Oriental Spruce (Picea orientalis)
Regularly reaching heights of over one hundred feet and with a beautifully conical growth pattern, Oriental Spruce is easily one of the tallest and most majestic trees in any landscape. Native to Asia, it is typically found at higher elevations and along slopes. It fares best in USDA hardiness zones 4 to 8.
Shahram ‘Shamou’ Amoui
Multi-instrumentalist and percussion-based community builder Shamou, Music Director and
Senior Lecturer, graced the Department of Dance at UNC Charlotte with the diverse experiences
of a successful career. Shahram ‘Shamou’ Amoui, age 64, of Charlotte, NC, passed away on
September 9, 2024. Beginning as a ballet dancer in his native Iran, he merged his dance expertise
with musicianship to forge an exciting path, composing and performing electronic scores for
renowned choreographers from across the globe. Since coming to the United States, his activities
ranged from composing, performing, and teaching at the internationally-known Bates Dance
Festival in Maine to playing drums at Las Vegas raves.
In the Department of Dance, Shamou led the accompanists who support technique classes,
composed original scores for choreography, and performed live for dance concerts. He taught
World Drumming, Music and Dance, and Digital Technology Skills for Artists. He also,
according to former Department Chair Ann Dils, “brought a new consciousness about the
importance of musical knowledge and imagination to the training of dancers and connected us
with his professional collaborators, greatly enriching student experience.”
As a composer, Shamou collaborated with professional choreographers and also brought them to
UNC Charlotte to work with students. Recent examples include composing and performing with
Nejla Yatkin, who then conducted a choreographic residency at UNC Charlotte in 2022, and
collaborations with Claudia Lavista, who worked with UNC Charlotte students in 2018. The
dances resulting from these collaborations were presented on the department’s concerts, at the
North Carolina Dance Educators Organization, and at the American College Dance Association
conference.
Among his on-campus collaborators was Department of Dance Professor E.E. Balcos, who he
collaborated with in numerous professional and student works, and accompanied him in
hundreds of classes since his arrival to UNC Charlotte in 2016. Shamou also worked with
Theatre Professor Carlos Alexis Cruz and developed Picaro, a physical theatre piece for which
Shamou created the score and in which he performed as a foil to Cruz, combining acrobatics,
comedy, and masks. An exploration of a young Guatemalan boy’s migration to the
U.S., Picaro premiered at Children’s Theatre of Charlotte in April 2019, after being
workshopped in Charlotte, San Francisco, Mexico City, and the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New
York City.
One of Shamou’s passions was teaching drumming and using drumming to form community. In
his words, drumming “brings people of diverse backgrounds together, cultivating community
through active collaboration and teamwork.”
