Current:Home > MyRooted in Motown, Detroit style skating rolls on into the next generation-InfoLens
Rooted in Motown, Detroit style skating rolls on into the next generation
View Date:2024-12-23 11:02:16
Angie McClendon has been roller skating since she was 5 years old. Now 61, she's a veteran of the Detroit skating community. McClendon is a Detroit style skater – every move is rhythmic, following and matching a beat. "Everything is in sync because it's from the Motown era," McClendon explains.
Motown's music legacy is well known — think: Smokey Robinson, The Supremes and The Temptations — but not everyone is aware of the lasting impact it had on roller skating.
Take, for example, "the Hatch": Three to four skaters hold hands and turn their bodies right to left as they're skating. "Three becomes one," McClendon says. "It's important that we in sync together. If I don't hold your hand, how we gon' keep up with each other?"
Here's what it looks like:
Toe stops — round rubber balls attached to the bottom of the skates – make it possible for skaters to move their bodies while staying in one place. And that "allows you to put it on a stage," says Tasha Klusmann, the historian behind the National African American Roller Skating archive.
"With Motown, they were learning to smile and how to carry an audience, and how to present themselves," says Klusmann. "They were already thinking about stage and performing because that was very much in the air. Roller skating was just another vehicle to do it."
The style's tempo and polish made it stand out from skating styles from other cities.
"In Detroit, it wasn't just the tempo," said Klusmann. "It was the polish. Very versatile style. Very showy."
And that's largely because of Motown.
Building a resilient roller community
From the 1910s to the 1970s, during the Great Migration, many Black families fled the South seeking safer, better lives. The auto industry in Detroit was a major draw. "Ford represented an opportunity to work and make money — and with that, the opportunity to buy houses and cars, and own businesses," Klusmann says.
The segregation in the city forged a tight-knit community, where Black-owned businesses supported one another. "That uniqueness, not only did it give fruit to Detroit style skating, but things like Motown and that work ethic that came out of the factory — it's all part of that culture and that community," Klusmann explains.
It's a community and culture that lives on at the RollerCade rink in southwest Detroit. Founders Johnnie Mae Folks and Leroy Folks migrated to Detroit from Alabama. They fell in love with roller skating after several summer trips to Idlewild, Mich., says their grandson, Kyle Black.
Back in Detroit, "there was only one skating rink in the neighborhood and they only allowed Black people one day out of the week," says Black. "And they wanted to skate more frequently."
That motivated his grandparents to open a space for their children and community to roller skate in. So they established RollerCade in 1955, and passed it down to their sons, who then passed it down to Black. "I would say RollerCade represents perseverance and the will to be of service to people," Black says.
A new generation of Detroit style skaters
Nearly 70 years later, the original rink is still standing – along with an additional location in downtown Detroit. "During the pandemic, roller skating was one of the few outlets that people had that was safe which led to an immediate spike in skate sales ... and participation," Black says.
Skyrocketing sales led to a worldwide shortage of skates in 2020 and 2021. Nolan Edwards, founder of the Detroit-based skating company and collective Motown Roller Club, says this resurgence is thanks to social media. Videos on Motown Roller Club's TikTok typically attracted 50 to 60 likes every month – and then increased to thousands. "During the COVID time frame, one of our videos got about a half a million views on it ... " says Edwards. "Thanks to the Internet, [people] just fell in love with roller skating and it just absolutely blew up."
Edwards started posting instructional skate videos on social media. He's also been able to establish partnerships and work with local non-profits. The club now hosts weekly skate classes and sessions across multiple rinks in Detroit. These classes allow a younger generation of skaters – some new to Detroit style and its history – to join in the fun.
Elijah Smith, 19, has been skating for just a few years. In 2022, he started his own skate page on Instagram. He loves that he can contribute to Detroit style. These are decades-old moves, Smith says, but over time, "people were able to mix it up ... add little twists to it." And now Smith, and other skaters in this new generation, are helping evolve the tradition.
Detroit style is "not a set thing that you have to do every time," Smith says. "When you comin' out on the floor, it's just always something brand new, every single time."
More on roller skating
veryGood! (19)
Related
- Lou Donaldson, jazz saxophonist who blended many influences, dead at 98
- Agent Scott Boras calls out 'coup' within union as MLB Players' Association divide grows
- 'Lady Gaga Jazz & Piano' returning for 8 summer dates in Las Vegas
- Reports: Authorities investigate bomb threat claim at MLB season-opener in South Korea
- Giuliani’s lawyers after $148M defamation judgment seek to withdraw from his case
- Megan Fox Confirms Machine Gun Kelly Engagement Was Once Called Off: Where They Stand Now
- Shhhh! If you win the Mega Millions jackpot, be quiet. Then, do this.
- Former NHL enforcer Chris Simon has died at age 52
- Olivia Culpo Celebrates Christian McCaffrey's NFL Comeback Alongside Mother-in-Law
- Police in Idaho involved in hospital shooting are searching for an escaped inmate and 2nd suspect
Ranking
- Why Kathy Bates Decided Against Reconstruction Surgery After Double Mastectomy for Breast Cancer
- First Four launches March Madness 2024. Here's everything to know about women's teams.
- Police commander reportedly beheaded and her 2 bodyguards killed in highway attack in Mexico
- Microsoft hires influential AI figure Mustafa Suleyman to head up consumer AI business
- Jana Duggar Reveals She's Adjusting to City Life Amid Move Away From Farm
- Stock market today: Asian shares follow Wall St higher as markets await a rate decision by the Fed
- No Caitlin Clark in the Final Four? 10 bold predictions for women's NCAA Tournament
- Why isn't Kristen Wiig's star-studded Apple TV+ show 'Palm Royale' better than this?
Recommendation
-
What is ‘Doge’? Explaining the meme and cryptocurrency after Elon Musk's appointment to D.O.G.E.
-
Reports: Authorities investigate bomb threat claim at MLB season-opener in South Korea
-
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Leo Rising
-
Rams QB Jimmy Garoppolo says he 'messed up' exemption leading to PED suspension
-
Taylor Swift touches down in Kansas City as Chiefs take on Denver Broncos
-
'The Voice' coaches Chance the Rapper and John Legend battle over contestant Nadége
-
North Carolina county boards dismiss election protests from legislator. Recounts are next
-
A southeast Alaska community wrestles with a deadly landslide’s impact