Ngavaine Tearea

Ngavaine (also known as Ninie) started dancing when she was around 11 years old. She trained mainly in hip hop, and at 17 she moved away from home to join dance crew The Royal Family under global superstar Parris Goebel. When The Royal Family’s all-female crew ReQuest danced with Jennifer Lopez on the finale of American Idol, it led to Ngvaine and five other girls landing a contract with Cirque De Soleil in Michael Jackson ONE. After two years living and dancing in Vegas, she moved to Australia and started teaching and mentoring dancers. When an opportunity arose to audition for Dream Dance Company’s GODDESS show, Ngavaine jumped on a plane from Brisbane to take part.

What made you decide to audition for GODDESS?

I was actually content where I was, teaching, mentoring and sharing my journey, and I haven’t really done an official dance gig in the last four years. But, when this opportunity came up I was like ‘oh my gosh Caetlyn Watson is amazing!’. And I’d never crossed paths with Marko before, so I knew I needed to audition. When I got it I was so happy.

What do you love about Caetlyn’s style?

Everything! Caetlyn’s whole aura as a person is amazing, and for how young she is she has a lot of knowledge to share. She’s travelled all over the world, everyone loves her, but her style is so unique that you can’t find it anywhere else. You can’t take another class like it. She’s one of a kind, her movement is mesmerising and very wavy. And she’s a beautiful person.

And what about working with Marko Panzic?

I’m really excited to work with Marko. Today (at the promo shoot) is only my second or third time getting to see him! When I moved to Australia he was one of the first names I heard, people said go and dance at his classes, meet him, network, but we never crossed paths. So doing the Caetlyn Watson/Marko Panzic/Dream Dance Company combination is like perfect timing. I want to get to know him and hopefully work with him more, because he’s been one of the people that created this industry in Australia.

What are you most excited for with this show?

I think because I love being a student, I really love the process. I love how we are going to get into the studio and see Caetlyn and Marko create what their vision is and then bring that vision to life. And just see everything unfold and everyone come together. Also learning from everyone, because this will be my first time dancing with this group of people and meeting some of them, so I have a lot to learn from the cast. Performing and sharing with them is the most exciting thing.

How would you describe your own dance style?

I think it’s based on hip hop, but it’s not only hip hop because I’ve learnt a lot of foundations and from there I’ve just evolved and created my own style from what I love to do. I love to dance hard-hitting choreography, but I also love exploring my feminine side. So feminine, strong, powerful. That would be the best way to explain it.

What advice do you have for any aspiring dancers?

Coming from New Zealand, what I would say is that Australia has so many opportunities, even just for training. So really take advantage of every opportunity that is in front of you, embrace it, process it and soak everything in, because later on you will use everything that you’ve learnt. I had to learn from experience, which is a great way to learn in the industry, but when something is put in front of you, take it and go for it. And also, you can only get back what you put in. So if you go halfway, you’ll only get half results. If you give 100%, you’ll get that back. Be fearless and don’t doubt yourself. Just believe in who you are.