Michael Choi

Ballroom · Latin · Smooth · Rhythm · Theater Arts

Michael Choi

Dancer · Producer · Examiner

Serious about the craft. Not stodgy … yet.

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The credentials

Fellowships in three styles, two exam boards, and one very long memory for bad footwork.

Michael Choi is a professional ballroom dancer, teacher trainer, and examiner in New York City. He holds Fellowships — the top teaching credential — in International Ballroom, International Latin, and American Smooth, examines for Dance Vision and AIDA, and is a Fellow of the ISTD in London. A two-time Ohio Star Ball Smooth semi-finalist, he now spends his energy raising the standard of the profession: training teachers, building exam content, and holding the line on technique — without ever making it feel like a lecture.

Michael Choi and Erin Marie in American Smooth under a spotlight
Performing at the Golden Star Dancesport Gala, 2015

Fellow — International Ballroom · International Latin · American Smooth·Licentiate — American Rhythm & Theatre Arts·Examiner — Dance Vision & AIDA·Fellow, ISTD (London)·AADTA Board of Directors

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The mission

Raising the standard for dance teachers.

The fastest way to raise the level of the room is to raise the level of the people teaching it. Michael examines, mentors, and builds the tools the exam boards haven't gotten to yet.

“All models are wrong, but some are useful.”George E. P. Box

Manuals are just a list of criteria. The skill is decoding how those criteria become real movement — and then teaching it. What goes wrong, why, and what an examiner sees when it does isn't written down anywhere. That gap is the work.

Teaching & examining →

The writing

The Dance Nerd.

Technique-first, occasionally irreverent writing on how dancing actually works.

April 30, 2020 · Updated July 27, 2026

Which Way Is Forward? A Field Guide to Line of Dance

Line of dance does two jobs at once — floorcraft on a crowded floor, and the vocabulary for which way a body points. A field guide, rebuilt with seven new diagrams.

Ballroom TechniqueFloorcraftAlignment
July 21, 2026

The Magic Triangle

All models are wrong. Some of them can dance. Two hands and the lower core — the wrong, useful model I hand people most often, and why it degrades so gracefully…

Ballroom TechniquePartnering
February 27, 2025

How much training does a Ballroom Dancer have?

I asked ChatGPT to compare professions based on how much training time one puts in to each and this is what they came up with. That basically checks out with my own experience,…
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What he builds

Curating artistic dance experiences.

From a DanceSport competition in Oklahoma City to a December challenge at the TWA Hotel and a three-act showcase at the Salmagundi Club, Michael produces and choreographs a full slate each year.

01

OK Dancesport

One-day DanceSport competition in Oklahoma City — late May, annual.
02

City's Dancesport

December challenge at the TWA Hotel (JFK), with a Friday-night gala.
03

Big Apple Ballroom

The NYC studio Michael founded and runs — his teaching and examining home base on 5th Ave.
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Lessons, examinations, or dance emergencies?

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