On The Up: Hawke’s Bay dance crew shine in 45C heat at Dubai dance competition

Members of the Rezpect Dance Academy hold their medals proudly at the World Supremacy Battlegrounds World Championships in Dubai.

A Hawke’s Bay dance crew have battled through 45C heat to stand on the dais at an international dance competition.

Rezpect Dance Academy, based in Hastings, went to Dubai to represent New Zealand at the World Supremacy Battlegrounds Dance Championships, the first official hip-hop dance competition to be held in the Emirate.

Director at Rezpect, Olivia Morrell, said her team represented Aotearoa with pride and delivered massive results on the world stage, with the crew’s six entries scoring two silver medals and one bronze, propelling New Zealand to second place in the overall medal tally at the event.

“We are incredibly proud of the way our young people represented both on and off the stage,” Morrell said.

“They carried themselves with respect, humility, and kindness, representing New Zealand well – making new friendships and showing genuine care for those around them."

At the end of the final night, the crew even stayed behind to help organisers tidy up.

Morrell said the heat was intense as Dubai temperatures soared above 45C.

“While our dancers pushed through, we saw several dancers from other countries fainting due to the conditions,” she said.

The crew are currently in California, learning from some of the world’s top dancers and hope to return to the World Supremacy Battleground champs and claim that elusive gold medal.

But in the meantime, Morrell is enjoying watching the dance crew she and her husband Russell Morrell built together grow in Hawke’s Bay.

“For the past 15 years, we’ve dedicated our lives to serving our community – using hip-hop and street dance as powerful tools to bring hope, purpose and connection to our rangatahi,” she said.

“Aotearoa has incredible talent on the world stage, and coming from a smaller city, it was often intimidating for dancers from our region to stand alongside dancers from bigger centres and world-famous dance companies or studios.

“But we always believed that with the right tools, support and opportunities, our region would have its moment to shine – and now, we’re seeing that belief come to life.”

Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke’s Bay Today and has worked in radio and media in Auckland, London, Berlin, and Napier.