What to Practice - April 2024
Happy April! It’s Spring here in Southern California and that means that the best skating weather is right around the corner!! I can’t wait! Let’s get ready for it. Speaking of getting ready, we are working on our Backward Skating in our April in-person Workshop. Get your ticket here!
Everything that I mention in this video can be found within my Memberships on ThatNicoleFiore.com or my Memberships on my YouTube channel. When you join the roller skating membership, you also get access to all of the mind|body|soul videos: mindfulness, off-skates workouts, as well as early access to the podcast. Please check it out and let me know if you have any questions at all.
Every month I build out a practice schedule that includes drills, skills, and choreography videos and below is my recommended practice schedule for this month. You can find links to each video at the bottom of each section. Everything that I suggest practicing is lined up with the skills and choreography we are working on. Weave these into your regular practice throughout the month.
Week 1:
Drills 9 (transferring weight)
Inner Forward 3-Turn
PRACTICE:
Inner Forward Edges
Backward Edges
The Zero
Drills 9 & Inner Forward 3-Turn:
Let's start off with Drills 9, which works on transferring weight from one foot to the other. I want you to get comfortable with that movement which might sound a lot simpler than it actually is when on skates. Skates are heavy. It is literally a weight on the bottom of your foot and the wheels on the bottom like to roll. So, I really want you to get used to the putting weight into the ground and transferring from one foot to the other with this Drills video.
Now onto our main skill this week: the Inner Forward 3-Turn. This turn goes from an inner forward edge to an outer back edge. When we do this, we can focus on our edges or we can focus on the turn itself. There are a lot of things to think about and we will get into it in each video, but the main thing to remember is that when you are turning from forward to backward, you will be lifting the heel wheels. If “hopping” the turn, you will lift the heel wheels off the ground (not too much, just a little). If you’re sliding the turn, you will lessen the weight in the heel wheels so that they slide across the surface. Feel free to hold onto whatever you need when practicing: a kitchen counter, desk, table, anything that will help to stabilize yourself. Never feel ashamed in doing that. I would much rather have you be safe while practicing.
Practice:
Speaking of our practice, I want you to work on your Inner Forward Edges as well as your Backward Edges. Then I want you to play with The Zero. Two very important things to drill over and over again and then a fun dance move to work on! Keeping it balanced, ya know?! Edges are extremely important in everything that we do on skates but especially with your one foot turns. I want you to get comfortable with your body positions while holding edges. And the Zero will work on transferring that weight from one foot to the other while dancing!
Where to find these videos:
Drills 9: Drills & Workouts page [Link: Website, YouTube]
Inner Forward 3-Turn: Skills page (turns section) [Link: Website, YouTube]
Inner Forward Edges: Skills page (edges section) [Link: Website, YouTube]
Backward Edges: Skills page (backward skating section) [Link: Website, YouTube]
The Zero: Skills page (dance section) [Link: Website, YouTube]
Week 2:
Beginner/Intermediate Choreography — Thank U, Next by Ariana Grande
PRACTICE:
Outer Forward 3-Turn
Toe Pivot
Cross in Front
Beginner/Intermediate Choreography:
We are doing our choreography to "Thank U, Next" by Ariana Grande. Ariana is having a moment again and I love that for her. This song is full of sass, attitude, and fun! It’s also full of transferring your weight from one foot to the other with a cross in front and the Zero. I want you to focus on the Beginner/ Intermediate this week and feel free to check out the Advanced after that. Whenever I create choreography, I build a Beginner/Intermediate as well as an Advanced.
Practice:
I want you to work on the Outer Forward 3-Turn, pivots, and the cross in front. In the Outer Forward 3-Turn, I want you to start feeling those edges. We're going to start that turn on an outer forward edge and end it on an inner back edge. Keeping on the theme of edges, the pivot is next. You can do this on your toe stop or toe wheels with one foot and an inner forward or backward edge with the other foot. If you ever get confused on edges, that’s perfectly normal. I promise. When you're doing an outer edge, you're pressing to the outside of your skate. When you're doing an inner edge, you're pressing to the inside of your skate. If you are questioning it, feel free to send me a video. I am here to help! The cross in front is a very useful skill as well as a cool stylized move. It's also a really good way of not falling if you lose control of an outer edge. It’s a really good safety net I’d love you to get comfortable with.
Where to find these videos:
Skate Choreography (Beginner/Intermediate) - Choreography page [Link: Website, YouTube]
Outer Forward 3-Turn: Skills page (turns section) [Link: Website, YouTube]
Toe Pivots: Skills page (toe stops section) [Link: Website, YouTube]
Cross in Front: Skills page (cross over section) [Link: Website, YouTube]
Week 3:
Drills 13 (one-foot balance off-skates)
Outer Back 3-Turn
PRACTICE:
Inner Forward 3-Turn
Traveling Turns
Drills 13 & Outer Back 3-Turn:
We’re going to start off skates this week with Drills 13. This video focuses on one foot balance, off skates. Off-skate work is so important! I want you to focus on where your weight is in your actual foot while it's not in your skate over and over again so that you can eventually mimic that feeling inside your skate.
Then we have a new video for the Outer Back 3-Turn! I don’t believe that any one-foot turn is “easy”, but I do consider this to be an “easier” turn because you have the other foot right there to save you if you need it. We start this one on an outer back edge and finish on an inner forward edge. The edges don’t need to be super deep and you don’t need a lot of speed, especially when first learning this. I learn and teach everything in my small room. I prefer to have a controlled environment when I’m learning things and then I feel much comfortable taking it outside or to a new environment with more speed. I recommend that you do the same if possible. Start slow with turns and focus on where you're putting your weight. When we turn backward to forward, I want you to be lifting your toe wheels. If you're “hopping”, lift your toe wheels just a bit when turning. If you’re “sliding”, lessen the weight in your toe wheels so that they can slide across the surface. You have that other foot there to save you if and when you need it. You can just set it right down.
Practice:
This week we have a lot of fun turns to practice! I want you to practice your Inner Forward 3-Turn and Traveling Turns. Our main skill this week, the outer back three turn, can be paired the Inner Forward 3-Turn to create a Traveling Turn. Traveling Turns are rotations, staying on one foot the entire time. Your entire body has to rotate with you. Everything has to go together.
These are similar to Marching Turns that switch feet in the middle of the rotation. You can start a Marching Turn with the Outer Forward 3-Turn, switch feet, and do the Outer Back 3-Turn. This works on that transfer of weight from one foot to the other.
These are challenging, but so much fun when you get it. It can take a lot of practice, which is true for most skills on roller skates. I don't want you to think that these things happen overnight. They definitely do not. Acknowledge that this does take time. If it didn't, everyone would know how to do it. Please be patient with yourself. That is my number one request for you. Second would be to keep your knees bent! That’s always important lol!
Where to find these videos:
Drills 13: Drills & Workouts page [Link: Website, YouTube]
Inner Forward 3-Turn: Skills page (turns section) [Link: Website, YouTube]
Traveling Turns: Skills page (turns section) [Link: Website, YouTube]
Week 4:
Advanced Choreography — Thank U, Next by Ariana Grande
PRACTICE:
Traveling Turns
C-Step
Toe Stop Spin
Advanced Choreography:
Time for our Advanced Choreography! This is a more advanced version of our Beginner/ Intermediate Choreography. No matter what your skill level is, I always recommend starting with the Beginner/ Intermediate and then going into the Advanced. I definitely want you to challenge yourself to do the choreography as I do it, but know that you can slow it down, change the steps, change the music, etc. Pay attention to the technique and the connecting pieces.
Practice:
For practice this week, we are going to go back to our Traveling Turns because we will be using that skill within our Advanced Choreography. When learning a new skill I want you to go back and watch it/ practice it as many times as you want or need. You have access to all these videos at all times with a membership. So go in, watch it, rewatch it a few weeks later. Maybe something I say will click differently a week later than it did the first time you watched it. Spend time with the video. I give you a lot to work on each week. You don't have to work on every single thing in a week. You can spread it out further. All of these blogs, all of these practice schedules are linked as blogs on my website so that you can go through and re-look at anything you need. Practicing is hard and figuring out what to practice is probably the most difficult part. I am here and the practice schedules are here to help you.
We also have the C-Step. The C-Step works on our inner back edges, transferring weight from one foot to the other to draw a “C” on the ground (hence the name). It's also a super fun dance move to use with just about any beat! And lastly, a toe stop spin. I want everyone to be comfortable with their toe stops. You don't necessarily have to be so comfortable that you can spin on them or do anything too wild, but I want you to know how to use them as the tool that they are. We can use them to push, stop, and stylize some very fun dance moves.
Where to find these videos:
Skate Choreography (Advanced): Choreography page [Link: Website, YouTube]
Traveling Turns: Skills page (turns section) [Link: Website, YouTube]
C-Step: Skills page (edges section) [Link: Website, YouTube]
Toe-Stop Spin: Skills page (spins section) [Link: Website, YouTube]
Alright, that’s it for this month! I hope you check it all out. All of the skating skills I talk about are included in the Roll With Me (On-Demand) Membership.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out and let me know if you would like further guidance. You can book in-person private lessons or online private lessons!
The Roller Skating Foundations Course is also available! The course is literally everything, your solid foundation, to do whatever you want to do on skates.
At the end of each month, I want you to take a moment to look back and see how far you’ve come. Did you learn something new? Did you progress? Did you surprise yourself? Do you have new goals for next month? Take a moment, breathe, roll your shoulders back, lift your head high, and tell yourself you’re doing a great job. Because you are.
If you would like to submit your progress for our Community Progress Video, submit your vertical video here. Submissions are due on the last day of each month.
Keep in touch about how you’re feeling. Know that I am right here, practicing all of these things alongside you. It doesn’t matter how new or experienced you are in skating, it is very important for all of us to stay consistent with our drills and practice. I am here to help with technique, movement, and most importantly with motivation.
What was your favorite part of this month? What was the hardest for you? What kept you going? Leave a comment! If you are practicing on instagram, please tag me and #quadsociety! I love to see and share your progress! Lastly, don’t forget about the wonderful community on the Discord. Everything is better with friends!
Thank you so much for allowing me to share my love and joy with you. I truly appreciate it. Nothing makes me happier than that!
Thank you for being here. Please let me know if you have any questions about any of this. I am here and happy to help.
