Gisborne's Paul Hawaikirangi and Kylah Ashwell, aka 98 Cents, have qualified for the Hip Hop Unite world championships in Prague in October.
Gisborne's Paul Hawaikirangi and Kylah Ashwell, aka 98 Cents, have qualified for the Hip Hop Unite world championships in Prague in October.
Gisborne dance duo Kylah Ashwell and Paul Hawaikirangi will be hotstepping 18,200km to the Czech Republic for the Hip Hop Unite World Championships.
Better known in hip-hop circles as 98 Cents, Ashwell and Hawaikirangi will be part of the Team NZ contingent heading to Prague in October to mix itwith dancers from more than 20 nations.
The pair are no strangers to international competition. They competed at the 2023 worlds in Portugal, where they placed 11th in the adult duo section.
To get to the 2025 edition, 98 Cents won gold in the adult duo division and world qualifiers in Lower Hutt over Matariki weekend. Hawaikirangi iced that victory cake by picking up silver in the 15 years and over solo division.
Taking on the world ... Paul Hawaikirangi and Kylah Ashwell, who perform as 98 Cents, won gold in the adult duo section of the Hip Hop Unite New Zealand dance championships in Lower Hutt and qualified for the worlds in the Czech Republic.
Their latest success comes on the back of the pair winning the open duo division at the World Supremacy Battlegrounds Aotearoa national street dance competition in Hamilton earlier in the year.
Originally from South Auckland, Hawaikirangi’s family shifted to Gisborne in his high school years. He has been dancing most of his life and is predominantly self-taught.
Ashwell, from Whāngārā, started competitively dancing with Hawaikirangi in 2020 and they have been competing as 98 Cents since 2023.
They are passionate about dancing and take every chance to share it with others.
“We hope to inspire others to be creative, active and strive to achieve their dreams,” Ashwell said.
“We hold pop-up dance classes every few months to share dancing with others and Paul has worked with local schools doing workshops/classes.
As well as his success with dance partner Kylah Ashwell, Paul Hawaikirangi was second in the 15yrs and over solo division.
“We also have an adult dance crew - Club 98 - which we compete locally and nationally with.”
They avidly follow an international ethos when it comes to hip-hop as stressed on the Hip Hop Unite website ... “respect, unity and fun”.
The pair are running a pop-up workshop on August 1 at the Musical Theatre Gisborne clubrooms and have fundraising events planned to help get them to Prague.
“Keep an eye on our Facebook page (98 Cents) for more details coming soon.”
