Hip Hop Dance Competition Projects Positive Experiences For Youth On Stage

What started
as an entry-level competition allowing novice dancers the
opportunity to take to the stage has evolved into a
must-attend competition for hip-hop dancers around the
country.

Taking place at Mercury Baypark Arena this
June, Project is now one of New Zealand’s largest and most
respected street dance competitions.

A dance
competition for youth passionate about hip hop. The event
allows young people from Tauranga, Western Bay and
throughout the country to showcase their creative expression
in an environment encouraging participation and
enjoyment.

Sarah Martin started this dance competition
fifteen years ago while teaching at Te Puke High School and
learning the school’s dance crew lacked the confidence to
enter the national competition. With no entry-level
competition to dance in front of large audiences or be on a
professional stage, Martin saw a gap in the local dance
space that needed filling.

Project now allows dancers
to gain experience and is known as a professional quality
event that nurtures the development of dancers, locally and
from afar.

Dancers, team choreographers, managers,
families, friends and dance enthusiasts will flock to
Tauranga and Mount Maunganui over King’s Birthday long
weekend, despite this not being a qualifying
event.

Event Director Sarah Martin says Project offers
many young dancers the chance to take to the stage for the
first time, and it wouldn’t happen without the support of
local funders.

“Local funders know that Project
nurtures up-and-coming dancers through our competition
process, which can be daunting for many. Their support
allows dancers the chance to dance in front of a large
crowd, which has extremely positive flow-on effects,” says
Martin, “with improvements in their behaviour and social
interactions at school and in the
community.”

“Project could be in a school hall,
but the experience of dancing on a professional stage, with
a large crowd, empowers dancers to go on to compete at
bigger competitions with confidence from having had a
positive and supportive experience at Project in the early
years of their dancing careers.”

2024 is the
competition’s 15th year, which has grown from hosting nine
crews and 70 dancers at Baycourt in 2010, to 2023 where 73
crews and over 760 dancers congregated at Mercury Baypark
Stadium to perform in front of 2,100 spectators.

The
Tauranga Western Bay Community Event Fund granted Project
$35,000 for expenses associated with the
competition.

The fund is a partnership between local
funders Acorn Foundation, BayTrust, TECT, Tauranga City
Council and Western Bay of Plenty District Council with the
core purpose of supporting community-led events and those
that encourage participation for free or at
low-cost.

BayTrust’s Chief Executive Officer,
Alastair Rhodes, says this event is important to the region
as it began from humble beginnings.

“Project was
started by local dance teachers, who saw local youth in our
community missing out on key dance opportunities due to
limited exposure to large stages and audiences,” says
Rhodes. “This event shows the commitment our community
members have for the areas they’re passionate about and
that they will spend their own free time and energy to build
something for others and give them their chance to
grow.”

“Project has now, for years, allowed
dancers to experience a high level of competition and a
chance to showcase their skills on the biggest stage in
Tauranga and Western Bay.”

Project is excited to
welcome back dancers for another weekend of positive and
heartfelt experiences to show off incredible talent, offer
free workshops and show the young dancers of our region and
the country, the pathways of dance.

Event
Details:

Project Youth Hip Hop Dance
Competition

1st and 2nd June 2024

Mercury
Baypark Arena

More information available on entering
Project or attending the competition are available
at

http://www.urbandance.org.nz/project2024

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