Classical ballet and hip hop don’t exactly seem like a match made in heaven, but a new dance form aptly called “hiplet” is proving otherwise.
A video of a group of young ballerinas performing hiplet to Jason Derulo’s “If It Ain’t Love” went viral at the end of last month and has since then gotten tens of millions of views on various social media platforms. Looking at how these young ladies are able to put a modern twist on classical ballet, it’s no wonder the world can’t seem to get enough of them. Frankly, neither can we!
Hiplet is the creation of Homer Hans Bryant, a famous dance teacher who has previously worked with celebrities like Lady Gaga and first daughters first daughters Sasha and Malia Obama. The talented dancers in that viral hiplet video are his young students at the Chicago Multicultural dance Center. Bryant said he came up with this strange yet intriguing combination in an attempt to keep up with the times and stay relevant with young people.
In an older video, Bryant says he got the idea for hiplet back in 2007, as a way to get his young students interested in ballet. When he was young, and the only boy in a ballet class, his teacher told him that classical ballet was the best foundation for a dancer, and as he matured, Bryant relaized that his teacher had been right. Now a dance teacher himself, Homer has his girls start with ballet as well, and then lets them decide what dance form they want to progress to later on. But he had to find a way to get them interested in ballet, and since most of them liked hip-hop, he decided hip hop on pointes was worth a try.
The recent online exposure, earned Homer Hans Bryant and his talented hiplet dancers an appearance on Good Morning America, where they performed their sick routines for a national audience. The legendary dance teacher and founder of the Chicago Multicultural dance Center said they girls love doing hiplet, and he loves teaching them, but he does have one cardinal rule – “They have to train in classical ballet discipline.”
If you’re digging this hiplet style, wait until you her about Bryant’s other crazy idea – tap dancing on pointes. I’m intrigued.
