EXCLUSIVE: After a long career, Jamal Sims is poised to join the small group of top choreographers who find their way into the directing chair. Sims has been set by 20th Century Studios to helm Major, a Lauren Ashley Smith-scripted drama about a ballet prodigy who bristles at the rigidity of the form and her parents’ draining expectations. She finds a new outlet when she defies their wishes and enrolls in a fictional Historically Black College in Atlanta. She joins the school’s struggling majorette dance squad. After some culture shock, she becomes determined to help the competitive dance squad return to past glory.
The film is produced by H.E.R., (also known as Gabriella Wilson), Oprah Winfrey, Scott Sanders, Carla Gardini and Mara Jacobs.
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Sims, well known for his work as a guest judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race, has been working toward this for a long time. He most recently directed Disney’s immersive production of The Lion King 30th Anniversary at the Hollywood Bowl with Jennifer Hudson and Billy Eichner, a follow to the Encanto: Love at the Hollywood Bowl show he did for Disney+. On the big screen, his work as choreographer includes Encanto, 13: The Musical, and the Guy Ritchie-directed Aladdin, as well as Girls Trip, the Step Up franchise, Footloose, Hairspray and 17 Again. He also directed and choreographed Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies for Paramount+. He has worked with the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Madonna, Usher, Outkast and others.
He directed the 2018 feature docu When the Beat Drops, about majorette dance pioneer Anthony Davis and a movement that began in the gay clubs in Atlanta.
“This is a 360 moment for me,” Sims told Deadline. “I took a chance on myself, shooting the first 15 minutes of that documentary with money out of my pocket, and when I showed it to World of Wonder, they jumped into it. I thought it was my ticket to be able to direct a narrative feature, after the documentary won all these awards. I started out as a dancer, and made the transition to choreographer, not really knowing how to do that. People in the business tended to see me as a dancer, even though I have always thought of myself as a storyteller, one who could tell stories through dance. I proved myself as a choreographer, but it has been harder to make this next transition. Finally, I’ve gotten my chance to show that, whether it’s through dialogue or movement, this is all about storytelling.”
While he was disappointed the documentary did not speed things up as hoped, he was determined to bide his time and be ready. He got to pitch himself for several jobs that included The Color Purple. He didn’t get that job, but got to know H.E.R., Winfrey and Sanders, and that made for a good fit with Major.
The list of choreographers-turned-directors is not that long, and Sims has studied the progression of artists from the late Bob Fosse to Debbie Allen, Kenny Ortega and Adam Shankman, the latter of whom he has worked with and counts as influences. Finally it’s his turn to step up.
Sims is repped by UTA and Kaplan/Perrone.
Jamal Sims
