Have you Hurd about this dynamic duo?
Local sisters dance their way into the nation’s hearts
For those who are keeping up with viral internet dance challenges, the Hurd sisters of Indian Head are no strangers.
One recent dance challenge, the TZ Anthem Challenge, was created by internet celebrity, dancer, rapper and comedian Zay Hilfiger, 15. The TZ Anthem is a catchy track performed over the beat to Crime Mob’s “Knuck If You Buck.” Soon after its release, sisters Lyric Hurd, 7, and Melody Hurd, 5, created a video of themselves doing the challenge — and the nation has fallen in love with them.
Their mother, Tanisha Hurd, said her daughters love to dance and sing in their spare time. They are constantly watching YouTube for more dance move ideas.
“My mom showed me the dance challenge and then
I created a dance to it,” Lyric said. “Then I showed my little sister the dance and my mom recorded us.”
“Lyric does all of the challenges and her other challenges have got- ten a lot of views, too, but not as much as this one,” Tanisha said. “The TZ Anthem was a dance that became really popular and she did the dance by herself at first, but then her little sister picked it up as she was teaching her. I thought they just looked so cute so I recorded them doing it together.”
Lyric Hurd — also know as Lyric the Diva — is a social media star, fashion icon, actress, runway and print model. When she was 3 years old, her mother got her started in modeling and acting. She entered Glynn Jackson’s Showbiz Kidz of the DMV runway competition and won first place in March 2013. Since then, Lyric has been featured in several films, com- mercials and television shows including a PBS Sprout public service announcement for the 2014 Winter Olympics, “Blue Bloods” on CBS, as well as Red Lobster, Macy’s and Visa commercials.
“Lyric does a lot of modeling and is constantly on the big screen,” Tanisha said. “She takes it seriously because this is what she loves.”
Lyric is a Beyonce fan who describes herself as “sophisticated, classy, sassy, dramatic” and “a star.” Melody is a Justin Beiber fan, claiming to have “Beiber fever,” and plans to be a star just like her big sister.
On Oct. 26, Lyric and Melody appeared on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and performed their dance to the “TZ Anthem” live. Lyric said she was excited and surprised all at once when she heard she would be appearing for the first time. Their natural hair afros and matching out- fits were crowd-pleasers, but it was their big personalities that left the audience in awe.
Tanisha said Lyric has wanted to go on “Ellen” for a longtime.
“Both my daughters love Ellen,” Tanisha said. “She always brings talented kids on the show.”
Lyric and Melody said they were so excited to see themselves on television and had the opportunity to live out one of their many dreams in front of the nation.
“It was amazing,” Lyric said.
Tanisha is so proud of her daughters’ success and said she hopes to see all of their dreams come true.
“I support them all the way,” Tanisha said. “I gave up my government job to help Lyric go back and forth to New York for acting opportunities. I believe that they will go far.”
Currently, both girls are homeschooled in order for them to continue their careers in the entertainment industry.
“I want people to see that little girls like them can do whatever they put their mind to,” Tanisha said. “It’s OK to be yourself and confident. It’s important to teach all little girls to be confident and realize that they can do anything that they want to do in life. You can start working on your dreams at an early age.”
Lyric will be starring in the movie “Secrets” in 2016 and the movie “Rox- anne, Roxanne,” also star- ring Nia Long, coming out in 2017. Both sisters have big dreams and said nothing is holding them back.
Lyric’s next big goal? Landing a pilot for her own television show.