Hip hop crew OutKast has qualified and been selected to represent New Zealand at the Hip Hop International World Championship
Dreams have come true for members of a dance crew who now have a whirlwind couple of months ahead to prepare for the world stage.
OutKast, a nine-person hip hop crew from SPACE studios in Tauranga, has qualified and been selected to represent New Zealand at the Hip Hop International World Championships.
The World Championships are being held in Arizona, in the US, in August.
The team practices several times a week and one member travels from Rotorua.
Due to Covid restrictions, there was no live competition this year. Instead teams from throughout New Zealand had to submit a video of their routine that was judged by an international panel at the end of May.
OutKast qualified in the top five in New Zealand out of 25 teams in their category, and was selected to represent the country in August.
The team is made up of teenagers between the ages of 14 and 17.
More than 5000 dancers from 44 countries will compete at the world competition.
SPACE Studios director Cameron Smith said it was very different waiting for results to be announced on a livestream than at an in-person competition.
"The kids absolutely lost it. For a lot of them this has been their dream since they were nine or 10.
"To make it through, all their hard work has paid off."
He said preparation for the competition was on its way.
"It takes a lot of commitment and sacrifices of things teenagers would normally do.
"Their goal is to be training every weekend in the lead-up."
Smith said there was also a lot of fundraising under way to make the trip happen for the crew. This included a movie fundraiser, raffles and Givealittle pages.
The Rialto Movie Night (Top Gun) is on June 29, with raffles and platters. Tickets are $25. Contact Jayne on nzjayne@gmail.com to book yourself a ticket.
The crew was getting huge support from family and friends, he said.
"They are a hard-working group of young teens that have worked their asses off to make their dreams come true."
Smith said New Zealand often represented at the World Championships, but to have a home team from Tauranga going was special.
Crew member and Western Heights High School student Paige Elliott, 16, said she started dancing in 2017 when she was about 11 and had made her way up over the years at dance studios.
Paige said finding out the team had qualified for the world championships had been amazing.
"It was the most amazing feeling. All our hard work had paid off."
She said the journey to competing in August would be busy and there would be a lot to juggle, with training, fundraising and keeping up with school work.
Paige was looking forward to the atmosphere of the Worlds and said she had heard amazing stories from people who had competed there before.
"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I'm very excited. We've put in a lot of hard work and it will be cool to see it on the world stage."
She thanked their choreographers Cameron Smith and Gabriel Sutton. The latter travels down from Auckland to teach them the routine.
"We are very lucky to have two amazing choreographers with a lot of wisdom and they have really supported us."
Crew member Connor Settle-Smith, 17, said it had been so exciting and cool when the results were revealed.
The Bethlehem College student said the lead-up to the Worlds would be full-on with three to four trainings a week, and fundraising was going well.
He said what he loved about dance and the team was it was a place he felt happy and was with other people who loved to dance.
Team member and Mt Maunganui College student Ella Radovanovich, 16, said she loved the feeling she got from dancing and enjoyed being around people who were as passionate about it as her.
She was looking forward to going away with the team.
Both Connor and Ella said competing in the World Championships was a dream come true for the whole team.
They were excited to represent New Zealand on the world stage, and to get to see and maybe meet teams from other countries they have followed online.
They said the team was grateful for all those who had helped them along the way on their individual dance journeys, and they thanked Cameron, Gabriel and TJ for their help and support with OutKast.
The team features Noah Ball, Paige Elliott, Isabella Giurizatto Scott, Maia Hemana, Sienna Lagerberg, Baylee Murray, Ella Radovanovich, Poppy Richardson and Connor Settle-Smith.