The team that choreographed moves for Bieber, Rihanna and Lady Gaga is coming to Hamer Hall.
You know that dance in the Sorry video? The one with four billion views that launched a thousand TikTok attempts? The Royal Family Dance Crew made that happen. And in June, RISING is bringing them to Melbourne for an all-ages spectacular called Defend the Throne.
The Aotearoa/New Zealand collective has spent over a decade shaping how pop music looks and moves. After winning three consecutive World Hip-Hop Dance Championship MegaCrew titles from 2011 to 2013, founder Parris Goebel and her crew became the go-to team for basically every major pop star you can name. Bieber, Gaga, Doja Cat, JLo, Rihanna, Janet Jackson, Ciara, Ariana Grande – when these artists need a performance to land, they call The Royal Family Dance Crew.
Defend the Throne
- 7 June, 6pm
- Hamer Hall, Melbourne
- Presale from 3 December via rising.melbourne
- General tickets on sale 5 December
Check out our gig guide here.
Defend the Throne is a high-energy showcase spanning 14 years of the crew’s most celebrated work, plus brand new choreography being performed for the first time. Think the Rihanna and JLo Super Bowl halftime shows, plus the recent Lady Gaga Abracadabra visuals that marked her return to peak form. All of that creative firepower, live in one room.
The crew’s style is rooted in Polyswagg, a visceral street-dance form that emerged from Aotearoa’s Polynesian communities. It prioritises feeling over precision, channelling intensity and emotional energy rather than rigidly counting beats. That approach has racked up billions of views online and fundamentally changed expectations around what dance crews can achieve.
The show lands as part of RISING’s new Australian Dance Biennial, a platform launching in 2026 that will bring together Australian dance companies with major international works. The Biennial will include representation from every state and territory, a National Dance Gathering, a BlakFutures program and initiatives aimed at strengthening international touring pathways for local artists.
RISING runs from 27 May to 8 June, with the full 2026 program set to drop in March.
For more information, head here.
