Finding Your Skating Style

Welcome to this week’s class theme—“Finding Your Skating Style”! Whether you embrace the graceful moves of traditional roller dance or groove to the vibrant energy of contemporary recreational styles like GrooveSkating, this is your chance to discover and develop a style that’s uniquely YOU. Let’s break it down:

Elements of Skating Style: Building from the Floor Up

Your skating style is all about the details! From your posture to your attitude, here are the key elements to consider as you roll into self-expression:

• Expressive Edges: How do your skates carve into the floor? Smooth, sharp, bold, or understated—your edges tell a story.
• Freelegs and Toe Points: Are your freelegs elegant and purposeful? Do you swing or tuck? Your toe point adds grace and flair, and the simple turn of the toe can create a whole new position.
• Hip Position: Are your hips open and dynamic, or do they stay centered and grounded? A hip movement can change the vibe! Shifting your weight to one hip gives a move or step an attitude of confidence.
• Shoulder Position: Explore the impact of open versus closed shoulders, whether they’re fluidly moving or strong and stationary. 
• Head Position & Focus: Where you look makes a world of difference. Confidence begins with your gaze.
• Hand Position: Relaxed or sharp? Outstretched or casually draped by your sides? Palms up as in an offering, or a sharp hands down as an emphasis. Hands are a dancer’s secret weapon.
• Facial Expression: Your emotions shine through your face. Smile, smolder, or keep it cool—your face completes the package!
• Musical Interpretation: How does the beat inspire your moves? Whether it’s a subtle knee bounce or sweeping arm movements that narrate the melody, show your connection to the music.
• Costume or Apparel: Your style doesn’t stop at your skates—what you wear influences how you feel and skate. Dress to impress yourself!
• Dance & Musical Influences to Spark Inspiration

Your skating can draw from the rich tapestry of dance and music. Here are some inspirations to fuel your creativity:

• Classical Influences: Ballet, ballroom, waltz, and folk dances.
• Dynamic Styles: Tap dancing, electronic dances, and street dance.
• Cultural Flavors: Latin styles like salsa, bachata, and the jive, as well as Indian classical and Irish step dance.
• American Soul: Breakdance, disco, funk, hip hop, lindy hop, and swing.
• Global Rhythm: From social dances to ceremonial rituals like lion dances and Haka performances.

And so much more! Every dance holds potential to shape your skating.

Crafting Your Unique Style

Your skating style is deeply personal—it reflects your goals, experience, personality, and chosen discipline. The artistic flair of traditional dance skating evolving from ice skating and ballroom dancing definitely differs from the carefree vibes of contemporary recreational skating. But each takes from the other to develop styles of skating that inspire a uniquely personal creation.  Here are some steps to cultivate your own unique style:

1. Watch and Learn: Study skilled skaters. Notice the little things—how they flow through curves or bounce to the beat. What resonates with you emotionally? 
2. Be Authentically YOU: Skating is a no-judgment zone! Whether you’re reserved or a “spicy tomato,” don’t shy away from embracing your individuality.
3. Mix It Up: Artistic skating is an open canvas. Try blending different styles and tricks to create something new. A rhythm skater’s fresh move can inspire freestyle spins—or vice versa!
4. Practice & Experiment: Play with timing, positioning, and combinations. Add your personal flair to every move. The world needs *your* one-of-a-kind creativity!

Know your Identity!

As the legendary Steve Jobs said: “Good artists copy; great artists steal.” So gather inspiration, make it your own, and leave your mark on the skating community!

As you learn and practice, you’ll instinctively be drawn to one or several skating styles. It’s tempting to focus on just one thing too early in your skating journey, when you should be exploring and experimenting with different techniques and skills. But at some point you’ll want to specialize in a particular genre or discipline and practice to master that challenge. Once you’ve achieved some level of mastery in several different styles of skating, you’re ready to find your own identity for your creative expression.

The first step is identifying the skaters that demonstrate the styles you like the most. Watch those skaters you admire in videos and in-person at the rink carefully… what do you have in common with them? Do they share any physical characteristics or a confidence that you’d like to project through your skating? It’s not just about tricks or techniques, but a real way of moving and “being” on the skating floor that you’d like to emulate. There are so many talented and generous skaters to study, and they in turn learned from someone who was just as generous with their time and inspiration. Remember; you aren’t borrowing, you’re stealing! Take those characteristics and make them your own.  

In developing a unique identity, you’ll follow a standard process of mastery:

• Learn: new skills are introduced and applied to build a foundation on which more difficult techniques can be added.
• Practice: take what you’ve learned and combine with other progressively more advanced skills. Wash, rinse, and repeat.
• Make it your own : make changes and modifications of these skills to fit your own unique skating style, physique, and personality

So every time you are training, ask yourself this question; how can I make this my own?

It can be a step, a concept, or an idea. You can be telling a story, describing a personal event or emotion, or performing a moving work of art… whatever you’re doing, bring your own point of view to the skating floor. First LEARN the skill, then PRACTICE the skill, then MAKE IT YOUR OWN.

Remember, skating is a joyful form of self-expression. It’s about telling your story, connecting with music, and sharing your passion with the world. So, lace up those skates, let go of inhibitions, and roll out your own dazzling style. The skating floor is yours to own—so show the world your joy in motion!

See you on the skating floor!

~Coach Linda

Bonus Content:

Here are some examples of using personal style to communicate your unique skating personality:

• Groove Glider: Smooth, low-to-the-ground movements with fluid edges, subtle arm sweeps, and controlled spins, blending chill grooves with elegance.
• The Showstopper: Bold and theatrical skating with dramatic hand gestures, exaggerated facial expressions, and sharp, precise moves inspired by stage performances or musicals.
• Old-School Funkster: Retro-inspired skating with funky footwork, quick double bounces, and shoulder pops, channeling the disco and funk vibe of the ’70s.
• The Freestyler: A mix of breakdance and roller skating, featuring power moves, ground spins, and jaw-dropping tricks like cartwheels and stalls.
• Cinematic Storyteller: Skating to tell a story, using expressive arm movements, narrative choreography, and costume changes to create a mini-drama on wheels.
• Soulful Groover: A soulful style centered on musicality, connecting deeply with the rhythm and beats, and moving with a relaxed but precise cadence.
• Urban Rebel: Drawing from street dance, this style incorporates edgy moves like glides, slides, and rhythmic toe jams for a bold and confident vibe.
• Whimsical Wanderer: Inspired by fantasy, this style uses dreamy arm movements, soft spins, and an ethereal skating quality that feels weightless and magical.
• The Power Skater: Strong, athletic movements with daring jumps, deep lunges, and fast spins, focusing on strength and precision while maintaining grace.
• Cultural Fusionist: A blend of global influences, like African dance’s rhythmic footwork, Indian hand movements, or Latin hip isolations, creating a unique hybrid of styles.
• Classic Elegance: Timeless sophistication with graceful lines, steady movements, and an air of poise, akin to ice skating performances.
• Pop Diva: Dynamic and high-energy moves, inspired by pop music choreography, featuring sharp stops, bold turns, and confident strikes on the beat.
• The Experimentalist: Mixing unexpected elements like contemporary dance, robotics-inspired isolations, or martial arts movements to craft something truly avant-garde.
• Whip & Wave: Incorporating smooth whip turns and wave-like torso movements, giving an organic and fluid energy to your flow.
• Trick Innovator: Known for pushing boundaries, this style focuses on unique combinations of intricate tricks, unusual spins, and inventive footwork.

Each of these styles can be adapted, combined, or evolved to reflect an individual skater’s personality, influences, and technical skills. Skaters can draw from these ideas, remix them, and make them their own!