dancer Bada Lee on Competing Again After 'Street Woman Fighter 2' Win

"If you start thinking about how much you have to lose, you can't take on anything," Bada Lee said.

The dancer was explaining why she stepped back into a survival competition after already reaching the top. On Mnet's "Street Woman Fighter 2," which aired in 2023, she led her crew BEBE to the win. The title brought her respect for her skills and real name recognition with the general public.

People around her worried she now had more to lose than to gain. She saw it differently. She said she felt her growth would stop the moment she got comfortable.

Three years after that win, she joined "Street World Fighter: Directors' War" (Seuteurit Woldeu Paiteo: Direkteoseu Wo), this time as a performance director. The season brought together 10 directors with proven skills. Bada Lee made the Top 4 and reached the live final.

She recently sat down for an interview at the Tenasia offices in Seoul's Jungnim area. Long before her TV breakout, she was already busy as a K-pop choreographer. Rather than settle for the career she had built, she said, she wanted to test what she could do on a new stage.

Her fame, she admitted, was not new to everyone.

"Even before 'Street Woman Fighter 2,' I was well known in the dance world and among K-pop fans," she said with a laugh. "When people found out I made a choreography, fans of other artists would say, 'Please make one for our artist too.' But after the show, the general public started recognizing me. That was really amazing."

The fans who stop her are not always who she expected.

"I thought a lot of young people would recognize me," she said. "But it's actually more moms and dads. When I hear, 'My daughter loves you, so I became a fan too,' it makes me really happy."

She pointed to two moments that shaped her career.

"The first was when I was influenced by Baek Gu-young and set a goal of making it as a K-pop choreographer," she said. "From then on, I really wanted to make my name known. The second was 'Street Woman Fighter 2.' I could clearly show the public what kind of dancing Bada does and what kind of choreography she makes. I think it's the biggest turning point of my life."

The new show offered something different. It puts the job of performance director in front of a wide audience, and she works as a director as well as a dancer and choreographer.

"I thought it was a chance to show different sides of myself," she said. "From the moment the production team first offered it to me, I told them I was in, no matter what."

That did not make it easy.

"The pressure was huge," she said. "A lot of people around me said, 'You already won, so why go again?' and 'Don't you have more to lose?' At the first taping, the mood was colder than I expected, so I felt like I had come somewhere even harder. Everyone expects you to top what you did before, so I worried a lot."

She has taken this kind of risk before. During "Street Woman Fighter 2," she was teaching hundreds of students.

"I had to be away for about six months because of the show," she said. "I worried I might lose my place while I was gone, but I went for it anyway. People who win dance battles enter the next competition too. Next time they might get cut in the prelims, but that doesn't make them stop. I felt like the moment I was satisfied with winning, my career would stop right there."

She said she has learned to use nerves as fuel.

"I think of pressure as something that pushes me one step forward," she said. "You're anxious, but there's a good kind of tension. It makes you think, 'Should I try one more time?' This time, too, wanting to try something new was bigger than worrying I might not do well."

Her years of teaching have produced some memorable students. One is Sung Han-bin of the boy group ZEROBASEONE, who sought out her class as a trainee.

"He came to me himself because he wanted to take my class," she said. "Seeing him keep coming even when he was busy, I thought, he really loves dance."

Then a company reached out with a request.

"They said there was a trainee who really liked me and asked me to give him personal training," she said. "It overlapped with my regular class schedule, so at first I told them it would be hard. When I asked who it was, it was him. I changed my mind right away and said I'd do it." She laughed.

She hopes to work with him as a director someday.

"He's good at so many things," she said. "As a director, I want to do work that really brings out his strengths. I wanted to join the performance directing for his solo album this time too, but it clashed with my 'Street World Fighter: Directors' War' schedule. It was a real shame."

Another student who stands out is Harry June of the group DKB.

"I'm especially drawn to people who love dance in a pure way," she said. "Harry June is like that. When I taught at the academy, he came almost every day. He was that serious about dance. When we were preparing the title sequence film mission on the show, he came to help by filling in for In-gyu's role. He was a huge help."

More fame has also meant more public judgment.

"Before, it was mostly people who liked me who recognized me," she said. "Now a lot more people judge my dancing. Hearing so many opinions, sometimes I get hurt. On 'Street World Fighter: Directors' War,' we were judged on our stages a lot, so the reactions felt stronger than during 'Street Woman Fighter 2.'"

She has not pulled back from her audience. She still jumps on trending dance challenges right away.

"Dancers stand in front of an audience, so I think connecting with the public matters," she said. "But you can't be shaken by every opinion. The other directors I met on the show told me to protect my own space while taking in the feedback I need. I learned that holding on to my own style is important for a director, too."

For her, the two shows now mark two different chapters.

"If 'Street Woman Fighter 2' was the turning point that made my name known, 'Street World Fighter: Directors' War' was a chance to show a new side of me as a director," she said. "Going forward, I don't want to be satisfied with one achievement. I want to keep taking on all kinds of work."