About Me
Camden Sharkey (he/him) is an interdisciplinary artist, civic leader, and student based in Colorado, working at the intersection of dance, governance, and public life. He is currently completing dual degrees at the University of Colorado Boulder, a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, with an expected graduation in May 2026.
As an artist, Camden's choreographic practice investigates what it means to be fully alive, especially in moments when life does not feel worth living. His BFA honors thesis, Alivetime: On Finding Lifetimes in a Moment, explored how one might live as fully as possible through play, endurance, humor, risk, and collective movement, examining mental health, mortality, and the quiet rebellions of choosing joy. Trained in Contemporary, Modern, Post-Modern, House, Hip-Hop, Locking, Rocking, Popping, Tap, and Aerial forms, his physicality moves between precision and release, spectacle and subtlety. He has been selected twice to work with the CU Boulder Department of Theater and Dance's Roser Guest Artist in Residence, collaborating with André Zachery from NYU Tisch and Tiffany Bong from USC Kaufman, and has competed nationally in Humor and Drama through the NSDA.
Camden's civic work is equally expansive. He currently serves as External Affairs Tri-Executive for CU Boulder Student Government (CUSG), where he co-stewards a $35 million student budget, leads a 40-person cabinet, and drives campus-wide initiatives around student safety and food insecurity for a community of 38,000 students. Prior to this role, he served as Internship Director, guiding sixteen first-year students through their own leadership development within CUSG. His policy work began even earlier: as a State Senate District 10 Representative for the Colorado Youth Advisory Council (COYAC), he worked directly alongside state lawmakers, served on an interim legislative committee, and successfully wrote and passed two policy proposals into law.
Beyond the studio and the statehouse, Camden spent two years as Chip the Buffalo, the official costumed mascot and Division I athlete for CU Boulder Athletics, representing the university at over 50 events per year, including nationally televised games, before crowds of up to 55,000 people. He approaches all of his work, whether in choreography, governance, or performance, as parallel practices: each asks how people move together, how systems hold us up or fail us, and how we might build structures in which more people can thrive. When not in the studio or at the Capitol, he can be found at a concert, seeing a movie, spending time with friends, skating or enjoying the outdoors, or building with Legos.
