Linwood's Euphoria Dance Studio clinched New Zealand's first adult mega crew division gold at the Hip Hop Unite championship in the Czech Republic. Photo / Supplied
By RNZ
A Christchurch hip-hop crew have stepped up to win a prestigious world title in Europe, beating the back-to-back champions from Belgium.
Linwood’s Euphoria Dance Studio clinched New Zealand’s first adult mega crew division gold at the Hip Hop Unite championship in the Czech Republic on October 25, with a high-energy, three-minute performance featuring five dance styles.
Euphoria’s artistic director Jobelle Junko Nuñez said the team were stunned to have beaten some of the best hip-hop dancers in the world and their idols, especially because some of the mostly Filipino crew had only started dancing last year.
“It was crazy. Some knelt down on the floor, everybody cried because we could all remember the sacrifices and challenges on the way. When they called our crew name it was proof that anything is possible. It was mind-blowing,” she said.
Euphoria were pipped by Belgium’s 2SDC crew in the preliminary and semifinals, before a come-from-behind win in the final.
Nuñez said the achievement was even more remarkable given the team of 18 had to reblock the whole dance when a member injured herself in one of the last training sessions.
The dancer had all but given up hope of performing when a physiotherapist told her it would be a miracle if she took to the stage, Nuñez said.
“Miraculously she was able to dance in the semifinals and the finals. She was able to walk properly, she was able to bend her knees. It was God’s grace, it was meant to be,” she said.
“It was a roller-coaster ride. It’s so nice that we were able to bring the gold for New Zealand.”
Nuñez believed Euphoria stood out from European-style hip-hop with a tight, technical performance featuring an unconventional opening Afro set, locking, voguing and waacking, which earned compliments from other coaches.
“It was real, it was raw, it was authentic. For me, that was my trophy, hearing compliments from different crew – that it was pure joy or good vibes,” she said.
Nuñez was working as a manager at McDonald’s when she opened the studio in her home garage in 2021, guiding a growing number of students to the world championship win just four years later.
“My first students were my co-managers from McDonald’s, just five students. After that, it was like a ripple effect,” she said.
“What I love about dance is the feeling of euphoria, it’s my meditation. I love entertaining people, I love taking people to a different place whenever they watch us on stage.”
Based on a score out of 10, Hip Hop Unite judges evaluate a routine based on musical expression, interpretation, variety, creativity, formations and visual image, team performance and presentation.
Euphoria’s head choreographer Setu Mosegi rated the Prague final as the crew’s best yet.
“I’m so proud of them. I keep watching the video, so that tells you how much I love the performance. I’m just in awe because of the energy, everything about them is just amazing,” he said.
“It’s been a dream of mine since I was a teenager. I’m just so proud and happy for everyone else, I’m happy for New Zealand as well. It felt so surreal in that moment. What really hit me was hearing our national anthem on the world stage.”
Mosegi worked with choreographers Chloe Wright, Yama Dempster-Passang, Shawn “Ashira” Yzapanta and Miguel Casado to find a balance between meeting the judging criteria and showing some Kiwi flair.
“I think the judges saw how real it was, how genuine and honest the team was. They knew that we had studied the styles that we were doing – not only studied them but gave a little of our own flavour to them,” he said.
The win showed that hard work and passion paid off, Mosegi said.
“This is going to change their lives. Winning a world title means bragging rights, it’s basically evidence to say that we are world-class now. This is going to help everyone to connect and network worldwide. Euphoria is on the world map now. It’s going to open a lot of doors for the dancers,” he said.
For dancer Carl Cayanan, 24, the win was a defining moment.
“I was ecstatic, I couldn’t believe it. It’s such a wonderful feeling. It’s like, ‘wow, we are number one’. There’s so much love from your competitors, from your peers, the judges and the audience. It’s such an amazing feeling,” he said.
Cayanan grew up in the Philippines, where he danced at school or for cultural or church occasions before moving to New Zealand in 2012.
He learnt hip-hop with Year 9 school friends in Ashburton but had not considered a future in dance until he joined Euphoria, where he now teaches.
“It transcends distance. You can bring so many people together under one banner, just through dancing,” he said.
“You [train] in Christchurch thinking, ‘this is dance, it’s just a hobby’, but this could be a living.”
Hip Hop Unite country director and Team NZ manager Gemma Laing said Euphoria’s performance was outstanding and a huge achievement on the world stage.
“Not only was it a creative, dynamic routine, they had also made sure that technically it was really strong, all of their dancers were really well trained, really in time and in unison. It was a really entertaining, very clean performance,” she said.
While Hip Hop Unite was a European-based competition involving 25 countries, it still attracted many of the best dancers in the world, Laing said.
She said New Zealand hip-hop was highly regarded at international competitions and dancers were looking forward to Aotearoa hosting Hip Hop Unite’s world championship for the first time next year.
“We definitely have a name for being really creative and really unique. They always know that we’ll bring something fresh and different,” she said.
– RNZ