Laura Ann Smyth
Dance Artist | Educator | Choreographer
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”
- Barack Obama
about laura
For Laura Ann Smyth, dance is a celebration of diversity. It draws together people of all races, ethnicities, and cultures and gives them a voice. She believes that dance has the rhetorical power to champion social justice in a world that desperately needs it. And she’s dedicated her life and career to inspire change through the arts.
Laura began her journey as an artist at 4 years old attending the Edmonton School of Ballet in Alberta, Canada. Her training focused on R.A.D. and Cecchetti ballet, as well as theatrical jazz and classical modern techniques. After receiving her Masters of Fine Arts in Dance from The University of California, Irvine, Smyth performed professionally in modern, contemporary, and jazz genres with a variety of highly-acclaimed companies including: Regina Klenjoski Dance Company, Donna Sternberg and Dancers, JazzAntiqua Dance and Music Ensemble, and Brockus:RED.
In addition to performing, Laura has extensive and diverse experience in choreography. She’s crafted faculty dance concerts at Cornish College of the Arts, Santa Monica College, Long Beach City College, Golden West College and Loyola Marymount University. And she’s found particular joy choreographing theatre productions at Pepperdine University and Loyola Marymount University.
Laura is currently pursuing her PhD in Dance Studies at Texas Woman’s University. She’s deeply proud of her Canadian heritage, joyous spirit, and technical precision, and she’s committed to creating art that promotes the beauty of cultures and experiences through dance.
diversity statement
Inclusion, acceptance, acknowledgement, recognition, dedication and voice are just a few of the words that come to mind when I think of promoting diversity, speaking out against injustice and fighting for equality. Being an advocate for diversity and social justice is not an ideal; it is quite simply the responsibility of all decent people in society at large. As the great Barack Obama once said, “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” Being an agent of change is something I have been passionate about from a young age. Growing up in Canada, the concepts of multiculturalism and diversity have always been present in my world. I attended grade school where most students were first generation Canadians and my desire to understand and relate to the wealth of culture I was surrounded by was strong. I learned at a young age that most anger and hatred came from a lack of awareness and a fear of that which was different and I charged myself with the task of speaking up against ignorance.