Hip-hop dance dream on edge after fundraiser

June 29, 2008

Hip-hop dance dream on edge after fundraiser

The dream is still alive for Legacy Dance Crew to be the world's best Hip Hop dancers after last night's successful fundraiser at the Wellington Opera House, but the money raised has fallen short of what is needed to send the nine-strong crew all the way to Vegas.

Needing up to $40,000 to send the crew to Las Vegas for the World Hip Hop Dance championships, to be held July 29 to August 3, Legacy's Hip Hop Xposure event raised about $8000.

Legacy Dance manager Liston Peilua said the Opera House event, showcasing hip hop dance crews and MCs from Auckland and Wellington, drew more than 700 people.

"To get 700 people along to the Opera House was magic. The Legacy boys were blown away by the size of the crowd so there's obviously a lot of love in the community for Legacy," said Liston.

"We've got a long way to go. Sending nine guys to Vegas isn't cheap and we'd swim if we had to – but the crew are much better dancers than swimmers. For us it's crucial we get enough funds together to cover flights; the rest we can work out.

"For some of the guys this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to represent New Zealand on the world stage. Today we're appealing to potential sponsors and funders to help us out and make this dream come true.

"We've been blessed by a lot of community and media interest in Legacy Dance. It's just such a good story for the guys, we just need to make sure it has a happy ending," he said.

Last night's Hip Hop Xposure fundraiser featured crew and individual performances from Legacy Dance leading a strong line-up that featured local hip-hop artists Flowz and Beatrootz, Wellington dance crews Emerge and Infinite, and Auckland's Kaladyscope and TMC.

Legacy will represent New Zealand in Las Vegas for the 2008 World Hip Hop Dance Championship July 29 to August 3 where they will battle 1500 dancers in crews from 30 nations for the world title. They qualified for the World Championships by gaining a top two placing at the New Zealand championships on April 19.

Legacy would like to thank all who attended last night's fundraiser, in particular the support from Dance Aotearoa New Zealand (DANZ), Peak Audio, all the performers who gave up their time for free and the media for showing a great deal of interest so far.

ENDS