The success of dancers from Dunedin’s Rasa School of Dance on the national stage, including one crew qualifying for the world’s top hip hop competition, is “a dream come true” for school principal Lisa Wilkinson.
“It still feels quite surreal, we were the only South Island school there and everyone is super excited that we did so well,” Ms Wilkinson said.
Last week, a small contingent of Rasa dancers travelled to Auckland to compete in the New Zealand Hip Hop Dance Championships alongside hundreds of top hip hop dancers and crews from across the country.
The event was divided into two major sections — the New Zealand-only Championship and the World Qualifier events, where dance crews in various sections vied for a place in the top five and the chance to represent New Zealand at the 2025 World Hip Hop Championships in Arizona, United States.
Coached by Danielle Veenvliet, the seven-strong Rasa School of Dance “Allies” crew, all aged from 14-18 years, competed in the Small Crew Varsity section against 18 other teams.
Their first dance earned them sixth place and a spot in the final, where they danced their hearts out, landing fourth place and qualifying for Arizona in July.
“Everyone was in shock to have made it through — the Allies crew were competing against a lot of very, very good teams,” Ms Wilkinson said.
“Getting through to the finals was exciting enough, so to make it through and qualify for Arizona was a dream come true. It is the pinnacle of world hip hop, with 3000-4000 of the world’s top dancers competing.”
Ms Wilkinson said the combination of consistent effort and competition experience for the Allies crew, which had been coached by the knowledgeable Ms Veenvliet for eight of its 10 years, was the secret to its success.
The Allies crew were not the only Rasa School of Dance students to achieve great things — two duos and an individual dancer also had success in the NZ-only Championship section.
The “Rulaz” duo of Jeila Morrison and Ruby Martin achieved second place, while the “2Lanky” duo of Toby Paris and Charlotte Cardno were placed third.
Ms Wilkinson also acknowledged the achievement of Rasa dancer Shiah Taele, who was selected to compete in the solo section of the NZ-only Championships and made a strong showing.
“It was great to see our dancers doing so well.”
With only three months before the “Allies” crew will need to be in Arizona to compete at the 2025 World Hip Hop Championships, from July 26-August 2, Rasa School of Dance will have to pull out all the stops on fundraising.
“With travel and accommodation, it is going to be very expensive to get there, so we are launching in to fundraising as quickly as we can,” Ms Wilkinson said.
“Not only is it the top competition in the world, it is also a week of workshops, professional development and networking.”
To donate, visit givealittle.co.nz, or visit the Rasa School of Dance facebook page.
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