For some people, the roller link is just a circular scoop, not so fast, and doesn’t go anywhere.But to the creator with that believer DiscOasisA new skating experience at Central Park, it’s transformative and spiritual — time travel on four wheels.
On Saturday night, more than 1,000 skaters packed Wollman Rink, strapped the quadriceps, and spun off with a sparkling nostalgia. Spotlights illuminated the surrounding trees while the concert-level light show was immersing the space in cyan, fuchsia, and gold. The classic party of the 1970s, “Good Times,” rang from the DJ Funkmaster Flex booth when the crowd (some wobbles, some experts) broke up for the pros. , Unwind to the headstand. For 10 minutes it was all hot pants and acrobatics. Then a regular New Yorker (many of which have a not-so-distant style) slipped in.
Like the demigods of sequins, it was the chic guitarist, funk disco celebrity and lifelong skater Nile Rodgers who floated on this opening night. He curates the music of Disc Oasis and provides its cultural through line with narration. From the 1970s to the 1980s, he frequently visited New York, which was once the legendary link between Diana Ross and Sher, and is now closed. Kevin Bacon and Robert Downey Jr. too. (It was wild in the 80’s.) Having some skill in the wheel, “you feel like you have a special human power,” Rogers said in a recent video interview. “You feel like you can fly.”
Roller skating is also popular, but Disc Oasis sets it apart from the city. Other links And pop-up events (Rockefeller Center Wheeler also temporarily hosts) Through its production value, drama and pedigree. There is a flowering disco ball as large as 8 feet in diameter and a multi-layered stage created by Tony nominated set designer David Collins who performed “Hamilton” and performed a show for Lady Gaga. The 13 casts include the legend of the Roller Disco in New York. City park for over 40 yearsIts signature Leg rotation Pivot influenced the skater’s score.
“We call it jam skating,” he said. DiscOasis released him from retirement for a choreography show five nights a week — he swapped both hips —.
Energy is ecstatic and infectious. “Wearing wheels is a paradise for me,” said 59-year-old Robin Mayers Anselm, who grew up to go to Brooklyn’s famous Empire Skating. “When I skate, I feel more connected to myself and my spirit.”
This also applies to beginners like Robin L. Dimension, an actress wearing a chunky “queen” necklace wearing a decorated jumpsuit and psychedelic skates. “I wore really nice clothes,” she said.
Called an “immersive musical and theatrical experience,” DiscOasis began last year outside of Los Angeles, the inventor of the pandemic of an event company led by a CAA agent. However, its basic home is always New York and is open daily until October.
“For us, DiscOasis is a movement and an atmosphere. We want as many people as possible to experience it,” said Thao Nguyen, Executive Producer and Chief Executive Officer of Constellation Immersive, a parent company affiliated with Live Nation. I am. And the Los Angeles Media Fund will stage the series.
For the New York skate community, it’s a good floor above all. “As you know, we’re not impressed with the illusionary outfit,” said Tone Rapp Fleming, a 50-year-old New York skater who came to the preview on Thursday.This is mainly for ride-or-dice skaters like him and his friend Linna Davis’ vice president. Central Park Dance Skaters Association, Skate on the trash can lid, as she put it. However, they praised the new slippery surface of the link, painted in the main shades of blue, yellow and red.
The creators of DiscOasis knew that if you beat the old-fashioned skate crew, the world would continue. A timeless wonder of iridescent spotted blades and edging wheels adorned with custom jewels, Davis helped with the casting. “Go well, kids!” She cheered on the soundtrack, where young dancers rolled their routines and spun from Queen to “Rapper’s Delight.”
Rodgers has created a playlist of overnight performances interspersed with live DJs (enjoying more relaxed skating during the day). Rogers, a longtime New Yorker, created a 12- or 13-year-old skate style with a short stay in Los Angeles. He tore the town with other children and performed a small routine. “I had this wobble leg skating method,” he said. He still does, “I’ll be 70, and that’s cool.”
His crew was still outstanding. “We were skating to jazz,” he said, recalling guitarist Wes Montgomery’s groove to the 1965 classic. “Bumpin’on Sunset.”
After 30 years of fast-forwarding, Rogers was mainly cutting skates. But it rekindled his dedication, as he was so energized by his relationship with DiscOasis who approached him for the Los Angeles event. Currently touring Europe, he gets a minilink in one hotel ballroom at a time, wherever he goes.
“They lift the rug for me and make a big dance floor,” he said. “I can skate in a small square. There is no one there because I skate at the strange time of 4 or 5 in the morning.” (He doesn’t sleep much. Befitting the fashion legend of the disco era, he also personalized orange, green and iridescent skates. I got stuck at customs on my way to Europe. His favorite is the classic pair of black Riedel. )
Even if you’re familiar with skate culture, the Los Angeles version of DiscOasis has offered some lessons. Most skaters stick to the link for about 45 minutes, Rogers said. The space around Wolman has a non-skating dance floor and several Instagram-enabled installations inspired by his music. For example, an oversized wedding bouquet, pearls, and a giant half-disco ball stuffed with slanted mannequin legs are thought to symbolize Madonna’s “Like a Virgin.”
For production designer Collins, this space is a throwback to Studio 54, but fresher. “We are obsessed with the idea of this oasis. Given that the mirror ball and the leaves come together to give birth to a child, that’s what we’re making,” he said. (Imagine palm trees and cacti.) And the location of Central Park, with its Manhattan skyline above, brings its own magic. “It takes all the best about roller skating and disco, and it literally tears the roof,” he said.
Like other skating habits, Collins has a theory about why it remains addictive. “It’s really hard to find a kinetic and dynamic life experience,” he said — you can bend your solo style and also get the fellowship of “living creatures moving around”. ..
Choreographer Shelnita Anderson saw it in action. In the case of solo, the cast was itself. “We were like,’Get out and live your best life!’,” She said. “And that’s what they did.. “
High kicked his way with Pirouette through the act Keegan James Bataille, 20, A dancer trained in a musical theater who just started skating two years ago as a pandemic outlet. Company Swing, this is his first professional contract gig.He grew up nearby Links in Amsterdam, NY “I remember going there all the time during junior high school and thinking,’Wow, I wish I could skate backwards and do these cool tricks.'” He said. “And here I play in New York City and do little of what I dreamed of.”
Not surprisingly, the closing number set for Donna Summer’s “Last Dance” came and he set sail for a signal. It had a cape skater dotted with LEDs, like a luminous butterfly.
“I’ve never seen anything like this in New York,” said 24-year-old native Samantha O’Grady. She said the link she began to learn was closed “by the time I became a tween”, but the retro atmosphere of DiscOasis gives her a flicker of what the scene looked like before her time. Gave. “I sent her picture to her mother. She was very jealous.”
First-time visitors already planned to become regulars, like Robin Jering, whose wedding was in progress. “We love work, we love dancing, we love music, but we live to skate,” she said. “And that’s all.”
Kalia Richardson contributed to the report.
