Dreams, glitter and grit at AIMS hip hop comp

Devon Intermediate's hip hop crew brought New Plymouth energy to the 2026 Zespri AIMS Games stage with a routine mixing pūkana, cheerleading flair and hip hop confidence. They had the crowd hollering in approval despite having just two dancers and two cheerleaders in their troupe. It was one of many backstage stories at the hip hop competition at Tauranga's Mercury Baypark Arena on Saturday, where intermediate students arrived with glitter, nerves, and hours of practice behind them. For Matamata Christian School's Made 2 Worship crew, the debut followed a short lead-in. The team only learned at the end of last term it would compete, and half the dancers had no formal training. Backstage, they applied mascara and blush, their crimped hair glittering above silver and fluoro pink uniforms. Karo Potgeiter, 11, said she felt huge excitement about performing. Nearby, Gisborne Intermediate's Army Gals formed a huddle, blew two kisses, swept the floor and bumped hips before marching on stage in salute. Teacher Zara McLeod said the routine was about being 'strong, independent, boss ladies'. 'We show up and we try our best, eh girls,' she tells them. Te Kamo Intermediate travelled six hours to Mount Maunganui, but the final two minutes in the wings felt even longer. The dancers jumped, shook out their arms and jiggled as they waited. Coach Kyra Dodd competed at AIMS as a Te Kamo student and has returned 15 years later to coach her old school. Rotorua's Mokoia Intermediate left the stage buzzing. With pigtails bouncing and fluoro green faces grinning, the dancers say the crowd lifted their performance. Rotorua's Mokoia Intermediate. Photo / Zach Quin For Zosia Costello, 12, it was overwhelming. She ran outside, sat cross-legged on the concrete and cried after what she calls a dream come true. 'I watched hip hop at AIMS in Year 6 and really wanted to do it and now I'm finally getting to do it, and it was soooo good.' Year 8 teacher Jess Gibbs said Mokoia students had practised at lunchtime, after school and in the holidays. The school of 320 sent 94 students to AIMS, and the rest of the school gave them a haka send-off at assembly. 'This is about them believing in themselves,' Gibbs said. The Bucklands Beach Intermediate (BBI) crew from Auckland went on to win the 2026 AIMS Games hip hop competition. - Content supplied by AIMS Games Media