Alexi Hughes (pictured) recently won the Australian Dance Crew Championship qualifier and Hip Hop Unite national championship title recently. Photo: Supplied
Te Kūiti dancer Alexi Hughes didn’t expected to win her first major hip hop competition — so much so, she was half asleep when her name was read out.
Hughes, 13, won the 13 to 17-year-old solo category of the Australian Dance Crew Championship Auckland qualifier on May 12, but she almost missed the announcement as she was dozing off when the news came.
Alexi Hughes (pictured) recently won the Australian Dance Crew Championship qualifier and Hip Hop Unite national championship title recently. Photo: Supplied
“I was about to fall asleep because I wasn’t expecting my name, so when I heard Alexi I was like, ‘What’s happening?’, because I was expecting one of the well-known names to win. I wasn’t expecting that.”
Although she was unsure on what exactly impressed the judges about her routines, Hughes said she felt what shone through was the style and personality of her performance, which featured tracks from Janet Jackson, Cardi B and Run DMC.
“I think it was probably because of how I was different from the other solos and I was unique and had stand-out facials,” Hughes said.
“I just had different styles to other people and music that my teacher’s given me that I can dance to really well to,” she said.
Following her successful qualifier for the Australian champs, Hughes then took out the Hip Hop Unite National Championships for her age at the Lower Hutt Event Centre on May 22.
The Street Dance Sessions dancer also competed in two crews at both competitions. Both crews making the semi-finals at Hip Hop Unite National Championships and one moved on to the final.
Alexi Hughes (pictured) recently won the Australian Dance Crew Championship qualifier and Hip Hop Unite national championship title recently. Photo: Supplied
Dance has been Hughes’ happy place since she started dancing at Tiny Tots as a four-year-old. It’s a medium where she can be herself through the creativity, personality and fun the dance style offers.
Although she enjoys dancing a range of other styles including tap, jazz, contemporary, ballet and musical theatre, hip hop has always been her favourite.
“It’s different from all the other dance styles, and because it has groove and heaps of different hip-hop styles like breaking and popping. It’s just way more fun to do,” Hughes said.
“Before I go on stage, I’ll feel like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m going to go out there and perform’. Then when I’m on stage, I just forget about it all – not forget about it all like forget my dance moves, but like I forget what nervous feels like,” she said.
Although Hughes has qualified to go to the finals of the Australian Dance Crew Championships in Sydney in October, she may not be able to go due to other commitments with her hip hop crews.
Alexi Hughes (pictured) recently won the Australian Dance Crew Championship qualifier and Hip Hop Unite national championship title recently. Photo: Supplied
