Jam Skating is SOOO 2009!

Roller Disco used to be reserved to a time when leisure suits, John Travolta and the Bee Gees ruled the mainstream. But now, subtract the disco and add the hip-hop and you've got a ressucitation of a dance once burried six feet under. Its name: Jam Skating. Here's a demo for your viewing pleasure:



Among many sub-styles in hip-hop dance there are two that will be huge for 2009: House and Jam Skating. But, for the purpose of this blog post let's focus on Jam Skating.

Updating The Old = In With The New

Jam Skating, or in laymens terms hip-hop on wheels, offers a fresh perspective on dance for hip-hop lovers who feel have seen it all. Because it's hip-hop performed on old school rollerskates, it adds a new dimension to the movement by attempting to translate what we normally see from traditional hip-hop dancers. Combining this with disco-era moves such as spinning, it allows to recycle movement to make it fresh again.

All of the sudden, popping and locking doesn't quite look and feel the same. The same goes with gliding and breaking (toprocks especially) due to a whole new set of challenges, such as fluidity, that come solely with dancing on skates.

Challenges

Where roadblocks may appear in the form of lack of fluidity and manoeuvrability, there's a window of creativity that opens in terms of choreography and teamwork which affects the overall entertainment package. It simply keeps the audience guessing.

More Exposure

We've already gotten a taste of it through movies like ATL (2006) and Roll Bounce (2005). However, it was with the Kokomo, Indiana-based crew Breaksk8's top-4 finish on America's Best Dance Crew Season 1 that jam skating truly took off! More rinks have dedicated time and space to jam skaters. Expect to see more of them in 2009, ya heard?!!