Venice Dance Skating;

Dancing on roller skates is one the popular subgroups on social media. Bright colored videos of people on four wheels rolling up and down the boardwalk is taking over TikTok. While it may feel new to see roller skating roll into your social media feeds, the truth is that roller dance skating was here long ago, even before the Internet.

In fact, down in Venice Beach the skating scene is the place to be.

Dance skating at Venice has been around for generations. Some of the people who helped launch this phenomenon are making it their mission to preserve it.

James Rich is known as “BuckWild” down in Venice. The community down in Venice know him as one of the OG’s in the community. An OG is a creator and an innovator. Rich uses his OG status and credibility to teach a new generation the true meaning of dance skating.

In Rich’s words, dance skating is more than just looking cool, it’s about feeling the music.

Back in the 1980s, he notes, “We didn't have social media. Pretty much all of our electricity came from the people that were around us. We were kind of just in a little world of ecstasy on skates.”

Decades ago, skaters danced in front of Market Street and Ocean Front Walk. Carrying loud boombox speakers, wearing bright colors and skating right by the beach is what set Venice apart from all the other skating scenes.

The scene was attracting attention from around the country and when Dee Upshaw first moved to Los Angeles, he had no idea that skating would become a way of life for him.

“My thing was to come out here and just have fun and blend in, you know, to share, to learn,” said Dee.

Upshaw never thought that roller skating would be a life-long career for him. Upshaw originally moved to Los Angeles for a job in tech, but after booking many commercials and movie deals, the rest was history. He is now considered an OG down at Venice.

“I would literally shake in the morning,” said Dee, describing the feeling he gets when on skates, “because I couldn't get here fast enough to feel the energy.”

With the eighties rolling away the nineties came and what was once a safe space turned into a hostile one. Police enforcement was strong and skaters were the target for the gang-related things happening.

“There were times when the police came, like a land of them, with their batons and riot gear and just marched down the beach,” said Upshaw.

The city destroyed the concrete that skaters once called home which resorted to many skaters not wanting to skate at all.

Fast forward to now, and the designated area on Ocean Front Walk and Market Street is no longer available. Today people will never know that an uneven grass area surrounded by pigeons was once a smooth concrete floor for skaters.

Across from the old dance floor is a new one. The Skate Dance Plaza, is where a new generation of skaters come to rejoice and take part in what makes Venice so special, with the help of the OG’s.

Dance skater Morgan Weske moved to L.A. from Tennessee in 2015 to become a professional dancer.

After hustling her way through multiple jobs in L.A., Weske decided to take time for herself and head down to the Venice boardwalk.

“I stumbled across the Venice Beach skaters February 1 2015 and I immediately fell in love, like immediately. Next thing you know, that started dominating my life,” said Weske.

Weske credits many of the OGs for helping her grow into the skater she is today. She owns a YouTube channel dedicated to teaching people about skate legends and teaching skate choreography.

Since 2015, Weske has been skating in Venice. “Venice Beach had this feeling of no competition, like we're not in it to like one-up each other. Not in skills. None of that was just literally out there having a dance party on wheels, that's what it was. And that's what it still is,” said Weske.

Through quick Instagram reels to one-minute TikTok videos, people from around the world can see what it's like down in Venice.

Roller skater, Jasmine Moore, goes by “JustSeconds” on Instagram and is known for her colorful and fun skate videos. Moore skates everywhere, she calls the “world her skating rink.”

Although Moore is not a regular in Venice she says skating there is a different feeling. She notes, “It’s almost like you’re feeling the history, when you skate [in Venice.]”

This form of dance has created many opportunities for old and new skaters. All four skaters have traveled the world and been on TV and movie sets, but one thing they all have in common is that no other places compares to Venice Beach.

‘We're literally just adults playing on a concrete playground. That's all it is.” said Weske.

What makes the skate dance plaza one of a kind is that there is always a community down at Venice to lend a helping hand, making the skate plaza one of a kind.

Almost every other day there’s an OG willing to pass down all that knowledge they’ve learned. It's a community that goes beyond what people see on social media.

One of the main rules that OG’s ask for is: respect. “It’s probably one of the number one things that I want to say you give people here in Venice Beach and at the skate dance plaza,” said Rich.