New Zealand School of Dance students Connor Masseurs and Toa Paranihi epitomise what the School’s Tū Move programme can do for talented young Māori and Pacific Island men.
Connor and Toa, have not taken the traditional route to become NZSD students. They’ve always been inspired by dance but equally so by sport. So a workshop like Tū Move, for 14-18 year olds in Street Dance, Contemporary and other dance styles was the perfect introduction to a whole new world. Both Connor and Toa are now training as students in the NZSD full-time programme, majoring in contemporary dance.
Not only are Connor and Toa taking on new challenges at the School but they also competed in the 2015 Street Dance NZ Championships in Auckland. The boys’ crew ‘The Associates’ qualified for the world finals, travelling to San Diego to compete, and Connor won the award for Most Outstanding Male Dancer of 2015.
Tū Move at the New Zealand School of Dance in Wellington