TE MANAWA CORNER: Tribesmen hip-hop dance crew perform

WHAKANUI: The Tribesmen crew from Anomaly Dance Studio in action. See them on stage at Te Manawa on Waitangi Day. PHOTO: SUPPLIED

Waitangi Day is just around the corner. This Tuesday the Te Manawa precinct will come alive with a galaxy of multicultural food, entertainment and activities.

The main stage has a packed schedule, and one of the biggest acts is fresh from international success.

The Tribesmen crew from Anomaly Dance Studio travelled to the Netherlands in October last year to compete in the world champs. They fended off the New Zealand champions and 14 other teams to claim a bronze medal.

The judges noted that Kiwi hip-hop teams had a style like no other.

"All the New Zealand teams were really high energy and brought something really different," crew member Sydney Pelman says. "There's a lot of character, a lot of life to the performance. We give it everything, to the very end."

Hip-hop is incredibly important to Māori and Pasifika youth, she explains.

"They're so talented in the arts. A lot of them don't have an outlet so, when they come to dance, it gives them a lot of hope and shows them that they can achieve."

She says students find value in other areas too.

"It teaches them about learning to cope with failure, and just pushing on until you succeed. We'd been competing for ages before we went to worlds — it took us a lot of tries to get there! It's a good lesson for them to learn," she says.

The audience on Waitangi Day can expect a fun and energetic performance, with dance in a variety of styles from several of Anomaly's dance groups. They'll be on stage at 11.15am, 12.15pm and 1.25pm.