Biography
Born in Seoul (South Korea), Sung Im Her obtained a master’s degree in contemporary dance at Han-Sung University and moved to Brussels to study at P.A.R.T.S. (2004-2006). As a performer she worked for renowned companies and artists such as Jan Fabre/Troubleyn (the solo Quando l’uomo principale e une donna and the group work Je suis Sang), Les Ballets C de la B (Ashes) and Needcompany directed by Grace Ellen Barkey and Jan Lauwers, with whom she has collaborated in several productions as a dancer, choreographer and movement director. In parallel to performing and collaborating with big companies, Sung Im Her started creating her own works such as Philia (2012), En-trance (2013), Tuning (2014) and NYMF (2015).
When she moved from Belgium to London in 2016, Sung Im Her received the Testbeds Catalyst, a year-long programme for mid career artists where she developed ideas around global citizenship, borders and home. Since she has been based in London she has premiered You Are Okay! (2017), Human Wall (2018), Nutcrusher (2019), W.A.Y (2019) and Time in between time (2020). Her work has attracted the support from organisations from Germany, France, Belgium, Switzerland, UK and Korea.
In her work, Sung Im Her strikes a balance between a stripped-down, almost formal aesthetic and a content-driven narrative style. As a choreographer she explores the essence of movements, unburdened by cultural or personal meaning. This leads to a minimalist, raw style of movement with strict, geometric choreographies that are based on iteration. As a narrator Sung Im has hitherto focused on controversial topics such as migration, discrimination, sexual violence, etc. She informs her views on these matters through rigorous research and integrates them into her choreographies by using theatrical, often culturally loaded elements.
