It’s been great, the group of dancers and the hospice team have been super supportive.
How do you think you will feel on the night?
Nervous but I have a great dance partner so sure we’ll be fine.
What is your dancing experience?
I’ve watched the film Save the Last Dance a few times, that’s about it.
How would you describe your partner? Patient and dedicated.
What is the highlight of the process so far?
Getting off the couch in the evenings instead of watching Netflix and doom scrolling. Also seeing us and the other couples make progress.
Harcourts Dancing for Hospice 2026 dancing couple Emma Clapperton and Scott Tipiwai. Photo / Megan Wilson
Emma Clapperton
Why are you dancing?
While I have been lucky not to have needed Hospice personally, my friend Ingrid and her husband Jan lost their incredible son Jacob to a rare and aggressive form of cancer about a week before I got the call. He was only 21.
He was generous, kind, selfless and wise beyond his years. He was the kind of person who brought people together, and he had so much good to offer the world. Hospice was there for Ingrid and her family in a way a lot of us simply wouldn’t know how to be. Not just medically, but emotionally too. They walked alongside them through the hardest days of their lives with compassion, dignity and support.
Seeing that made me realise just how important Hospice is to our community. If I can help raise some money and give something back to an organisation that gives so much to families when they need it most, then it’s an honour to be part of it.
What has the experience been like so far?
I am actually having a lot of fun. I’m really enjoying learning something new. There’s a bit of pressure and overwhelm right now, but I’m trusting the process that it will come together by September. The Hospice team has been amazing too. They’ve made it really social, everyone’s so supportive, and it’s become something I look forward to each week.
How do you think you will feel on the night?
I honestly have no idea. I’m guessing I’ll be a bundle of nerves, but hopefully we’ll have practised so much that excitement takes over. I just want to enjoy it, soak it all in and remember that we’re all there for a really good cause. We will only get this opportunity once.
What is your dancing experience?
None. Zero. Absolutely nothing. I’ve never done dance of any kind before, so every single step has been new. It’s been a steep learning curve!
How would you describe your partner?
Scott is awesome. He works incredibly hard, brings so much positive energy to every practice and somehow manages to make even the tricky bits fun.
He’s also been really considerate of me throughout the whole process, making sure I’m comfortable and helping me build my confidence as we’ve gone along.
Outside of dancing, he co-owns NZHL with his incredible wife, Sally, who are also one of our event sponsors (alongside Dufty + Co Builders).
He’s a great mentor as well as a dance partner, and I’m really grateful we were paired together. I hope it’s the start of a lifelong friendship for our family because he’s just an all-round amazing human.
What is the highlight of the process so far?
He Tangata. It’s the people. It’s a privilege to be part of this amazing group of people and I am enjoying getting to know them all. Even though technically we’re all competing, it’s a very positive environment and we’re all cheering for each other.
Getting outside my comfort zone has been pretty cool too. It’s reminded me that we’re capable of so much more than we think. If someone reads this and thinks, “I could never do that”, I’d love them to know, you absolutely can.
Meet some of the other dancing couples:
David and Audrey here
Dan and Siobhan here
Thomas and Jemma here