Community backs Whanganui students to get to hip-hop nationals in Dunedin

Hip-hop crew Kare Kidz are one of four crews heading to Dunedin nationals from Whanganui City College. Photo / Pauline Hiroti

The road to hip-hop nationals for students at Whanganui City College has meant raising $12,000 in just four to five weeks.

But their dance teacher Pauline Hirotio says getting the 14 students to nationals was the only option.

“If our students earn that right, it would be doing them a disservice not to get them there,” she said.

“A lot of our kids have never been on a plane before. It shifts your perspective when you can see the world outside of what you’re used to, and those kind of experiences help shape your belief in yourself.”

This is the first time all four dance crews - Kare Kidz, Kare Krew, B.L.T and Pick ‘n’ Mix - have qualified for the Hip-Hop Unite NZ Schools Championships in Dunedin.

In order to pay for the costs involved, students have held community raffles, auctioned off art and performed challenges for donations.

Hiroti said the support from whānau and the wider community had been outstanding.

Year 12 student Rakei Hawira said she was excited but nervous to compete at the hip-hip nationals.

“I’m looking forward to that feeling of when you’ve worked so hard and it’s all paid off.”

Hawira joined the hip-hop team in Year 9.

“Especially Kare Krew, we have developed quite a bond - everyone’s got each other’s backs.

“Honestly, we work hard enough that I know we’ll be all goods. There’s still a lot of nerves, but I’m comforted because we’re prepared.”

Hiroti said the students train three times per week in two-hour sessions, on top of their other sporting and cultural commitments.

“It’s about showing up even when you don’t feel like it, and having to work hard even when you’re tired, and they’ve done incredibly well.

“For me, it’s people first, dance second; and it’s amazing seeing these kids achieve things they didn’t think they were capable of achieving, and being able to travel together.”

To manage nerves, the dancers have set warm-ups, and Hiroti always performs a karakia with the crews before they go on stage to perform.

“It grounds them spiritually, and that’s what’s cool about this kura, is that we’re grounded in te ao Māori, and pretty much all of our kids in our crews are Māori, so I like to prepare them in ways that relate to who they are.”

In the last two years of the nationals, Kare Krew has come home as winners.

Hiroti said the atmosphere of the nationals was intense, with hundreds of dancers attending every year.

“When you’re training for years together, you definitely see each other at your best, and on your worst days, they’ve been training, crying and laughing all together.”

The team will fly to Dunedin on September 1 and are closing in on their fundraising goal. ny additional koha can be made by phoning Whanganui City College on 06 349 0180.

Eva de Jong is a reporter for the Whanganui Chronicle covering health stories and general news. She began as a reporter in 2023.