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Nicky/Santino

@n.santino621

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queer, hard-of-hearing, neurospicy, and trying to be me 🕺🏼☘️🇮🇹

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This past January I made a goal for myself: to intentionally perform once a month in a way that broke through barriers I’ve held myself back with. The goal was originally for the year but I decided to give myself grace when I got through the halfway point. This carousel is a collection of my performances so far this year. Every month up until August I have stepped out of my comfort zone and challenged myself to push through my insecurities and show who I am as a performer and a dancer. I have a lot of growth coming but I think this goal has particularly helped me elevate my confidence as Santino and I am so grateful for the experiences that came with it :)

(July 2026) This is my top 32 round at @waacktothefuture. 2 years ago I spectated a waacking battle for the first time at this event, and last year I competed in the preliminaries. This year, out of 120ish dancers, I made it to top 32 thanks to the selection of Essence/Nubian Nene, an artist who inspires me so so much. I’m so grateful 🥹

(Earlier in July) This was my first time at Step Ya Game Up, a battle I’ve been curious about for a couple years. I decided to enter the waacking and open styles battles and made it to Top 8 in Open Styles. Honestly I was shocked I made it that far but so grateful to the amazing judge, Tasha, for seeing me and supporting me with some incredible and transformative words of encouragement. I had such a lovely time exchanging in the battles with Halima in top 16 and Luci in Top 8 🫶🏻

(June 2026) I got the opportunity to perform as a gogo dancer with my fellow waackers from the WDTP. Having friends with me was so necessary. I was honestly so stressed at the start of the shift, but I was so happy to perform with them :)))

Shoutout to one of my first ballroom siblings, @sophiafroehlich , for joining me on stage during one of the sets 💜 ily! 🤟🏻

(May 2026) I did my first waacking battle to all styles music. I made it to top 16 and lost against my friend Ilya 💗. I think this battle really solidified my interest in all/open styles battles simply for the opportunities to dance to various music and experiment with that variety.

(April 2026) I performed in the Choreographer’s Ba by @n.santino621

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13 days ago

And now, allow me to introduce Morgana 🔮💋

This weekend I did drag for the first time! I had the amazing opportunity to perform thanks to @princesslockerooo and @thewaackdancertrainingprogram . I am so incredibly grateful for all the support I’ve had from my friends and family along the way. @daskadaphne thank you so much for helping me shop for makeup, generously gifting me this beautiful dress, and encouraging me along the way. @error_flo04 thank you so much for keeping me grounded at the apt, giving me makeup tips and touching it up after my performance, and for helping me pull this look together and feel confident in it. Thank you to my cousin and many friends and chosen family who were able to make it in person for the show. I love y’all so much and your support means the world to me.

Drag was pivotal in my self-acceptance of my sexuality and queerness, so this means a lot to me. It was an extremely stressful week leading up to this and I almost gave up on the show multiple times, but I am so proud that I followed through. I have been wanting to try drag for so many years because I see there is so much love, light, and fun you can spread through it. And to be able to finally debut myself as a drag queen… I’m still ecstatic about it :)))

Morgana will be returning 💅🏻 by @n.santino621

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9 months ago

A couple weekends ago I danced at an amazing battle :) @waacktothefuture last summer was the first waacking battle I’ve ever been to. That year, I was scared to battle and knew I just wanted to spectate, but it blew my mind and inspired me to start training with @princesslockerooo in the @thewaackdancertrainingprogram. Now a year goes by and I’m not only competing among over 100 other contestants in the prelims, but I also got the honor to perform in a piece by @nikki_dolly. I’m so grateful for this experience, it’s taught me a lot and I’m so happy to continue bringing Santino to the floor, doing something I only thought others could do for so so long. That little Nicky who loved watching dance competitions growing up is finally living their dreams. I’m so excited to battle again and keep growing 😁✨ by @n.santino621

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a year ago

Insta’s being weird, just realizing that the full clip didn’t post last time, so here it is til the end from about 30 secs in by @n.santino621

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2 years ago

Long sorta sappy caption ahead 🙈 but this performance truly felt extra special. I created this piece inspired by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz. Even as a child, I related to the frantic and anxious Dorothy, who dreamed of a land without worry.
Dance felt like just a dream for me for a very long time. I started late in the game, but I’ve always felt such a passion for and awe of dance. I grew up watching dance competition shows with my mom, trying to learn choreo from Beyoncé and Lady Gaga music videos, and struggling to express myself through my own speech in my everyday life.
Music has always felt like a safe haven to me, despite my hearing loss. Through dance, I have healed so many pieces of my inner child. Through dance, I’ve found my voice.
This is my peace. Dance has brought me so much joy and soared me through personal growth and breaking barriers of insecurity.
For me, dance is that “some place where there isn’t any trouble.”
All that to say… I hope you enjoy this piece I created for end of my semester with @thewaackdancertrainingprogram. Videos courtesy of @draeegreen and @alexissdaviss.
I want to give a shout out to @princesslockerooo’s leadership of this program. You have taught me so many amazing and invaluable things, and helped me through more than you know.
And I want to thank all my lovely fellow students! Your support is unmatched! WDTP has opened me up to such a warm and talented group of people, and you all have something so so special! 💗
Thank you, especially, to @_paolalagringaloca for encouraging me to join the program and always being so supportive.
I feel I’ve come a long way from my first performance with @icunbound in 2019, and I’m so excited to see where else this journey will take me ✨ by @n.santino621

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2 years ago

In the club, we are all family 🧸♥️🐈‍⬛♥️🐰♥️⛵️ by @n.santino621

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2 years ago

After almost 2 years, I’ve finally returned to walking in ballroom and I’m so grateful I did at such a wonderful ball thrown by Princess Evie Birkin @iamthemightyev and Julz Juicy Couture @iamjulzromell_ ! My brother Julz carried on the mic (as always 🔥), thank you for giving me an LSS (full clip at the end), it really means a lot to me. Honestly, it gave me the courage to really push and try walking again after so long 🥹 My sis Kat @kathrynhuang_ on the beats, and my brother Kari @kari.akin on the camera, y’all did such a great job! I got to vogue for a panel with icons whose performance has really inspired my own 💗, I had so much fun! 2 knee surgeries later, I’m coming back baby! I may be voguing with some limitations for a bit, but I’m committed to taking care of my body and returning to dance safely, we are all on our own timelines 💖 Santino is here to stay 😘 by @n.santino621

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2 years ago

Lots of mini golf, drinks, music, friends, family, laughs, and love these past few days! Thanks for making my 26th birthday celebration so special 🤟🏻💗😁

My 25th was a year filled with a lot of self-discovery and transformation, mostly internal, assisted by gratitude, new practices, and new boundaries. I’m grateful for the growth that has come throughout this trying year for me, and I’m excited for what’s to come! As I step into myself more and more each year, I appreciate the journey for what it’s been and where it’s going. I started a new job that feels like my first real step into my mental health career and I feel ecstatic about it. I’m sure the new year will bring even more growth and transformation. Life is change, I used to be so terrified of change, the anxiety I’ve struggled with since I was a kid always warns me of it, but I now choose to embrace it with a fervor to be better, to love more, to love myself more, and to let this little light of mine shine. ✨

…oh yea hair update too I guess ;) by @n.santino621

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2 years ago

Clearly it’s been very long since I’ve posted, but I wanted to share a personal story on hearing loss and a bit about my journey with becoming proud of my hard-of-hearing identity. I was lucky enough to be kindly offered the opportunity to write for Hearing Health Foundation’s magazine in their Spring 2024 Superpower Issue, which celebrates the resilience that the invisible disability of deafness can bring to D/deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals facing the (often audist) hearing world. I hope you enjoy! :)

You can find my piece (along with many wonderful other stories) on pages 12-15 in the online version of the magazine at:
https://hearinghealthfoundation.org/hearing-health-magazine

You can find the blog post version at:
https://hearinghealthfoundation.org/blogs/more-like-a-boost

P.S. I decided to include the abstract of my thesis at the end of these pictures because the project was carried out in hopes of spreading awareness (and I mention it briefly in the article). It was a big turning point for me and my reevaluation of career goals. If you are interested in reading the piece (which I will warn you is quite long), please reach out to me via DMs. I hope to one day be able to release it on a public domain somewhere so that various populations will be able to access it.

P.P.S. My hair is a lot longer now, so if you see me in public you might not recognize me at first. I’ve been growing it out and I’m very pleased with how it’s going. Honestly, it’s been pretty affirming for my personal identity. Maybe I’ll post a hair update soon, who knows 🤷🏻‍♂️. by @n.santino621

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2 years ago

Honestly, this program was a bit rough for me, but I made it! I never saw myself at an Ivy League school, and the imposter syndrome hit for sure but I’m here. I’ve worked hard to make it to this point, and I’m proud to announce that I’ve officially earned my M.A. degree in Psychology (Clinical track, with a Neuropsychology concentration)! After graduation, I took a nice refreshing trip back home to PA and had such a nice time with my family. I’m not sure where my next steps will lead in my career, but I’m excited about the prospects of where my life could go :) Swipe to the end to see how happy I am to be done with school 🤗✨ by @n.santino621

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3 years ago

So as I’ve been reflecting on 2022, I can’t help but feel proud of my growth in the ballroom scene… I started training in vogue femme in July 2021, and struggled for a long time to work up the courage to walk a ball, and I finally did in January of 2022 at OTA…over the year, I’ve won grand prizes as a house for 2 performance categories (but not yet as an individual 😫), I walked my first major ball in June at the Unity Ball and got 10s, had the amazing opportunities to perform with my lovely house (@thehouseofbabylon__ ) at a club event and a school event, and even got my first LSS at a mini ball on Little Island… I feel blessed and so incredibly grateful to my ballroom fam and the members of the scene who have made me feel welcome, supported, and allow me to express myself so authentically and unapologetically in the scene… sadly, I have injured my knee and might be out of commission for a bit, but once I’m all healed and recovered, I’m excited to get back to pursuing and fostering this passion even more 💜 … for now, here are some of my favorite clips voguing throughout the year :) by @n.santino621

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4 years ago

Delayed LA Dump Pt. 2 🤭🌅… posting this soooo late lol, but finally finished finals, felt like the right time. I’m so grateful for this trip honestly, and so thankful for my friends @king_jer @astoldbychristine @alexissdaviss @yungmayamuney for making me feel so genuinely happy during this vacation. It has been one of the most challenging semesters for me as I struggle with career pivots and trying to find where life will go from here. I sometimes feel such immense stress and worry that I find it hard to take a pause and just appreciate the life that I have, the people I’m with, and the nature around me. There is beauty everywhere in this natural world. And sunsets with people I love might just be my favorite thing 🥹 by @n.santino621

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4 years ago