From the rugby field to the stage
Switching between ballet shoes, rugby boots and hip hop dance sneakers in one day is not unusual for a high school rugby rep who just bagged a national dance award.
Year 10 Palmerston North Boys’ High School student Zac Maskill scooped the 14 years and under hip hop title at the Dance NZ Made competitions in Wellington on September 23.
The win surprised him, as he had just sweated out 80 minutes of a Manawatu¯ versus Hawke’s Bay rugby clash, been rushed through traffic to Wellington, shrugged off a muddy rugby uniform and pulled on his dance outfit before taking the stage.
‘‘I was absolutely exhausted, but did my dance and I was lucky, because I’d put in the hours of practice beforehand and it was still a high standard, even on an off day. ‘‘I was shocked to win.’’ The team lost the rugby but put in a good effort with a lot of its top players away, so it was a good day all round, he said.
Competition drives him in both arenas.
He regularly competes in hip hop, jazz, contemporary dance and tap, takes classes in ballet and plays for the under-14 Manawatu rep team. His next goal is to make the school first XV and to try for the same hip hop prize at Dance NZ Made next year in the u-15 category.
He started dance at the age of 8, as part of a deal with a friend where they also joined a touch rugby team.
At first he wasn’t convinced, but as soon as competitions were introduced, he was hooked. His first goal was to win a scholarship to pay his fees and he did that in his second year.
Last summer, he joined a dance class tour of Los Angeles and said meeting working dancers who encouraged his efforts was an exciting glimpse of where dance could lead.
Starting dance at 8 made him a latecomer, he said, and he only recently found his feet in rugby, confessing to being the worst in his social team before he buckled down and focused.
‘‘One day I just thought ‘I don’t care if I get hurt, I don’t care if I come back with a broken collar bone, I’m going to make a big tackle or run the ball up and score a try’.’’
Zac hopes to keep developing his skills in rugby and dance, and is excited to see where they could each lead.