The royal family is the only thing standing between Australia's all girl hip hop troupe and world championship glory.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mega Crew Nirvana, the all female mega dance crew from Canberra are in the final stages of preparation before they take on the “Royal Family” – New Zealand's best female hip hop group – at the World Hip Hop Championships in Las Vegas.
The Nirvana posse, made up of 23 dancers from Canberra aged from 14 to 25, wowed the judges at the national heats earlier this year, and on August 6 they will be the first Australian all female group to ever take part in the world championships.
In the history of the event, no all female “crew” has ever won the mega crew division. However, Nirvana, thanks to a routine jam packed with perfectly timed waacking, voguing, locking, dancehall, house and urban moves, could be contenders for the crown.
While all the dancers have backgrounds in various dance styles including jazz and ballet, they were attracted to hip hop for its family feel.
“When you dance ballet or something like that, you come in do your barwork on your own then leave. With hip hop it's all about collaboration and working with a team. You come into a room with these girls and the energy and ideas and chatter is just so electric. All of us now we are like a family,” choreographer Thea Kabadanis said.
“What distinguishes hip hop from other forms of dancing is that it's quite often freestyle. There's a lot of freedom, especially with movements and a lot of freedom of expression.
“We have spent months and months developing our set and we are most confident that we are taking something unique, powerful and super feminine to the competition.”
Feminine is the key word.
Beyonce and Nicki Minaj aside, for the past decade the genre and the championships have been dominated by all male crews.
With a soundtrack featuring an up tempo mash up of M.I.A., Daft Punk and Major Laser, Nirvana's routine is an homage to the world's most famous female feline.
“It's got a real girly feel to it but it's really strong and fierce, a lot like Catwoman,” Ms Kabadanis said.
More than 2,000 of the world's best dancers will descend on Vegas with crews and mega crews from approximately 40 nations competing for the world title.
The international event will also attract hip hop artists, choreographers and talent scouts who will be on the look out for potential movers and shakers to star in things like music videos and stage shows.