Biography

Chung Nguyen (he/them) is a Vietnamese dance artist, somatic movement facilitator and registered Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapist, with over a decade of international experience, working between Australia and Vietnam. He is renowned for creating works that establish a deep relational presence between performers, audiences, and the more-than-human world, ultimately fostering positive social engagement. Passionate about the body-mind connection, consciousness, dreams, memories and healing, Chung's work is deeply grounded in somatic and contemplative approaches, and he is also interested in cross-cultural and interdisciplinary collaboration. Through his creative research over the past few years, Chung explores the intersection of performance art, dance, and healing, exploring his queer identity in relation to Vietnamese culture and history. He explores how the body interacts with domestic objects, found items, and natural materials when situated in various environments and spaces. Chung is a graduate of the Vietnam Dance Academy in Hanoi (Vietnam) and holds a diploma in Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy (Body Intelligence Training) and certificate IV in Allied Health Assistance, and is pursuing an additional qualification in Somatic Movement Education (Somatic Education Australasia). From 2009-2016, Chung worked as a full-time dancer at Arabesque Dance Company (Vietnam), T.H.E Dance Company (Singapore), and Cinevox Junior Company (Switzerland), and in 2013 was awarded a special prize at the Korea International Modern Dance Competition. Chung also performed in works by other well-known choreographers such as Kuik Swee Boon, Isabelle Schad, Shang Chi Sun, and Ngo Thanh Phuong, to name just a few. In 2021, Chung completed the Certificate Programme for Critical Practice in Contemporary Performance organised by Dance Nucleus (Singapore). Chung’s performances and cross-disciplinary collaborations have been presented across Asia, Europe, America and Australia, including AM/FM Therapy (Grey Space, Cont-act Contemporary Dance Festival with a development residency ARTEFACT #5, supported by Dance Nucleus 2022, Singapore), Bardo (Live Dreams: Transcend, Liveworks Festival Of Experimental Art 2021, Sydney, Australia & Re: Live Performance Lab “Shifting Roots”, Brooklyn, USA), The Sack (No Cai Bum Art Week 2020, Vietnam | Performance Plus 2019; Mot+++, Vietnam | Para\\el Performance Space 2019, Brooklyn, USA | American Dance Festival 2019, The International Choreographers Residency, Durham, USA), The Hooks: No.2 (Time Between Project: Ether 2019, HCMC, Vietnam), to name just a few. Over the past decade, Chung has participated in artist-in residencies including the Front Studio Residency at Temperance Hall (Melbourne), Deep in the Mountains (South Korea), Southeast Asia Choreolab, (Malaysia), The International Choreographers Residency-American Dance Festival (Durham, USA), Southeast Asia Choreographers Network 2 & 3 (Indonesia and online), and Grey Space, Cont-act Contemporary Dance Festival (Singapore). Chung has also received grants supported by the Asian Cultural Council, and travel grants supported by the Prince Claus Fund and Goethe-Institut in Ho Chi Minh City.