at the 2023 Pan-American Games, a historic achievement that also made her the first American female breaker to qualify for the upcoming Paris Olympics.
Now, the top-10 breaker is only a few weeks away from fulfilling a lifelong dream — even if it’s in an entirely different sport than her younger self imagined. Enthralled by the gymnasts at the 1992 Olympics, Choi says she became hooked and competed until a series of knee injuries cut her ambitions short. But instead of giving up, she discovered breaking in college. “When life threw me a second chance, I took it,” Choi says.
Nearly two decades later, Choi says she’s excited to honor breaking’s roots on an international stage, while drawing in new fans. With origins in Black and Latino communities in the Bronx, breaking is a culturea high-energy sport in which dancers often battle one another in the cypher — a circle formed by audience members — and perform a series of fundamental steps in their own styles. “We wouldn’t be here without the culture,” Choi says.
Below, the 35-year-old breaker takes a brief break from her intensive training to talk about the Olympics, her impressive multiple-step skin care routine, and her new partnership withI have a strength and conditioning coach that helps me with my cross-training outside of breaking. Most days of the week I have something I'm working through with her. I also do breaking practices.
I also do hot vinyasa, because when you're sweating your existence out in that room, you can't think about anything else. That hour of forced calm and quiet is really good for my brain. I walk out of those sessions every time, and I’m like, “Anything could happen right now, and I'll be fine.”and they'll pop off as I'm dancing, but those really stay. I have a set planned, and then I was going to put red and blue jewels on them so I'm a little bit patriotic.