Carter’s dancers get a bronze

Carter’s dancers get a bronze

It was a case of déjà vu for a Fairfield School teacher who has given up lunchtimes to help students achieve a dancing dream.

Carter Maclean, 23, is in her first year of teaching and has taken a position at her old school.

As a student at Fairfield she had joined a dancing team that competed at DanceNZ regional tournament in Palmerston North before going on to win the national competition in 2015.

Now as a first-year teacher, she has taken a year 6-8 team to win the same regional trophy, coming agonisingly close to the double-double when the team placed third overall at the national competition in Palmerston North at the weekend.

Carter has no problems spending her lunch hour teaching students to dance.

“It’s a passion. I love it. And so do the kids,” she says.

Carter herself has been dancing since the age of 2, and says it great that students with no previous dance history put themselves forward for the team – and thrive.

“It’s so cool that some haven’t danced before or have done it as a hobby or a sport and they’re up there on the big stage,” she says.

The competition is growing in popularity and strength. In 2015, Fairfield competed against seven other teams. At the weekend there were 17 teams in the finals, including some from Christchurch.

Fairfield danced a routine that was a mix of different styles with a heavy influence of contemporary and hip-hop to the song Riptide, by Vance Joy.

“They did so well,” Carter says.