Kiwi to dance alongside Jennifer Lopez at American Music Awards

Kaera Pearce (right) will dance alongside Jennifer Lopez at the American Music Awards. Photo / Supplied

For 18-year old Kaea Pearce, dancing with her pop star idol Justin Bieber was a dream come true. Now, her dreams have been upsized as the Kiwi dancer prepares to take the stage alongside pop royalty, dancing with Jennifer Lopez at the American Music Awards.

"It's kind of a surprise, I'm really excited." Pearce told the Herald before she flew to Los Angeles on Thursday night.

"I'm getting straight into rehearsals with J-Lo and then performing on November 22. We're opening the whole AMAs with her."

Pearce is riding a wave of global success alongside the rest of her Royal Family dance crew, led by Parris Goebel. Based in Auckland, the crew has made headlines recently working with pop superstars including Nicki Minaj, Bieber and Lopez.

Pearce has danced with the crew since she was 12 years old and is known to let loose in her performances.

When Lopez asked Goebel if she knew any girls that "would kill it", Goebel was straight on the phone to Pearce.

"It's definitely overwhelming because when I was younger, going to World [Championships] in Vegas was a massive thing to me and that was my dream. Now all these things are happening - it's just crazy. I still can't get my head around it."

Pearce admits she finds the thought of dancing alongside Lopez "nerve wracking" but is getting used to being around celebrities.

Most recently, she appeared in Justin Bieber's music video Sorry , alongside her Royal Family crewmates.

"Scooter [Braun], Justin Bieber's manager has been watching all the Royal Family clips and all Parris' clips that featured us over the years and he got in contact with her and asked her to do this - it was real cool."

The crew is also set to appear in a short film also choreographed by Goebel. The film will feature dances to all of Biebers new songs from his latest album Purpose, released today.
Bieber will launch the short film at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles today.

"He wanted her to do a clip for every single song and she did a couple videos with us, which was cool."

Pearce is also involved in the documentary seriesThe Palace, which will be released online this week on the Maori Television website.

The show follows the Royal Family's journey to the World Championships in Las Vegas, focusing on the dancers lives and their personal stories.

Who: Kaea Pearce of the Royal Family dance crew and Palace studios
What: Performing with JLo at the AMAs November 22. Also appearing in Justin Bieber's short film for Purpose.
Watch: Palace, from November 19 at www.maoritelevision.com/tv/shows/palace