ABOUT SAMI GIRON

Sami / Samantha Giron is a Hispanic American choreographer and dance teacher who had formative years as an artist in urban dance and electronic music communities. Giron went on to earn formal Dance degrees, including a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Mills College for Women and a Master of Fine Arts in Choreography and Dance from California Institute of the Arts (CalArts).

Giron utilizes a sequential, visceral approach to movement. Their style is a blend of modern dance training and their street dance upbringing. Giron collaborates with video designers and electronic musicians to create performances that address themes like: queer and non-binary identitiy, the conflict between following tradition and being an individual, and violence against women.

Still relatively new to the Berlin dance scene, Giron is currently working on the piece Play Bow, which is funded by Dis-Tanz Solo. Giron was also awarded funding from Fonds Darstellende Künste, which will used to remake a piece about non-binary identity. Giron has shown work locally at Sophiensaele during the Lucky Trimmer Festival, at Podewil during the Crossover Dance Battle and at Ufer Studios.

Eager to work during the pandemic, Giron choreographed two pieces, Dance in the Time of Corona and Repeated Lockdown Extensions. For both the pieces, rehearsals were held outside in public space with no funding. The first was performed in Hasenheide in renegade style. The secod was performed at Marmeo’s Summer Celebration.

Giron has shown work at prominent American theaters, such as: Z Space, KUNST-STOFF arts, ODC, Dance Mission and Cowell Theater. Their collaborations with DJs have been performed at prominent American nightclubs such as: The Mezzanine, Public Works and 1015 Folsom. Giron received funding from the Zellerbach foundation and CounterPULSE, for example.

Giron was invited to be a featured presenter at The American National Dance Conference. They were moderator of Dance Discourse Project, on a panel that discussed street dance styles, including dances styles found in rave culture. They were curator and creator of a monthly dance show and party: Makeup Mutiny. They are a published dance essayist and have taught at many colleges, including San Francisco State University. A licensed Dance teacher, Giron resigned as head of Dance at TECA Academy in San Francisco, to relocate to Berlin.

Giron currently teaches contemporary dance, barre and Pilates throughout Berlin at venues such as Marameo, Tanzfabrik and Dock 11.