About this Short Film
'The Greatest Show: 2025 Inclusive Dance on the National Stage' follows the journey of the Paraparaumu College Inclusive Dance team and how their performance inspired by 'The Greatest Showman' went from the school's Arts Extravaganza showcase to the regionals and then all the way to the finals of the New Zealand National Young Performer Awards dance competition. The inclusive college dance team brought together students with physical and intellectual disabilities and other student dancers to perform together and the film captures the power of inclusivity to inspire greatness both on and off the stage.
Film Details
Country:
New Zealand
Category:
School Documentaries
Genre:
Personal Story
Festival Year:
2026
Filmmaker:
Paraparaumu College
Film Transcript
Ladies and gents, this is... Mrs Shackleton sent us an email asking if we wanted to be a part of the collaborative dance of The Greatest Showman with the supported learning students. I just thought this was kind of the song where we could pull everybody together, because we can all do things on our own, but coming together is so much better.
There were different aspects of the song that I wanted to showcase and then there were students as well that I wanted to showcase. So, for instance, Lincoln—he has a walking frame and quite often in our dances he ends up part of them but he might be sitting or he's got a limited role, and he's got so much strength. I wanted to showcase that and show people actually there's more to Lincoln than meets the eye. And I think that's the case for all of it: it's about looking beyond what you see in front of you and recognising that the students all have so much more to them.
I work and dance as a captain. Getting to know all of the students was just such an awesome experience because they all have such amazing personalities and they're all just so lovely. I feel like building that connection within the school is great and I just wish that that opportunity could be given to other people in the school. I'm just going to say now: these guys are going to packs.
Our collaborative dance successfully got nominated for Dance Nationals. We are really proud of this achievement and about representing our college and inclusivity, and they made some allowances for us to support us through the process, which was fantastic. We were the first group to practise on the rehearsal day and she gave us time to get into the theatre and then out without having to rush. You get given a five-minute time on the stage but she just gave us time to get in and out. We only had the five minutes on stage like everybody else, but we just didn't have to rush onto the stage. Those five minutes were worthwhile just like everybody else's.
For our first performance, I honestly couldn't have prepared myself for it. My whole body was shaking and I was crying from the moment Kaden turned around on that stage and the audience erupted. We were screaming. It was next level. My heart was racing and my body—I just felt like I was going to burst. I was so proud of everybody up on that stage. The whole top row, everyone had their torches and phones waving back and forth. It was just so emotional and so impactful. After the first performance, I could have left it there. I was just absolutely elated. That was it for me. I was like, we've done it. That's us.
And finalist number 20, The Greatest Showman. But to get into the final as well and be recognised at that national level in the top 20 of New Zealand—everybody up on the stage, the whole team, everybody that put in so much effort to get there, and all those people that supported us—kind of felt like, yes: we are here and you are seeing us and this is what it's all about. I hope that people have taken something from that and will give it a go. The team also won a spirit award and the next award is the Daniel Burch Trophy, and this year it's presented to The Greatest Showman ever.
So lastly, to the students: thank you for joining us on this journey. Thank you for all your dedication, for your hard work, and thank you for being 100 per cent you. You challenge perceptions and most of all you showed everyone what inclusion is all about, and I couldn't have asked for a better bunch of students to work with. There is much more to be done, but this is a really great start. So thank you all.
Filmmaker
Paraparaumu College is the filmmaker behind this entry. See every Focus on Ability entry from Paraparaumu College.
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