MIT Student Wins Gold at the World Hip Hop Dance Champs

MIT Performing Arts Student Wins Gold at the World Hip Hop Dance Championships

A Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT) Performing Arts student has danced his way to a gold medal at the 2013 World Hip Hop Dance Championships in Las Vegas.

Mangere Bridge resident, Kevin Tokoa is studying his Bachelor of Performing Arts at MIT and is a member of Auckland hip-hop dance crew Royal Family, who won gold for the third year in a row in the megacrew division.

Tokoa was one of four MIT Performing Arts students at the world champs. His winning set was a high energy performance involving over twenty dancers. Link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uO-hvL64Zbk

Following the win he was asked to extend his stay in the US to perform six shows at the Monsters Dance Show, a Broadway style theatre show in Los Angeles later this month. This high profile show involves choreographers from the hit US shows ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ and ‘America’s Best Dance Crew.’

Another MIT Performing Arts student, Allister Salaivao also made it to the finals with his dance crew Prestige. While fellow students Ezra Williams and Ufitia Sagapolutele went through to semi-finals with the Dziah Megacrew.

New Zealand has been making a mark in the International Hip Hop scene for a number of years now, regularly winning medals at the championship.

Ezra Williams says the New Zealand teams are very popular at the world champs and have build up quite a reputation.

“Everyone kept asking where we were from and when we told them, they got so excited. They love New Zealand,” she says.

MIT’s Faculty of Creative Arts offers a Diploma in Performing Arts programme and a Bachelor of Creative Arts (Performing Arts) degree programme – both qualifications include study in acting, singing and dance.

Applications to study performing arts at MIT in 2014 are currently open and will be assessed on an academic entry requirement and through an audition process. Applications are accepted until the programme is full.

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