Gisborne dancers among best in NZ

Kylah Ashwell and Paul Hawaikirangi are 98 Cents. They have just won the open duo division at the New Zealand Hip Hop Dance Championships. Picture supplied

Gisborne hip hop dancers Kylah Ashwell and Paul Hawaikirangi aka 98 Cents won the open duo division at the New Zealand Hip-Hop Dance Championships in Auckland last weekend, fulfilling a long-held dream to compete in the national competition.

As well as taking out the top prize in the duo division, Paul won the adult solo division, confirming their position as two of the top hip hop dancers in New Zealand.

“The venue was massive with dancers from Auckland, Wellington, Hawke’s Bay and the South Island, so it was a real thrill and a surprise to win best duo,” said Kylah.

The dancers have been keeping busy lately working on the choreography for “We Will Rock You” for Gisborne Centre Stage, coming up in September. They have also signed up to dance in the fundraising competition Dance For Life for the Life Education Trust where they have each been paired with non-dancers for the event.

Paul and Kylah co-choreographed Gisborne Centre Stage’s production of “Ladies Night” in March which raised $1900 for the Gisborne East Coast Cancer Society.

“This year has been great so far with lots of opportunities coming our way,” Kylah said.

“We both enjoy being involved in charity events and interacting with the community.”

Their next major competition with be in Lower Hutt next month at the Hip Hop Unite competition which they won last year.

“We hope to connect with other dancers at the competition and learn from the experience, with hopes of sharing it with others someday,” says Paul.

“It would be nice to take this year’s win in the duo category, but to us, having fun and doing what we love is the main priority. We hope to represent our town well on and off the stage.”

The couple competed in the 2023 Hip Hop Unite World Championships in Obidos, Portugal where they placed 11th out of 18 in the adult duo division.

The 2023 championships featured representatives from 17 countries with Team NZ taking a contingent of 99 dancers to the competition.