Central HB: Dance event lands pupils with top prize

CHB College students created a Dance4Asthma video. Photo / Nicki Harper

A spur-of-the-moment decision to enter a national dance contest aimed at increasing asthma awareness has ended in victory for CHB College.

This week it was announced the college was the secondary school division winner of this year's Dance4Asthma.

Now in its fifth year, the competition was run by the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation, and challenged students to put together a dance video to Lorde's song Team, which she donated to the campaign, and post it to YouTube.

CHB College student Connor Hirst said it was their drama teacher Jade Hanham who encouraged them to participate, after head girl Caitlyn Winchester and house leader Erika Kondo suggested the idea.

"We were sitting in the study room when Mrs Hanham came up to us with two bags, threw them at us and told us to dance like crazy."

And that they did, with a core group of about 30 students and at one point involving the whole school.

"It was 100 per cent off the cuff, we just went to different places around the school and filmed - it was fun," Connor said.

Mrs Hanham co-ordinated the entry as well as doing the filming and editing, and said the students were stoked to have won.

The judges, TV personality Erin Simpson and dancer and choreographer Allister Salaivao, congratulated the entrants on their dance skills, the use of blue masks, and at one point getting the whole school involved doing a mexican wave.

"This was a great example of how our school brings value to the community," said Mrs Hanham.

The school's overall score was 76.5, putting it well ahead of the other secondary entries, none of which scored over 50.

At the beginning of Term 3, the school will be presented with prizemoney of $1000.

In New Zealand, one in 17 children have asthma. About 550,000 school days are lost each year due to the condition.