A dream comes true for Far North dancer

Esera Saulo strikes the 'Royal Family' pose, wearing his gold medal that he won with the Royal Family dance crew at the 2013 World Hip-Hop Dance Championship in Las Vegas. PICTURE/PETRINA HODGSON

Pukepoto teenager Esera Saulo (Te Rarawa) has long dreamed of travelling overseas courtesy of his talent for dance, and now he has achieved that.

Esera was part of the 40-member dance group The Royal Family that took gold at the Mega Crews section of the 2013 World Hip-Hop Dance Championship in Las Vegas, contested by dance crews from 43 countries around the world.

This was the third time a dance crew from the Palace Dance Studio in New Zealand won gold.

The Royal Family is coached, managed by and stars 22-year-old Paris Goebel, who has
choreographed a tour for Jennifer Lopez, owns two dance studios and is in Los Angeles working on a dance feature film. Members of her dance company have gone on to perform in Michael Jackson Cirque De Soleil.

Esera, 18, said he had been "in love'' with dancing since he was a small boy. His mother Carolyn remembers him standing in front of the TV "wiggling away when he thought nobody was looking''.

"Dancing makes you feel free. It's the only place I feel free,'' Esera said.

He began taking his ambitions more seriously after attending a youth hip-hop dance class run by Far North REAP, and in 2012 he and Kaitaia College friends formed the group Flaunt, which he credited with getting him where he is today.

"It takes long hours of practice and a lot of hard work; Paris is hard on us, but it's all for the best,'' he said.

And it's not cheap, Esera having to find the funds to cover all training and travel costs.
Carolyn and his whanau have been instrumental in fundraising to cover these costs, with hangi, raffles and the like.

Meanwhile, Esera had never been overseas before the Las Vegas trip, and found it ``very cool, very different''. He had the chance to walk along the infamous Las Vegas `strip' but most of his time was spent practising.

Contestants were judged on technique and upper body movement over a four to five-minute performance.

Now Esera's ultimate dream is to `"get booked'' in the United States, perhaps as a
backup dancer.

In the meantime, he and Carolyn wish to thank all of those who had helped him along the way, especially his grandparents, Mark and Denise, and Te Aupouri.

"This has been a long-time goal of his and without all the community support we would have never got here,'' Carolyn said.