UMA People On Video: Nick

Check Out a Note from Vince: 

UMA People,

I am pleased to present the UMA People On Video interview series. Those of you that have been around long enough will recall a few newsletter and blog posts titled UMA People, in which we profiled the people of UMA. Check out our coverage of Susan Ragland,  Jacintha and Marie, and Will Morris, just to name a few. 

Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of having motivating and illuminating conversations with various class goers and regulars at UMA. I’m always so impressed and inspired by everyone’s stories and perspective. It is often fascinating how dance makes its way into folks’ stories. In many cases, folks that attend UMA do not share a 25 year journey in dance like me. It moves me whenever I witness people discover the value of dance culture in adulthood. I tend to be very curious about how dance fits in with everything else. And one of the aspects of UMA that I am most proud about is how class goers often find their way into the street dance community at large. So it is very cool to witness people that are newer to dance grow into impactful contributors in Philly’s cultural legacy. 

After nearly a decade of stimulating pre and post class conversations, I figured it would be cool to platform conversations with the various cool people that I have the privilege of meeting at UMA. Along with celebrating their achievements and getting to know their dance story, these interviews are likely a good way to get to know what I am about better, considering that I do not have the opportunity to meet and chat with everyone in depth. 

In this first series, I had the privilege of speaking with Sebatian Trembley, Susan Ragland, Chris Zeitz and Nick Torba. Our first release features Nick Torba.

Nick started his journey with UMA while I was on leave, post my injury and subsequent surgery in 2021. He started out taking the Dip and I think it is fair to identify him as one of our most noteworthy stars that started in the Dip. Somewhere around 2023, I started poking my head around in the studios more and noticed this dude that was always in the building, taking all of the classes, killing it and transforming all the time. When I finally had the privilege of having NIck in one of my classes, I was thoroughly impressed by his curiosity, dedication and drive to grow as a dancer. No wonder he was persistently evolving. Growth as a dancer certainly wasn’t a superficial pursuit for him. And within a very short period of time I witnessed Nick competing at Second Sundae Battles, performing in various UMA productions, learning backflips and more. It is one of those quintessential situations when you can’t help but exclaim, “Who is this dude?!?!”

Luckily, I had the honor and privilege to speak with Nick a few times while hanging at 2100 Chestnut. And in these chats it was evident that he is cool as hell and his care for street dance culture is real. I am pleased that I had the opportunity to speak with Nick about his dance journey in a way that we can share with the UMA community at large. 

Please enjoy this first installment of UMA People On Video, featuring Nick Torba. Big thanks to Nick!
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