Liisa Smith
dancer

Liisa Smith grew up in the Canadian prairies, lived in Pakistan and Switzerland throughout high school, and is now an Ontario-based dance artist and electrical apprentice. She founded random acts of dance; a charitable organization that created, performed, and produced contemporary dance from 2007 to 2020. Liisa has two young kids and loves board games, tea, the outdoors, and a good book.

In her choreography and improvisation, Smith is intrigued by the slightest gesture juxtaposed with grandiose movement. She fuses forms, melding different dance genres with spoken word and original sound scores. Liisa focuses heavily on building audiences and loves for art to surprise her; she therefore takes a huge interest in site-specific work. As a performer, “Liisa Smith is particularly mesmerizing to watch, her eyes capture so much of the emotion of her dance that even if you are not sure what story is being told, she is so intensely captivating that she pulls you in” (Amanda Campbell, The Way I See it Theatre Blog).

For Peggy Baker Dance Projects: Liisa danced in the 2009 Nuit Blanche durational performance, move.