Roller Skate Dance Photoshoot
Did you learn a new skill during Covid lockdown? I learned roller skating! An outdoor activity that you can do on your own, roller skating became a growing trend that started during pandemic. Thanks to social media such as TikTok and Instagram, even now as Covid restrictions being lifted skating is not going anywhere anytime soon. As a former dancer I couldn’t neglect the evolving roller skating dance movement and (of course!) add it to my dance photography – it’s still in my plans to get better at roller dance myself, though I’ll leave that for another blog post. Today I will share my experience doing a roller skate dance photoshoot with a skater Ayisha (@ayyskates on Instagram) and some of her top roller skating tips.
Roller Skating Photoshoot in London
Back in April 2021 I had pleasure meeting and photographing incredible roller skater based in London Ayisha. We found a great spot for our roller skate dance photoshoot in Hyde Park (which is a popular spot amongst London skaters) and the bustling Oxford Street. I hope you enjoy the selection of my favourite photos.
Background
At the time of the photoshoot, Ayisha has been skating 1.5 years, and within that time she has done a number of commercial photo and video shoots. The projects she has been featured in include “Blessed” by Juls feat. Miraa May and Donaeo, “Worth It” by ZieZie x S1mba x Stylo G; “Rockers Revenge” concept video for Nordstrom and much more.
Ayisha told me that her skating journey started when her cousin took her to a skating rink in November 2019 and “that’s it, I started skating 24/7” said Ayisha. “I’m a visual learner, I was learning roller skating by watching YouTube tutorials.” Ayisha recommends watching Dirty School of Skates channel on Youtube for anyone who wants to learn roller skating: “I watched all of her skating videos, she’s the best.”
Roller Skate Dance
I asked Ayisha if she’s a dancer, as I was so impressed by her roller dance skills on her Instagram. “I don’t dance in general,” she said, “but I only dance with my roller skates on – you wouldn’t see me dancing without skates. Now as I’ve started roller skate I’m more free with my body.
If you are able and well to skate, then I would recommend roller skating 100%,” Ayisha said.
Lessons
“Thanks to roller skates, I’ve learned to be patient with myself. Learning a new skill takes time, and you have to be patient with yourself. It helped me in all aspects of my life. Roller skating also taught me not comparing myself to others, and realising that people are in a completely different lane, different journey, and we will never be on the same path. So I need to do what I’m doing, and not watch other people.
On social media, you see constant videos of amazing skaters, and there are skaters who have been skating for 5 days comparing their journey to the skaters who have been doing it for 5 years. It shouldn’t be like that, and its so easy to fall into that trap. You should always take time and remember that this is your own journey. Have fun while you’re doing it – it’s not a competition.“
“Everyone should try roller skating at least once in their life, because they might just end up falling in love and find a new hobby. I randomly tried it one day and it changed my life.”
Ayisha
You can follow Ayisha’s roller skating journey on Instagram and Youtube.
