Jamal Sims

Jamal Sims is an American choreographer, director, producer, and dancer born in Pomona, California, who has become a major force in screen choreography across film, television, animation, and live events. Describing himself as a self-taught dancer, Sims developed a practice that draws from social and commercial dance vocabularies, theatrical storytelling, and camera blocking. His early feature work on *Vanilla Sky*, *Beauty Shop*, and the *Step Up* franchise established his ability to make movement carry character and plot while remaining legible through editing and camera position—a skill that would define his career across mediums.

Sims extended this work into arena-scale production by directing and choreographing Miley Cyrus's Wonder World Tour following his choreography for *Hannah Montana: The Movie* in 2009. Television became another sustained arena, where he served as resident choreographer on *RuPaul's Drag Race* and related productions. This work requires adapting material to performers with different movement backgrounds, costumes, and personas while preserving spectacle and competitive clarity. The Television Academy has nominated his choreography for these series multiple times.

In 2018, Sims made his documentary directing debut with *When the Beat Drops*, focused on the Black gay men and innovators of Atlanta's bucking scene. The film marks a crucial shift in his work—from deploying dance for an entertainment property to preserving dancers' own cultural testimony and experience. His Disney work demonstrates yet another form of translation. For the animated *Encanto*, choreography had to be communicated through performers and reference into animated bodies capable of stylized exaggeration. He then helped adapt that material for *Encanto at the Hollywood Bowl*, where Disney credits Jamal Sims and Kai Martinez as choreographers and Chris Howe as director.

Sims's work across *Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies*, *Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration*, *The Lion King at the Hollywood Bowl*, and *RuPaul's Drag Race* has generated six Emmy nominations from the Television Academy. His career demonstrates an artist moving between choreography and direction while retaining the core skill of making movement communicate story, identity, and tone to a mass audience.