BACKRangitoto College Dance Company achieved remarkable success at the National Dance Challenge (NDC) held from June 11th to 14th, competing in a field of 133 school teams and over 2,000 performers. Every single Rangitoto group entry achieved a Platinum Gold score of over 90 points.
The Senior Open Troupe performance led the school’s results, winning 1st place in the Variety section, Overall Winner of the School Section, and Overall Secondary School Winner. The performance earned the group a nomination for the NYPA Nationals and an invitation to the Sunday Finals Gala, where they placed 5th overall against some of New Zealand’s top dance studios with a Double Platinum Gold score, an incredible feat for a High School group. Additionally, Eric Taylor, Hayley Stirling, Clair Sun, and Izzy Katipa won the Student Choreographer Award for the Hip Hop Mega Crew.
Earning 2nd-place finishes were our Lyrical Troupe, Theatre Troupe, and Hip Hop Mega Crew. Achieving 3rd-place finishes were our Jazz Troupe and Contemporary Troupe, alongside a 5th-place finish for our Junior Troupe.
Our students also claimed five of the ten individual standout awards across the four-day competition. Vanessa Le and Tiffany Zheng received 100% summer school scholarships to Village Nation Australia and Patrick School of Arts, respectively. Melody Weng received the ADP Scholarship, Audrey Ng took home an Individual Standout Award, and Mia Rajaratnam won the Village Full-Time Week Experience for standout individual performer of the whole event.
We congratulate all our dancers on their hard work and for representing Rangitoto College with pride.
Additional Studio Successes
Our dancers also excelled in external studio competitions this year. Year 13 student Hayley Stirling achieved an outstanding feat at the Hip Hop International NZ Championships, qualifying for the World Championships in Arizona this July across four Notorious Studios crews: Regal (1st), Heist (2nd), Notorious (3rd), and Heist Varsity (4th). Her crew also won the Adult division at Project in Tauranga with Heist.
At the Evolution Dance Competition on the Gold Coast, Year 10 dancer Isla Wild (Studio 246) won 1st and 3rd in group tap, and 3rd and 4th in her solos, competing alongside fellow Rangitoto Students. Year 11 dancer Chloe Liu (Studio 246) also placed 1st in NZ and 4th overall in Australia with their studio’s Hip Hop crew.
