With the second team, a mega crew called Proteam, which qualified by winning the New Zealand Hip Hop International (HHI) competition, he placed 5th in the global HHI competition and reached the finals of the World of Dance competition.

World of Dance brings together all types of contemporary dance, but HHI is a purely hip-hop competition.

Kiah says a lot of fundraising was needed to get the competition underway.

“We are very grateful to everyone who supported us to achieve this,” he says.

Kiah was born and raised in Tauranga, but after his family moved to the Waikato, he began attending weekly hip-hop classes for kids at Aspire Dance Studio in Matamata.

When the family moved to Christchurch, he enrolled in hip-hop classes there before returning to Tauranga and joining the Ride Dance Company.

“I was there about three years and was on their sports teams for about a year.”

He then auditioned and was accepted at Space Studio in Tauranga, where he worked for three years.

He was about 6 years old when he started dancing. It was one of several sports and activities he had the opportunity to try.

“My parents are big rugby fans so I signed up for rugby rip and tackle and tried football but I wasn’t very good at it so I found that dancing was the only thing left for me and I really enjoyed it. It’s a great thing.

“I loved watching dance, I loved watching other boys dance and seeing that boys could actually dance and not just play rugby – that was the first trigger for me and I thought it looked so cool and I thought, ‘I want to move like that, I want to dance like that and I know one day I can do it.’ That’s where it all started for me.

“I would come there every week, practice hard at home, try all the new techniques and so when that led me to Space Studios, they really helped me develop my technique and really push myself further and harder.”

Studying at The Conservatory will take you to the next level.

“It will help me prepare for the professional dance industry, as well as do a semester dedicated to film and production, so I can learn the professional aspects of both filmmaking and dance that I can use wherever I go.”

Kiah says that in addition to participating in the dance, she enjoys capturing it in photographs and videos because she wants to convey an idea or “communicate something to the audience – something that has meaning.”

“This is exactly how I see my future: creating films and photographs that represent a purpose that actually has an impact somewhere.

“For me, the stereotypes about dance are very important and that it’s not necessarily easy to finish college because these stereotypes are always there, for example, that you’re gay if you dance, while straight boys can really dance. That’s one of the stereotypes that I would like to break down in the future.”

But her interest in film doesn’t mean she’ll give up dancing.

“I’d like to do a good mix of both. I think my strengths would be being behind the camera, planning, creating and seeing the whole process come to life. But I’d like to be in some of my own work.

Kiah’s schoolmates had the opportunity to see him perform on stage, and he himself was in the cast Grease in 2021 she took part in lip synch competitions and performed on stage in school dance competitions.

He has also signed a contract with dance and talent agency 3WJ+boy, which may further increase his chances of success.

“I wasn’t sure how it would go, but I got accepted, which was pretty cool, and now I audition for dance commercials and TV commercials. I’d like to do that someday, but I think auditions are just a great experience to build knowledge about that side of the industry.”

He sees his future career somewhere in the creative industries.

“I think that in the future I will be involved in anything that involves creating and implementing an idea or concept that can be communicated to an audience.”