SUN KIM
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
“In a world that can often feel cold and disconnected, art can be a force for good, bringing us together and reminding us of our shared humanity.”
Sun Kim is a distinguished dancer, choreographer, artistic director, and dance educator who views art as a tool that helps her access the treasure trove of humanity within — even more so during the times when she feels isolated from humanity itself. Through dance, Kim can transmute her emotions into something beautiful and connect with the human experience in a relatable, captivating, and utterly exciting way.
A native of South Korea, 2022 Harlem Stage Emerging Artist Award recipient Sun Kim cultivated a love for dancing at an early age. She immersed herself in the dance style of Breaking at the age of 12 before eventually falling in love with Popping — a style of street dance characterized by sudden tensing and releasing of the muscles to the rhythm of beats in music — a few years later and committing herself to master it. This passion later led her to move to New York in 2011 to further her professional career and begin a lifelong pursuit of living out of her comfort zone as she continues to showcase her talents to eager audiences.
Since arriving in New York, Sun Kim has harnessed her relentless work ethic and continued to push herself within numerous interrelated genres while spreading her influence and innovation throughout the world of dance — all while remaining true to the core traditional components of dancing styles like Breaking and Popping. Her many accolades include winning the Step Ya Game Up world final Popping battle, making it to the top 8 at UK B-Boy championship world final as the USA Popping representative, and performing for Cirque Du Soleil. In 2018, she co-founded Mozaik Dance, a group that uses Popping, House, Contemporary, and Hip-Hop as ways to innovate and speak about the human condition. They have performed at Jacob’s Pillow, New Victory Theater, and the San Francisco International Hip Hop Dance Festival.
Sun Kim has also established her own dance company, Sun Kim Dance Theatre (SKDT), to create platforms for underrepresented artists through evolving content that speaks directly of universal human experiences by using Popping with storytelling. Their past performances include the MOPTOP Anniversary, San Francisco International Hip Hop Dance Festival, NYPL at Lincoln Center, Ladies of Hip Hop Festival, and Choreographer’s Carnival. In 2016, she produced and directed Who You Are, an expressive art performance in New York and Seoul that interpreted street genres into an abstract art form by infusing Contemporary, Acting, Photography, Videography, and Visual Art to deliver a unique message of individuality.
Sun Kim’s impressive list of commercial work includes Madonna, Elton John, Phish, Nike, McDonald’s, Golden Goose, and Gap, along with theatre work for Burning Man at Sotheby's, Harlem Stage, and Breakin’ Convention. Additionally, she has taught at Princeton University, Broadway Dance Center, Peridance Center, and Kookmin University in South Korea.
This clip provides a glimpse into what it’s like to experience Sun Kim’s Popping class in NYC.
Sun Kim @ Harlem Stage in 2019
This excerpt of a dance performance featuring Sun Kim and Cein Lockfeller is taken from a Harlem Stage E-Moves event in May 2019.
Harlem Stage hosts an array of diverse performances from Asian Artists from all corners of the world — including right here in New York. Stay up to date on upcoming live and digital performances by subscribing to our weekly newsletter.
