Seven Kāpiti teenagers who love to dance form the Omega Hip Hop Crew at Judith Fuge Dance School (JFDS).
The Crew were placed together as a team in February this year, to perform in competitions throughout the year. Unfortunately due to Covid-19 and the subsequent Alert Level 4 lockdown, dance practice and competitions were shut down. At this time the Crew didn’t have a dance or a uniform for the first competition back in March but since moving into Alert Level 1, the comps started up again and the kids were choreographed an awesome dance by their teacher Sage Minarapa.
They still didn’t have a uniform though and with shipping lines between China and New Zealand under strain it seemed an impossible task to get them something cool in time. After hurriedly putting together a basic uniform of a white t-shirt with black trackies for the first comp in Upper Hutt a few weeks ago, a couple of the Mums of the kids in the crew put their heads together and started coming up with ideas. Sticking with the original black and white theme they already had, the Crew received sponsorship for their uniforms. They had t-shirts printed with their team name Omega and caps embroidered with the Omega symbol. Jackets, trackies and all the same shoes finished off the ensemble – all sourced from suppliers that could deliver on time and from within New Zealand.
They first wore their new uniform at the Impact Dance Experience at Southwards Car Museum in August. The kids now love their uniform and it has given them much more confidence. It’s amazing what a difference a uniform can make. Providing we stay in Alert Level 2 they will get to show off their cool new uniforms and dance over the next few months at competitions in the Lower North Island.
