These senior citizens may each be almost a century young, but for Kara, (94)
Maynie, (95) and Terri (93), the journey to Las Vegas and the World Hip Hop
Dance Championships is just the beginning of a life's journey.
Along with twenty-four other nonagenarians they defy the odds and hip-hop
their way into the hearts and minds of thousands of young fans from around
the world.
Led by their exuberant and ‘I must have been mad’, manager Billie Jordan
they learn to throw away their wheelchairs and walking sticks and push their
bodies and artificial joints to the absolute limits of old age. “You’re all
going …even if it’s in an urn,” she tells them.
But there’s only ‘sixty dollars in the bank’ and it’s not easy when
you ‘don’t really like the music’ and all you can do is ‘worry about how
to get your socks on.’ But with the help ‘I’ve never danced in my life’
of Billie and young hip hoppers from Street Dance New Zealand, they begin to
believe.
Along the way we hear how these extraordinary characters contributed to New
Zealand as we know it. Their stories are a reminder of our history as a nation
and the joy of living life to the fullest.
As Terri says… ‘Long Live Hip Hop’.
- Hip-operation is a simple character-driven documentary that tells the
humorous, heartfelt and life-affirming story of an elderly Waiheke hip-hop dance
troupe and their life changing journey to the world hip hop championships in
Las Vegas.
- The group performed at the World Hip-Hop Championship Finals in Las Vegas
(11th August 2013), competed in the New Zealand National Hip Hop Championships
(2013 & 2014) and have been featured in the news media all over the world
from the front page of the Wall Street Journal to the BBC News in Europe to
Chinese, American and Australian primetime television. They have become an
internet sensation!
COVER ARTWORK NOT FINAL