Skating By

Bill Butler is admittedly arrogant about roller skating. The “Godfather of Roller Disco” has been skating for 64 years, since he was nine. He trained Olivia Newton John for Xanadu and still gets called in whenever a movie, show or commercial features skate dancing. His most recent project is a television ad for McDonald’s.

RollerSkatingToday website founder Adeeba Folami is bringing Butler, her skate mentor, to Skate City as part of For the Love of Skating: A Jammin’ Weekend. There he’ll showcase his “jammin'” technique, a style that Folami describes as funky, captivating and fast-paced. Says Butler: “I’m just going to be doing my thing.”

Folami, too, has been skating since she was a child, but only became serious about it as an adult. She says it’s just as much about mental and emotional fitness as it is physical. “There’s a culture of roller skating in places like Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, in the black community,” she says. “It became a passion for me and something I love, and that’s strange for people who don’t skate.” She hopes to show that culture to Colorado.

And Butler will even let you in on a secret about this “child’s thing” he took to a new level with the help of contemporary jazz: “I made it very simple,” he says. “The concept is just like walking forward.”

Before A Jammin’ Weekend kicks off tomorrow, brush up your skills at Skate City, 15100 East Girard Avenue in Aurora, tonight until 10 p.m. Then, if you’re a serious skater — meaning you own your own skates — return to the rink tomorrow for a late skate with Butler from 10:30 p.m. to 2:45 a.m. There won’t be any skate rental, but spectators are welcome. Admission is $9; a portion of the proceeds benefits the Denver Center for Crime Victims. The weekend also includes skating workshops. For details, visit www.rollerskatingtoday.com or call 720-506-4780.