Kaea Rakatairi-Paul is a 19-year-old dancer who has been battling stereotypes since he was three years old.
He is built like a rugby player, but is a trained dancer specialising in ballet, contemporary, jazz and hip-hop.
“It started when I was about three,” he said.
“Mum would play songs on the radio and I would dance to them and then she put me in Dean McKerras School of Dance, which is where I've been all of my life pretty much.”
He’s had to combat stereotypes and “double looks” from people in the dance community but says, as he’s gotten older, have become a lot easier to deal with.
“When I was a kid is quite hard aye... People weren't used to seeing a Māori boy dancing ballet especially.
“Now I'm proud of it, because there are still not many Māori boys that do what I do, and it's a good feeling because I'm breaking those barriers.”
Rakatairi-Paul has graduated from Freyberg High School in Palmerston North and is currently working at the school as a teacher's assistant.
"I'm thinking about going to NASDA – A performing arts school in Christchurch, and doing that for a couple of years just to gain more experience in the musical aspect of dance."