NZ’s international dance star Parris Goebel on her rise to fame
"I am not slowing down and, if anything, things are getting more hectic," Parris Goebel said. Photo / Tony Nyberg
This story was first published on April 14, 2018 and has been resurfaced as the Listener interviewed Tony Nyberg about his photo shoot with the dancer for this article.
Parris Goebel was only 16 when she set herself four ambitious goals. The South Auckland high-school dropout would one day have her own dance school, become an internationally known choreographer, marry, and travel the world. With one exception, it was mission accomplished within four remarkably short years. The title of Goebel’s recently released autobiography, Young Queen: The Story of a Girl Who Conquered the World, reflects the 26-year-old’s drive and self-belief.
Photographed in a fur wrap and with a crown on her head, Goebel is dance royalty, complete with her own “palace”. The book’s cover lists her celebrity clients and friends, including Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Jennifer Lopez, Justin Bieber and Janet Jackson, and a banner proclaims the 2017 KEA World Class New Zealander Award she received for her contribution to dance. Such is her global appeal that her dance video of Justin Bieber’s Sorry has had 2.9 billion views on YouTube.
Goebel’s father, Brett, whom she describes as “this big white man with bright blue eyes who loves doughnuts” is a huge influence in her professional life; her mother, LeeAnn, who is of Samoan, Chinese and Scottish descent, holds the fort at home. Goebel, the adored baby of the close-knit Mormon family, has one brother, Jarek, and sisters Kendal and Narelle.
She manages The Palace, her South Auckland dance school, and nurtures its emerging talent, and commutes every second week to Los Angeles to choreograph and direct dance videos. Goebel struggled at school until her parents agreed she could leave at 15 to chase her foot-tapping dreams. Self-taught, she and her dance groups ReQuest, Sorority, Bubblegum and Royal Family won international hip hop championships year after year.
Her big break came in 2012, when she and a friend, Kyle Hanagami, posted a video on YouTube of their performance of Etta James I’d Rather Go Blind. JLo saw the video and recruited Goebel to choreograph a version of it for her tour, and from that time on, Goebel has never been short of work.
Is it fair to say that had you done well at school, you might not be where you are now?
I took that risk of leaving school and started this work younger and it got me going on my dreams. People often have to go through uni, try different courses, before figuring out what they are really passionate about.
When you talk to young people these days, what do you tell them about school and education?
I don’t talk to kids much about school. I don’t get asked about it, and I neither encourage them to drop out nor encourage them to stay at school. I encourage them to find what is best for them, not for their parents. The sooner you can find your passion, your drive, the quicker you can chase it.