Viral sensation HIPLET ballerinas coming to the Quad Cities

Hiplet Ballerinas on Good Morning America

Beginning Feb. 28, Chicago Multicultural Dance Center’s select Hiplet Ballerina Company will visit the Quad Cities for a week in residence through Quad City Arts’ 2021-2022 Visiting Artist Series.

Hiplet Ballerinas first found fame in 2016 when their videos went viral on BuzzFeed, Good Morning America, and The Huffington Post. Since then, they’ve traveled the world performing in Paris Fashion Week, at half-time shows for the NBA, in Hong Kong’s Chinese New Year’s Day Parade, and more.

Hiplet Ballerinas on America's Got Talent

Hiplet fuses classical pointe technique with African, Latin, hip-hop and urban dance styles that are rooted in communities of color. It was specifically designed to make ballet accessible to all, by mixing it with current popular songs that will be familiar to audiences who don’t normally attend ballet performances. Performances may incorporate the rhythms of African drums with Tchaikovsky, arabesques and beat-boxing or even Tango en pointe - all while showcasing audiences will recognize from Black Violin to Beyonce. After features on Good Morning America, Buzzfeed, and The Huffington Post the new art form went viral in spring 2016 and has now amassed over a billion views.

During their residence Feb. 28 through March 5, Hiplet will visit 10 elementary schools, a junior high, and a high school, bringing Hiplet's trademark sass, hip movements, and struts against popular music to Quad City school audiences. This educational residency of Hiplet Ballet is sponsored by David and Peg Iglehart.
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Their full-length public performance will be 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 5, Galvin Fine Arts Center at St. Ambrose University, 518 Locust St., Davenport, IA 52803. This must-see show fuses classical pointe technique with urban dance, fueled by inclusivity, modern movement, and Instagram-ready style. Come see the company everyone is talking about during this special one night engagement.

Tickets for Hiplet Ballerinas are $20 for adults, $15 for seniors/faculty, $10 for children, and can be purchased online at https://www.showtix4u.com/event-details/60268  or at the door. For more information, call the Galvin box office at 563-333-6251.

The rest of the spring includes High & Mighty Brass Band March 22-25, Mexican folk/rock quintet Jarabe Mexicano April 4-8, and R&B and jazz group LP And The Vinyl April 25-29. For more information on public events during the spring semester of the Visiting Artist Series, visit https://www.quadcityarts.com/events.html.

The series serves students and community members in Clinton, Scott, and Muscatine Counties in Iowa, and Henry, Rock Island, and Mercer Counties in Illinois.

During the 2019-2020 season when artists last visited the Quad Cities, more than 26,600 students participated in the program. Experiences included drama workshops for high school students with an East Coast theatre ensemble, a technique discussion for junior high band students from a Toronto, Canada jazz ensemble, side-by-side concert performance with a Texas string quartet, hip-hop dance presentations on history and technique for elementary students— all arts experiences that students would otherwise not have access to.

Since 1974, the Visiting Artist Series has engaged Quad City residents of all ages in quality arts experiences with professional performing artists. Artists of various disciplines present demonstrations, workshops, and masterclasses at pre-K sites, elementary, intermediate, and high schools as well as college campuses and community organizations.

The educational residency of Hiplet Ballet is sponsored by David and Peg Iglehart.
For more information on this residency program, visit www.quadcityarts.com/vas.