branding. It’s kind of like my background as well – marketing. And these boys are great kids. They were never perfect, no-one is, but it was just a matter of David and me saying we need to mentor them to be good dancers, but also good people. That was kind of our aim.” New Zealand dance group The Royal Family is one crew that really inspires the group. “Pyan has a friend in that group,” Fred says, “so we were able to get together and dance with them in their studio when we went down to New Zealand in 2019. This was a big achievement for me because I always wanted to learn the ‘fem set’ – girly-girly dance steps. I like to dance more fem (feminine) because here we always get criticised (if they dance that way), but we didn’t give up and it was good learning from other dancers of the world. I was really happy when Pyan said we were going to practise at The Palace (The Royal Family’s base).”
Wan Squad get a little starstruck on their 2019 visit to the studio of top New Zealand dance crew, The Royal Family in Auckland
like getting a job, going out in public and doing public speaking, getting to know each other and other people as well. It’s a good process and we have achieved a lot thanks to Pyan and his family. The family has been good to us ever since we started.” Pyan says that developing Wan Squad has also been about developing a brand. “We treat this like any sport, like rugby league or soccer – we train physically to keep fit,” he says. “There are rules, contracts, guidelines into representing this brand. I’m all about
At The Palace dance studio of NZ’s The Royal Family crew
nods, explaining that adapting to the new training regime for him also involved learning how to manage money
we were used to that.” he said. “When we came here, it’s different. We had to work hard and earn our spot. So, if we practise well, the team vibe is good. There’s a lot we have achieved individually,
and look after his family. “Before we
would just take breaks any time we wanted –
VOLUME 38 2024
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