It’s a MAD world after all

Marlborough Academy of Dance has left its mark on the international stage in Prague, two MAD entries now ranked in the world’s top 10.

As part of the wider HipHop Unite New Zealand team which took part in the world champs, the Junior Mega Crew MADNESS placed seventh in the world while the MAD Duo combination of Sam Marfell and Immy Giles finishing tenth in the Adult Duo category.

Despite the girls feeling some nerves, and MAD Duo battling a technical hiccup along the way, MAD coach Fleur Hebberd said the girls showed resilience throughout their Czech adventures and did the region proud throughout.

“The girls really stepped up and loved the challenge. We had a couple days of sightseeing, then on the Thursday locked in with a studio to focus on our purpose and danced for the first time on Friday.

“I could feel their nerves and much of our messaging was preparing them for not making the semifinals, but with the quality of the groups they had every crew dance again.

“The final cut was from 20 down to seven and you’re with all the other groups in a bit of a huddle – the girls had changed out of their costumes and were not expecting to be named so were quite nonchalant, even when they said ‘from New Zealand…’ because there was a fellow Nelson crew with us.

“After we were named, they screamed and cried and celebrated - it was ecstatic scenes to make the final, but they showed a lot of courage and professionalism on their part to reset and lock back in to dance again in the finals.”

MAD Duo had a rockier road when, for their first duo dance, Sam and Immy danced to the wrong music.

While they completed their dance, after a correction they were brought back to dance again which got them into the top 12 semifinals.

“That boosted them back up, from thinking it’s a privilege to be here and feeling deflated after having their trip ruined by a technical glitch, to being told you deserve to dance again in the semifinals”, says Fleur.

“It was really resilient of them to keep dancing to the wrong music and they were rapt for their second chance, especially with being the babies in their category – having to enter because Sam is over 18 – so going a step further than last year, making the semifinals and placing 10th is a wonderful result.”

And after admittedly “slamming” the local dance community with fundraising for the Prague campaign, Fleur says the results are credit to the village behind them.

“Everyone in the MAD community is on a huge buzz after this – we haven’t had a lesson yet but there’s so much motivation for 2026.

“Our community support has been epic with fundraising from local businesses, friends and whanau and especially our parents have been immense – it takes a village to get our kids to the world stage and we truly have one.”