FORCE OF NATURE

Two-time Red Bull Dance Your Style finalist Kid Nimbus explains his genredefying style—and how he overcame his two left feet.

- CARLY FISHER

In Latin, the word nimbus refers to a dark cloud” known as the nimbostratus, a low-hanging formation guaranteed to make it rain or snow. It’s a fitting name for freestyle hip-hop dancer Derrick Judkins, aka Kid Nimbus, who brings a certain level of unpredictability when he battles on the dance floor.

You never see the same cloud twice,” he explains. They can be gentle; they can be ominous. They can be violent; they can be peaceful. It really just depends on what type of day and weather. That’s my dance. Some days are impactful and super energetic. Other days can be smooth and easygoing.”

Judkins is somewhat of an underdog in the dance world. Unlike other dancers with storied careers and prominent followings, the 27-year-old two-time Red Bull Dance Your Style national finalist is a fresh-faced addition who has been moonlighting in the underground dance scene for the past five years. Each time he battles, he turns heads— even within his own family, who never saw this coming from the kid with two left feet.

When I was a kid, I didn’t know how to dance at all. It was super funny because my family would make it a thing,” he says. They would call me downstairs during family events just to watch me dance and laugh at me. Which just goes to show how bad I was.”