Discover Germany | Cover Feature | Nikeata Thompson
Nikeata Thompson
‘Dancing is freedom’ “Dancing is freedom, it is a connection with one’s inner core. While dancing, you can process negative and positive experiences and you find your way back to your centre. It’s a kind of therapy.” This is what Nikeata Thompson feels when pursuing her passion of dancing. The professional dancer and choreographer best known for her appearances in Germany’s Next Topmodel or Got To Dance speaks to Discover Germany about fitness tips, her milestone projects and much more. TEXT: NANE STEINHOFF
Born in 1980 in Birmingham, Nikeata has Jamaican roots, moved to Germany in her early childhood and now calls Berlin her home. “Home is everywhere where I feel comfortable, where I have friends and where I can work. Thus, my home is not a place but rather a feeling. It could be anywhere in this world and somehow this thought is also beautiful. I like to travel to new places, to discover new cultures. We simply venture out too little from our comfort zones, but we should actually always have it with us,” she says. What many might not think when seeing her intricate moves is that dancing wasn’t Nikeata’s first career aspiration. “It was more of a coincidence that I became a professional dancer,” she smiles. After all, until she was 18, she participated in various competitions and became multiple German champion in pentathlon, heptathlon and hurdle race. Nikeata continues: “Dancing crossed my path when I wanted to qualify for the Olympics. When I think about it
now it sounds really crazy, but back then I simply followed my instinct and dropped the Olympics to tour through Europe with SEEED. Coincidence or fate? I don’t know, but apparently it was just the right thing!” In fact, it seemed more than simply the right thing. Since Nikeata pursued professional dancing at the young age of 19, she has become one of the most successful star and stage choreographers of our time. She worked with some of the most credible Hip Hop artists and became the go-to dancer and choreographer for cutting edge dancing in Germany. Multiple tours, videos, stage coachings and TV appearances followed. She has worked with directors for movies and commercials – in front of and also behind the camera. Examples include working with Tom Hanks on choreography for A Hologram for the King, on music videos with Sean Paul or Felix Jaehn, and on the impressive ECHO performance of Robin Schulz in 2014. Furthermore, the likes of Leerdammer,
adidas, H&M, Reebok and many more worked with Nikeata for different projects and commercials. Today, she is especially famous for her jury participation in popular TV shows like Got To Dance or Got To Dance Kids and her role as head of choreography and stage coach for The Voice of Germany. Furthermore, she is part of Heidi Klum’s latest Germany’s Next Topmodel season this year. Like last year, she will play a significant role in choosing the candidates as the catwalk coach. “All of my projects are an important part of me because I only do projects that I personally like and am able to represent. Germany’s Next Topmodel is a new, great challenge and The Voice of Germany is almost like a family reunion. But Got To Dance was a real breakthrough – not only for me in front of the camera, but rather for Germany’s dance scene. I loved and lived this format, just like anyone that saw the show could see,” Nikeata laughs. Milestone projects One of the dancer’s most favored successes, however, is the foundation of her own dance agency, the NT Dance Agency. “It was a milestone for me and the start to the life that I live today. A life where I’m not only a dancer but also get taken seriously as choreographer and entrepreneur,” Nikeata says, and adds: “When founding Issue 60 | March 2018 | 19