As a kid, he skated his Friday nights away at Skateaway roller rink in Taylor, just a few blocks from where his mom still lives.
Today, Fred Tallaksen, who grew up in West Side, is a four-time Emmy nominated choreographer who just wrapped working on a reality competition television show called “Roller Jam.”
The show, touting the executive producer team of Chip and Joanna Gaines, centers around 10 teams from across the country, who roller skate, flip and roll their hearts out via big, bombastic, pre-arranged performances all while wearing roller skates. The winning team gets $150,000, plus an additional $10,000 donated to their home roller skating rink.
The teams, who came from Nashville, Atlanta, Texas and beyond, were culled through a nationwide search. Special guest judges include Pepa, Debbie Gibson and Michelle Williams.
L to R: Roller Jam judge Terrell Ferguson, Roller Jam’s Supervising Choreographer and Fred Tallaksen.
Tallaksen’s job as the show’s supervising choreographer encompassed helping the teams pull out all the stops to create mind-blowing dance and performance numbers for the judges, who will winnow teams down to one winning group.
“I help every single team to come across the best way they possibly can, and not change them and make them be something they’re not,” he said, adding he aims to help bring out what is special about each skater.
“They were even amazed at what they did,” he said.
Tallaksen called the gig “the cherry on top of the sundae” of his many years in professional choreography.
“It was a joy to work on,” he said, explaining how his background in singing, dancing, musical theater and roller skating coalesced to create a unique skill set necessary for the recent choreography job. He also shouted out his mentor, Gail Ercoli.
Tallaksen started dancing as a young adult at Gail Ercoli Dance Studio in Jessup. Ercoli saw him at a fall revue she was then working on at the University of Scranton and asked him to study with her.
“I could see that he could tumble, and I could see that he was flexible, and I said, come up to my studio and let me train you, you’ll go pro within two years and within two, three years, he did,” Ercoli said. “He’s been working ever since.”
A few decades later, Tallaksen is a “major success story,” Ercoli said.
“He’s been nominated for four Emmys, he’s really at the top of his game in the dance world,” she said. “His resume is mind-blowing. He was in ‘Cats,’ he was in ‘Starlight Express’ and other shows before that.”
She also mentioned a big deal gig he landed choreographing Madonna’s Confessions Tour, where he taught the Queen of Pop how to roller skate.
Ercoli and Tallaksen speak “nearly every day.” She has followed his career, often attending his performances in Aruba, Boston, and wherever else his dancing feet may take him.
“We are still great friends to this day,” Tallaksen confirmed, adding he still visits the family and friends he has in the area.
He said over the years, Ercoli guided him through challenging career decisions, like which jobs to take and which jobs to turn down.
Fred Tallaksen poses beside roller skater “Ashe” at a Roller Jam promotional event.
Now that he’s an Emmy-nominated choreographer, his experience, such as with Roller Jam, or the new music video he just choreographed alongside famed photographer David LaChapelle and featuring musician Jade, lends itself to easier choices. Yet, the two remain close.
Tallaksen iterated the importance of the new program for those who prefer eight wheels versus walking on two feet.
“This ‘Roller Jam’ TV show is a really, really big deal for the roller skating culture around the country,” Tallaksen said about the show, which began airing Oct. 10. The show will run weekly on Max and the Magnolia Network, concluding on Nov. 14.
The roller skating world saw a big boost during the pandemic.
“After COVID hit, everybody was skating outside because they wanted to do something,” said Emil Feist, 48, of Mountain Top, who manages one of two remaining Skateaway roller rinks. His is in Wilkes-Barre.
At one time, there were five Skateaway locations, including the rink in Taylor which, little did Tallaksen know, would lay the groundwork for his future career.
The rinks in Taylor, Reading and Bethlehem were sold off over the years. The Taylor rink became a Price Chopper, which then permanently closed in 2024. Feist grew up skating at Skateaway since age 14, where his mother, and today, Feist himself works managing the same rink where he spent those formative years. His kids are following suit, and skating their way through life, too.
Many who get immersed in the skating world seem to roll with it for years to come.
Feist praised the new show that covers his and so many others’ livelihoods and childhoods.
“I like it. It’s very good,” he said. “A lot of the moves, I see the kids at the rink doing,” he shared, adding that he has a skater regular named Carl who frequents his rink that he’d “put up against anybody,” because “he’s that good.”
A challenge around the roller skating scene is that the popularity of the hobby ebbs and flows. Cultural and behavioral factors add additional challenges.
“It’s tough to keep going with the public,” he said, explaining that some kids come in looking to fight instead of just enjoying the skating environment. He had to hire security. He noted a popular rink in New York City, RollerJam USA, closed in May.
He added that many rinks require parent supervision now, but that events like late skate nights for professionals, birthday parties, and the popular “Taylor Swift Night” help keep the disco ball spinning, the day-glo lights on, and the wheels effortlessly rolling across those smooth-as-butter courts.
Tallaksen says that skating “is a different world now.”
“It isn’t as profitable a thing, those big lots could be housing and make a lot more revenue,” he said, adding that parents don’t do or allow the same things they used to with their kids.
“Some of the old rinks disappeared, but the spirit of skating and the love of it never went away, and it found a way to continue with social media and shows like ‘Roller Jam.’”
A side bonus of Roller Jam airing is that Tallaksen has been receiving pings from old friends, reminiscing about their former skating grounds.
“Remember when we used to skate at Skateaway?” he said several of his friends have asked. “We skated, played pinball machines, all the boys would comb their hair, the lights would get dim, they had hokey pokey and everyone skated backwards,” he said.
Tallaksen said working on “Roller Jam” has felt like a full circle moment.
“This show is really near and dear to my heart,” he said. “It brings me back to being a kid at Skateaway on the West Side.”
Originally Published: October 25, 2024 at 11:35 a.m.
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Publish date : 2024-10-25 04:35:00
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