This is Jersey style rhythm skating, at the legendary Branch Brook roller rink in Newark, New Jersey.
I was there on a regular Sunday adult night, and I’m still processing what I witnessed. Here’s why Jersey style is so ridiculous.
First off, the music. Jersey is typically skated to house music. That’s fast tempo, four on the floor, electronic music. And nearly every skater I saw was moving to the beat effortlessly.
Jersey style is all about pivots. These skaters are hitting their pivots so damn fast. Two foot, one foot, forward to back, back to forward. Plus spins, hops, slides, and a bunch of other moves I don’t even know.
And on top of that, the skaters are moving in a figure eight pattern, weaving in and out of each other. But it isn’t a set choreography. There are split second changes in direction and momentum, as other skaters moving around you. So basically you need 360º spatial awareness of where you are and where everyone else is, while in motion.
You CAN skate Jersey as a solo skater. But here they are skating in pairs or even trios. So not only are you traveling around the figure eight, staying on beat, executing moves, but you are doing it with one or two other people. How is that even possible?
No shade to the many other amazing styles of rhythm skating. But New Jersey style is just something else.