Nikeata Thompson and Oumi Janta met for the VOGUE January issue in Berlin
The mood is good at the VOGUE shoot in the Raw Studios in Berlin-Tempelhof. Oumi Janta gracefully turns a few laps on her roller skates in front of the camera. After all, in 2020 she became world famous almost overnight through a roller dance video on Instagram. The choreographer, book author and entrepreneur Nikeata Thompson, who is the face of the "VOGUE Sport Collection" among her many other occupations, also saw the Instagram clip. The all-rounder Thompson was fascinated by how casually Oumi Janta moved on the Tempelhofer Feld in Berlin. So she wanted the native Senegalese as a partner for the VOGUE interview. It is hard to believe that the two women are meeting for the first time on this date. They talk so openly with each other, as if they have known each other forever. Sometimes they laugh, sometimes tears flow. At the end they hug each other tightly.
NIKEATA THOMPSON: The fact that I'm sitting next to you and we just did a shoot together is so awesome. I discovered you in the pandemic because you posted an amazing video. A day later it was reposted by Alicia Keys and Erykah Badu. what happened there?
OUMI JANTA: I didn't realize it at first. Until someone drew my attention to the fact that something was going on... This clip wasn't a big deal for me, but rather something small.
NIKEATA THOMPSON: Why? Did you feel so small?OUMI JANTA: Let's put it this way: For me it was a completely normal video. I had no idea what impact it would have on others. That's why I was so perplexed. It took me a while to understand what was going on around me.NIKEATA THOMPSON: I think it's a great honor to have Alicia Keys and Erykah Badu repost. I only really got to know how important roller skating is for black people in particular when I was in the USA. Ice skating is more popular in Germany, but in America the roller skating disco is really a part of black culture. Because black people couldn't just go to white people's clubs in the old days. OUMI JANTA: Jam skating actually comes from the USA, but I live in Germany. That's why the success of my video is so incredible. NIKEATA THOMPSON: When I discovered your video, saw your graceful movements in a great outfit and only then realized that you are German and the video was shot here around the corner on Tempelhofer Feld, I was floored. You gave me positive energy at a time when I felt completely lost, at least for a short time. During the first months of Corona I thought: Oh God, what will become of my agency and my dancers? Until I realized there was no point in whining. I had to do something and remember my own motto "Dare to dream and create the impossible". You gave gas too. How did you actually get into roller skating?OUMI JANTA: By accident. When I had an appointment with a friend, we discovered a roller disco poster at Hermannplatz. We decided to give it a try.NIKEATA THOMPSON: Were you able to rent roller skates on site?
