Lexee Smith: the dancer Addison Rae and Lady Gaga are mad for

“I just worked with [Lady] Gaga and I was standing on her head at one point,” says Lexee Smith – the dancer and movement director who, literally, has pop stars at her feet. She’s talking about the thrillingly fresh video for Gaga’s single Disease. ​“The whole thing is just us two together dancing, which is so crazy – I’ve loved her since I was little. We shot the video [over] three days in an old mental asylum in Pasadena. The next day, I just sat in my apartment in LA and played The Fame and Born This Way and bawled.”

Fresh from her stint playing Gaga’s body double, the Houston-born dancer is Zooming swathed in a bathrobe and drinking from a mug that reads ​“Bitch please, I’m from the Valley”. The 23-year-old is relatively calm considering the maelstrom of a month she’s had, because working with her idol is just the tip of the iceberg.

This choreographer-to-the-stars is also the brains behind the grungy, ​‘90s movement for Jessie Jo Stark’s borderline eerie music video, I’m Yours; you can also catch her rolling around and executing a meticulous routine in Måneskine front man Damiano David’s latest video, Born With a Broken Heart. She also led the choreography for best mate Addison Rae’s spacey, Madonna-tinged and addictive tune Aquamarine. ​“I’m happy we’re in November, because October was such a clusterfuck of vibes. There’s [been] so much partying, so much working.”

Believe us, we can tell.

Across her TikTok and Instagram accounts, where she’s accrued a combined 700,000 followers, Smith is all about her showcasing her craft. Her feeds explode with wildly impressive impromptu choreography in Flashdance-esque dance gear in the middle of a forest, a studio, or a random hotel in some far-flung corner of the world. You’ll also catch glimpses of her breakneck-speed lifestyle in LA. One moment she might be in a Parris Goebel dance video; the next, pissing into a urinal with Addison. Ah, the duality of woman.

The odd outfit pic, no dance moves required, gets the likes rolling in, too. One TikTok user described her vibe as owning the ​“unhinged hot aesthetic”.

Little wonder the internet can’t quite work out who Lexee Smith is – and she likes it that way. ​“I feel like I come off so much more intensely online. I look way more intimidating. When people meet me, they’re like, ​‘Oh, she’s really nice,’” she says in a slightly honeyed tone. ​“I want to be really relatable and also the most provoking person ever.”

Since she became a creative consultant for Addison Rae earlier this year, the duo have proved to be an unstoppable force. Besides working on Aquamarine, Smith choreographed the video for Addison’s previous hit single Diet Pepsi and has been a constant sounding board for the musician. ​“We’ll send each other photos all day long, and then get in the studio and see how our bodies respond to the music. We have a bunch of icons vomit ideas and everyone [in the team] is so brilliant and has such a strong identity.” Some of the icons she’s referring to? Interview magazine’s EIC Mel Ottenberg and legendary choreographer Danielle Polanco.

So, how did the pair meet? Outside an LA party, of course.

“Addison was the first person that I saw that night. We followed each other on social media for a while before we initially met, but that was the first time we saw each other in person.” She immediately made a beeline for Rae who was ​“dancing on stage” and they ​“kind of just became besties from there.”

And their connection extends beyond the dance studio. A few weeks ago, Lexee and Addison made it onto many a mood board after waltzing out of a restaurant hand-in-hand, sporting bold pairs of tights – Addison’s an apt aquamarine, and Lexee’s beige – with fags hanging out of their mouths. It was a Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie-style moment for Gen Z.

For Lexee, it’s more than happenstance that she’s become the right-hand woman to Addison and is sought after by legendary pop stars. In a way, Lexee has been preparing for this moment since she was old enough to do a pirouette.

​“My mom’s best friend owned a dance studio in Texas. I remember being at that studio all the time because my mom also taught the kids.” Her dreams of being a professional dancer moved a step closer when her mother moved Lexee, then aged 12, and her two younger brothers to LA. Within months, Lexee was booking commercial jobs and dancing onstage with Janet Jackson.

Her career progressed quickly – soon she was touring the world as a dancer for Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande. ​“Ariana was all down to Parris Goebel,” she says of the storied New Zealand-born choreographer. ​“She has made so many girls’ dreams come true. [Because of her] I ended up performing with Ariana at the 2020 Grammys. I would cry every time we were in rehearsal.” Joining FKA twigs’ dance troupe in 2019 was another pinch-me moment. ​“I auditioned for her tour and I got down to the final round. They ended up going with two other girls. But a month later, there was another audition, and it was for the Holy Terrain music video. It was amazing.”

When she’s not thinking about who would make the cut for her dance supergroup – ​“Liza Minnelli, Danielle Polanco, Jacob Jonas, Addison, obviously… And Madonna and Gaga – we have to have the two blonde powerhouses together!”– she’s dreaming up world domination with Addison. ​“I’ve heard her new music,” she says with a twinkle in her eye. And? Sadly, like a true bestie, she keeps the tea to herself. Suffice it to say: ​“It’s all very exciting and special. It feels very potent.”

Meanwhile: keep your eyes peeled for Lexee Smith dancewear on an it-girl near you. ​“I love clothing, so blending the two worlds is just such a vibe. I’m calling it Connect and Divide,” she says of a line she’s been developing for a while and hopes to launch by the end of 2024. ​“The pieces are playful and classic. I miss when dancewear was sexy and classic.”

There you have it. Lexee Smith, the internet’s favourite dancer, unhinged hot girl, bona fide tastemaker and hopefully, now, (a little) less of an enigma.