Born in Auckland, New Zealand, Jag Popham began dancing at the age of three. He started with ballet before delving into other movement practices such as contemporary, capoeira and Brazilian jiu jitsu.
He trained at the New Zealand School of Dance, majoring in contemporary, and graduated in 2015.
Popham first performed with Australasian Dance Collective in Black, which premiered at QPAC in 2016 and later that year toured through the Guangdong province of China. He worked with the collective on several projects in 2018 and 2019, including The Dinner Party.
Popham worked with Lloyd Newson on a remount of Enter Achilles, co-produced by Rambert and Sadlers Wells.
Through different avenues, Popham has had the privilege to work with artists such as Kuik Swee Boon, Stephanie Lake, Sarah Foster-Sproull and Okareka Dance Company.
Popham re-joined ADC as a Company Artist in 2021 and performed in the sell-out season of Aftermath at Brisbane Powerhouse, Succession – a collaboration with ADC’s Youth Ensemble – and then in triple bill, THREE, at QPAC in May 2021.
