NYC Gazette

Cari Ann Shim Sham*, a "techpressionist" who blends technology with dance, is teaching a course called "Video Art" at the Tisch School of the Arts. The course aims to merge movement with computer technology and coding, creating immersive digital art.

"This course is about digital media interacting with the body, how the body is becoming integrated into the art form. It comes out of the dance department, but it attracts students across Tisch and beyond," says Shim Sham*. "Video art is a genre that is very queer and absurd and draws in a lot of renegade people."

For three hours each week, a dance studio becomes a darkened lab where students develop their projects. They work around two large screens, refining their videos before presenting them to classmates.

Shim Sham* leads group critiques after each performance, asking questions like: “Feedback? What do you see? What do you think? What do you feel?” The discussions are constructive, with suggestions for further exploration.

The course welcomes students from various departments within Tisch and other NYU schools such as Tandon School of Engineering. Basic knowledge of video production or completion of "Filming the Moving Body" is required. Dance experience is not necessary.

“Any body can move, that’s one of the things I'm very much focused on,” Shim Sham* states. “Dance is the original language. It is inherent in all of us.”

Students explore movement concepts while learning technical skills like projection techniques and live coding on Hydra. They read "Glitch Feminism" by Legacy Russell as part of their theoretical studies.

By April, participants will be equipped to work professionally in video projection art. An April 12 showcase will feature their work publicly for the first time this year.