About Taranaki Hip Hop Community
The Taranaki HipHop Community is an incorporated society founded in 2020 by local dance school owner Tansi Williams.
Tansi believed the only thing holding back local Hip Hop talent in the region was the fact that regions such as ours did not have the access to top choreographers and competitions, that dancers in the big city centres had.
By forming an incorporated society, it would enable Tansi and her committee to help local dance crews access the big-name dance companies, and choreographers while being able to compete on a national stage.
Tansi also had big plans of bringing Taranaki its own HipHop International regional qualifier where crews from the central area of the North Island could dance in front of their family and peers, while trying to qualify for the NZ national HHI final held in Auckland each year. While COVID put a halt to this venture, it is still high on the list of things to do for the THHC.
Before 2020, no single secondary school in Taranaki had the number of dancers required to enter the Megacrew division in the NZ schools comp. So, after getting clearance from the organisers, The Taranaki interschool Megacrew was formed.
23 dancers from 7 different high schools within the region, successfully auditioned for the crew.
Nationally acclaimed choreographers Kyra Aoake, and Quinn Prendergast were bought in to choreograph the routine.
Kyra had performed with Jennifer Lopez ( J-LO) at the 2015 AMA music awards and been a dancer on Justin Biebers “Sorry” music video during her time under NZs own Parris Goebel, Choreographer to the stars,. Both Kyra and Quinn had toured internationally with the ROYAL FAMILY out of the PALACE dance studio, so both were well qualified and respected.
The crew went on to win the Wellington regionals and qualify for the National finals that year to be held in Wellington.
In September they went on to become the 2020 National schools Champions after winning the Megacrew division.
From here they took on the name “THE SOCIETY” and went on to win further titles in 2022 and 2023, 2021 saw them finish a respectable 2nd in what turned out to be a very competitive national final in Christchurch.
This year (2024) Tansi and her team decided to enter “THE SOCIETY” in the Junior Varsity Division of the Hip Hop International NZ qualifiers, and finished in 3rd place, qualifying for the World HipHop Championship being held in Phoenix, Arizona from August 3rd to August 10th 2024.
Over the past 4 years the Taranaki HipHop Community has helped over 40 Taranaki school students realise their potential by enabling them to dance on a national stage with top level competition, and had success in watching previous dancers go on to dance at top level companies throughout NZ.