All the right moves

The 'blood, sweat and tears' have paid off for these young West Auckland hip-hop dancers, finds Genevieve Helliwell.
Lineti Latu opened her eyes. Thousands of eyes stared back at her. She had butterflies in her stomach. But when the music began, her body took control and she started to dance.
The hours of rehearsals, the giggling girls and the numerous dreams of outrageous costumes have recently dominated Lineti's life, but it's been worth it for the Kelston Girls' College student.
Earlier this month, she and 52 other students performed at the 2009 Bring It On dance competition. Months of hard work led to the Kelston Girls' team winning the supreme award at last month's West qualifying heats.
The girls' next step is to compete in the grand finals on September 19. To get there, they must put in more hard work - raising money. Somebody suggested staging a hair and fashion show featuring guest singers, the Kelston Boys' Bring It On team and a runway show featuring clothing and outfits from sponsoring businesses.
But the high point of the evening was the Kelston Girls' Bring It On team. Student choreographer Lineti took up the challenge of leading the team.
"Getting to know the girls and organising the team - I knew it would be hard work and a big commitment, but there are huge benefits being involved in something like this," she says.
"Teamwork, discipline and confidence is something that we've focused on, but we've also made some life-long friends. The vision of Bring It On is empowering youth to be global leaders and I think that every one of these girls has learnt something by being here."
Bring It On is entirely student-run. Although it has been tough at times, it has been the highlight of school life for many students this year.
The overall success of the Bring It On performance comes courtesy of Lineti, her sister Helen, and Maggie Tikitaki, who also helped choreograph the four-minute routine. And for three months, the girls have lived and breathed hip-hop, on one condition - their school work could not suffer.
Principal Linda Fox thinks the group has done a wonderful job of distilling the routine in a very short time.
The school has now adopted a new subject, dance.
"I'm really keen on dance," says Ms Fox. "Dance is a great way to be creative, keep fit and create some life-long friendships."
Bringing it
The Bring It On Secondary Schools Dance Competition is a high-energy event - primarily hip-hop focused. It features a diverse range of secondary schools, with teams on-stage for 4 minutes and 30 seconds of hardcore dance.
In its seventh year, Bring It On started in 2003 with nine schools and one event. By 2008, 28 schools were involved, in three separate zone events, ending in a grand final.
Bring It On now has more than 1000 participants a year and crowds of up to
and over 3000 at each heat.
The schools in the grand final on September 19 are: Kelston Boys' High, Otahuhu College, Onehunga High, Rutherford College, Kelston Girls' College, Mt Roskill Grammar, Selwyn College, Epsom Girls' Grammar, Mangere College, Tangaroa College, Aorere College and Wesley College. Massey High School was also granted wild card entry into the grand final.
More info: www.nzbringiton.co.nz