Laurieann Gibson Joins The Judging Panel photo source cannonscountdown
Laurieann Gibson left her Toronto home at the age of 17 to pursue a careen in dance. When Executive Producer John Brunton was searching for a Canadian choreographer to add to the pane of “Canada Sings”, he knew nothing of Gibson but when he saw her credentials he admits he “was blown away”. Gibson was the creative director for Lady Gaga until last November. She choreographed Katy Perry’s California Gurls video and the dance sequence of P. Diddy’s “Born To Dance”. She worked with Michael Jackson, Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliott, Janet Jackson, Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Nicki Minaj, – the list goes on and on.
Gibson started dance lessons at the age of six, attending the Claude Watson School For The Arts in North York and studied at the Alvin Ailey School in New York. She struggled in the early days of her career taking corporate jobs to survive. She was considered too Black to play a Barbie Doll in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and not “hip” enough for the hip hop world. But that all changed when she was hired for a role in Mary J. Blige’s 1990 video “Real Love”. She eventually began to choreograph for Blige on tour and later for music videos for other stars including P. Diddy.
On her current “gig” on Canada Sings, she joins rapper Vanilla Ice and singer Jann Arden as glee clubs from across Canada stage song and dance routines to compete for charitable donations. She said to be back in her own home town and on Global TV was like a confirmation to her many achievements – and she finds it refreshing to deal with ordinary people instead of the stars and the big egos she’s used to. She says Canada Sings is “an amazing show – it really is”.
