Nia Parker

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February 2020 View more

The 21-year-old Chicago native dances with hip-hop ballet troupe Hiplet Ballerinas this month in Glen Ellyn

First steps

I’ve been in the studio since I was a baby. My mom was a dancer/teacher, and there are pictures of her holding me as she taught tap! While I never had the sole dream of becoming a professional dancer, I did know that I wanted to be in the entertainment industry in some capacity.

Art for all

We want to show audiences that art can be accessible. Ballet especially has a very elitist reputation and history, but Hiplet takes traditional technique and modernizes it for today. Hopefully young dancers will see that they can go outside the box and explore different ways of expressing themselves. 

Diversity of dance

Hiplet allows me to combine and explore so many different dance styles at once, while still being able to be myself. What makes the troupe so special is that we all constantly learn from each other’s different backgrounds and strengths, and our individual styles allow audience members to really relate and see themselves onstage.

February 8 at McAninch Arts Center at College of DuPage
425 Fawell Boulevard, Glen Ellyn
Tickets: $40–$50 | atthemac.org