Exclusive Interview: Dassy Lee Talks About Being a TrailBlazer in a Male-Dominated Sport

For Inyoung “Dassy” Lee, dance is more than a learned passion, it’s a way of life. Growing up, she was mesmerized by the music videos she saw on screen, so much so that she taught herself the complicated routines and quickly developed an affinity for the craft.

Upon graduating high school, Dassy made the decision to move to the United States to pursue a career in the arts. Since then, she’s blazed a trail in a male-dominated sport and has been featured and competed in some of the biggest competitions in the world including So You Think You Can Dance, Sweden Dance Delight, Battle for Your Life, and Ladies of HipHop. If that wasn’t impressive enough, Dassy is also a Red Bull-sponsored dancer.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Dassy about her thriving career, being a part of the Red Bull Dance Your Style family, and more.

PC: How did you discover your passion for dance and the arts?
Dassy: I started dancing because I saw a music video on TV. I was nine years old. I was copying the singers doing their moves on TV. I gathered all my friends and taught them the dance. That’s how I started dancing. Then things started getting serious from there. I was learning all different dance styles: popping, hip-hop, house, locking, and everything. From there, I moved to America because I was also watching So You Think You Can Dance. I was like, “Damn, I need to move to America and do my thing.” That’s how I made my move to America, and that’s how I started.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Dassy: Wow. I have a lot. I would say Electric Boogaloos, who created the popping dance style. I started watching their videos when I was really young and copied them. Once I moved to America, I was able to meet them in person. That was a big moment for me.

PC: Like you were just saying, you moved to the States to pursue your dreams. Was that a scary decision? How challenging was it to make that decision?
Dassy: Thinking about it now, it was very scary. At the time, I was very ambitious. When I have a goal, I have to achieve it. I didn’t have a plan B or C. I really wanted to do it so I wasn’t really scared about anything.

I moved to America by myself. I didn’t really know English that well. I didn’t have any financial support from my family, so I don’t know how I did that, thinking back. But I was like, “I’m going to do it!” I just went for it.

PC: Here you are now! You’ve had so much success throughout your career. When you look back is there a particular moment that stands out to you?
Dassy: Definitely So You Think You Can Dance. I moved to America because of it. I was able to be on that TV show in 2017. It was the biggest moment in my career. Another big moment was being Red Bull’s sponsored dancer.

PC: Red Bull Dance Your Style is such a different competition for this sport where we are getting to see men and women compete against each other. How does this competition empower you as a woman? Why is it important for women to get involved in street dance?
Dassy: Red Bull Dance Your Style is very unique. It plays very mainstream music to bring everybody together. Another unique point is that there are no judges and the crowd gets to judge. Whoever entertains the crowd is going to win. Street dance is very male-dominated. Usually, there are a lot of men judging the event, and because of that I feel like a lot of men win even though there are a lot of amazing beautiful female dancers. This competition gives an opportunity for anyone to win. I was able to win Red Bull Dance Your Style Miami last year, so I got flown to do the D.C. national final.

PC: More and more each day there are new social media platforms that are popping up. How have these new technologies changed and evolved this industry?
Dassy: I don’t know. [laughs] They’re changing their algorithms every month. It’s too fast for me to follow and figure out what works well. But I feel like it’s great because we haven’t been able to dance together for two years because of COVID. We’ve been able to communicate through social media. We were able to do battles online with Instagram. It was good that we could still connect even though we weren’t able to be in person.

PC: How has the AAPI community shaped the artist that you are today and what advice would you give aspiring dancers and creatives who are looking to follow in your footsteps?
Dassy: Wow. I want to tell people who have the same dream as me or who dream of something bigger that I want them to push for it. I know it’s scary to move to a place where you’re a minority, but as long as there is meaning behind your intention, nothing can stop you.

To keep up with Dassy, follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

Photo Credit: Piper Ferguson