Hip hop fans step up

FIONA GOODALL/East & Bays Courier

SUPER STAR: Shawna-Lee Arauni Yeomans, 14, pulls her favourite Usher moves to a hip hop beat.

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Panmure is all about the hip hop.

Especially for students at Somerville Special School who krumped, air guitared, danced and freestyled the day away at the Tamaki Recreation Centre on Thursday.

The inaugural education-based event was run by students from Unitec in conjunction with Special Olympics New Zealand.

School sports and recreation coordinator Ashwin Prasad says dance is a way to express emotions and explore movement.

"The students are into hip hop and dance is a great opportunity to showcase their talent," he says.

"It comes naturally to them, they enjoy it. We’re based in Panmure which is all about the hip hop."

For Shawna-Lee Arauni Yeomans, it was a chance to pull out her best moves.

"I do it at home all the time, I have heaps of moves," she says.

The 14-year-old, who cites Usher as her favourite artist, says there is nothing better than dance.

Children also practised their own rap lyrics that focused on education.

The rap’s chorus, "Don’t be a fool, come to school, you know it makes sense, ‘cos it’s radi-cool" echoed through the hall.

Unitec student Teri Doody says the event was organised as part of their event management assessment.

"We had a selection of people to work with, and we chose Special Olympics New Zealand," she says.

Miss Doody says the hip hop theme gives the children social and physical interaction in a safe, fun environment.

She hopes the day will develop into a more regular event.

- © Fairfax NZ News