Article Excerpts About Jam Skating (African American Styles Of Roller Skate Dancing)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part I of a two part pancocojams series on African American originated roller skating dancing styles that are performed in indoor skating rinks. These roller skating activities and their various regional styles are sometimes referred to as "soul skating".

Part I provides information about "jam skating".

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/03/five-videos-of-jam-skating-african.html for Part II of this series. Part II showcases five "jam skating" videos from various cities throughout the United States.

The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
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Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/03/videos-of-jam-skating-in-usa.html for a March 2012 pancocojams post on this subject.

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EXCERPTS ABOUT JAM SKATING
These excerpts are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only.

Excerpt #1
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jam_skating
"Jam skating (or Jamskating) is a combination of dance, gymnastics, and roller skating, performed on roller skates.[1] The origins of jam skating are disputed, but it is often traced to the Great Lakes region and Florida. The style has its roots in traditional roller disco, but has been greatly influenced by breakdancing, artistic skating, gymnastics, and modern dance.[2] Successful jam skaters are well practiced in these different forms and must have the ability to translate these movements while on skates. Jam skating first became popular in the early 1990s and is still going strong throughout the nation.... Jam Skating, like breakdancing in its early evolution, was an almost underground movement fueled by teenagers and skaters in their early 20s. Events were created to allow Jam Skaters to meet, trade moves, and, most importantly, "battle". Battling and performing remain a very important aspect of Jam Skating. This element pushes the boundaries of what is possible to perform while on skates; moreover, it ignites evolution within the skate culture.

[...]

Jam skating is neither aggressive nor speed skating. This form of freestyle skating is referred to by many different names: toe-dancing, spot-skating, shuffle skating, hexing, rexxing, trucking, shadow skating, crazy leg, boogie bouncing, and disco skating. These names strictly describe the style of skating, not the moves.

[...]

Skating equipment
Traditionally, roller disco skaters wore an artistic high-cut boot with toe stop. In the early 1980s, this transitioned into a trend of wearing low-cut speed skate boots with jam plugs in place of the toe stops. This trend continues today, as the low-cut boot allows for more agility with feet while skating.

[...]

Movies
The 2005 film Roll Bounce prominently featured jam skating, along with some well-known skaters within the jam skating community.[3]

The 2006 film ATL was centered around a skating rink in Atlanta, GA called Cascade.[4]"....

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Excerpt #2
From http://www.blacdetroit.com/BLAC-Detroit/September-2017/Detroits-integral-role-in-roller-skating-culture/ "Detroit's integral role in roller skating culture"
The past, present and (hopefully) rockin’ future of Detroit’s skate scene
by CORNELIUS FORTUNE, September 2017
"As a boy growing up in Black Bottom during the early ’60s, Richard Houston enjoyed Saturday matinees at the Arcadia Ballroom on Woodward – but it was roller skating that kept him out of trouble. He laced up his skates and found an entirely new world to explore – and has never looked back.

Now, at the age of 66, Houston, known as Rockin’ Richard Houston, is a world-renowned skater. The retired postman and Air Force vet has been called “The Godfather of Skating.” Houston is part of a collective in Detroit devoted to what is called The National Skate Scene, which has people from around the world meeting up to skate after hours, usually between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. These adult skate parties serve as a haven for lovers of roller skating. Not only that, but it’s a time when the “skate family” gets together for a reunion of sorts. These parties have included vendors, entertainment, dance events and other activities – happening here both here and, on a much larger scale, in cities like Atlanta and Chicago.

Roller skating in Detroit has remained a vibrant touchstone, particularly among the black community, and the city’s contribution to this movement on skates is what Houston hopes to highlight in his memoir, The Motown Sound on Wheels, set to release later this year. He wrote it not only as a historical document and point of reflection but as a love letter to the skating world that has been his passion.

[...]

New Yorker John Perkins, an associate, decided to take [Joi] Lofton’s connection to the skate world and rink owners to another level and came up with Sk8-A-Thon, an event that invited skaters from around the world in 1996. Although Lofton and Perkins went their separate ways, Lofton decided to rebrand the event, calling it Joi’s Sk8-A-Thon.

“It’s definitely international,” she says. “We have skaters here from Canada, London, Holland, Germany, Japan – those are the five countries I know of. It’s been the largest skating event in the country. The skating goes to 5 or 6 in the morning.”

Held Labor Day weekend, Joi’s Sk8-A-Thon is a passion project for its organizer. Yet, after 22 years, planning the event hasn’t gotten easier. It takes eight months to iron out the details each year.

[...]

Detroit’s Soul Skate
Joi’s Sk8-A-Thon might be the largest skating party on the national scene, but Detroit’s own Soul Skate runs a close second. Similarly, people travel from all over the world to celebrate roller skating in an afterhours adult setting. Soul Skate, a bi-annual event (the next one takes place in 2018 during Memorial Day weekend) draws thousands to Detroit.

[...]

Expanding the community
How do thousands of skaters from around the world – including Detroit – find out about adult skate parties such as Joi’s Sk8-A-Thon, Soul Skate and others?

When skaters want to know where the national parties are, they congregate on social media. But one website serves as the main informational source: skategroove.com. Before this go-to site, there was rollerskate.net – co-developed by avid skater Kevin Williams. Williams, another native Detroiter, has been involved in the skating scene since its inception. He moved to Los Angeles for a time and eventually hosted some roller skating parties in Southern California.

“We developed a website and we advertised this party and connected with roller skaters from all over the world,” Williams says. “About 2,000 people came – they came from Sweden, Switzerland, Mexico, Canada, Japan and all over the United States. It was an awesome roller skating party. It was absolutely amazing. From that, the party kept building, Joi’s kept building.”

[...]

Skating History Tidbits
Roller skating was embraced in the post-Civil War era by the upper class, who wore tuxedos and evening gowns while skating.

It gained popularity in the early 20th century after labor laws allowed people more free time.

The Great Depression took a toll on skating, since limited resources made it difficult to maintain large rinks.

The disco era was its heyday: The songs of that time were perfect for bouncing and rolling to the beat.

Economic downturn in the ’80s hit the recreation again.

Its popularity has been lifted in recent years thanks to inline skating and the resurgence of roller derby leagues.
Source: National Museum of Roller Skating (Lincoln, Nebraska)”

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Excerpt #3
From https://www.hbo.com/documentaries/united-skates/about United Skates [2019 documentary about jam skating]
"For years, roller-skating rinks have been a constant for African-American communities across the U.S., serving as a meeting ground, a place to have fun and an incubator of iconic hip-hop talents like Queen Latifah and N.W.A.

As America’s last standing roller rinks are threatened with closure, a community joins forces in a racially charged environment to save the underground African-American subculture of roller skating, which has been overlooked by the mainstream for generations – yet has given rise to some of the world's greatest musical talents.

From executive producer John Legend and first-time directors Dyana Winkler and Tina Brown, the documentary United Skates highlights the dynamic world of roller skating, showcasing African-American rinks and skaters across the country as they fight to keep the culture alive and skate their hearts out...

[...]

Adult nights have become skating parties marked by incredible moves and music. Reggie, who says skating brought him “community [and] a sense of culture,” is disappointed that his local rink provides neither. In fact, none of the 14 rinks in North Carolina have an adult night. Hoping to start his own, Reggie meets with an owner receptive to the idea of bringing in new clientele.

[...]

Meanwhile, the L.A. skating community mourns the closure of Skate Depot, its last remaining rink, extending the wave of rink closings across the country in the wake of rezoning laws and increased land values in urban areas.

In L.A., during the height of gang violence in the ‘80s and ‘90s, the roller rink served as neutral ground when the Crips and Bloods had to share the World on Wheels rink. In 2013, this safe space closed, despite the community’s best efforts to keep it open. After hearing of Skate Depot’s impending closing, Phelicia and her family are feeling its loss. After driving hours to another rink, Phelicia gets into a heated argument with an employee who claims their custom wheels violate rink rules.

As local rinks shutter, annual national skating events take on even greater importance. At Independence Roll, hosted by Rich City Skate, skaters across the U.S. represent their cities’ varied skating styles. The result is an unforgettable night of joy, tempered by Rich City’s pending future."...

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This concludes Part I of this two part pancocojams series.

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