Parris Goebel photographed for the launch cover of Reset, the Herald on Sunday's new lifestyle magazine. Photo / Apela Bell
She choregraphed Jennifer Lopez's Super Bowl show, is up for her third Emmy for her work with Rihanna and is a new face of Nike. Parris Goebel is a global phenomenon but watch this space - as she tells Kim Knight, the last decade was just the warm-up.
"I just kicked my husband out of the house. And I'm keeping the kids. And he's paying child support."
Every outfit tells a story. Parris Goebel - dancer, choreographer, superstar - wears a tight black dress, scarlet fur and feathers. Her heels are zebra-striped and her hair is a long bouffant wig she has christened Nancy. As in Sinatra. As in, are-you-ready-boots?
She slings a red Burberry bag over her shoulder and turns her power dressing-divorcee schtick to the light. It's 6.30pm and she's been here since midday. It's time, says Goebel, to play some Madonna. The entire room bounces. Everybody in this studio is feeding off the energy of the woman in its centre. That, says Goebel, is her job.
"I would say that a skill of mine is that I do bring the best out of everyone. That is a leadership skill. Sometimes, I'm so strong-headed with my vision - this is what it is and no one else can tell me anything else. I have just such great confidence in what I see in my head. And sometimes, that is a challenge working with other people."
The day after this shoot, Goebel learned she'd received her third Emmy nomination for her work with global pop star Rihanna on the Savage X Fenty fashion show. In 2020, Goebel choreographed Jennifer Lopez's historic Super Bowl performance - a show that combined dance, music and political references to America's immigration policies. The New York Times called Goebel "the Super Bowl's hidden M.V.P"; the spectacle was viewed by 1.2 million people and its making formed the backbone of J'Lo's newly released Netflix doco Halftime. ("I haven't watched it," admits Goebel. "I just sometimes hate watching myself. It feels a little funny and out of body. Documentary styles are so personal and intimate.")
Is she tired of talking about that Justin Bieber video? Small smile. "'Lil bit!" Ok. But for the record "Sorry", starring a 23-year-old Goebel front-and-centre, is one of the most watched YouTube clips ever - 5.5 billion clicks and counting. Oh, and she recently signed with Nike to create a campaign called Own the Floor that is a Very Big Deal for the company that says "Goebel embodies the dynamic versatility of dancers as athletes . . . her choreography is shaped by a genuine trust in her sense of self".
"I feel like a chameleon," says Goebel. "I feel like I'm constantly evolving and growing and being stretched and being pushed. I'm learning new things about myself every time I'm put in a different situation."
In 2018, Goebel wrote the book of her life to date. Chapter one: "I am a proud Polynesian girl. My mum is Samoan of Chinese and Scottish descent and then my dad is just this big white man with bright blue eyes that loves donuts . . ."
She's the youngest of four and a self-described "daddy's girl" who was raised in Manurewa, Auckland, on a musical diet of funk and R&B. She started dancing as soon as she could walk and left high school as soon as her dad convinced her she could. She formed a Hip Hop crew (ReQuest), opened a studio (The Palace), won gold at the world champs (multiple) and, in 2012, was invited to work on Jennifer Lopez's world tour - her first big break. The poetry she wrote was prescient: "My body becomes my tongue/And I am no longer speechless. I am loud/And my voice will be heard."
Meet her at reception on a rainy Tuesday in July. She wears a furry bucket hat pulled low, and there's a sneak of midriff above her baggy jeans - low key and lamenting the lack of sun ("how can you guys wake up and be happy?"). Flick. Flick. Flick. She's in the studio now, hard-focused on a rack of clothes and a stack of shoes. Flick. Flick. Stop! "Whatever's going on here, I love it!"
The dress is by Mena, a contemporary, family-run Samoan fashion label.
"I don't want to look too 'aunty' . . . "
The dress is halter-necked, skin tight, hot pink and turquoise blue. Goebel pairs it with faux fur, platforms and two hours in hair and makeup. She's channelling 1960s sirens and divas. She does not look too Aunty.
"This my favourite part," says Goebel. "We get to play, and we get to build a story."
When the Reset team started searching for a face to embody the feel of this new Herald on Sunday magazine, it used words like "bold", "provocative" and "boundary-pushing". Where in the world was Parris Goebel? Her Instagram had her in the south of France shooting for Nike, in Brooklyn Bridge Park for fashion week disruptor MADE and on the actual runway for actual New York Fashion Week. She was unpacking shipments of art and furniture for her Los Angeles home and modelling footwear for Ugg and down jackets for Tatras. And then the stars aligned - she was in Auckland.
How does Goebel explain her life to people back home?
"It's like the greatest roller coaster you could ever experience. Throughout my whole career, I've never experienced the same day. It's never 9-5, never the same hours, the same artist or the same job or even mission or goal. Nothing is the same."
In that 2018 book, Young Queen, Goebel touches on the depression that first descended when she was 13. Today, she tells Reset, "It got very serious when I was 18 and that's when I discovered therapy. You meet different therapists and the one I'm working with now, as more of an adult woman, encourages me heavily to constantly keep in touch with my younger self.
"Younger Parris is always there. And every day, it's up to me to take care of her and make her proud. Let her know that she's loved, and she's doing great.
"I mean, this is really deep, but I think as humans we never change because our inner child's always there. I think we just come up with these different facades and masks for the world to see, but at the core of us, we're always our little selves inside."
Goebel turned 30 last October.
"I've felt this massive transition . . . Everything that I've ever done is not even an inch of what I'm capable of. I feel like I'm just getting started. I really do! I feel like I've spent 10 years testing out different things and making mistakes and exposing myself to different environments. And now, I feel like I'm at a massive turning point. Ok. That was my warm-up. Now let's really get started."
Budgets. Other people. There's always something, says Goebel, holding you back. Her advice? Be patient. Keep working.
"I've been working on removing those chains and those walls, so I can create on the level I've always dreamed of . . . the coolest thing about life is that only you can see what you're capable of. Other people might see potential. Only you know what's in your mind, the drive that lives in your heart, the fire in your belly - once you tap into that, no one can tell you anything.
"Everything's brewing. I'm going to start doing movies and dance films. I want to be our generation's Bob Fosse [Chicago, Cabaret, et al] but then I also want to dabble in fashion and I'm starting to design shoes and clothes . . . I want to do interior pieces - rugs and sofas, and that's got nothing to do with dance."
The images she posts of her Los Angeles home are bold. Goebel declares herself "obsessed" with interior design but it's not all pink carpets and statement white dining furniture:
"What's really cool about humans is we co-exist in this big world, but within that, we have our own worlds. Our own universes. I've always felt like such an outcast and so eccentric and unique, that the only way I can really find a sense of belonging is by creating my world wherever I go.
"I've found peace by expressing myself in my home . . . The way I decorate my living room and the art on my walls - these are things I love, and they speak to me. I think people overlook [the importance of] that. Creating a true home, a space that speaks to you, that makes you feel comfortable, so it doesn't matter what's going on out in the world . . ."
Covid restrictions have impacted her work.
"We did two of the Savage shows in the middle of the pandemic. Having to create something on that scale, but with so many restrictions - having to dance and create with a mask on - was physically exhausting and challenging."
But, she says, "it helped me explore other things that I was curious about".
Next year, she hopes to begin shooting the movie she's had in the works with Sony. It's based on her live show Murder on the Dance Floor that, in turn, takes its inspiration from the boardgame Cluedo (preferred game piece? "Mrs Peacock or Miss Scarlet"). She says there are more screenplays in the works.
"Dance is obviously a language that is home for me, but I also love writing. The pandemic definitely pushed me to start expressing myself that way again."
"All these ideas that have already existed in me are starting to come to fruition. It's cool that everyone has loved and appreciated what I've given the world so far because, to me, that's only a tiny percentage of what I've been wanting to do.
"I've loved everyone I've worked with, but you have to keep in mind that I've been under someone with every job. And I've always just known that once it's me in charge of me, it's game over."
Does she mean Game On?
"No. It's game over for everyone else! Everyone needs to step it up, ok?"
AN IDEAL SUNDAY: PARRIS GOEBEL "It starts with a little sleep in. Once I feel the LA sun beaming through my windows I head to a local cafe for brunch. Brunch is followed by a day spent at the park with friends and my dog Prince. Soaking up the sun and reflecting on life. Then to top it off, some wine by the fire while listening to jazz. It's a very simple yet romantic day."
Styling and photography:
Photographer / Apela Bell
Stylist / Dan Ahwa
Make-up / Kiekie Stanners
Hair / Sophy Phillips
Photographer's assistant / Sophie Miya-Smith
Fashion credits:
White look: Neon Hart faux fur jacket. Mena dress. Mi Piaci heels. Adrienne Winkelmann gloves.
Yellow look: Muse cashmere scarf (worn as dress). Colombine hosiery. Gucci sunglasses. Mi Piaci heels. Swarovski earrings.
Blue look: Harris Tapper coat. Swarovski earrings and ring.
Red look: Cos dress. Adrienne Winklemann gloves. Mi Piaci heels. Swarovski earrings. Burberry handbag.
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