In 2018, the Royal Family dance group joined forces with ReQuest Dance Crew and Royal Family Varsity to give a stunning display that took the internet by storm. These groups were all formed from the Palace Dance Studio, founded by Parris Goebel, a highly esteemed choreographer, singer, and dancer from New Zealand.
The three dance crews were invited to give a guest performance at the Hip Hop International (HHI) New Zealand Nationals in 2018. With such a brilliant reputation and outstanding successes already achieved, the anticipation was high for their performance. They didn’t let anyone down, exceeding the already high standards they had previously set.
The supergroup of dance crews started the performance by holding a pose as the audience cheered excitedly. Then, the song “Drip” by Cardi B ft. Migos kicked in, and the dancers exploded in animated moves that were stunningly clean and synchronised. The performance saw a vast medley of mostly hip-hop songs from artists including Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar, Sean Paul, Rhianna, Missy Elliott and J Balvin.
Included within the very modern hip-hop dance moves was a moment where they performed a traditional New Zealand Haka dance, which was a powerful moment of acknowledgement of the country’s Māori culture and tradition. They finished the set dancing to “King’s Dead” by Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar, Future, James Blake, and the crowd screamed with joy at the amazing spectacle they had just witnessed.
The YouTube video of this dance routine has had over 168 million views, reflecting the jaw-dropping brilliance of this meticulously choreographed routine.
ReQuest was the first dance crew Goebel started when she was fifteen. The Royal Family – consisting of nine female and six male dancers – has been particularly successful, winning the World Hip Hop Dance Championships three times running, a feat no other dance crew has ever achieved. A YouTube video of the Royal Family’s performance at World of Dance Los Angeles 2015 has had over 16 million views.
Goebel’s work has been very influential in the music world, and she has worked with artists such as Ariana Grande, Rhianna, Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj. Her choreographing of Justin Bieber’s 2015 song “Sorry” helped the video win Video of the Year at the 2016 American Music Awards. It has been viewed over 3 billion times on YouTube. In 2022, her work on Savage X Fenty Show earned her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography for Variety or Reality Programming.