cari ann shim sham*

2018/19 (In Development)

An evening-length braiding of dance, music, video, text,
expressionistic theatrical passages, and visual design, The Strayhorn Project is written, directed, and choreographed by David Roussève.  Video imagery is by long time collaborator Cari Ann Shim Sham* and dramaturgy by Lucy Burns (dramaturg for Roussève’s recent work Stardust). The Strayhorn Project seeks to capture the ‘truth’ of Billy Strayhorn’s life by redefining ‘biography’ as the intersection of fact, conjecture, comment, abstraction, and fantasy; all housed within a celebration of Strayhorn’s wildly diverse music as interpreted though a unique vocabulary of dance.  In uncovering the ‘truth’ of Strayhorn’s life, The Strayhorn Project seeks to conduct a dialogue on the ‘truths’ of our own lives; and the themes of fame and privacy at the core of Strayhorn’s personal journey have never been more resonant than they are today.   Strayhorn’s narrative- with subtexts of legacy, ‘footprint’, and the very notion of ‘being remembered’- also insinuates a dialogue on the human condition and the impermanence of existence.  

Directed/Choreographed by David Roussève
Music by D. Sabela Grimes
Video Artistry by Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Dramaturgy by Lucy Burns
Lighting by Christopher Kuhl

Dance Like No One is Whale Watching is a communal space for dreamers, explorers and whales. A billowy inflatable entirely envelopes the cyclical responsive experience. Before entering, each audience member will record their wildest dreams which then convert into whale songs that are played inside the inflatable. Transformations of the space include: a viewing lounge to absorb immersive visuals sourced from brilliant underwater footage, playtime with a soundscape composed of interwoven wild dreams confided by audiences, an alchemic dance solo that integrates sensual wonder and fear with whale-based movement and finally a participatory group dive in which audiences will swim together using orca whale pod behavior as a guide. Part installation and part dance performance, Dance Like No One is Whale Watching fully depends on the collective to create the radical dreamspace we so desperately need. Come play!

the team

eric gunther

emily beattie

cari ann shim sham

mary hale

In June 2017 we had a residency at Endicott College to test our first inflatable prototype made out of visquine. The entire team assembled to test media, sound & performance within the inflatable and brainstorm on the design for the final inflatable which will be made out of rip stop nylon and have an additional sound booth within the airlock entrance portal.

Set and Reset/Reset

Shiner Set Design: Jon Allaire and Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Video Projection and Sound Design: Cari Ann Shim Sham*

(Based on the original design by Robert Rauschenberg and Beverly Emmons in 1983)

We won!

NY Premiere NYC Indie Fest

May 6th

https://www.nycindieff.com/event/vr-experience-session-1

https://www.nycindieff.com/event/vr-experience-session-2

LA Premiere

The Topanga Film Festival

February 10-12

https://topangafilminstitute.org/vrinstallations/

Image by DP Matt Celia

2016-17 In Post Production

Thanks to a Building Opera Audiences grant from OPERA America, Opera on Tap has completed work on Episode One of its most innovative project yet: an episodic horror opera created for Virtual Reality (VR). “The Parksville Murders,” with music by Kamala Sankaram and libretto by Jerre Dye, directed by Cari Ann Shim Sham*, is produced in collaboration with Beaverkill Studios & Light Sail VR.  

Preview exhibit Dumbo, NYC, Oct 27, 2016

Exhibit Opera America New Works Forum, NYC, Jan 12th, 2017

Exhibit Topanga Film Festival, LA, Feb 10-12, 2017

The Watchers of the Parksville Murders
Image by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

The Parksville Murders is shot primarily on the Dark Corner Rig, with additional support from the Freedom 360 Rig.

The Watchers have their way with our lead Sopranos, Kacey Cardin & Mikki Sodergren
Image by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

The Watchers local hang out spot, the Parksville Cemetery.
Image by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

Opera in New York Gets Spooky

by Amanda Angel

http://www.wsj.com/articles/opera-in-new-york-gets-spooky-1477530490

Better Days for Moria Camp
Lesbos, Greece
Translucent Borders, NYU Global Institute for Advanced Study
March 16th, 2016

Accra Arts Center
Accra, Ghana
Translucent Borders, NYU Global Institute for Advanced Study
August, 2016

Havana, Cuba
Translucent Borders, NYU Global Institute for Advanced Study
January 8th, 2017

The Wall, Aida Refugee Camp, Palestine | West Bank
Translucent Borders, NYU Global Institute for Advanced Study
March 11th, 2016

Havana, Cuba
Translucent Borders, NYU Global Institute for Advanced Study
January 8, 2017

Road to the Volta Region
Ghana, West Africa
Translucent Borders, NYU Global Institute for Advanced Study
August, 2016
 

Santiago, Cuba
Translucent Borders, NYU Global Institute for Advanced Study
January 4, 2017

Lesbos, Greece
Translucent Borders, NYU Global Institute for Advanced Study
March 15th, 2016

Lesbos, Greece
Translucent Borders, NYU Global Institute for Advanced Study
March 21st, 2016

Mytilini
Lesbos, Greece
Translucent Borders, NYU Global Institute for Advanced Study
March, 2016

Volta Region
Ghana, West Africa
Translucent Borders, NYU Global Institute for Advanced Study
August, 2016

Afia Beach
Accra, Ghana
Translucent Borders, NYU Global Institute for Advanced Study
August, 2016
 

Street Art
Florentine Neighborhood, Tel Aviv, Israel
Translucent Borders, NYU Global Institute for Advanced Study
March 13th, 2016

Dancing with Devices 360 degree comp workshop at Brandeis University.
Ricoh Theta

https://theta360.com/s/psFmvXY352Z096QULHh6Jnbwu

July 25th, 2016

Chris Hiatt
Sax, Molly Tigre
Bar Chord in Brooklyn, NY
December 8th, 2016

Emily Beattie in Stardust
Montclair, New Jersey
February 7, 2014
 

Emily Beattie & Eric Gunther's new home
July 23, 2016

Chief Golden Light Eagle
Star Knowledge Conference, Iowa
June, 2013

North East, Pennsylvania
Sept 22, 2012

Chief Blue Star Eagle
Star Knowledge Conference, Iowa
June, 2013

Baker Farm
North East, Pennsylvania
August 21, 2010

Java, Indonesia
December, 2011

Java, Indonesia
December, 2011

Jasmine Jawato in Monsters section at Human Resources LA
Image by Taso Papadakis

Kevin Le's solo in Trophy at Human Resources LA
Image by Taso Papadakis

"Trophy"
Kevin Williamson & Company
Choreography: Kevin Williamson
In collaboration w/performers: Barry Brannum, Jasmine Jawato, Kevin Le
Music: Jeepneys
Video Art: Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Lighting Design: Katelan Braymer
Videography: Nathan Kim

"Trophy" premiered at Human Resources Los Angeles, Aug 25-28, 2016.

"Trophy"
Kevin Williamson & Company
Choreography: Kevin Williamson
In collaboration w/performers Barry Brannum, Jasmine Jawato, Kevin Le
Music: Jeepneys
Video Art: Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Lighting Design: Katelan Braymer
Videography: Nathan Kim

*"Trophy" premiered at Human Resources LA, Aug 25-28, 2016.
**Previous excerpts were performed at REDCAT and Dixon Place.

Trailer

Trophy is an immersive dance-theater project from choreographer Kevin Williamson, experimental composer Jeepneys and video artist Cari Ann Shim Sham*. Created and made adaptable for white box spaces, this 360 degree world of fractured landscapes and psychedelic sounds follows the pursuits of three millenial dancers in a mediatized social world.  In the beginning, the dancers splinter fluid movements into still frames, interrogating social media personas with humor and pathos.  But as the dance unfolds and quotidian life dissolves into fragments of stop-n-go selfies, our protagonists are forced to contend with a reality governed by media's authority, pervasive isolation, and a gnawing pressure to exhibit their “success”.  Shim Sham* integrates manipulations of digital imagery into a live performance of video amongst body through multiple projectors and Jeepneys provides an aural soundscape of odd rhythms and surrealist sounds.  Combined with the choreography, the elements highlight a disjointed, but virtuosic display of contemporary bodies in flux with desire, technology, time, and space. 

Image by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

August 2015
Image by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

August 2015
Image by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

August 2015
Image by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

Tech, August 2015
Image by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

Cast & Collaborators, OWFest, August 2015
Barry Brannum, Kevin Le, Cari Ann Shim Sham*, Kevin Williamson, Jasmine Jawato, Jeepnys

Image by Eric Speth

Light Hang & Video Tech, REDCAT August 2105

Image by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

2017-18 In Pre-Production

Based on the Dance/Theater Piece "Stardust" (2014)
Written/Directed/Choreographed by David Roussève

Stardust explores the evolving nature of intimacy in our technology-driven, furiously-paced world.  Redefining the coming of age story for the electronic age, the evening-length piece follows an African American gay urban teenager who-never seen onstage- is present only by the emotion laden tweets and text messages he sends.

2016

A visual metaphor to explore deep primal feelings of being out of control, turbulence leads us through fear, survival tactics, prayer, humor, and fantasy and lands us into dream. 

Performed by Cameron Russell & Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Concept & Direction by Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Choreography by Cameron Russell & Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Sound Design by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

2017 In Development

In Inflatable Trio, three dancers, two women and a man, negotiate a yellow inflatable plastic living room suite..., and each other. The satirical domestic drama that emerges asks the question: how do we orient ourselves within ever changing intimate and social environments?

Inflatable Trio is an evening-length trio by choreographer Lionel Popkin, featuring collaborations with composer Tom Lopez and video artist Cari Ann Shim Sham*.

Premiering in Los Angeles February 23-25 2017, Skirball Cultural Center,

2015

"The Fez"-the first Restaurant and Nightclub dedicated to the Arab culture on the West Coast. Opened in 1959 in Hollywood, The legendary Fez not only became a center for the Arabic community in Southern California, but a catatyst for Arab music and dance going on to inspire generations of musicians and dancers well beyond Los Angeles. This project intends to document a piece of Arab Music and Dance history, the cultural center that the Fez became for the Arab community and those drawn to the beauty and richness of the Arab culture AND the nostalgia of old Hollywood!

Roxxanne Shelaby hard at work
Topanga, CA July 2015

Final Sound Mix with Keith Bilderbeck
Topanga, CA July 2015

Los Angeles June, 2015

2014 Stardust

Choreographed, written, and directed by David Roussève for the dance/theater company REALITY, Stardust explores the evolving nature of intimacy in our technology-driven, furiously-paced world. Redefining the coming of age story for the electronic age, the evening-length piece follows an African American gay urban teenager who- never seen onstage- is present only by the emotion laden tweets and text messages he sends. While not autobiographical, like some of Roussève's work, it is intensely personal.    

Director/Choreographer: David Roussève
Music: D. Sabela Grimes
Video Artist: Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Dramaturge: Lucy Burns
Costumes: Leah Piehl
Lighting: Christopher Kuhl

Dancers: Charisse Aquirre, Emily Beattie, Nehara Kalev, Michel Kouakou, Nguyen Nguyen, Jasmine Jawato, Taisha Paggett, David Roussève, Kevin Williamson, Kevin Le

Trailer Cinematography & Edit by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

Michel Kouakou & Leanne Iacovetta

Krannert Residency
Summer 2013

Emily Beattie
Montclair, NJ February, 2014

Photo by Yi-Chun Wu

Charisse Sky
2014

Photo by Yi-Chun Wu

Charisse Skye, Kevin Williamson, Michel Kouakou & company
2014

Image by Yi-Chun Wu

Inspired by the career of modern dance pioneer Ruth St. Denis, "Ruth Doesn’t Live Here Anymore" strives to address acts of cultural sourcing, representation, and transmission. With wit, piles of fabric, a microphone, 3 dancers, 2 musicians, and a leaf blower, Lionel Popkin asks: was Ruth's Orientalism an act of cultural appropriation or a legitimate examination of sources of dance? Can a century of perspective help the contemporary choreographer reach his own point of equilibrium? Performed by Popkin, Emily Beattie, and Carolyn Hall and featuring an original score by accordionist Guy Klucevsek - played live by Klucevsek and a guest violinist - this dance sweeps across an array of metaphorical hints and an extravaganza of textiles. Lighting design by Christopher Kuhl, costume and set design by Marcus Kuiland-Nazario with video artist, Cari Ann Shim Sham*.

Trailer Cinematography & Edit by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

Carolyn Hall & Emily Beattie
2014

Image by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

Lionel Popkin, Emily Beattie, Carolyn Hall
2014

Image by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

Carolyn Hall
2014

Image by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

Emily Beattie, Carolyn Hall, Lionel Popkin
2014

Image by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

Sri Susilowati
2012

Image by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

2012
An original intersection of documentary, dance-for-camera, and dream-like fantasy, Two Seconds After Laughter creates a border-jumping dialogue on a universal irony:  The heart longs most for the one place to which it can never fully return… home.  With a narrative inspired by choreographer Sri Susilowati's experience of returning to her native Indonesia after 20 years of living and dancing in America, Two Seconds… is a meditation on the nature of memory; a cry of longing caused by separation; and a fable-like tale of the joys and emotional dislocation experienced by contemporary immigrant peoples. 

Director David Roussève
Cinematography & Edit Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Choreography & Dance Sri Susilowati

Awards
BEST FILM, International Documentary Competition InShadow – International Festival of Vídeo, Performance and Technologies, 2013
VANGUARD AWARD, SF Shorts, San Francisco, CA 2013
AWARD OF EXCELLENCE, Int’l FlmFest Peace/Inspiration/Equality, Jakarta, Indonesia, 2013
BEST FILM, Delta Int’l Film Festival, MI
BEST ACTOR, Women's Independent Film Festival, West Hollywood, CA 2013
BEST SCREENPLAY, Women's Independent Film Festival, West Hollywood, CA 2013
BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM, Indi Grits Film Festival, South Carolina 2013
BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM, New Orleans Film Festival, 2012
BEST SHORT Audience Award at the San Francisco Dance Film Festival, 2012
 

Sri Susilowati
2012

Image by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

David Roussève & Cari Ann Shim Sham* on the set of Two Seconds AFter Laugher with Sri Susilowati and dancers. 
December, 2011

Image by Danu. 

David Roussève, Sri Suilowati & Cari Ann Shim Sham*
December 2011

Image by Heni.

Video edited by Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Music Track by Cut Chemist
2012

Image from music video
Editor Cari Ann Shim Sham*
2012

One Day on Earth is the first film made in every country of the world on the same day. We see both the challenges and hopes of humanity from a diverse group of volunteer filmmakers assembled by an participatory media experiment. The world is greatly interconnected, enormous, perilous, and wonderful.

Associate Producer & Editor
(music/dance section & end credits): Cari Ann Shim Sham*

Premiered in 170 countries on April 22, 2012 Earth Day

Vimeo Social Change Award

Record Breakers Largest World Premiere Award

Image from Music & Dance Section
Edited by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

One Day on Earth screened at the UN on Earth Day, 2012

Awarded Largest Premiere by Record Breakers

2012
Chicken Boy is a modern day metaphor for the journey of the lonely self to find peace with one's identity. The film references many famous dance film moments from a span of over 60 years and includes a live accordion player, a masked "Anonymous" man and 4 dancing chickens.

Directed by Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Choreographed by Jia Wu
Cinematography by Kyle Ruddick & Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Edited by Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Produced by Jia Wu & Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Accordion Music Composed and Performed by Sarah Bansak
Score, Arrangement and Sound Mix by Henrik Jakobsson
Featuring: Jerry Lin, Hailey E. Yaffee, Marissa Pfaff, Vera Schwegler, Jacki Angelo, Harmony Negrin, & Sarah Bansak
Masks by Annie Hallatt, Masque Arrayed

designed by Kyle Ruddick

2010
The film Sand tells the story of the history and evolution of sand dance as it is passed down from father to son.

AWARDS:

2011
Finalist at Cannes, American Pavilion Emerging Filmmaker Showcase
Best Short Documentary at Oxford Film Festival
Finalist at Tallahassee Film Festival

2010
Best Short Documentary at St. Louis Intl. Film Fest
Best Director of Mini Docs at First Glance Film Festival
Official Selection for Austin Film Festival
Finalist at Jumping Frames
Special Mention by Dance Camera West

CREW:
Directed & Edited by Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Produced by Kyle Ruddick & Cari Ann Shim Sham* 
Director of Photography Ross Riege
Additional Cinematography by Phil Abrams & Kyle Ruddick
Sound by T.K. Broderick
Set Design by Will Pellegrini
Starring:  Kenji and Darrow Igus
Production Assistants: April Rose, Rey Vance
 

2009

My First Big Break premiers a new way of using and editing a 360-degree panoramic lens for SLR adapted to an HD video camera. Shot in one take with a cast of 17, the strategy of blocking, camera choreography and dance choreography was developed over a series of months in an intense collaborative process.

Directed by Kyle Ruddick
Assistant Directed & Lead Choreography by Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Produced by Eyestorm Productions
Music and Guest Appearance by Cut Chemist
Additional Choreography by Tom Lenk, Rachael Lincoln, Mark Stuver, d. Sabela Grimes, Raphael Xavier, Calvin Cheng,

Telly Award, Cinematography 2009
Telly Award, Music Video 2009

d. Sabela Grimes in a still image from the music video
2009

image from the music video
2009

Edited by Susan Leigh Foster

Image from the music video My First Big Break

Are You For Real? comments on the replicated technological body as Post-it notes fly onto the dancer to cover her up and act as an armor. The film physically addresses how the heavy American workload and multi tasking fast pace of life can create a sense of splitting, causing a duplicated being to manifest. 

by Cari Ann Shim Sham* & Kyle Ruddick

music by low in the sky
 

Featuring a man in an elephant costume, “Dance Elephant Dance” uses images of multiple elephants in outer space to portray a pachyderm’s awkward desire to get his groove on.

Produced by Lionel Popkin & Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Choreography and Performance by Lionel Popkin
Cinematography by Kyle Ruddick
Edit by Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Music "O'O" by Guy Klucevsek
Elephant by Jean Landry

2008
What is beauty? “powder” is a live performance with video projection that tells the story of the pain and pleasure of dressing and undressing the female body. “powder” explores the power of beauty, the bound female body, the safety of conforming, the comfort of discomfort and the perpetuation of the exaggerated femme by females themselves. “powder”as premiered in NY at the Joyce SoHo.  
Video Installation for stage using a live dancer in an oversized skirt that is lifted by an unseen pulley system to become the screen for the film that is written onto the dancer's bum and underskirt.

Premiered at Performance Mix, Joyce Soho, NYC
Directed/Edited/Co-Produced by Cari Ann Shim Sham*
In collaboration with Dancer/Co-Producer Christine Suarez
Cinematography Kyle Ruddick
Costume/Set Will Pellegrini
Music by Low in the Sky

Christine Suarez on set for the shoot of Powder.
2008

Image by Kyle Ruddick

Live performance of Powder at UCLA
2008

Image by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

Live performance of Powder at UCLA
2008

Image by Cari Ann Shim Sham*

video art for dance theater

dir. lionel popkin

2011

Two imaginative sisters live their entire lives in 11 minutes on a couch.

Written and Directed by Rachael Lincoln
Choreography and Performance by Leslie Seiters and Rachael Lincoln
Director of Photography by RJ Muna
Editing/Narration by Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Sound by Henrik Jakobbson

2009
January is a dance for camera solo made within the real and imagined confines of winter. In a slate-walled room with chalk dust as snow, a woman follows her mind's small agitations as she meditates on the passage of time.
Premiered June 2009, Building Bridges Film Festival, Iran
Concept: RJ Muna and Rachael Lincoln
Set and Videography: RJ Muna
Choreography/Performance: Rachael Lincoln
Editing: Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Music: Low in the Sky