On the 8th and 9th of August I attended Dance NZ MADE, a dance competition followed by workshops.

This event was held at Burnside High school in the Aurora Center. More than 150 people went, representing at least 10 schools from Christchurch. This was my first time attending and I thoroughly enjoyed performing and learning new dance styles at the workshops with professional teachers. 

Day one was the competition part of DNZM. Where my best friend and I (Lucy Fairweather) created a jazz dance to Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson. We called this dance ‘Smooth Criminals’ and performed it with a Michael Jackson accent. Before we went onstage, we were excited and enthusiastic yet extremely nervous. Thankfully, backstage the other dancers were incredibly supportive, soon followed by the audience. While performing we made sure to do our outstanding best and have heaps of fun. 

Day two was the workshop part of DNZM. Workshops consisted of a professional teacher teaching a certain style of dance. We all learnt a combination and were personally given feedback. As well as learning a combination, we also learnt about the history of the chosen style. The workshops I did were lyrical and hip hop. I found these workshops very enjoyable and learnt lots more about the style. It was incredibly fun and helpful to meet with other students from different schools because everybody was so welcoming and nice. We all learnt lots from each other while enjoying the workshops. 

Overall, DNZM was an enjoyable experience and I learnt so much more about dancing. I have definitely improved over these two days by performing and giving it a go in the workshops. I will absolutely be going back next year and the following ones. I would rate this a 10/10 experience and would recommend that all dance enthusiasts give it a go. 

Emma Gray 

Year 10 Student