Longboard ‘Dancing’ Is Mix of Music, Moves and Danger

Some American skateboarders are creating new moves by combining longboarding and dance.

This version¹ of the activity is already popular in southern California. It has also become popular in cities like Paris, France and Seoul, South Korea.

Reporters from The Associated Press recently spoke² with some skaters about the unusual activity. The AP described it as bringing together skating and dance -- with a little danger as well.

Hannah Dooling told the AP she often joins friends in Santa Monica, near Los Angeles, where they enjoy longboard dancing and doing tricks.

Longboards started out as a way for surfers to keep in shape when they were not in the water. They are longer than traditional skateboards. The added length can be more difficult to move with, but many skaters say they can be more graceful³ on a longboard.

Today, skaters use longboards to make sidewalk turns and bomb hills. They also use them for longboard dancing.

Dooling, who is 30 years old, showed off some of her moves during a recent night in an empty parking lot in Santa Monica. She was joined by her 33-year-old friend Yun Huang and Jane Kang and Christie Goodman. Kang and Goodman are both 29.

Everyone in the group wore wide-leg pants and flat-bottomed shoes for riding. The friends get together most Saturday and Sunday afternoons if the weather is nice.

The meetups are supported by the Dancing Foundation⁴. The non-profit group started with assistance⁵ from American technology company Google. The organization was started by Achille Brighton, a 39-year-old software engineer.

Longboard dance is still quite young. But Brighton told the AP it has already spread worldwide – from southern California to Paris to Seoul. He said those places have public squares and a lot of open spaces where people can watch the skaters.

"You don't need skate parks. You just need roads," Brighton said. "And because you do it in public, you're out there, people see it. And they're like, ‘Oh, that's kind of cool.'"

Dooling was one of the first to try longboard dancing. She learned⁶ to skate in the northwestern city of Seattle, Washington. Now, she works⁷ remotely for the technology company Amazon in Los Angeles. Dooling said she did not know anybody when she first moved to the area with her partner in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through skating, she said, she found a community.

Huang, a native of Melbourne, Australia, started skating during the pandemic. Some days, her board and her dog were the only things that would get her outdoors and moving.

"We were all kind of depressed⁸ from COVID," she told the AP. "I tried meditation⁹ before. That didn't work for me, but I felt like I could really be in the zone with this."

Brighton said he thinks one thing that ties together longboarding and longboard dancing is danger. You might miss a step; you might fall; you might get hurt, he said.

"And that's the exciting bit."

Words in This Story

graceful – adj. moving in a smooth, relaxed and attractive way

parking lot – n. a place where vehicles can be parked

remote – n. far away

depressed – adj. very unhappy

meditation – n. an activity where people try to calm thoughts for a long period in order to relax

in the zone – idiom. to be happy or excited because you are doing something very skillfully and easily

1 version   

n.版本；型号；叙述，说法

参考例句：

• His version of the events is pure supposition.他对这件事的说法纯属猜测。
• What is your version of this matter?你对这件事情的看法 怎么样？

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 graceful   

adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的

参考例句：

• His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了!
• The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。

4 foundation   

n.[pl.]地基；基础；基金会；建立，创办

参考例句：

• The foundation of the university took place 600 years ago.这所大学是600年前创办的。
• The Foundation gives money to help artists.那家基金会捐款帮助艺术家。

5 assistance   

n.援助，帮助

参考例句：

• She called and called but no one came to her assistance.她叫了又叫，但没有人来帮。
• He will get the great possible assistance.他将获得尽可能大的帮助。

6 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

7 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

8 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

9 meditation   

n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录

参考例句：

• This peaceful garden lends itself to meditation.这个恬静的花园适于冥想。
• I'm sorry to interrupt your meditation.很抱歉，我打断了你的沉思。