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 a BA in Dance with a minor in Theatre from the 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, celebrating Asian voices and Black and Asian allyship. They have presented works in the US, South Korea, Japan, Germany, Iceland, Finland and Canada. Helen was selected for 2022 Newcity Breakout Artist and 2024 Chicago Dancemakers Forum Lab Artist. They have had residencies at Chicago Artists Coalition, Chicago Cultural Center, Links Hall and High Concept Labs at Mana Contemporary. They are a frequent performer and improviser for Cristal Sabbagh’s Freedom From Freedom To series at Elastic Arts. Helen is excited to jump back into Tend for a second time.
