Ngaruawahia High School Yearbooks 2010-2012 Ngaruawahia High School Yearbook 2011 | Page 42

Bring it on!

N

garuawahia High School entered a group in the Bring It
On hip hop dance competition for the first time ever
this year. It is a competition that will celebrate its 10th
anniversary next year and this year was the first year any school
from out of Auckland entered.
Bring It On is an organisation that endeavours to develop
character and leadership in young people and has very high
expectations of the people who enter. They provide regular
mentoring of the leaders and the dancers. The Bring It On
competition is considered one of the most prestigious in New
Zealand and the talent pool it draws on is both enormous and
highly experienced.
The leaders who initiated our involvement were Cruze
Nahu-Nikau, Chase Nahu-Nikau and Larissa George. The teacher
in charge was Susie Foster and this group formed the core
leadership group.
The initial heats took place on 27th May after 3 months
of rigorous training.
While we didn’t place,
our performance was
noticed for its high
standard
and
the
enthusiasm that our
dancers brought to it.
This energy and
enthusiasm was also
very useful when we
tried for the wild-card
placing.
Entry
was
decided by the number
of cans of food that a
school collected for the
Salvation Army foodbanks. In less than 5
days our dance group
collected 2878 cans
generously donated by
the
Ngaruawahia
community. We asked

that the cans be given to our local food-bank and they were.
Even though we were again pipped at the post by
another school that joined forces with two other schools, we
think this is one of the best achievements of this whole
experience – that we could give back something to the people
we grew up with and who support us.
Of course, the story didn’t end there for us. As luck
would have it another school pulled out because of overcommitments and Ngaruawahia High School was nominated to
take its place.
With only 5 weeks we suddenly had to find a new
routine, one that would fit a much larger 360 degree stage. We
called for new dancers and grew from a group of 23 to one of
33.
Our dancers at the Auckland grand final came from all
over the Waikato – Huntly College, Fraser High School, Hillcrest
High School, Te Awamutu, Fairfield College, and
Rakaumangamanga. This
diversity has been one of
our greatest assets.
Suddenly practice
took place every day
(except Saturday for the
sporting people). We
practiced for 5,6,7 hours
a day every day of the
holidays - and nearly
everyone turned up
every day.
It
wasn’t
the
easiest of times and we
definitely had some
down times in those 5
frantic weeks, but we are
proud of the fact that we
made it through, that we
finished, and that we
represented our school
and our community.