SunMi Cho

“Creativity or talent, like electricity, is something I don’t understand but something I’m able to harness and use.” - Dr. Maya Angelou . Creativity is an underestimated practice. I appreciate and L♥️VE the practice of active creativity. . As a single mother of 4 and a small business owner in the arts, having a flexible mindset that creatively dances through the challenges of daily life- I can appreciate all the time my dance training TRAINED me to be CREATIVE - because it does show up like ⚡️electricity ⚡️in subtle powerful ways. . Sept 7th classes begin. I can’t wait to keep growing forward and up as we create into the 4th year of existence. Together. . Let’s Create. #phillydance #phillydancer #kad #mayaangelouquotes #phillydancestudio #balletphotography #rodinmuseumphiladelphia . 📸: @pillaphoto Leotard: @elevedancewear Pointe Shoes: @virtisse

“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” - Maya Angelou . Growing up I felt lonely. As a Korean Adoptee I was grieving a lot of unspoken/unspeakable loss- even at the age of 2. Living in an orphanage has a built in loneliness that is like swallowing a shadow. . At age 10, I found dance and poured my unspoken grief and happiness into movement and expression. 4 decades later, I’m proud that I’m able to create a pathway or home for other people to connect to their body, emotions and community around them. . Thank you 🙏 to @fox29philly for spotlighting @balletsunmi in your “215” segment. . #kad #koreanadoptee #phillydancer #phillydance #phillydancestudio #phillywomen #adopteestories #supportsmallbusiness #phillyballet

There simply are not enough words for everything we feel. This is where art is so powerful for the individual and the collective. The journey of knowing an art form’s rules so you can learn how to use that art form - to bend into your own expression. You have to practice creativity to allow for deeper expression. . I teach ballet. There are A Lot (a lot) of rules in ballet - a lot 😉 But there’s also knowing the rules so you can bend, break or reinforce them. That’s fun! That’s agency and creativity coming together over time. . No instant pot cooking here 😜 just some creative wiggling inspired from decades of rule following. . #phillydance #phillydancers #phillyteachers #kad #aapi

“…a God that did everything we thought was right and good wouldn’t be the creator of the universe. He would be our puppet.” . “Learn everything. Fill your mind with knowledge—it’s the only kind of power no one can take away from you…Learning was like playing, not labor.” . “a man must learn to forgive—to know what is important, that to live without forgiveness was a kind of death with breathing and movement.” Pachinko by Min Jin Lee Happy AAPI Month ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️ I’ve really been enjoying the book Pachinko (not finished yet), and watching the series on Apple TV (just finished last night). These three quotes bookend parts of where my grapplings have me wandering upwards and forward. . Growing up, I didn’t learn a lot about Korean and Japanese culture/history. Although a fictional story, I found it igniting my imagination and my understanding of a heritage I still know in such a limited capacity. And ultimately, understanding a bit more of the social constraints on Korean women that impacted so many of them to abandon their babies and children. . I’m still learning what it means for me to be a Transcontinental Adoptee /Korean Adoptee. Or just a growing and learning . This year, I’ll begin Korean language lessons, work towards my creative writing certificate at Penn and attend a Korean Adoptee Conference - as I reflect my experiences forward into the future I don’t know of just, yet- I remain truly hopeful (and curious)to discover all the little pieces that continue the journey of being a lifelong learner of joy, understanding and compassion. . Here’s to all of us growing and learning love, perseverance and the power of forgiveness together ♥️ . 📸 Slide 1 & 4: @pillaphoto #kad #phillydancer #koreanadoptee #aapi

Better together 🫶🏽♥️ A plea 😉 from our Director, SunMi @sunmispeaks to be better together. . Our annual showcase is coming up May 30th and 31st. We need parent volunteers to come alongside to love on the students through checking people in, taking tickets, sitting with kids classes while they wait to go on stage and setting up the theatre. Please, please don’t hesitate to share a gift you have that’s not on our list. . Families you’ll receive an email with a Google sign up. We can’t wait to come together to make an incredible joyful experience for our entire community. . Place a 🌟 in comments if you feel the love for community arts to keep thriving together. . #phillydance #phillykids #phillydancestudio #phillyballet

This photo shoot was only 3 years ago! So much has shifted in my body in just 3 years. I’m slated for a bi-lateral hip replacement next summer- from the impact of: 1. Ankylosing Spondylitis (rheumatoid arthritis autoimmune disorder where the body fuses the spine and impacts the hips). 2. Hip Dysplasia (really loose hips, which gave me a huge range of motion but also deteriorated the hip joint). 3. One year ago, wearing a boot for 3 months to heal my fractured foot (caused from pain in my spine while landing from playing paddle ball on the beach 😂). The boot was very heavy and I continued teaching while wearing the boot causing more pressure on my hips. . All of this to serve as a reminder to soak up ☀️as much as you can - and be so grateful to your body for showing up in all the ways that allow you to share your expressions with the people you love ❤️ . Special Thank you to 📸: @foxulee_photography for sharing his gift of photography with Philadelphia . #phillydance #balletphotographer #phillyarts #phillydancers

Our purpose ♥️ is to create relevant, age appropriate and representative dance classes that understand the student as an entire human being- growing them from inside out and bottom up. . Relevant: After 25 years of teaching, our Director SunMi, built a curriculum that fits into children’s lives by coming alongside them - but not dominating their time. Classes are 1 hour 2 times a week on average. There’s no time wasted in those classes with a focus on integration of mind, body and heart. . Age Appropriate: We challenge children’s focus perceptions to help raise their standard of what focused physical activity looks like, while keeping days of classes and times spread out to meet city families densely scheduled lives. . Representative: We believe representation has lasting impact for overall thriving. Our showcases and performances focus on universal themes that are inclusive through representing the community we live in and originated from. This means we create non-Eurocentric original ballets to expand students understanding of how they see themselves in the present and future of dance. . Summer classes are registering now. Please join us as we dance together creating future leaders! . 📸: @pillaphoto #phillydance #phillykidsclasses #phillydancestudio #phillyballet

Lunar New Year Celebration 🧧 continues as we celebrate the YEAR of the Horse 🎠 . We had 🫶🏽 and 💓leading all of our friends @therailpark with K-Pop love. . Our Summer Camp KPop Demon Hunters is live and filling up fast. Check out link in bio to register. ✅Ages 6-12 from 9 am- 3pm . 😈June 22-26 😈July 6-10 . Photo: @embassy730

To Glide ⛷️ Glissade is a series of small ballet steps strung together quickly to make a very, very, very, very often danced connector step. You could think of Glissade the way you use the word “because” in a sentence. . A common ballet “sentence” is “Glissade jete assemble” - which translates into “glide throw assemble “ - <All the while looking like a queen, king or 🧚 fairy> 😉 . Hope you have a glissade of a day 🤷🏻‍♀️ . #phillydance #phillydancestudio #phillyballet #phillydancestudio

Inclusion and representation are responsibilities we can choose in order to lead the next generation. I think showing children they have options to be whatever they are purposed to pursue is a powerful way to lead. . As a Korean Adoptee I’m always up for discussions that help build conversations around inclusion, belonging and identity. . I phrased a question and referred to co-star Phil Chan as “half Asian” in which he so graciously offered that he considers himself 💯 percent Asian and 💯 German, which really taught me a fresh perspective. . Thank you for showcasing your work @jenniferlin1100 and @phillyaaff for bringing these powerful and important art discussions forward. #kad #phillydance #transracialadoptee

Congratulations to @jenniferlin1100 @philschan @phillyaaff for a bringing such an impactful conversation for future young ballerina/o and beyond. Inclusion and diversity through representation and respect. . Jennifer Lin’s (award winning documentarian) documentary co-starring Phil Chan (author of Final Bow Yellow Face) in “About Face” brings the power of voice, heritage and identity in the arts and beyond to help continue the conversations of belonging. Our youth dancers, Ting, Carrie, Nicole & Mira were thrilled and nervous to perform as the opening of the film’s showing. They loved being able to celebrate with the Director and co-star. . Huge thank you 🙏🏽 for all the work continuing to be done to give our children options for their future. . “If I see further than others, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” - Sir Isaac Newton . #phillydance #aapi #phillydancer #nomoreyellowface #finalbowforyellowface

When you know 🥰 You Know 😍 . November is National Adoptee Awareness Month, and what that means for us as studio is we get to celebrate 🥳 our core value to build inclusion and belonging to others through dance. . We bring kpop dance into the community to build friendship and love ❤️We had so much joy dancing together at the @phillyaaff block party! . #phillydance #nationaladoptionmonth #nationaladoptionawarenessmonth #phillyaaff #phillykpop #phillydance