The Hidden Rookies from Sapapalii, Savaii made history becoming the first-ever dance crew from the big island to win the Samoa Best Dance Crew title on Saturday evening at the Culture Centre, Malifa.

Hidden Rookies is made up of 10 members including two female dancers. They were the only crew from Savaii that competed in this year's competition, and they snatched the title. They were among the five dance crew that participated.

They brought something different to the competition on Saturday night, they had a different routine and style of dancing compared to the others.

They were emotional after winning the competition. Relatives, friends, and supporters swarmed them and congratulated them on stage. 

The leader of the crew, Les Misipati Papalii said it was an unbelievable moment for the crew considering they were young. He said he had faith as he grew up with the dancers on his team. 

“It feels surreal, we have been through a lot since the start of our journey, no one knows, we built and learned from that! We always involve God in everything we do and I think that is why we came this far," he said. 

"It is history, being the first to win from Savaii, and I have been blessed with the best team, more special because we live in the same village, attended youth together, everyone is under 20 and I’m 23. So this is just the start for us.

“Sapapalii has four sub-villages, so when I started working on my team, I picked the best from each one, so that no one gets left behind. It is definitely in the blood. Sapapalii is well known for entertainment and events. I don't know but dancing comes naturally to us it is like our God-given talent."

According to Les, his team members started performing at  Sunday school, youth programs, and performing at family events. He started his crew with 25 members but the criteria set out by the organisers only allows 10.

The crew returned to Savaii on the 2 pm ferry on Monday to celebrate with families, friends, and their supporters on the big island. 

It's been over a decade since TV1 Samoa initiated this competition but this is the first time a team from Savaii has won the title. It is a huge deal for Les Misipati and his crew as they have made history for this year's competition.