‘Royal Family’ dancer to share tips

Although he’s travelling between Singapore and Los Angeles to perform hip hop dance, Cameron Smith hasn’t forgotten his roots.

The 19-year-old dance tutor returns to Taupo on May 20 to teach four classes and share some of what he has learnt abroad.

Smith told the Taupo Times he learns new styles from every hip hop crew he meets.

‘‘Everyone’s got a different flair, theme and style,’’ he said.

‘‘Being a good dancer is about being able to replicate what someone else is doing, see how their style works, and then bring things on board so you can create your own style.’’

Based in Auckland, Smith teaches at Neverland dance studio and studies performing arts at the University of Auckland.

Smith attended Hilltop School, Taupo Intermediate and Tauponui-a-Tia College, before moving to Mt Maunganui for Year 12 in 2014.

In 2015, after performing in feature film ‘‘Born to Dance’’, he joined Parris Goebel’s dance crew ‘‘The Royal Family’’, which has won the World Hip Hop Dance Championship three times.

‘‘Parris is fantastic and so inspiring,’’ he said.

‘‘The biggest thing I learnt from her was work ethic. When you’re in the studio, you’re there to work,’’ he said.

Storytelling was one of the newer trends in hip hop, Smith said.

‘‘Developing stories and themes into dances allows the audience to understand a lot more and to be taken on a journey.

To tell stories through dance, dancers needed to find stories that were relatable, he said.

’’For instance, I’ve got a new programme coming out based on the story of Alice in Wonderland, which explores the issue of drug abuse.

‘‘It’s about taking real life issues in our society and being able to put movement and words to that.’’

Smith said he was looking forward to catching up with one of his first tutors in Taupo, Stacey Jacobs from Misfitz dance studio.

‘‘She was someone who helped me realise there was a career in dance and how I could get there.’’

* Hip Hop/Street Workshop with Cameron Smith: Saturday May 20 at Misfitz Dance Studio, 24 AC Baths Ave. Juniors (8-12 years) 10am-11am, Intermediate (13-15 years) 11.15am12.15pm, Advanced (16+ years) 12.30pm-1.30pm. Tickets: $10 cash only.