UMA stems from 8 years’ experience sharing with young urban artists and performers and bringing forward alterity. A laboratory where creativity is imagined, experimented and lived out in a different way, off the beaten track. A school revolving around innovation, emancipation, trust, the senses, and what makes sense.

Youth is a time for experimenting, for learning, a time when anything is possible. Young people need to be listened to and supported to find answers to their doubts and their questions relating to their future and their upcoming projects. Transmitting art is a challenge, a huge opportunity if teaching can be handled as a creative activity rather than transmitting established knowledge. It is therefore for and thanks to artistic creation, resonating with the challenges and innovations of the professional world, that young students, teachers and guest artists are developing UMA and are fueling its activity through their diverse talent, experience and aesthetics.

The training courses, workshops, master classes, performances and shows offered at UMA are all material available for everyone to enjoy artistic creation.

Welcome to UMA!

Nicolas Musin

Nicolas Musin began his career at the Paris Opera Ballet before joining the Monte-Carlo Ballet and the Hamburg Ballet – John Neumeier, as a principal soloist. During that same time, he created numerous choreographic works produced throughout the world. In 2000 he founded his own dance company in Vienna, which he directed and toured for more than 10 years, while multiplying collaborations and experiments in other creative fields such as fashion, design or architecture.

Later based in Geneva, he collaborated with Flux Laboratory artistic space and with the School of Art and Design HEAD – Genève, before co-founding La compagnie Urbaine in 2014 and becoming its artistic director. The show ZUP, first encounter of its kind between arts, urban sports and digital arts, saw the day of light in 2017 on the Plainpalais Skatepark in Geneva and lead to further creations, notably for the Youth Olympic Games, Lausanne 2020, or at the Théâtre National Populaire in Villeurbanne (Lyon, France) in 2021.

A pure product of classical choreographic education, Nicolas Musin has never stopped looking for other ways of expression as for him, the choreographic field goes beyond that of dance. Transversality is an essential component in the construction of his pedagogical and creative projects.

Chany Jeanguenin is a professional skateboarder, master skateboarding coach, international competition judge, sports event producer, photographer, as well as a master of Kung Fu (second dan black belt and red belt) and Tai-Chi.  During his sports career, he has traveled to over 30 countries to promote his successive sponsors through demonstrations, competitions and commercial events. He has been featured in over 20 international videos and has been featured on the front page of major sports media titles such as Transworld Skateboarder, Slap, Thrasher, Big Brother, Skateboard Mag and The Berricks Website. He has earned numerous Skateboarding Championship titles: 

• 2nd place best trick contest Skatepark of Tampa Pro (2001) 
• 1st place, Amateur Houston Texas Shut up and skate half- pipe (1993) 
• 1st place at Europe Amateur Championship, half-pipe Antwerp (1992) 
• 4th place World Cup of Pro Munster (1992) 
• 1st place at the Swiss Skateboard Championship in half-pipe, 2nd in mini-ramp and 3rd in street (1991) 
• 1st place at the Swiss Skateboard Championship in half-pipe and 3rd in street (1990) 

Since 2019, he is Skateboard coach and Tour Manager at Alaïa Chalet (Crans-Montana). 

Micky Iglesias is an iconic figure of Swiss skateboarding and is the president of Lausanne association La Fièvre. His career in a few dates:

1998 Became a professional Skateboarder
2008 1^st Vans Off the Bowl
2008 2^nd European Championship (Miniramp)
2009 2^nd European Championship (Miniramp)
2010 6^th World Cup Event in Prague (Bowl)
2010 6^th World Cup Event in Rome (Bowl)
2012 1^st ex-aequo Wangl Tangl

Micky is a skateboarding, snowboarding and skiing instructor (École Suisse de Ski), and organizes competitions in Switzerland and in Europe.

A parkour athlete and coach for 10 years, Maxime has collaborated with Nicolas Musin in multi-discipline productions.

A Chase Tag world champion, Caryl is one of the most talented parkour and free running athletes. When he is not competing internationally, he frequently collaborates with Nicolas Musin in multi-discipline events. 

Deeply involved in Parkour since the age of 9, she has won 2 world championships in 2021 at Red Bull ‘Al andalus‘ and the World Cup in Sofia as well as several trophies at the famous Red Bull ‘Art of Motion’ competition. 

Since he first started out, Imad Nefti has been bringing poetry and simplicity to hip hop dancing, composing spaces, substance and rhythm, all in the name of the very essence of the dancer.

He defined himself very early on as an artistic director organizing human experiences for the hip hop community. He developed the ability to direct performance dancers and pilot creative processes.

Imad Nefti stands out, having created his own teaching method based on a multi-discipline, flexible, open structure. It defies traditional conventions with the use of raw, simple tools and techniques, revealing hip hop’s true educational assets.

Born in 1974 in Parma (IT), he studied ballet, modern dance, contact dance and improvisation at the ‘’Atelier of Dance-Theatre’’ in ‘’Paolo Grassi School of Dramatic Art’’ in Milano. After receiving a scholarship, he joined the School of Specialization for Dancers, coordinated by the ‘’Art/Aterballetto Dance Company ‘’in Reggio Emilia. 

Living in Geneva (CH) since 2002, he is particularly interested in improvisation within creation and has worked as an assistant choreographer with Alias Company, where he was one of its main performers for 15 years. Since 2013 he has been a member of the ‘’Cie Prototype Status’’ under the direction of Jasmine Morand, for which he assumed the role of dancer and cultural mediator in 2021, for its artistic residency space ‘’Le Dansomètre’’ in Vevey. 

In 2015 he successfully obtained the Certificate of Advanced Studies at the post-graduate training of the HES-SO of Lausanne as a Cultural Mediator.  

He teaches improvisation and contact improvisation in the form of workshops/internships as part of the bachelor’s program at La Manufacture (Lausanne) and at EDHA Formation (Annecy). 

In parallel, he collaborates with many choreographers and companies such as:  Cie Estuaire (Nathalie Tacchella), Cie Sam-Hester (Perrine Valli),  Kubilai Khan Investigations and Frank Micheletti 

His particular interest for improvisation and performance has led him to develop and question his practice constantly through key encounters with artists and teachers.  

Born in Cameroon, Colbert arrived in Switzerland at the age of 13. After having practiced hip-hop for a few years, he discovered Krump at the age of 18, a discipline that will change his life as an artist. Very quickly, he joined the founders of the Krump movement in Switzerland, the ‘Warriorz’. With them, he participated in several performances in Switzerland, France, Germany and Cameroon. He also took part in many Krump tournaments and won the first Krump tournament in Switzerland: Krump Game Switzerland. In parallel, he teaches at the Swiss Krump Movement and in dance schools in various countries.   

Through Krump, he learns to know himself, to grow and to overcome some difficulties in his life. Sharing his knowledge with other young people, following their evolution and their blossoming, brings him a lot of satisfaction.   

Lorenzo Vayssière aka “Sweet” is a performing dancer-poet who was born in the Val d’Oise department, in Eaubonne, where he started out at age 15. He is mainly inspired by bboying, a common practice from which he freely draws to achieve singularity and fulfill himself completely as an artist. This makes his dancing pure, based on impactful expertise between the appropriation of opposite states and energies, the quality of movement execution and the art of letting it breathe, dancing life and its ups and downs with passion.

Since 2007, he has been an active member of Bad Trip, one of the most unconventional French dance groups of all styles. In 2010 he also integrated the group Sans Limite, which distinguishes itself by its activism in battles and which features bboys from Paris and Troyes. In keeping with his will to constantly raise the bar, in 2013 Lorenzo joined urban / contemporary dance company Black Sheep, founded by Saïdo “Darwin” Lehlouh and Johanna Faye. He was featured in production Wild Cat and more recently in Apaches.

In 2016, he was a member of Philippe “Physs” Almeida’s teaching team Mouvmatik, where he teached bboying at the A.I.D. (Académie Internationale de la Danse, International Dance Academy, Paris). Lorenzo is also the co-founder of The Art Way movement with Cedric “Stylez C” Borges.

Lorenzo’s creativity and strong identity enabled him to be affiliated to Anne Nguyen’s company Par Terre in 2017, with whom he took part in the creative process of the play Kata and undertook a number of cultural actions.

In the search for a new artistic drive, he founded Selected View in 2019 with Rowdi Legove Lewing: a platform uniting bboys defending the same artistic vision and in search of state of grace through approaching the unknown and the magic of the present moment.

Degen Tesfaldet alias Blood met Krump at the age of 14 in the streets of Geneva through the founders of the Krump movement in Switzerland, the “Warriorz”.   

While still a student, he was quickly caught up in this urban dance that he had never heard of before. Passionate, he learns the basics, the codes, the vocabulary and everything that encompasses the Krump culture.  

He joined the “Warriorz Fam” and made his mark among some of the best krumpers in Europe. His thirst for knowledge and curiosity allow him to evolve and develop his own style. Recognized for his technique and creativity, Degen stands out and never stops deepening his art and knowledge.