Associate Artistic Director for PlayMakers Repertory Company, and as Deputy Executive Director for Arts Ignite (formerly ASTEP) where he co-founded the Artist as Citizen Conference. A graduate of Juilliard.
Board members
Lucy Cross
Board Member - Chair
Lucy Cross is the Senior Director of Marketing for Rogers Business. With over 20 years of experience in marketing for technology-related fields, her career has been fueled by curiosity and a genuine interest in customers, characterized by the desire to create value for users through technology innovations. In her current role, Lucy oversees a range of marketing accountabilities including brand, acquisition, digital, product marketing, events, and regional marketing.
On a personal level, as a single mother of two grown children, Lucy strives to foster exploration and a sense of purpose for both her children. One is active in the agriculture industry and the other in aerospace and engineering, illustrating the possibility of diversity in all aspects of our lives.
Valerie Buddle
Board Member - Treasurer
Valerie Buddle is a passionate arts administrator, specializing in contemporary dance and choreographic-based performance art, based in Montreal, Canada. Her background as a former choreographer lends insight into her work in culture and she thrives on connecting with fellow creatives in her field.
Valerie grew up studying dance in Ottawa and Toronto. She obtained her BFA in Contemporary Dance at Concordia University. Upon graduating, she presented her choreographic work at a number of venues and festivals across Canada, notably Studio 303, Guelph Dance, and the fFIDA International Dance Festival.
Expanding into administration, Valerie has worked with José Navas, Margie Gillis, Daina Ashbee, Bboyizm, and Alan Lake, among others. Most recently, she worked at the Centre de Création O Vertigo, a space entirely devoted to experimentation and creation. Since early 2023, she is the General Manager of Le Patin Libre, the pioneers of contemporary skating.
Annelies Weiser
Secretary
Annelies Weiser is a retired lawyer whose Toronto-based practice included litigation and intellectual property law at a Bay Street firm as well as in-house entertainment and corporate law. Concurrent with obtaining her LLB from the University of Toronto and her subsequent legal career, Annelies played an instrumental role in the world premiere of the Canadian original musical Napoleon in Toronto and its subsequent production in London’s West End. As a key member of the producing team, she worked closely with the creators to navigate the complex legal, artistic and logistical frameworks. Annelies holds a BA in English literature from the University of Toronto and has a lifelong foundation in the creative arts.