We would like to send a massive THANK YOU to everyone who organized and attended yesterday’s ROLLER FIT ROLLER DISCO event at CARRIAGEWORKS in Redfern. We went into Bay 17 to find it transformed into a vibrant dance floor as skaters and dancers of all ages came together for a lovely evening under a mirror balls & lights shining as bright as the funky & colourful people who blessed us with their attendance.
The venue came alive with the shimmering glow of a disco ball, enchanting lights, and a soundtrack by 90’s R&B, Rare Groove, Disco & 80’s Soul & Funk hosted by SOUL OF SYDNEY DJs & Friends DJ JOHNNY BONES & PARIS GROOVESCOOTER laying down a lovely selection of slower skater friendly grooves between 190-110BPM’s of Rare Groove, 80’s Soul, 90’s R&B from the likes of:
We have played a couple of these skate events over the years, and this one, more than the others, we realized there is a massive scene of skaters in Sydney who are immensely talented and supportive of their scene. I’m not sure if it has been the lockdown a few years back or the establishment of collectives like Roller Fit, but there really does seem like there is a massive resurgence of skaters in Sydney, and it is great to see as DJs.
We loved seeing so many familiar faces & new friends we met glide so gracefully past the smiling, grooving dancing & enjoy the sounds we were lucky enough to play this time. There was such so much excitement and a sense of community, it was so loving & supportive of all & so special to witness from the other side of the decks. From our perspective as DJ’s on the outside, you could tell how much the city has been calling out for these kinds of events. As soon as we announced it, we had people messaging about wanting to come down. The 2 sessions sold out with the perfect amount of room for people to skate.
There were two 2-hour sessions, an early one at 4:00 pm catered to beginners and children & another at 7:00 was all adults which had a host of amazing skaters, dancers skating, dancing and really enjoying & creating such a sweet vibe. It was such a rare treat to be able play some of the slower tempo roller boogie, R&B & rare groove jams at these events. The sets are always different from a dance-floor DJ set, these roller disco events focus more on flow & encourage skating with slower tempos & grooves around. From 80’s Soul, 90’s R&B & Rare Groove & Cosmic extended Disco Edits from Maxwell, Mary Jane Girls, Prince, Donna Summer, Sade & more. Music we all love & listen to, but hardly get a chance to play to audiences and dancefloors.
We can’t wait for a chance to do It again soon, Here Is a collective of some of our favourite jams we played on the day:
CHECK OUT SOME LINKS ON ROLLER SCENE, MUSIC & MORE BELOW
Check out more from ROLLER FIT for workshops, lessons & events | https://rollerfit.com.au/
Follow our good friend at CARRIAGEWORKS | https://carriageworks.com.au/
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For anyone interested in some of this history of disco music & skating we recommend checking out Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll write-up at Boysown that provides some historical context from New York’s Roller Disco, Moodymann’s famed Soul Skate Party in Detroit, JB Skating Sessions in Chicago HERE
https://www.boysownproductions.com/zine/2017/12/3/bounce-rock-skate-roll
Also, please check out our SPOTIFY PLAYLIST of ROLLER BOOGIE CLASSIC we put together and continually update for some musical inspiration of some of our favourite jams.
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