DUBAI, 4 January 2021 – When your leader extends an invitation to collaborate with your Country Pavilion at the biggest-ever World Expo, it’s not an offer you can turn down. Choreographer, dancer, singer, director and actress Parris Goebel says it was an honour to be asked by New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to help showcase the nation’s talent, entertainment and culture to the rest of the world.
Goebel, who started dancing the moment she started walking, threw down a gauntlet at the age of 15, when she established dance group ReQuest with four friends in Auckland, rehearsing in her aunt’s garage and her father’s warehouse. The quintet’s grit and determination culminated in them making it to the finals of the Monsters of Hip Hop Dance Convention in the USA.
Since then, Goebel has gone on to form a further nine dance groups, in addition to dancing with and choregraphing for some of the world’s biggest artists, including Ciara, Ariana Grande, Little Mix, Rihanna, Janet Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, Nicki Minaj, K-pop stars Big Bang, CL and PSY, and Justin Bieber – with the music video for Bieber’s Sorry accruing more than 3.4 billion views.
The entertainment programme for Expo 2020, which is largely scheduled around New Zealand’s Expo 2020 National Day on 31 January, will showcase the diversity of talent that makes the participants inherently Kiwi.
Parris Goebel said: “We have our Māori cultural groups that give the audience an insight into the mana (prestige, status) of our indigenous people; some dynamic street art installations that will showcase some of New Zealand’s top artists alongside an electric mix of live music courtesy of DJ Sir-Vere; performances by the Royal Family Dance Crew; and a special show call Voice of Youth Wonderland that I created especially for Expo 2020 Dubai to celebrate our next generation of performers.”
Goebel is the Creative Director of the Royal Family, and the group will introduce Expo 2020 audiences to the choreographer’s unique style of ‘Polyswagg’, which she describes as hearing, breathing and living the music to convey a charismatic energy on stage. Voice of Youth Wonderland, meanwhile, will celebrate diversity and youth through song, dance, drama and spoken word.
Goebel – who is of Samoan, Chinese and Scottish descent – views Expo 2020 as a great platform for artists to reach new audiences. “This is the first time many of our artists are performing in the Middle East. With the richness of cultural exchanges at Expo 2020, I’m excited to see what inspiration they’ll take from their time in Dubai into their future performances. Plus there’s the awesomeness of the site itself, from architecture to sounds and smells … it really feels like we are getting a glimpse into the future.”
She now lives in Los Angeles, but said her proudest moment was opening her studio in New Zealand, which provides up-and-coming dancers from her home country a creative platform.
Emphasising there is no substitute for hard work, the tenacious artist said: “You will need to be passionate and sacrifice a lot of things to achieve your goals.” The upshot is she gets to wake up every morning doing what she loves.
- Voice of Youth Wonderland takes place on 23-26 January from 1800 GST at Dubai Millennium Amphitheatre
- New Zealand: Live Street Art takes place on 27-31 January at 1000 and 1700 GST at Al Forsan Park
- The Royal Family perform on 31 January-2 February from 1930 GST at Dubai Millennium Amphitheatre
- Ngāti Rānana, a Māori cultural group who evoke indigenous and New Zealand culture via a powerful combination of song, dance and chanting, perform on 31 January-2 February at 1430 and 1830 GST at the Earth Stage
- Sounds of Aotearoa: Six60, a fusion of roots, reggae, hip-hop, dubstep and drum & bass, takes place on 31 January from 2130 GST at Jubilee Stage
- Sounds of Aotearoa: Sol3 Mio, opera music with a twist, takes place on 31 January and 2 February from 1800 GST at Dubai Millennium Amphitheatre
