Chika Takai has been selected as the official DJ for the NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles from among more than 100 official NBA DJs, the first Japanese ever to hold this role.
Her tenure with the NBA, however, did not always revolve around the booth.
Now 36, Takai could hardly speak English when she moved to the United States 12 years ago. Even so, driven solely by her love of music and dance, she knocked on the door of a dance school in Atlanta, Georgia.
With six hours of daily classes eventually came a recommendation to try out for the Atlanta Hawks dance squad.
Since she didn’t know much about basketball, everything was overwhelming—the NBA games themselves, the energy of 20,000 fans in the arena, the music pumping up the crowd and the overall spectacle.
She passed her audition.
Dancing with the Hawks brought learning a different routine for each of the 40 home games, winning her rookie of the year honors and later serving as captain.
DJing, meanwhile, was an enduring hobby from before Takai moved abroad. Her sets at restaurants and universities caught the attention of a staff member in charge of the Hawks’ DJs, leading to a new role with the team.
Dancing and interacting with the crowd at games soon became interwoven with her rapidly switching tracks as the Hawks go on offense or defense. As Takai grew more comfortable, she began to relax. Soon, children and women started coming up to the booth saying, “Hi, Chika!”
However, she still draws some frowns as an Asian woman in an industry dominated by men.
“Give me five minutes,” she says in those moments. “Showing them my performance is the best way.”
The multiday All-Star Game weekend started on Feb. 13.
“I want to give the audience the best possible experience,” said Takai. “A lot of things happen in life, but entertainment has the power to blow everything away.”