Young Hamilton dancer in Psy’s video
Not many people can say they’ve danced in a Korean pop music video that’s been viewed more than 1.5 million times.
But Maiya Smith from Hamilton has – and she’s only 12.
Korean singer Psy, most famous for his hit Gangnam Style, released his new song this week, LOVE, featuring Taeyang.
The video clip was directed by New Zealand choreographer Parris Goebel.
It features Maiya at the end of music video, along with the ReQuest dance crew from The Palace Dance studio in Auckland.
‘‘Parris asked our coach to select three juniors and I was lucky enough to be selected,’’ Maiya said.
‘‘We only found out the day before, so it was a big surprise, but such a cool opportunity.’’
Maiya is captain of Bubblegum, the junior crew from The Palace Dance studio.
‘‘We learnt the choreography to the chorus and we just practised most of the day.
‘‘The song is just about love, and I guess love is for all ages, so they added us in.’’
She and two other girls from Bubblegum learned the routine that day and then performed it in front of the camera.
Maiya said the dance was easy to pick up.
‘‘That’s nothing new, though. We change stuff like five minutes before, tweak it, so it’s just about adapting to changes.
‘‘The dance was rather easy – it wasn’t that technical, just lots of fun.’’
Dancing has always been a part in Maiya’s life.
She started ballet and jazz when she was three, then switched to hip hop at eight.
‘‘It [ballet and jazz] really helped with my hip hop. But I initially changed because I felt like I didn’t have as much passion for those two genres as I did for hip hop.
‘‘I just love dancing. Dancing is everything to me. I like how you can express yourself and your feelings.’’
But it’s not easy. Dancing is a big commitment, Maiya says.
She decided to not play any sports at her school, Maeroa Intermediate, and focuses on dancing fulltime.
She travels to Auckland five to six times a week for practice and car pools with other girls in the region.
This is her second year at The Palace Dance studio.
‘‘I feel very grateful to be able to have this opportunity when I’m so young.’’
During the school holidays, Maiya has been in Auckland prepping for the World Hip Hop championships in the United States in two weeks.
Her Bubblegum crew mates have been practising every day from 10am to 6pm – sometimes longer – until they perfect their routine, she says.
Bubblegum is currently the Junior Hip Hop National champion, but the goal is to win gold at the world champs after finishing third last year.
Maiya hopes to one day be a back-up dancer to a famous singer.
‘‘I just see how successful Parris is in the dancing industry and I want to be like that,’’ she says.
‘‘This is something that I’ve always wanted to do.’’