Michael Choi

Michael began dancing Swing during the revival of the late 90’s, but soon moved on to other styles. While attending the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for painting, he began competing as an amateur in Standard and Latin. The owner of the studio where he was practicing gave him some good advice, “Move somewhere you can get good training as a dancer and teacher, and do your ISTD certifications.”

That somewhere was New York. After a brief stint at Fred Astaire, he began working at the Sandra Cameron Dance Center. That turned out to be the best of both worlds because it was there that he passed his first Associate exams in Standard and Latin, and had the opportunity to work with some of the icons of the early days of Swing and American social dancing like Frankie Manning and Peter DiFalco.

Michael has competed as a professional nationally and internationally in Latin, Ballroom, and Smooth. He’s been a finalist in Rising Star Ballroom and Classic Showdance, and won many Open Smooth competitions. While he has worked with a broad spectrum of teachers, Charlotte Jorgensen, Edward Simon, and Rufus Dustin have been his main influences as a competitor.

As a teacher he’s coached actors like Nicole Kidman and choreographers like Mercedes Ellington, and danced with his pro-am students on their way to US Championship and Best of the Best titles. He’s also consulted on shows like the Rockette’s Summer Spectacular choreographed by Mia Michaels in 2016, the Kennedy Center production of Duke Ellington’s Shakespearean Suite, and the ABC TV show Life on Mars.

Michael continues to perform and compete, and train dancers of all levels in New York.