Tomorrow, the New Zealand Hip-Hop Dance Championships kicks off in Auckland.
The New Zealand Hip-Hop community is buzzing ahead of the New Zealand Hip-Hop Dance Championship and this year's standards are very high. 500 dancers from around the country will gather here in Auckland.
Paris Goebel is one of the icons of hip-hop.
We all know Parris Goebel and her dancers are key players at this competition, so no doubt they will place somewhere. But there are some south Auckland crews that are trying to get the top spot, today Te Kāea spoke to a new crew “Abide”.
South Auckland Hip-hop dance crew Abide have been working tirelessly for the past few months to perfect their routine for the New Zealand Hip-Hop Dance Championships.
They say despite this being their first time at nationals, they have what it takes to make it to the world championships in Las Vegas.
You wouldn't know it by simply watching them, but tomorrow will be the second time Abide will perform on stage and it's at the New Zealand nationals.
Dancer, James Talatofi says, “This year we are bringing something different, which is good. A lot of the boys aren't happy with the result we had this year. We placed 4th at regionals and we just wanted to show we can bring it at Nationals.”
An Otara shed has been turned into a community hall and is where many of these dancers grew up dancing.
Jay Aiga says, “A lot of the top dancers nowadays, they grew up here. They started here, so it’s actually been a privilege coming here and training where they used to train, practice, this is a good place to practice.”
With less than 24-hours until the New Zealand Hip-Hop Dance Championship, the Abide dance crew will be perfecting their moves right up to the last minute.