Marama Fox and Brad Coleman. PHOTO/NZME
ELISA VORSTER
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Marama Fox’s only disappointment from her time on TV show ‘Dancing with the Stars’ is that she couldn’t raise more money for her nominated charity, Ka Pai Kaiti.
Mrs Fox was voted off by the judges on Monday night’s episode after she and fellow contestant Chris Harris found themselves in the bottom two, which had them dance-off for their spot in the competition.
“Nobody likes going home but we all have to go home at some stage,” she said.
She was proud she was able to convince the show’s producers to allow her to incorporate elements of her personality and culture into her routines and her outfits.
A stand-out performance was her Viennese waltz to the song ‘Tangaroa Whakamautai’ which had Mrs Fox using pois as part of her routine and wowed both the judges and the audience.
However, she said it took a bit of persuading on her part as the show’s producers didn’t think the song was well-known enough to be used.
Mrs Fox said it was important for cultural elements to be included in a tasteful way which didn’t go overboard.
“If we can showcase the beauty and joy of the Maori language, it doesn’t diminish the culture but actually elevates it.”
She was instrumental in designing the dress she wore for the routine, featuring paua shell ordered especially from Carterton’s Paua World which was delivered to her in Auckland.
“I’m asking the producers to see if they will let me auction it off to donate the money to my charity.
“They get very little funding and have huge issues to deal with – I’m disappointed I didn’t stay longer for them.”
Mrs Fox was also challenging phone providers such as Vodafone to forgo their cuts from the audience’s text votes to ensure her nominated charity got every cent.
She was now looking forward to dedicating her time to her housing project which focuses on building good quality affordable houses around the country.
