HELEN LEE
BIO
Helen Lee (they/she) is a Queer Asian Chicago-born interdisciplinary artist raised by immigrant parents from South Korea. They received an MFA with a focus in Performance and Film from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and BA in Dance with a minor in Theatre from University of Hawaii at Manoa. They have been a company member for The Humans, Tangentz Butoh Performance Group (Lori Othani), Aloha Dancers and Friends of Polynesia, understudied with Iona Contemporary Dance Theatre, been a guest artist for IS/LAND and studied with Eiko Otake, Tadashi Endo and Molly Shanahan. They have been teaching yoga, meditation and mindfulness since 2007. That same year, they formed Momentum Sensorium, a project based company that has created and choreographed for See Chicago Dance, Out of Site, APIDA Arts Festival and sometimes in unconventional locations such as lighthouses, train stations and attics. Much of their work focuses on the senses, death and the entanglement of light/shadow, joy/grief. They have presented works in the US, South Korea, Japan, Germany, Iceland, Finland and Canada. Helen was selected for 2022 Newcity Breakout Artist, was a finalist for Chicago Dancemakers Forum Lab Artist and awarded Chicago Artist Coalition’s SPARK Grant. They have had residencies at Chicago Artists Coalition, Chicago Cultural Center and Links Hall. Currently, they are an Artist in Residence at High Concept Labs, continuing work on Black and Asian allyship, collective healing and reflecting on the meaning of the celebration of Asian stories, bodies and voices. They are a frequent performer and improviser for Cristal Sabbagh’s Freedom From Freedom To series at Elastic Arts and currently performs, choreographs and organizes with Ajumma Rising. Helen is excited to be working with Khecari in a new iteration of Tend.
