Hip hoppers lockin’ and poppin’
Briannah Whakatau has popped, locked and dropped her way to the top.
The former Taranaki hiphopper once aspired to be like New Zealand’s awardwinning choreographer and dancer, Parris Goebel and now she is working under her as part of the Bubblegum Dance Crew.
To hold her spot in the junior group the 13-year-old trains six days a week for hours on end, sometimes not falling into bed until 11pm. It’s a rigorous schedule for a young girl with school and a social life to consider.
But the year-eight student is serious about her dance commitments, saying she has her eyes firmly fixed on the future.
‘‘My goal is to one day be like Parris and choreograph for famous people and dance for famous people and become known all around the world,’’ she said.
The former Welbourn School girl, who relocated to Auckland in 2013, is one of 11 in The Palace Dance Studio group.
Being a part of the crew was ‘‘a dream come true’’ for Briannah, who has a keen history in gymnastics and kapa haka.
She began dancing when she was six and quickly become enamoured with Goebel, her crews and their slick choreographed sets.
She’s successfully auditioned for the junior crew twice, beating out more than 40 other hopefuls in the most recent bout which saw Goebel personally select the best of the lot.
‘‘I was so excited when I found out I had got in.’’
Now in her second year with the group, she has become known for her proficient poppin’ and lockin’ abilities.
Briannah describes the urban dance style as ‘‘sort of vibrating your body.’’
‘‘Poppin’ is basically this thing you do with your body where you vibrate...so it’s like a robot type of motion,’’ she explained.
The group hold the current New Zealand spot for top junior hip hoppers and last year the team competed at the world champs in Las Vegas where they placed third. Next month the teenagers head back to the States where they will vye for another spot on the podium.
Performing at New Plymouth’s Central School on Friday morning as part of a fundraising tour ahead of the world champs, the dancer said it was a special show as she got to take the stage in front of her nephew who is a student at the school.
‘‘I haven’t seen him for so long...he’s just grown so much,’’ she said.
A man of few words but baring a grin from ear-to-ear, seven-year-old Kruze Mitchell said he was excited to see his aunty perform.
He also reckoned it might give him playground bragging rights.