World’s Oldest Hip Hop Dance Group to Honour Hip Hop

Media Release
28 May 2013

World’s Oldest Hip Hop Dance Group from New Zealand to Honour Hip Hop – Even if it Kills Them!

The World’s Oldest Hip Hop Dance Group, consisting of 37 senior citizens aged 66 to 96 years old from a small island off the East Coast of New Zealand plans to honour the global Hip Hop scene with a special performance at the World Hip Hop Championships in Las Vegas in August.

The dance troupe of octogenarians, called The Hip Op-eration Crew, have been officially invited to do a tribute performance at the global hip hop event due to their passion and respect for hip hop and desire to inspire people to pursue their dreams no matter what their limitations.

Because of their age, this will be the last performance for many of the dancers.

“My dance Crew wants to complete this mission so bad, some members are risking their health and literally their lives to fly the long distance to the USA. We have even gone to the extent of pricing out the costs of cremation in the USA just in case. However, regardless of the risks, my Crew are determined to pay tribute to young hip hop dancers and to go out with a bang,” says The Hip Op-eration Crew Manager, Billie Jordan.

The World Hip Hop Championships is available for broadcast in over 40 countries around the world and attracts contestants from more than 43 countries. The Hip Op-eration Crew are already picked as the ‘show stoppers’ for the event and have attracted interest from the BBC World Service, Wall Street Journal, Ruptly News and a feature documentary film crew who are following them for eight months in their mission to perform in Las Vegas.

“The dance routine we plan on performing at the World Hip Hop Championships is going to be impressive. People always under estimate my Crew, and this time we are pulling out all the stops to give a performance no-one will ever forget. My Crew will be giving it everything they’ve got, as it’s probably the last thing they will do in this lifetime.

“We want to show that no matter what your age, you can still live life to the fullest and embrace, respect and celebrate different urban cultures. Our motto is ‘Never Say Die’,” says Jordan.

The Hip Op-eration Crew members include Violet, a 96 year old in a wheelchair; four people who use other types of mobility aids (including a zimmer frame and walking sticks), 14 members in their 80s and early 90s, many people who are deaf, and one member who is legally blind. The average age is 79 years old and there are eight men and 29 women in the Crew - including a mother (96 years old) and her son and daughter-in-law (both 69 years old).

The Hip Op-eration Crew recently performed at the New Zealand National Hip Hop Championships; receiving cheers, screams and a standing ovation from the hundreds of youth in attendance at the event. Even the judges were on their feet.

The Hip Op-eration Crew are a registered charity and need to raise approximately NZ$245,000 (US$200,000) to travel to the USA.

“Time is running out, if we don’t raise the money by mid June we won’t be able to book flights in time to be able to travel to the USA - so will have to turn down the once-in-a-lifetime invitation we have received to perform at the World Hip Hop Championships. It’s a nail biting exercise and we are offering ourselves up for sponsorship, to work as talent for advertising campaigns or to perform at private celebrity events to raise the money we need. However, we have only managed to raise NZ$8,000 so far – so are way off our target,” says Jordan.

All donations to the charity, no matter how small, will receive a tax rebate and will be gratefully received. 10% of all public donations go into The Hip Op-eration Crew’s Otara Youth Programme.

“The Otara Youth Programme links up our aged hip hop dancers with young hip hop dancers from Otara (mainly from the Dziah Dance Academy) so our Crew members become their hip hop grandparents. All money that goes into the Otara Youth Programme pays for the young kids from the Dziah Dance Academy (and other identified at risk kids) to come to Waiheke Island for fun activities with their hip hop nanas and poppas such as kayaking, fishing, bush walking, zip lining – and lots of cuddles and cups of tea,” says Jordan.

More Information
Meet The Hip Op-eration Crew in a ‘behind the scenes’ video made for the ASB Stage Challenge (see below):-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n26W-OWcjC4

The Hip Op-eration Crew featured in a promotional video for the ASB Stage Challenge:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvXxzI50cZg

A news story by Ruptly TV News Agency:-
http://www.ruptly.tv/vod/view/1211/new-zealand-hip-hop-pensioners-refuse-to-act-their-age

The Hip Op-eration Crew performing at the New Zealand Hip Hop Championships:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIl_0SY5hOQ&feature=youtu.be

For more information, pictures, videos and photos about The Hip Op-eration Crew, please visit us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/thehipoperationcrew or on our website at www.hipop-eration.com

ENDS

© Scoop Media