In the low light of her gray garage, Rebecca Kim (11) ran through her dance routine once again. She began moving to the rhythm of K-pop megagroup Twice’s bubbly song, “More and More,” trying to convey its energy through precisely mimicked arm spins. Kim flipped her hair and performed the cutesy movements demonstrated by the girl band members’ music video, performing to a phone screen to be posted on TikTok later. It was the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and she was 14.

Now, at 16, she attends hip-hop competitions both in town and throughout the country.

Kim trained at Prodigy Dance Co. throughout middle school, learning ballet, jazz, and other dance styles that draw from traditional Western European techniques. However, she quickly found that they didn’t match what she was drawn to as a dancer.

“I didn’t really feel like [Western European dance styles] suited me,” Kim said. “It’s more about stiff movements, and I could tell from the get-go that I’m a very flowy dancer. The type of style [at Prodigy] is very rigid, since you have to be very tight with all the technique.”

Initially, Kim was happy just to be learning. But when the pandemic hit, she found herself stuck at home with little to do and a waning interest in her dance classes, which now took place on her laptop.

“It was hard to motivate myself and I would slack off off camera,” Kim said. “I was going to stop dancing, because it was a lot of money and just over Zoom.”

Kim still wanted to get exercise and enjoy something new while stuck at home, which she found when she struck up a burgeoning interest in K-pop dance videos.

“I started [dancing on] TikTok, watching these dancers on Youtube, and wanting to learn,” Kim said. “I didn’t really get in touch with my Korean heritage until I started getting into K-pop, and I felt very proud that the genre was getting popular [in the United States].”

After quarantine lifted, Kim was tired of staying at home and looked for different in-person dance opportunities. During this process, Kim stumbled upon Studio FX, a hip-hop studio in Mira Mesa. 

K-pop dance draws influence from Western styles like Jazz and hip-hop, and these similarities intrigued Kim.

“[San Diego] actually has a lot of that breakdancing and hip-hop culture, which is really cool,” Kim said. “You would be surprised how many groups and competitions are based in San Diego.”

Kim entered her first class on Oct. 22, 2020, with a mix of apprehension and excitement.

“I was kind of alone, and then this guy came up to me, talked to me, and introduced me to his friends,” Kim said. “Then I went up to more people and I just got to know them.”

The class was lively and like nothing she’d experienced before. When watching others perform, classmates cheered and hooted, encouraging each other vigorously. The community wasn’t focused on comparison or competition, but energy, individuality and art. Kim was immediately hooked.

“I was there [at the studio] every day for at least three to four hours,” Kim said. “I improved in those first two years a lot, from nonstop practicing.”

Kim discovered that her physical practice was aided by visually running through movements in her head and planning how each movement should look, as if looking at herself in the mirror in her head. 

“I listen to music over and over again, constantly painting that part of the song in slow motion,” Kim said. “If I mess it up or I feel like something is wrong, I tweak it in my head, and then I try it.”

Her rapid improvement can be observed in the Instagram videos Kim posted at the time. Her earlier dancing on TikTok was energetic but amateur, lacking control of movements. As a student of hip-hop, Kim’s technique grew rich with a foundation of grooves, control and musicality.

“I watched videos of people like Ysabelle Capitule, Bailey Sok, and Nat Bat,” Kim said. “I would constantly train [at class] and watch videos to see how I could do what they were doing, but it [still] took a lot of time and experience, especially performing [in front of classmates].”

In her new environment, Kim was able to implement the styles she’d become obsessed with into her own movements. Like her hip-hop idols, Kim developed a style that is hard-hitting, utilizes full-body movements, and is tinged with a feminine flair that shows up in the occasional body roll or hip pop.

Soon after starting classes at Studio FX, Kim joined two competitive performance teams at Studio FX simultaneously: Syde FX, consisting of 16-18-year-old dancers, and F(x)nction for those 13-16.

“I really gained a lot of friends,” Kim said. “You just form  connections by hyping people up and everyone cheering you on.”

By joining these two teams, Kim entered the world of hip-hop choreography exhibitions, or non-competitive performances. With her teams, she performed routines at local exhibitions like Show Out and Prelude SoCal.

Throughout her performance seasons, when Kim’s dancing didn’t feel right, she found motivation to continue by taking a break and going back to the dancers who’d inspired her.

“When I felt stuck with my movement, I didn’t actually dance,” Kim said. “I tried to open up my mind, and then I would watch videos of people to rekindle my passion for dance.”

Kim decided to start the Hip-Hop Club at Westview in fall 2021, utilizing her visual abilities to choreograph pieces in her head while listening to music. Then, she would teach them to club members.

“I wanted to bring some of my dance life to school and share it with people who don’t have a studio to go to,” Kim said. “I made it to be a club you can go to every week, just have fun, and learn dances for free.”

In August of 2022, in her second season of competitive hip-hop, Kim accompanied her team SFX, the combined fleet of F(x)nction and Syde FX dancers, to a Hip-Hop Internationals (HHI) competition in Phoenix. The team competed in a preliminary round against other American teams and went on to compete in the international round against dance crews from countries like Canada, Japan and Thailand.

Donning navy work suits emblazoned with “SFX” on the back and red bandanas tied around their necks, Kim and the 30 or so other SFX dancers incorporated the fast tapping of Chicago Footwork and gravity-defying gliding of Memphis Jookin into their choreography, standing apart from other crews with their diverse foundations.

“We made it through the semifinals because we tried different styles [from the typical ones],” Kim said. “There’s a certain HHI style which everyone tends to follow—there’s no time to chill out, there’s a lot of EDM, and people tend to go for whacking, voguing and popping [for their three mandated styles].”

While SFX didn’t make it to the final round of international competition, Kim still said she enjoyed the experience.

“The skill level [of other teams] was humbling,” Kim said. “I left thinking, ‘this is what I need to do from now on’ and the experience was amazing. Just hanging out with your teammates and watching the competition for free is crazy.”

This spontaneity and energy doesn’t end when Kim steps off the spotlighted stage. After competing, she doesn’t leave hip-hop behind. Hip-hop is threaded into the baggy cargos, beanies, and fresh kicks she often wears. It’s there in the music she blasts in her headphones, from old classics like Busta Rhymes’ “Touch It” to new additions like Drake’s “TSU.” Hip-hop has become a part of her identity.

Sometimes Kim and her friends will freestyle for fun on a street corner to practice their moves and continue the culture’s legacy.

“We bring my speaker, put on a playlist, and start freestyling,” Kim said. “It’s not even about looking good. It’s just practicing what feels good on your body without having a mirror, so you’re not caught up on the fact that you need to look good.”

One way Kim engages with the larger hip-hop community is through Mira Mesa’s Boba Battles, which offer live 1v1 breakdancing duels.

“You watch these people break, for free,” Kim said. “They just battle each other on the spot. There’s a DJ, there’s an MC, and they’re just battling for boba. It’s really fun.”

Kim plans on dancing her way into adulthood, if she can.

“I want to be a professional dancer, but I’m fine with teaching [dance] because I know it’s a hard profession,” Kim said. “Dance is a fun thing for me right now, but I’m afraid that if I become a professional, it’s not going to be my safe space anymore.”

Regardless, Kim is always going to seek out hip-hop in some form or another as her life progresses along with her craft.

“I’m so grateful to be in the community,” Kim said. “Dance is a huge part of my life. I can’t imagine anything without it.”