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Quriosity works with PMM Agency to bring Toyota’s “HistoryMaker” Event to Life

MAY 23

Quriosity Productions was excited to team up with the PMM Agency to create a video for Toyota’s History Makers. HistoryMakers has been recording, preserving, and telling the stories of thousands of African Americans. As a minority-owned company, Quriosity recognizes the importance of documenting and telling diverse stories. “You need people from different backgrounds in order to give you different perspectives. Its the best thing for your business. Toyota has had a commitment to black-owned and female owned businesses for many years,” said Kimberly A. Blackwell PMM AgencyCEO.

Dance is considered one of the oldest forms of storytelling. That’s why we were so excited to help the story of Hiplet. Hiplet (pronounced hip-lay to rhyme with ballet) is a form of ballet created by Homer Hans Bryant the artistic director and founder of the Chicago Multi-Cultural Dance Center. Hiplet showcases dancers on pointe as they twist and dip to the floor in a loose translation of hip-hop movement.

Hiplet has caught the attention of the general public with over 75 million videos viewed on their social media account. But Hiplet still faces some detractors who call it a bastardized version of ballet. It’s creator Homer believes it’s more important to be inclusive rather than exclusive,

“Get out of your comfort zone. Think outside the box. We’re keeping it relevant and getting kids excited. Some people didn’t like Picasso either. He painted funny.”

Part of the excitement was the chance to get inside the Chicago Multi-Cultural Dancer and see these dancers up close. We would get to film inside Homer’s studio as he put his dancers through strenuous rehearsal. Getting an inside glimpse of the process of a important American dance form was too much to resist.

There is no better way to convey the importance of working on this video then the words of director Chris Rejano, “Before this project happened I was well aware of the Chicago Hiplet dancers from all of the social media attention they’ve been receiving but I hadn’t imagined that I would have the honor of working with them. Inspiration, motivation and positivity are words that barely scratch the surface of describing them…As guests in their studio we were made to feel welcome right away and were treated like part of the family. When it came time to interview it was so conversational that I feel like we could have talked for many many hours and filming their dance is easily one of the best things I’ve ever lensed.”

 

CREDITS

Agency
PMM Agency
Chief Executive Officer – Kimberly A. Blackwell
Communications Consultant – Chevonne Harris

Production Company
Quriosity Productions
Executive Producer – Qadree Holmes
Senior Producer – Jenny Lumpkin
Production Manager – Yajaira Marie Quinto
Director/DP – Chris Rejano