Biography

Sarah Kim is a Family Physician based in Toronto/Tkaronto, Canada with specialized practices in Sport & Exercise Medicine, population-wide trauma, IFS Therapy and Emotion-Focused Mindful Psychotherapy. She is the faculty lead in the Health Humanities for the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine and the Dancer-in-Residence for the Health, Arts & Humanities Program. She is regularly involved in the instruction of future medical practitioners. Complementary to her medical practice, she is a mindfulness meditation and movement educator and certified yoga instructor. Dr. Kim’s artistic practice integrates various influences - urban dance, contemporary dance, circus and martial arts - as part of her movement research. Her investigations examine historical ideas around the body, exploring embedded hierarchies and the intersection of the body within industrialized systems. She is interested in how models of the body influence the lived experience: Perceptions, relationships and body politics.  As a teacher, Dr. Kim’s process involves the deconstruction and reconstruction of anatomies, building bridges between silos of knowledge, with consideration of what it means to decolonize the body, to address systemic -isms and offer sustainable alternatives to shame-based learning. Her method encourages a non-intrusive approach, inviting dialogue and positive affirmation of embodied experiences. She considers herself a lifelong student of the human condition and believes strongly in movement and creative expression as core foundations of well-being. 

Dr. Kim received her Doctor of Medicine degree at McMaster University in 2003 and completed her Residency in Family Medicine at the University of Toronto in 2005. Following this, she specialized in Sport & Exercise Medicine at the University of Toronto, obtaining her Fellowship Certification in 2006. She holds her Diploma in Sport & Exercise Medicine with the Canadian Academy of Sport and Exercise Medicine. Dr. Kim is the former Chief Medical Officer for Canada Basketball’s Women’s Elite Program. She has extensive field experience in event coverage and travelled internationally for ten years representing Canada with the Canadian National Women’s Basketball Teams. Dr. Kim sits on the Advisory board for the Narrative-Based Medicine Lab,

Sarah began formal training in dance in 1986 at the Hamilton Ballet School in Hamilton, Ontario. In 1996, she began her study of Mixed Martial Arts under Guro Michael Gregory in Montréal, Québec. Her training crossed the disciplines of French Savate, Filipino Kali, Jun Fan Gung Fu, Jeet Kun Do and Capoeira with Groupo Agua de Beber. During this transition, she introduced Breakdance into her repertoire performing at various breakdancing events and competitions such as Back to the Underground (Toronto). She was the only woman (b-girl) who competed in this competition in 1999. During medical school, she moved her practice in both martial arts and dance to Hamilton, Ontario. She trained in Wushu Kungfu at the Wushu International College of Canada and gained further Breakdance experience with the Stylordz Breakdance crew. Sarah moved to Toronto in 2003, returning to technical dance training, including Modern and Contemporary Dance, Hip Hop and Contact Improvisation. In 2005, Sarah returned to Mixed Martial Arts training in Jui-jitsu with Jason Lancucki (2004-2005), then Shawn Zirger (2008-2010) and further Capoeira training under Grupo Axé Capoeira (2005-2008). She began learning Circus Arts and Aerial Dance in 2006, studying individually with aerial coaches Chelsea O'Brian and Kevin O'Connor from 2007-2008. From 2007-2009, Sarah was a company dancer with Push-Pull Dance, performing a variety of different genres. She spent an intensive training period in France to study Contact Improvisation further with Isabelle Uski in 2008, and intensives in aerial dance in 2009 and 2010 with Corinne Cella (Belgium). She received further coaching in aerial dance from Kevin O'Connor in 2010 and has since used the Axis Syllabus to inform her movement investigations. Sarah has worked as an independent artist in various dance and interdisciplinary art projects since 2010. Her artistic explorations of the body are an endless curiosity of connection and suspension, on the floor and in the air.