Roller disco
Encyclopedia
Skating rink
A skating rink may refer to:* an ice rink used for ice skating* a roller rink used for roller skating...
where all the dancers wear roller skates
Roller skates
Roller skates are devices worn on the feet to enable the wearer to roll along on wheels. A first basic type of roller skate consists of a boot with four wheels with ball bearings, arranged in the same configuration as the wheels of a typical car.-History:...
of some kind (traditional quad or inline
Inline skates
In-line skates are a type of roller skate used for inline skating. Unlike quad skates, which have two front and two rear wheels, inline skates have two, three, four, or five wheels arranged in a single line...
). The music played is modern and easily danceable, historically disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
but in modern times including almost any form of dance music
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
or pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
. The concept originated as a fad in the 1970s when the disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
craze was at its height, peaking around 1980 and inspiring several roller-disco magazines. In 1984 the fad came to Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and many roller disco popped up all over the country , the craze has largely discontinued, although many 1970s era roller-discos are still open and successful. Also, it experienced a mild revival in the early 2000s, especially in the mid-eastern United States, where certain clubs continue to host roller disco nights. Some now use in-line roller-blades. Roller discos are also popular among older child
Child
Biologically, a child is generally a human between the stages of birth and puberty. Some vernacular definitions of a child include the fetus, as being an unborn child. The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority...
ren and young teenagers, especially for parties. As in other discos, special effect
Special effect
The illusions used in the film, television, theatre, or entertainment industries to simulate the imagined events in a story are traditionally called special effects ....
s such as dry ice
Dry ice
Dry ice, sometimes referred to as "Cardice" or as "card ice" , is the solid form of carbon dioxide. It is used primarily as a cooling agent. Its advantages include lower temperature than that of water ice and not leaving any residue...
and flashing traffic light
Traffic light
Traffic lights, which may also be known as stoplights, traffic lamps, traffic signals, signal lights, robots or semaphore, are signalling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings and other locations to control competing flows of traffic...
s are often used. To minimise the risk of injury, the organisers of roller discos often only allow participants to skate in one direction at a time, so that they do not crash into one another, although many roller discos have a "free skate" section in the middle of the roller rink.
Roller disco in film
- Roller BoogieRoller BoogieRoller Boogie is a United Artists film starring Linda Blair and introducing Jim Bray The film also stars Beverly Garland, Mark Goddard, and Kimberly Beck, and is directed by Mark L...
(1979), a film about roller disco - Skatetown, U.S.A.Skatetown, U.S.A.Skatetown, U.S.A. is a 1979 American comedic feature film produced to capitalize on the short-lived fad of roller disco.The film features many TV stars from the 1960s and 1970s, among them Scott Baio, Flip Wilson, Maureen McCormick, Ron Palillo and Ruth Buzzi. Patrick Swayze's leading role as the...
(1979) is set in a fictional Los Angeles area roller disco - The plot of XanaduXanadu (film)Xanadu is a 1980 romantic musical fantasy film written by Marc Reid Rubel and directed by Robert Greenwald. The title is a reference to the poem "Kubla Khan, or, A Vision in a Dream: A Fragment" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, which is quoted in the film. Xanadu is the name of the Chinese province...
(1980) has much to do with a roller disco - Austin Powers in GoldmemberAustin Powers in GoldmemberAustin Powers in Goldmember is a 2002 American spy comedy film and the third installment of the Austin Powers series starring Mike Myers in the title role. The movie was directed by Jay Roach, and co-written by Mike Myers and Michael McCullers. Myers also plays the roles of Dr. Evil, Goldmember,...
(2002) gives GoldmemberGoldmemberJohan van der Smut, better known as Goldmember, is a fictional agent in the third film of the Austin Powers trilogy, Austin Powers in Goldmember. He is played by Mike Myers. The character was partially inspired by the James Bond's Auric Goldfinger...
a roller disco in 1975 - In Van Wilder (2002) the main character Van Wilder throws a roller disco party
- Roll BounceRoll BounceRoll Bounce is a 2005 American comedy-drama film written by Norman Vance Jr. and directed by Malcolm D. Lee. The film stars hip hop artist Bow Wow as the leader of a roller skating crew in 1970s Chicago. The film also stars Nick Cannon, Meagan Good, Brandon T...
(2005) has a roller disco competition in the plot - ATLATL (film)ATL is a 2006 American drama film, and the feature film directorial debut of music video director Chris Robinson. The screenplay was written by Tina Gordon Chism from an original story by Antwone Fisher, and is loosely based on the experiences of the film's producers Dallas Austin and Tionne...
(2006) - In the film Lindsey And Leon Go To A Roller Disco (2011), the two main characters, Lindsey and Leon, go to a roller disco
Roller disco in television
- "Angels on Skates", episode of Charlie's AngelsCharlie's AngelsCharlie's Angels is a television series about three women who work for a private investigation agency, and is one of the first shows to showcase women in roles traditionally reserved for men...
- In "The Einstein Approximation", episode of The Big Bang TheoryThe Big Bang TheoryThe Big Bang Theory is an American sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom serve as executive producers on the show, along with Steven Molaro. All three also serve as head writers...
, several of the characters go to a roller disco. - In a flashback episode of The Fairly OddparentsThe Fairly OddParentsThe Fairly OddParents is an American-Canadian animated television series created by Butch Hartman about the adventures of Timmy Turner, who is granted fairy godparents named Cosmo and Wanda. The series started out as cartoon segments that ran from September 4, 1998 to March 23, 2001 on Oh Yeah!...
, Denzel Crocker's mom mentions she worked at a roller disco in the early '70s - In "Hell Comes to QuahogHell Comes to Quahog"Hell Comes to Quahog" is the third episode of the fifth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox on September 24, 2006. The episode follows teenage daughter Meg after she requests that her parents buy her a car. At the showroom, however, her father, Peter,...
", a 2006 episode of Family GuyFamily GuyFamily Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
, Peter GriffinPeter GriffinPeter Griffin is a fictional character and the protagonist of the animated comedy series Family Guy and the patriarch of the Griffin family. He is voiced by cartoonist Seth MacFarlane and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the family in the 15-minute short on December 20, 1998....
and his friends Cleveland BrownCleveland BrownCleveland Orenthal Brown is a character from the animated television series Family Guy, and its spin-off series The Cleveland Show. He is voiced by Mike Henry. In the first seven seasons of Family Guy, Brown is a frequently recurring character. As one of Peter Griffin's neighbors and friends,...
, Glenn QuagmireGlenn QuagmireGlenn Quagmire, often referred to as just Quagmire, is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. Quagmire is a neighbor and friend of the Griffin family. He is best known for his hypersexuality...
and Joe Swanson dance to "A Fifth of BeethovenA Fifth of Beethoven"A Fifth of Beethoven" is a disco instrumental recorded by Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band. It was adapted by Murphy from the first movement of Beethoven's 5th Symphony. The record was produced by noted production music and sound effects recording producer Thomas J. Valentino. It was one of...
" by Walter MurphyWalter MurphyWalter Anthony Murphy, Jr. is an American instrumentalist, songwriter, and arranger. He rose to fame with the hit instrumental "A Fifth of Beethoven", a disco adaptation of passages from the first movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, in 1976, when disco was at the height of its...
. - In an episode of Malcolm In The MiddleMalcolm in the MiddleMalcolm in the Middle is an American television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Network. The series was first broadcast on January 9, 2000, and ended its six-and-a-half-year run on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes...
, we learn that Malcolm's father, Hal, was once a local roller disco champion. - In "Roller Disco", an episode of That '70s ShowThat '70s ShowThat '70s Show is an American television period sitcom that centers on the lives of a group of teenage friends living in the fictional suburban town of Point Place, Wisconsin, from May 17, 1976, to December 31, 1979...
, Jackie BurkhartJackie BurkhartJacqueline "Jackie" Beulah Burkhart is a fictional character and one of the two female leads on the Fox Network sitcom That '70s Show, portrayed by Mila Kunis.-Personality:...
and FezFez (That '70s Show)Fez is a fictional character and one of the four male leads on the Fox Network's That '70s Show, portrayed by Wilmer Valderrama. He was the foreign exchange student in a group of six local teenagers.-Origins:...
take part in a roller disco competition. Four years later, in an episode called "Angie", it is revealed the leading character, Eric FormanEric FormanEric Albert Forman is a fictional character and the male lead on the Fox Network's That '70s Show between seasons one through seven. Portrayed by Topher Grace, Eric is based on the adolescence of show creator Mark Brazill. Most of the show takes place at the Formans' home, particularly in the...
, is a closeted roller disco dancer. - In the "Diamond Jack" episode of Three's CompanyThree's CompanyThree's Company is an American sitcom that aired from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984, on ABC. It is based on the British sitcom, Man About the House....
, Jack attends the Venice Roller Rink, where he meets his blind date named Rita. - In The Young OnesThe Young OnesThe Young Ones may refer to:* The Young Ones , a 1961 musical starring Cliff Richard.** The Young Ones , the soundtrack to the film.*** "The Young Ones" , the film's title track....
series 1, episode 2 ("Oil"), Mike converts Rick's room into a roller disco - In CHiPsCHiPsCHiPs is an American television drama series produced by MGM Studios that originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to July 17, 1983. CHiPs followed the lives of two motorcycle police officers of the California Highway Patrol...
season 3, episodes 1 and 2, roller disco is the central theme.