Kalani Hilliker

Kalani Brooke Hilliker (born September 23, 2000) is an American dancer, actress, model, fashion designer, and YouTuber. She rose to fame in 2013 as a contestant on the Lifetime reality series Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition and subsequently appeared on Dance Moms, becoming a regular cast member from 2014 to 2017.

Kalani Hilliker
Born
Kalani Brooke Hilliker

(2000-09-23) September 23, 2000
Mesa, Arizona, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Years active2011–present
RelativesKira Girard (mother)
Matthew Hilliker (father)
Jax Girard (half-brother)
Jett Newman (half-brother)

Life and career

Hilliker was born on September 23, 2000 in Mesa, Arizona to Kira Girard (née Salazar) and Matthew Hilliker. She has two younger maternal half-brothers, Jax and Jett. In October 2019, Hilliker moved to Los Angeles.[1] However, in January 2021, she announced on her YouTube channel that she left L.A., as Hilliker now lives in Scottsdale, Arizona.[2]

Hilliker started dancing at the age of two. Her mother initially enrolled her in dance classes because she thought it would be fun to dress her daughter up. Hilliker then furthered her training at Club Dance in Arizona when she was five-years-old and began her ballet training at the Master Ballet Academy in Arizona at the age of 10. In 2011, Hilliker and several of her dance friends entered Disney Channel's Make Your Mark Ultimate Dance Off contest, vying for the prize of a featured role on the hit show Shake It Up. Her group, AKsquared, won the competition, and was featured in the Shake It Up episode "Camp It Up." The on-camera experience left Hilliker knowing she wanted to pursue being a professional dancer. In 2013, Hilliker became a series dance regular on the ABC Family show Bunheads, appearing in multiple episodes as Baby Bun. That same year, she took part in Lifetime's Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition, a dance reality competition series. Hilliker made it to the final four, having finished in fourth place. Following her top four finish, Hilliker and her mother, were invited by Abby Lee Miller to join the cast of Dance Moms and to replace Brooke and Paige Hyland on the Abby Lee Dance Company team. They first appeared in the season four episode "Big Trouble in the Big Apple." After several weeks with the ALDC in season 4, Hilliker became a permanent member of the team at the beginning of the competition season during season five. She danced as part of the ALDC until the second half of the seventh season, when she left to form The Irreplaceables with Nia Frazier, Kendall Vertes, Chloe Lukasiak, and Camryn Bridges, which was led by Dancing with the Stars alum Cheryl Burke. Following the season finale, she departed from the show entirely.

In December 2017, after the seventh season of Dance Moms wrapped, Hilliker, Kendall, and Chloe embarked on The Irreplaceables Tour, holding workshops and dancing in cities across North America and abroad.[3] Camryn did not join The Irreplaceables on tour. Meanwhile, Nia wasn't able to go on tour with The Irreplaceables due to family reasons.[4]

In 2018, she began starring on the web series Dirt.[5]

Currently, Hilliker has a sock line called "Pretty Feet by Kalani", which is sold at Claire's. She also has a prom dress collection, which she helped design in partnership with PromGirl.[6]

In July 2020, Kalani was photographed with a Blue Lives Matter flag. [7] Then, in November 2020, Hilliker was publicly announced that she was supporting Donald Trump's presidential campaign in the 2020 United States presidential election.[8]

Filmography

Films
Year Film Role Notes
2018 Brat's Happy Death Day 2U Sabrina Short Film/ Clip:
2018 Swiped Ashley
2019 Breaking Brooklyn Contemporary Dancer Dance: Clip:
TBA Adrenochrome II TBA Pre-Production: Clip:

Television and web
Year Film Role Notes
2011 Shake It Up Herself (member of AKsquared) Guest,
Episode: "Camp It Up"
2013 Bunheads Baby Bun Uncredited
Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition Herself (contestant) Season 2, 12 episodes,
Placed 4th
2014 America's Got Talent Herself (contestant, member of contortion group "Complexity") Cameo,
1 episode
2014–2017 Dance Moms Herself Main, Seasons 4 – 7
2018–Present Dirt Sabrina Main Role
2020 Tiger Kingdom Herself Guest

Music videos
Year Song Artist Role
2014"It's A Girl Party"Mack Z/ Mackenzie ZieglerSupporting
2015"Turn Up The Track"Justin LeeSupporting
2015"Wear 'Em Out"Kendall K VertesSupporting
2016"Ease On Down The Boulevard"Todrick HallSupporting
2016"Dance Moms: Me Too"Meghan TrainorMain Cast, along with Brynn Rumfallo, JoJo Siwa, Kendall Vertes and Nia Sioux
2016"Winner"Nia SiouxCameo
2016"My Name"Mackenzie SolLead
2017"Where Would I Be Without You"Kendall K VertesSupporting

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Result
2011 The Dance Awards Mini Female Best Dancer 2nd Runner-up
2013 The Dance Awards Junior Female Best Dancer 1st Place
2015 Industry Dance Awards Favorite Dancer 17 & Under Nominated
2016 The Dance Awards Teen Female Best Dancer 2nd Runner-Up
2016 Teen Choice Awards Choice Dancer Nominated
2017 The Dance Awards Teen Female Best Dancer 2nd Runner-Up
2017 Industry Dance Awards Favorite Dancer 17 & Under Nominated

References
  1. "Moving Into My first Apartment". YouTube. Google. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  2. "I Moved Out Of LA??- Kalani Hilliker". YouTube. Google. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  3. Dunn, Mackenzie. "Kalani Hilliker Has Moved On From 'Dance Moms'". Woman'sDay. Hearst Digital Media. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  4. NIA SIOUX FINALLY REVEALS WHY SHE ISN’T GOING ON TOUR WITH THE IRREPLACEABLES
  5. "Kalani Hillker - Biography". IMDb. Amazon. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  6. Dunn, Mackenzie. "Kalani Hilliker Has Moved On From 'Dance Moms'". Woman'sDay. Hearst Digital Media. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  7. "@teaontok on Instagram: "a video is going around of dancemoms star @kalanihilliker on a boat with the blue lives matter flag behind her. next slides are what her…"". Instagram. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
  8. Twitter https://mobile.twitter.com/KalaniHilliker/status/1323683048332972033. Retrieved November 9, 2020. Missing or empty |title= (help)
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