Dance my ikigai!
4 March 2025We’re super excited to welcome Sham Rayes to the team as our new Apprentice Company Dancer! As a fellow Mancunian, Sham has followed Company Chameleon for years—never expecting that one day, he’d become a Chameleon himself. In this delightful Q&A, we dive deep into Sham’s dance journey so far. Enjoy the read.
Q1) Hey there! Tell our readers a bit about yourself.
Hi everyone! You can call me Shameer or Sham!
My dance journey, in a few words, has been ever-changing and constantly shifting through states of discovery and curiosity.
Every time I dance, I’m exploring and answering questions like how I can deepen the experience? What is my purpose when I dance? How can I be of service to other people through expression and movement?
I’m so lucky to be on this journey and to have the opportunity to experience life in this way. Dance has brought me through the ugliest of times and pivoted me towards the most beautiful places and faces.
I believe dance can take you anywhere if you take good care of it. It put me on a plane for the first time, it found me love, it fortifies my body and mind, and it pays my bills. My ikigai!
Q2) How did you get into dance/ what’s your dance journey so far?
I’d say my journey with dance didn’t have a starting point because it’s always been like walking or breathing for me, my outlet to express.
When growing up, music was always in the air and it would have been hard not to fall into the rhythm surrounding me. Like an itch I could only scratch by dancing every day!
I didn’t have access to formal dance training, and I was discouraged from exploring my passion for dance more seriously, so I took my desire to explore movement language upon myself – whenever I had access to the internet, I would scour YouTube for freestyle dancers, always freestyle. I only ever saw dance as a language as a way to express the world around me and explore my emotions.
My appreciation for choreography started fairly recently and I’m looking forward to developing my skills in this area and using choreography as a tool to capture feelings, ideas and moments in a bottle, instead of losing them to the moment.
Q3) When did you hear about Chameleon and what made you apply to be an Apprentice Company Dancer?
Growing up in Manchester, Company Chameleon has always been a recurring encounter for me. I was always impressed by how the rules of gravity seemed to elude them. Strong, poised, but effortless. Company Chameleon’s work has been referenced frequently during my undergraduate studies. Their rep was showcased often, and I actually referenced some work loosely within my final year dissertation!
Prior to accepting the role of Apprentice Company Dancer, I’ve had the pleasure of working with dancers Kadafi and Yue Ying. I found myself so interested in how effortlessly they could traverse any terrain presented, whether it’s scaffolding, tables or open floor. They widened my scope and understanding of what could be accomplished within the realm of dance.
This was something I never thought I would have a chance to tap into until I met current Apprentice JP at an event, and she encouraged me to give the audition a go. I decided that my intention in attending the audition was to explore my fears, to open the floodgates and give it a good go. Whether I was to succeed or not was not a consideration for me – I had made to choice to deep dive and not back away from this new world, and I’m grateful it paid off!
Q4) What most excites you about being an Apprentice at Chameleon and what are you most looking forward to?
One of my strongest and most consistent beliefs is the idea that to grow, you need to move towards the things you fear. The Company’s diverse repertoire and level of versatility means I’ll never be far away from a challenge or breakthrough, which will help me to grow.
Throughout the audition and induction process at the Company, I have felt very seen. Finding a home and mentor as a dancer has been a journey, but I think I’ve found a family that has interest in my growth. Not just as a dancer, but as a human. That’s all I needed to feel welcome and part of it.
I’m excited for the moments and journey, and look forward to taking the belief given, and paying it back and forward. Tenfold.
Follow Sham’s journey as an Apprentice Company Dancer on Instagram and Facebook, where we share behind-the-scenes moments, photos, and videos showcasing daily life at Company Chameleon.