Picture this for a moment. You are standing on a stage, the centre of attention. In front of you, mere metres away, sits a panel of judges. A panel with some of the biggest names in Bollywood dance here in New Zealand. Behind them lies an audience of over 2000 individuals, and all of those 2000-plus pairs of eyes are fixed on one thing: you. Nervous yet? This is the fate that thirteen of our brave students, ranging from Year 9 to 12, faced on the 4th of July 2026. At Aotearoa’s biggest high school Indian dance competition, Bollywood Showdown.

22 schools from in and around Auckland came together on one night to perform, celebrate and express themselves through a wide variety of masterful pieces of performing art. Bollywood Showdown is more than just a competition. For us dancers, it is a way for us to truly show off our culture to the world. For the audience, it is a way to sit back, keep the tolls of everyday life aside and enjoy one evening dedicated to celebrating culture.

For multiple months, our dancers had to deal with the duties of a student alongside the responsibility of a dancer. Our after-school practices were focused and thorough, with lots of laughs and fun along the way. We as students were not alone in this campaign. While still being a student-led dance group, we never could have done this without the unwavering support from our teachers, who were alongside us from start to finish. Ms Kandola, Ms Samuel, Ms Dabre, Ms Prakash, Mr Jehad Yunis and Mr Naseem. You all have our heartfelt thank you. Along with the support of the teachers, one of Waitak’s alumni, Sana Bhattarai, came in during our practices to give us support. Thank you very much for all your help, Sana. We will see you all in 2027 for our fourth year in Bollywood Showdown!

And now please meet all of our dancers who killed it on stage: Akein Manvidu, Anika Prasad, Amrit Rakheja, Akhil Yadav, Bhumi Yadav, Dilru Chandraratne, Hanshika Vigneshwaran, Krishika Lad, Prachi Kumar, Paras Patel, Shailendra Rana, Thanuja Rayudu, Zia Prajapati.