Whangarei dancer Kaea Pearce (right) on stage with Jennifer Lopez at the AMAs.
Whangarei dancer Kaea Pearce (right) on stage with Jennifer Lopez at the AMAs.
Not many people can say they've placed a whistle in the mouth of Jennifer Lopez - but Whangarei dancer Kaea Pearce can.
The 18-year-old got the chance to meet J Lo face-to-face when she performed with the superstar for the opening of the American Music Awards (AMAs) in LA onMonday (NZ time).
Kaea was one of six New Zealand dancers who performed with J Lo to a mash-up of hits from 2015 including Beyonce's 7/11, Drake's Hotline Bling and Nicki Minaj's Anaconda. Kaea could not be reached for comment but on her Instagram profile she dubbed J Lo her "girl crush" and said performing with her "really was a dream come true".
"Still can't believe this happened! @parrisgoebel brought us all together and created this insane piece that will be around forever! She changed the game and i can't thank you enough!!!! I am forever grateful to have been apart of something this amazing," (sic) she said in an Instagram post.
J Lo's AMA opening performance was choreographed by Young New Zealander of the Year Parris Goebel who runs the Palace Dance Studio in Penrose where Kaea spends most of her time. The performance with J Lo comes just after Kaea, her sister Ruthy and fellow Whangarei dancer Samyah Powell starred in a music video for Justin Bieber's hit Sorry which has had more than 176 million views on YouTube.
Kaea and her family uprooted from Whangarei to Auckland after she successfully auditioned for one of the world's best hip-hop dance crews based at the Palace Dance Studios.
