Today we’d like to introduce you to Sammie Denham.
Sammie, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My name is Sammie Denham, and I’m a professional dancer/choreographer currently living in New York City with my Husband. I am originally from a small town called Sechelt on the beautiful Sunshine Coast in BC, Canada, where I grew up dancing since the age of three. I have trained in all styles of dance since a young age at our local studio (The Coast Academy of Dance), and I believe that the foundation and versatility of my training that I had from the start, as well as my perseverance and determination, has kept me working professionally in the industry as both a performer and choreographer/instructor for 13 years and counting.
I now split my time between the east and west coast, but have traveled the world for my profession. After graduating from high school, I moved to Vancouver, BC and began my professional training as part of Harbour Dance Center’s Intensive Training Program and the Source Dance Company. Following that, I was signed by Da Costa Talent Management, and have since worked consistently in live stage, television and film in Vancouver. I’ve danced for artists Elise Estrada and Mariana’s Trench, performed in live events such as the 2015 Pan Am Games Closing Ceremonies, the 2015 Parapan Am Games Opening Ceremonies and the Times of India Film Awards, danced on set for TV shows such as the L word and danced with local Vancouver companies The Darling’s Cabaret and The Lover’s Cabaret.
Following my time in Vancouver, I began traveling internationally for work – touring around China performing in over 20 cities across the country, in over 60 performances. I also taught/held auditions for Joffrey Ballet School (based out of New York), all over the United States, Canada and the UK., as well as taught/choreographed for their Jazz and Contemporary Summer Programs. I’ve also had the privilege of traveling the world performing in three original productions for Royal Caribbean Productions, created by Moment Factory. A highlight of that experience was performing in a show called The Fine Line, an outdoor aqua show, in which I was part of the original cast/creation for the show and performed in and out of the water as a dancer and aerialist.
Performing for Royal provided me the unique opportunity of traveling all over Europe, the Caribbean, and Asia while performing every night on a stage in front of new audiences in extremely unique venues such as two70 and the aqua theatre. Two70 is a venue at the back of the ship with 270 degrees of windows, two stories high as it’s a backdrop, which at night transform into a Vistarama, an ultra-HD screen more than 100 feet wide and 20 feet tall. It also has numerous moving stages and several aerial points from the ceiling, from which performers only enter from either below or above the stage, due to their being no “backstage.” Now – the aqua theatre is unique in an entirely different way – being that it’s a water venue, of course! This open-air venue is unlike anything else in the world. The hydraulics-laden pool, two 30 foot diving towers with 3m, 10m and 17m dive platforms, two slackline poles, a Highline, a trampoline and 3D flying system in the venue, allows for an extremely diverse cast of divers, synchronized swimmers, aerialists, acrobats, slackliners, and dancers. Working in this venue, alongside such talented artists, getting to learn new skills every day has been one of the highlights of my career so far.
Lucky for me, as of 2019, I moved into a new role at Royal Caribbean as an assistant choreographer and rehearsal director for their Aqua shows, which is the reason Miami has been added to the list of places I spend a lot of my time. I now get to work with these amazing and diverse casts from a creative side. Most recently, I had the honour of being part of the creative team for Royal’s newest Aqua show – AQUA80, working with Director Jeremy Plummer from C5 and assisting two other amazingly talented Canadian Choreographers – Shay Kuebler from Vancouver and Dazl St. Louis from Montreal. While the current pandemic has put the entertainment and cruise industry at a standstill, for the time being, I am very thankful for the opportunity to continue to grow and move up within such an amazing company, and can’t wait to get back in the studio to work the next project when the time comes.
Has it been a smooth road?
Like most other artists, it definitely has not been a smooth ride for me. I’ve had my fair share of “No’s” along the way, and my path has constantly taken me in new directions I could never have foreseen. Growing up in a small town, having never attended a convention or anything before the age of 18, I did not have access to the industry at a young age that many other artists do. While I would not change a thing about my upbringing, it meant I had to work twice as hard once I entered the scene at 18 to quickly become a part of it, striving to be recognized so I too could begin working professionally. I trained over 30hrs/week from the age of 13, and even more once I moved to Vancouver. Luckily, thanks to my work ethic, and a strong belief in being kind to anyone I cross paths with, and my genuine hunger to always keep learning and improving, I have managed to continuously progress forward in my career. My strong support system, including family, friends and mentors, has always been key as well. Being able to turn to them when things get tough has been key in my emotional and mental stability along the way.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
As well as being a performer, I have always had a passion for teaching and choreographing from a very young age, which is why I think throughout my career, I’ve always had a mix of being on both sides of the table. Most dancers spend the majority of their younger years performing and then move into teaching/choreographing later in life, but for me it’s always been intertwined. This, along with my passion for starting new ventures, has given me the ability to have a wide range of jobs right from the start.
I spent years on faculty at Vancouver’s Harbour Dance Centre, returned to work for the Lover’s Cabaret as a choreographer, and worked as an assistant choreographer for Miss World Canada, SYTYCD National Dance Day, and Josie Walsh’s (Ballet RED) choreographic piece for Joffrey West, Joffrey Ballet School’s LA Summer Intensive. I also toured as an assistant to world-renowned choreographers with Groove Street Productions Dance Conventions at the start of my career, and successfully created and directed my own annual ‘Summer Wake-Up Workshop,’ a week-long dance intensive that took place annually on the beautiful Sunshine Coast for seven years from 2011 to 2017.
As an instructor and choreographer, my dynamic and challenging choreography, combining both athleticism and style, has continued to bring me new opportunities. I’ve always had a love for fitness and cross-training, a hunger to learn new skills, and that, combined with my background in gymnastics and more recent extensive aerial training, has allowed me to continuously bring new dynamics to my creations.
I’ve also got a completely new business venture at the moment (that I haven’t told many people about yet!) – Feather Foot Photography. I’ll be specifically focussing on travel, portrait and action/dance photography to start. Photography has been a long time passion of mine, and I have been part of the social media team for Royal Caribbean for a few years now, traveling and getting paid to capture content for them. Feather Foot is in it’s beginning stages (with a website coming soon!), but if you want to keep updated on the progression of this new business venture, you can follow @featherfootphotography on Instagram.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Getting the travel the world for my job, and of course, living in one of the most vibrant and fast-paced cities in the world (NYC), I am super fortunate to constantly be surrounded by inspiration. But I believe Miami has a certain vibe that is very conducive to the creation and arts of all kinds. Just spending an afternoon walking around Wynwood alone with get your creative juices flowing. It’s, of course, been home to me especially for my work with Royal Caribbean thus far, but I always feel very welcome in the city and leave feeling refreshed and inspired.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sammiedenham.com
- Instagram: @sammiedenham, @featherfootphotography
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sammie.denham/
Image Credit:
Rachel Neville Photography
Richie Lubaton Photography
Golden Ratio Photography
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