Simply MAD Success
Members of MAD NESS with their National Championship medals. Back row: Charlie Bennett, Bonnie Larrington, Rylie Horncastle, Ajah Ivamy, Fade MacDonald. Front row: Ellie MacDonald, Icey Bradley-Kiwi, Dayna Bowler, and Ella Brown. Photo: Supplied
Marlborough Academy of Dance’s (MAD) hip-hop dancers strutted from strength to strength finishing 2023 with shiny medals and a rising reputation.
The MAD intermediate crew ‘MAD NESS’ captured junior division gold beating 20 other crews at HipHop Unite’s national finals in Lower Hutt in June.
MAD entries also earned 2nd and 3rdplaces from Impact Nationals and Shakedown, both in Nelson, as well as winning Blenheim Dancing Society’s hip-hop crew titles.
Having only had crews for three years, Fleur Hebberd is over the moon with the effort this year’s dancers have put in, with results to show.
“It’s encouraging that our intermediate crew is already breaking through to national success”, she says.
“A national title confirms we’re good enough to compete with New Zealand’s best - ‘MAD NESS’ put everyone on notice.”
Tauranga’s SPACE Studio, who’s ‘Outkasts’ crew placed 3rdat the 2023 Hip-Hop World Championship, supplied choreography to MAD crews – and MAD credit them with their step up in results across 2023.
“The last few years we’ve competed for the fun of dancing, enjoyed ourselves and not placed well - but this year having MAD called out all the time was really exciting” expands Ruby Cook.
Using routines put together by SPACE’s Summer Tyson, Ruby won the 12-13 year old Contemporary Solo National Championship and was awarded the most points overall at Impact Nationals alongside her crew successes.
“SPACE brought fresh ideas from all of their success and that’s filtered down to all of our dancers because they’ve really taken us under their wing, and they’ve been incredible” Ruby says.
“We’re all really close and the team has come along so much this year with performances and results, while also keeping it fun to go away”.
Senior dancer Daliah Clarke used a SPACE solo and a self-created routine, as well as one supplied by the admissions board, to win a spot at the Ettingshausen’s Dance School Diploma of Professional Arts in Sydney next year.
“Dance has always been fun, but the experience of working with the SPACE team massively improved my dancing and choreography”, says Daliah.
“This year turned dance from a passion into a career path.”
Fleur stresses senior girls assisting with choreography is a huge part of her ethos, and knows Daliah will feed ideas back to MAD.
“Our girls know how and what they want to dance, so we embrace that”, says Fleur.
“There’s no pressure to go away and win – we just do our best because hip hop competition judging is subjective, you can’t bank on consistently winning”.
With the competition season coming to an end Fleur says she is optimistic for the future.
“Next year’s planning is still underway, and we want to keep working with SPACE and keep creating opportunities for more solos, duos and crew entries.”
“The ultimate goal is cracking a World Championship competition, and if we’re lucky enough the talent’s definitely here!”
2023 Marlborough Academy of Dance crew results
Hip-Hop Unite
MAD NESS – Junior Division National Champions.
Impact Nationals
MAD NESS - 2nd in the Intermediate division, 2nd Overall.
MAD ATTACK - 3rd in the Senior division.
Shakedown
MAD MEGA - 2ndin Mega Crew division.
MAD NESS - 3rd in Varsity division.
Blenheim Dancing Society
MAD CULTURE - 1stin Junior age group.
MAD MEGA - 1stin senior age group.