BrookexStarce: Empowering Auckland’s youth through dance

Full immersion te reo Māori students in Tāmaki Makaurau|Auckland are moving away from traditional Māori dance styles and trying their steps in hip hop.

Independent artists, teachers, entrepreneurs, and twin sisters Brooke and Starce O’Neill are bringing their skills into Kura Kaupapa Māori.

Their programme, Express Yourself, focuses on developing the mental, physical, and emotional well-being of rangatahi through hip-hop dance.

“We are organising a showcase for the end of Term 3 at Te Pūtahi o Manurewa.

“The kaupapa [is] building confidence in our tamariki.

"We use hip-hop dance as a tool to build the mana me te kaha (strength) in rangatahi and tamariki and classes are taught in te reo Māori.”

Express Yourself is a 10-week programme for children ages 5-13 years. Over the term, participants prepare them for an end-of-term showcase for their whānau and friends.

Since 2018, the organisation has delivered classes to over 2000 children across 20 schools, highlighting the growing interest and positive impact of self-expression through dance on young minds.

The collective aims to provide a “compelling alternative” to traditional sports and recreation, showing that fitness can be enjoyable through hip-hop.

Watch highlights from the Express Yourself community programme in 2024 below.

Brook and Starce are the team running the programme in the South Auckland region at Te Pūtahi Māori o Manurewa, Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ngā Papaonekura in Rosehill, Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Piripono in Ōtara, and Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Māngere.

Other members of the Express team conduct classes at Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ngā Maungarongo in Mt Albert and Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Raki Paewhenua in Rosedale.

The sisters are also excited to add the Māori unit at Manurewa East School to their roster starting at the beginning of Term 3.

Express Yourself with Brooke x Starce and students of TKKM o Ngā Papaonekura. Photo/Supplied

Step in the right direction

Whaea Koha teaches Physical Education at TKKM o Māngere and reports that the duo has a weekly two-and-a-half-hour segment with their Year 9 and 10 tauira (students) every Thursday from 12.30pm to 3pm.

She says the kids love it. “It's something different for them. They're not quite used to hip hop yet, so used to kapa haka and all that.

“But they're quite natural, naturally skilled in this kind of area, or so they say,” she jokes.

Stretches and warm-ups. Photo/Supplied

“They love the music and they, I guess, can relate to it because they do a lot of TikToks every day, some of the movements, some of the dances they already know.”

Whaea Koha has observed significant growth in the students’ confidence levels.

“Te mahi tahi, working together, confidence, te patua i te whakama. They're definitely growing in confidence from the first week that they started till now.”

He akoranga kei te haere - class is in session. Photo/Supplied

Dropping new music monthly

In addition to their roles as kaiako (teachers), Brooke and Starce are emerging RnB-pop artists aiming to release a new song each month this year.

Formerly known as The O’Neill Twins, Brooke and Starce have rebranded using their first names and independently write, sing, produce, and distribute their music.

The duo released their latest single ‘Bounce’ on Friday. With its rhythmic bassline and Afrobeat groove, it’s sure to get fans in the mood to dance.

“Keep a lookout, whānau. OK, you're going to want to bounce when you hear it, you know what I mean?” Starce says in an interview with NiuFM’s The Morning Shack.

‘Bounce’ is their third track for the year, following January’s release ‘It’s Alright’ and February’s ‘Rush’.

The duo has received funding from an undisclosed source to sustain their musical experience. They plan to release a music video with next month’s song while continuing their reo Māori dance classes.

“It's huge. But, you know, we're trying. We are here because we have so many different pōtae (hats),” Brooke says.

“We're teaching kura kaupapa Māori, we're studying. It's kind of hard to keep everything moving at a good pace, but all we need to do is get in the cave and just get the mahi done, you know? But, nah, super excited.”

Listen to music by Brooke x Starce on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube.