In case you haven’t heard, roller skating is back and bigger than ever. And the owners of Atomic Ballroom dance studio are all over it.
Nikki and Shesha Marvin opened the Atomic Skate Exchange in Irvine last summer after hearing there was a shortage of skates because so many people had joined the craze.
Now the Irvine couple is offering free dance skate lessons every Saturday afternoon.
“I’m loving it,” says Irene Ortiz, 46, who was out there on a recent weekend wearing a fanny pack and pink suede skates with leopard-spot laces. “I feel so alive and so free.”
In addition to Saturday lessons, Atomic hosts a free skate meetup from 3 p.m. to dark every Thursday at the Orange County Great Park.
“We have a dancer’s mindset,” says Shesha, a professional dancer specializing in the Lindy Hop and Argentine Tango. “We’re not just teaching people to skate in circles.”
His wife, Nikki, also a professional swing dancer, says the Atomic skate shop has been a bigger hit than they ever could have imagined.
“The roller-skating community has really embraced us,” she says.
To join the fun, check out atomic_skate_exchange on Instagram.
