I’ve seen an awful lot of street dance on screen in recent years but much less in the wild (so to speak).

Back in the day when Len Brown was Mayor of Manukau City, pre the super city sagas and Len’s naughty escapades, he would appear at the Street Dance competitions in South Auckland, rap badly (his words, not mine), and be cheered by one and all. He was immensely popular and that’s where I met him for the first time, at a street dance event organised by a student of mine. I was blown away by the full house, the brilliance of the event, the quality of the performances, and my own amazement at the popularity of this skinny, out of place, middle aged Pālagi man in a house filled with Pasifika energy. After he was elected Mayor of the Super City, I got to know him well and benefited from his political smarts and his absolute passion for inclusivity as did the entire queer community, and I suspect, politics aside, the city as a whole.

The street dance competitions took place every year at the Vodafone Event Centre and my whānau and I attended regularly, and we never ceased to be astonished at the cultural phenomenon of street dance whose popularity I didn’t even begin to understand, and still don’t.

Well, mostly don’t. If you’re keen to experience it as we were, I’d suggest you do what we did, get wide-eyed, and just enjoy the ride. Be assured, Disney has nothing better to offer.

Now, jump forward to 2024. I’m scheduled to review The Identity Projekt and my excitement levels are through the roof.

Conceived in 2011 as a platform to free street dance from the limitations of competition, Out of The Box, as it was then known, has grown into a dynamic space where choreographers express their diverse identities and present their unique practices. This platform has become a ‘meeting place for stories told through street dance forms, enriched by contemporary processes and cultural influences.’

It most certainly is that!

The publicity informs us that, ‘this year, Out of The Box proudly brings together two of New Zealand’s most acclaimed street dance companies, Identity Dance Company (IDCO) and Projekt Team, in a landmark collaboration. This moment’ we are told, ‘is full circle for both groups, who were part of the very first sold-out Out of The Box show in 2012 and have been integral to the OOB kaupapa ever since’ – and that’s where I first saw them, and other groups too.

My research tells me that ‘Identity Dance Company and Projekt Team are pillars of the New Zealand street dance landscape, known for their unwavering passion, commitment to authenticity, and bold innovation. Both companies have earned international acclaim, captivating audiences and collaborating with some of the world’s most remarkable creatives and dancers across various genres.’

Anyone in Aotearoa with a pulse knows just how well respected our street dance companies have become internationally with crews from Auckland’s Identity Dance Company (IDCO) grabbing all but one of Aotearoa’s 2023 medals – with Swagganauts (Varsity), Yung ID (JV Megacrew) and ID3 (3-man crew) all winning silver and the adult team IDescendant bringing home a bronze.

It’s strangely ironic that, while a rapturous full house lapped up The Identity Projekt in the Rangatira Room at Q Theatre, outside in the street the BNZ Auckland Diwali Festival of Lights was featuring unique forms of equally popular street dance but from the Asian subcontinent.

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.

In the freestyle and battle dance communities of Aotearoa, Projekt Team leads the way, connecting Aotearoa with the global dance scene through international qualifiers and major street dance festivals such as ‘Red Bull Dance Your Style’, ‘Fusion Concept in Paris’, and ‘Summer Dance Forever.’

It’s big business, too.

Identity is celebrated for their dancers’ extraordinary skill, musicality, and creative complexity. I learn that ‘their performances, including standout showcases at World of Dance, have garnered over 15 million online views worldwide, captivating audiences with their mastery of movement.’

No surprise then that this audience were on their feet throughout the 60-minute show – well, it was actually 90 minutes, but no-one was counting.

The programme was broken into eight sections called, sequentially, ‘The Last Run’ (a view of the pre-show rehearsal process before a performance), ‘Halafihi’ (a burdensome journey through time referencing past generations while moving into the present), ‘M&M (Music and Movement)’, while ‘Three Style Pt 1’ / ‘Three Style Pt 2’ / ‘Three Style Pt 3’ each allows the audience to choose, via raucous applause, what style of music a soloist will dance to without them knowing what style the music will be – ‘Japanese violin’ aced it for me. Take a bow soloists Sheldon Rua, Mele Tapueluelu, and John Vaifale.

‘Aura’ explores the magnetism a dancer has but which is often invisible, and we are invited to ‘see what is unseen.’ By now, I’m beginning to wonder if there’s anything these extraordinary dancers can’t do?

‘Haka Fusion’ captures the rhythm and expressiveness of street dance while incorporating the cultural significance and storytelling elements of kapa haka. Those on my side of the footlights really enjoyed this.

‘Waka’ shares distant memories of days gone by, building, navigating, and carving out a journey that leads to whānau. Danced by Myke Davis Hoeft, John Vaifale, Benny Abela, Sheldon Rua, and Keith Fata, and choreographed by Hoeft and Josh Mitikulena, this topped my list of favourites from the more formal repertoire on the programme.

Choreographed by Joshua Cesan, ‘Puzzled’ evolves beautifully presenting each of the ID Co Company dancers – and there are over thirty of them – as a unique fragment of a cohesive entirety. It’s fabulous stuff, but now the big question starts to grow in everyone’s mind: how will they ever top this?

It’s not a question we’re left meditating on for long because the final piece is ‘M&M Live’ and it kicks in immediately. Described by the occasional MC (I suspect he’s the big boss) as ‘a wild blend of impromptu moments, sound, choreography, and playful battles where the audience decides the winner’, this is clearly what the knowledgeable audience members, and there are plenty of them, have been waiting for. All the music is mixed live by resident tech-wizz (read ‘unflappable genius’) Manfred (Manny) Okan, and we’re underway. Rock, paper, scissors, decides the order, the dance off is utterly exhilarating and features so much talent across the styles, the age ranges, and the body types, that the mind boggles and I have no idea who won – not that it matters. The audience has a great time, but I’d hazard a guess that all the real fun happened on the stage. The crews make it look easy, and it seems so, but behind the olioli there’s a power of work been done to reach this standard of uniform excellence and the sheer joy of working together on something of value.

In my experience, there’s nothing quite like street dance anywhere else on the planet.

E vave taunu’u le malaga pe a tatou alo va’a fa’atasi.

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