Sam Shapiro
Visiting Lecturer in Dance
- shapirsj@wfu.edu
- WS 124
Sam Shapiro hails from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He began his ballet training at Wake Forest University under the direction of his mother, Brantly Shapiro. At age 11, he entered the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where he studied with the entire faculty including Duncan Noble, Nina Danilova and Gyula Pandi. At age 17 he joined The Royal Ballet’s Upper School where he danced for three years, graduating with commendation. Sam danced in the Royal Ballet’s productions of Cinderella, La Fille Mal Gardee, Firebird, La Valse and Manon. He spent two years in Boston Ballet II and performed with Boston Ballet in many ballets such as Giselle and Romeo and Juliet. After Boston he spent two years with The North Carolina Dance Theater performing classical and contemporary repertoire. Favorite roles included Dwight Rhoden’s Broken Fantasies and Mark Godden’s Dracula. The next year was spent touring, performing freelance with Tulsa Ballet, Fort Wayne Ballet and Ballet National de Panamá. He joined The Royal New Zealand Ballet for the 2011-2012 season, dancing roles by Larry Keigwan, Benjamin Millipied, and Ethan Stiefel.
2013-2015 was spent performing as a guest artist with various companies and perfecting his skills as a dance educator.For the last 5 years Shapiro has worked closely with director James Darrah and choreographer Gustavo Ramirez Sansano, performing in Opera Omaha’s ‘Semele’, San Francisco Symphony’s ‘Das Klagende Lied’ and their SoundBox series, as well as ‘Iris’ at Bard Summerscape and site specific work for The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Sam currently teaches workshops and masterclasses around the country in addition to being a visiting guest lecturer at Wake Forest University and primary instructor at University North Carolina School of the Arts.
Courses Taught
Beginning Modern Dance Technique (DCE 120)
Special Topics: Contemporary Ballet (DCE 122)
Beginning Classical Ballet Techniques (DCE 127)
Movement For All (DCE 130)
Intermediate Classical Ballet (DCE 229)
Advanced Classical Ballet (DCE 231)
