In the background the Earth, Wind and Fire classic disco song “Boogie Wonderland” plays. Disco ball and lights, vibrant colors on the wall and floors and the ’80s theme decorate the skating rink where Kaisa Rosenberg and Jennica Redd go almost every Saturday with their friends at Classic Skating and Fun Center on disco night.
Disco skating here is a hidden gem from non-Utahns. But for two BYU cross country runners, it is where they fine-tune their hobby.
For Rosenberg, a sophomore from Springville majoring in secondary education, disco skating has been her hobby since high school, thanks to some friends who introduced it to her as the “thing to do.”
Rosenberg started the art of wheeling around in rollerblades when she was little and moved to Springville. After moving to Springville, Rosenburg’s neighbor friend introduced her to disco skating. She also remembered her siblings pulling her inside their neighborhood cul-de-sac behind a bike to teach her how to balance and gain speed on roller skates.
During the cross country season, Rosenberg disco skates and looks forward to the moments when she has free time during the season to skate. Her usual routine is to skate and then chill at Yogurtland afterward.
Some newspapers offer $2 coupons for classic skating.
“That’s a dollar an hour for the best time of your life,” Rosenberg said in excitement.
When she was younger, Jennica Redd, a sophomore from Orem majoring in exercise and wellness, loved rollerblading so much that when she met Rosenberg on the BYU cross country team, they began to go disco skating together.
Redd and Rosenberg became good friends that one year they both got roller skates for Christmas.
“One Christmas (in 2011), we both got roller skates for each other so that we could go disco skating whenever we wanted,” Redd said.
Some of the reasons Redd loves disco skating are its fun nature, the chances to meet new people and the different experience she gets from hanging out with friends at disco skating.
Athletic as they are, Redd and Rosenberg like to perform one of their tricks on the rink: one person spins and does a dance move while the other person pushes the one performing the trick from behind, like pushing a wheeled bulletin board across a floor as it glides.
On the weekends or free time outside of disco skating, Redd and Rosenberg go down the Provo Canyon trails with their rollerblades to get more practice time. But when it comes to the indoor fun — they are all about disco skating. Their claim to fame was getting their cross country teammates to go disco skating once because the team knew of the pair’s obsession.
Although Redd and Rosenberg attended rival high schools, that did not stop them from creating a bond — all because of their love for disco skating.
Redd said that disco skating is a great way to have exercise while having fun.
Rosenberg agrees but has other reasons why. “I love to meet new people every week and seeing the regulars at disco skating along with the music being played because I can dance to it,” she said.
Located at 250 South State Street in Orem, Classic Skating and Fun Center offers discounts of $1 off when you dress up in your funky disco attire and an additional $1 off when you show your college I.D. on Saturday’s disco night. For discount coupons from Classic Skating, look in The Universe.
