This ballet/hip-hop fusion dance is blowing our minds today
When you think of people dancing ballet, you often think of pointed shoes, delicate movement and classical music. The art form originated in the 15th century and has changed too much over the years. While a lot of patrons are faithful fans and will pay big bucks each season to catch a glimpse of a performance, there are still lots of people who aren’t exactly connoisseurs.
But that all might just change with the introduction of hiplete — a ballet/hip-hop fusion dance blowing up minds all over the internet.
Preview of my latest collab with @whoisDSharp 🎥🎻 @Drake #onedance #hiplet https://t.co/BFcsZBAiJw @BlocLA pic.twitter.com/V7X2z0HKEu
— Maxine Hupy (@maxinehupy) May 31, 2016
By borrowing elements from both dance styles, this mashup is generating a lot of new interest in the dance form from a lot of people who had been previously unaware. The dances are pretty amazing to watch. Not only are the dancers flowing to the more modern soundtrack, they are also doing complex movements while standing en-pointe in traditional ballet style.
It’s seriously impressive to watch considering just standing on your toes is hard on its own. Add in a bunch of incredibly difficult hip hop moves and you’ve definitely got our attention.
"Hiplet" combines hip hop and ballet from Homer Hans Bryant at #Cusp2016. That's all en pointe, people! pic.twitter.com/YIUiGDsEFO
— Thom Duncan (@thom_duncan) September 28, 2016
It’s athletic, beautiful, and downright hypnotic.
WATCH: "In order to stay relevant to young people you have to be able to do what they're doing now." @CMDCSchool https://t.co/8KZAyXMiUh
— Good Morning America (@GMA) May 31, 2016
https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/783495797111267328
https://www.instagram.com/p/BKjQYzlD8oL
https://www.instagram.com/p/BB_hyovAYZu
Most importantly, this movement is bringing diversity to ballet — something the art form has struggled with publicly. The number of African-American ballerinas is extremely low. But hopefully hiplet will open the doors for a more diverse field of dancers to partake in ballet on a national stage.
