Interview with Choreographer and Performance Artist
Jinyeob Cha
On Jinyeob Cha’s stages, we encounter mirrors, ice, sand, or rustling viny, materials that are far more than mere props. They become a language of their own, revealing how bodies, spaces, and matter relate to one another.
Since founding collective A in 2012, the choreographer and performance artist has been committed to making the cycles of existence and life visible through movement. And when inspiration doesn’t come immediately, she takes a walk around Namsan, clears her head, and returns to the neighborhood she has shaped artistically for many years.
In this interview, we speak with her about body, space, and materiality, her experiences in Europe, and her upcoming projects, with a special focus on her influential series “The Transforming Body (원형하는 몸)”.
Please introduce yourself briefly.
I’m Jinyeob Cha, Artistic Director of collective A. As a choreographer, stage artist, and performance artist, my work primarily explores the body, and I bring a wide variety of projects to life.
Many followers of the Goethe-Institut Korea may not yet be familiar with your work. Could you give us an insight into your current projects?
Recently, in December 2025, I presented a new work from the series “The Twisting Body (원형하는 몸)”, titled “The Twisting Body: Being Being Being.” This work constitutes the third installment of the series, which began in 2020, and is the result of an extended process of research and development within the ongoing progression of Round 1, Round 2, and Round 3. By now, this body of work has been continuously developed over a period of six years.
As I have continued my artistic practice through my twenties and thirties and into my early forties, my engagement with the body, the questions I address to it, and my reflections on existence have grown increasingly deep. In this process, I became more and more interested in fundamental, ontological questions: in being prior to the human, in the body as a living entity in itself—where the body comes from and how it is connected to the world. The series “The Twisting Body (원형하는 몸)” emerges precisely from these questions.
Round 1 | © PARADISE ART LAB
Round 2 | © Jinuk Ryu
When I founded collective A in 2012, my first work was Rotten Apple. Ever since then, I have continually asked myself what my identity and core essence are.
In this process, what came to feel most essential to me was the notion of “space.” For me, the body itself is a space, and at the same time, the physical space that contains the body is also a crucial element. Ultimately, I came to understand the relationship between body and space as the core theme of my work.
The experience of time within that space is extremely important not only for the performers but also for the audience. From this perspective, I gave considerable thought to the format of performance itself. Rather than working within the traditional proscenium stage typically associated with theatrical performance, I began to ask what kinds of spaces and formats might better reveal the themes embodied in the body. Through this line of inquiry, I continued to pursue a range of experiments.
In The Transforming Body, I focused on “water” as the source of life. As I observed and explored water, I found it compelling that the body, too, is an entity whose state is constantly changing in response to its surrounding environment. Water becomes ice, melts back into liquid, and then evaporates into vapor—repeating cycles of transformation. These shifts in state and processes of circulation evoked life itself, while also providing strong visual inspiration. I began to consider how this sense of cyclicality and transformation—the flow from ice to liquid to vapor—might be visualized within a performance.
From there, I first questioned how this circularity could be realized spatially. Rather than presenting a perfectly completed circle, I found it more intriguing to create a space that ultimately appears circular as a result. Through an extended period of discussion and experimentation with my creative partner, architect Lee Byung‑yeop, we conceived a mirrored structure made up of triangular elements, similar to slices of a pizza. After several months of sustained exploration, the form was finalized. What is essential in this work is interaction—the interplay between body and space. Through the mirrors, a single body is reflected in multiple directions, multiplied and expanded, generating circular imagery. These scenes produce images reminiscent of fractal structures, in which body and space interact and continually expand.
By working with various types of vinyl, combining them with the body, allowing them to become space, a part of the body, or even appear as another entity altogether, I was able to make many discoveries through the continuous flow of inspiration and ideas that emerged from this process.
You studied in the UK and later worked in Europe. How did these experiences influence your artistic language?
I worked in Europe fairly early in my career and encountered true professionalism there for the first time. Back then in Korea, there were few opportunities to learn systematically or to understand what mindset and work ethic dancers should have.
During my studies, the German choreographer Micha Purucker was invited to my university as a visiting professor. This led to a collaboration with his project in Munich, where I worked for two months in Germany. It was the first time I signed a contract, attended rehearsals at set times, and experienced structured work processes.
What impressed me most was the attitude of my fellow dancers. They prepared their bodies before rehearsals on their own, cared for their physical condition daily, and always came to work in the best possible shape. Seeing that taught me how important discipline and mindset are for a professional dancer. Reflecting on myself, my own excessive ambitions and moments of complacency, this experience became an important starting point for my early international practice and continues to have a significant influence on my work today.
After graduating, I spontaneously attended an open audition in Munich—with about 200 applicants. The final round involved an improvisation task. I barely understood English at the time, so I improvised based on what I thought the choreographer wanted. To my surprise, my interpretation was exactly what he had in mind, and I was selected. Looking back, it was almost comical but also proof that dance truly can be a universal language.
Though he was not born in Germany, one of the choreographers who influenced me the most is William Forsythe. He spent many years in Germany as Artistic Director of Ballet Frankfurt and is, to me, one of the most important figures in dance history.
I’ve admired his work since my student years. His influence is especially strong in his understanding of the relationship between body and space. For him, movement is not simply dance but a method of perceiving and shaping space. He views the body as architecture—an active structure within space.
His work Improvisation Technologies (1994–1996) visualizes movement as lines and spatial constructions, showing how bodies continually form relationships and expand space.
I believe that my own interest in the interconnections between body and space resonates with some of his ideas.
How do you find inspiration in everyday life? Do you have particular routines or rituals?
I like to describe myself as a kind of “comfortable perfectionist.” Before starting a new project, I mentally simulate endless scenarios. It takes time until I can say with certainty: Yes, this is truly my piece.
When my ideas feel unclear, I turn instead to simple physical movement. I do ordinary tasks such as tidying up my home or going for a walk, trying not to engage my mind too actively. While my body is occupied with these seemingly pointless activities, my thoughts continue to revolve around the work. In a sense, my body and mind are operating separately.
I also find calm and clarity while walking or driving around Hannam-dong and Namsan, where I have lived for many years. The topography and atmosphere of this neighborhood give me a sense of psychological stability. This environment, where mountain and city coexist, seems to influence my work as well.
My home, too, is a space closely connected to my practice. I hoped it would be more than just a place to rest, but a space for rest and inspiration, for generation and experimentation. With this intention, I created a sliding mirror structure in the living room. In this space, I warm up my body, play music, work on choreography, and conduct experiments by moving whenever ideas arise. For me, inspiration does not arrive suddenly in extraordinary moments, but is gradually formed through daily spaces and through sensing the body.
What projects are you planning for this year?
Several works are scheduled this year, including my collaboration with the Korea National Dance Company on Dreamland Dance (몽유도원무) as well as the continued development of The Transforming Body (원형하는 몸).
At the same time, the The Transforming Body series is a long-term project that continues to expand. This body of work investigates the relationship between the body and the world, as well as the sense of circularity and connectedness generated through movement. It continues to develop into new forms across different spaces, materials, and environments.
Moving forward, I plan to continue expanding bodily movement beyond choreography alone, further exploring its relationships with space, material, and sensory experience.
Project Planning and Interview: Sohee Shin
Artist: Jinyeob Cha
Images: Leslie Klatte, Yoonjung Daw
SNS-Shorts: Yoonjung Daw
German & English translation: Leslie Klatte
