Siobhan Lawson tells how she started Roller Disco in Glasgow 

 

 

ROLLER DISCO

In summer 2011 I went down to London for two weeks to help make costumes for the Notting Hill Carnival, I expected taking part in the parade to be the highlight of my trip but I was wrong. One Thursday night after a long day of sticking and making I went to the Roller Disco at Vauxhall. I was so tired after cycling all the way across London to get there that I thought I'd just stay for an hour...

 

This is the night my excitement for Roller Disco began! I remember very clearly my inability to stop smiling to myself the whole night, from standing in the queue to being taught how to go backwards it was a very fun night. I returned to the Roller Disco another three times during my stay and tried to soak up as much skating mover and the atmosphere as possible as I knew there was nothing like it in Glasgow.

 

    
                              Guys & Gals at the Arc Roller Disco    

 

 

I  roller disco

There were two floors with different music in each - the first room played classic disco and pop hits and was populated by beginner skaters at quite a slow pace, at first I was more comfortable in this room. The second room was much 'cooler' this is where the big boys hang out and the beautiful girls who could go backwards without even thinking. People skated round the outside and others danced in the middle with moves I couldn't understand! The style and technical ability of these skaters was something to aspire to. There were three bars selling both alcohol and soft drinks, it was easy to tell on skates who was drinking what!!

 

 

With my enthusiasm from my experience in London and encouragement from a friend I was staying with I decided to have a roller disco for my birthday the month after my return. With the help of Don Morton for  skate hire  we rented the Arc for a few hours on a Saturday - I didn't really know how it would turn out but it was a great success with so many people having fun and asking about the next disco. I hadn't thought about doing it again but with help from friends we managed to run a roller disco almost monthly since. Having never run an event before I learnt (and am still learning) how much hard work and planning is involved with so many things to consider I really relied upon others to help.

 

We are approaching our fourth roller disco this January and I hope to run monthly discos across 2012 with a weekly skate. Aside from making the event just run we really want to make it special with themes, fancy dress, performances, dance routines, great music, venue with a good floor.... but this all takes a lot of hard work and time to get it right. I wonder if we'll have figured it out by this time next year.

 

I hope to see you at my next disco. With your support Roller Disco is here to stay. Here's the link to keep up to date. www.theartstree.co.uk

Siobhan