There’s a pumping beat. A 12-year-old steps into the spotlight, her wrists and her arms making sharp, playful and confident movements. Gaga Khu Yue-ching is not even a teenager yet, but she has already danced her way onto international stages.
In 2023, she won the Children Street Battle at the Dance World Cup World Finals in Portugal, competing against dancers from around 50 countries.
A year later, she became the locking champion in the BDS World Youth Street Dance Competition – and the first Hongkonger to be selected for the China National Youth Street Dance Team. She also performed at this year’s Cathay International Chinese New Year Night Parade.
It all started when she passed a dance studio on a walk in Tai Po when she was three.
“I saw people dancing, so I wanted to try it out. [My father] brought me to dance lessons,” she said. “I heard the music, and I was like, ‘Wow, you can use dancing to express yourself in different ways.’”
From that day on, dancing became more than just a hobby – it was a part of her.
Inspired by her father
Gucci Khu Chi-wing watches his daughter, Gaga, closely, trying to mimic her moves despite his very different style.
Dancing is a family hobby. Gucci Khu started street dancing when he was around 16.
Khu said he was amazed by his daughter’s “strong sense of music”.
“She was very into the music when she was performing,” he added.
Gaga began with jazz-funk and “girl style” dancing. She quickly tried other genres and forms, including breaking, funk, hip hop and Afro dance.
She started locking seven years ago after her father encouraged her to try a class. It was a change of scene for her.
“When I first joined, I was nervous because the environment was new. Jazz-funk was mostly performances; locking had battles. But [luckily] everyone was friendly,” Gaga said.
“Locking is really funky … [with] power moves on the ground, unique clothing and different types of music that really attracted me.”
Training and competing
Last year, Gaga won the under-18 “all style” battle at the Notorious IBE 2025, one of the world’s longest-standing hip hop dance events. She went through multiple rounds, from the preliminaries to the finals, in three days.
“It felt surreal,” she said with a grin. “I never guessed I could have won.”
When school gets stressful, dancing helps her unwind.
“After homework or if I study … I’ll feel very tired. But when [I play] music … I just dance and groove to it. It makes me more relaxed,” she said.
Support from family
Gaga’s mother, Barbie Liu Sau-yan, said she wanted to give her daughter the freedom to pursue her interests.
“Let them develop … I think the most important thing for parents is to support [your children],” said Liu, who did ballet as a child.
Gaga’s father said his daughter was also learning life lessons from dancing. For example, Khu said he had seen dancers around him quit after losing a few dance battles. But this was normal for the competitive art form.
“We’ve been telling [Gaga] that losing is not important. Just become stronger,” Khu said.
He said he admired her dedication: “I’m always proud of her. Every time she practises, she uses all her strength. There’s a lot of energy in it.”
Gaga said she wanted to encourage other dancers her age to do what they loved.
“You’re the future,” she said.
