Beginner roller skating
The Dribble Only Works on Your Front Wheels
Skates open, skates close, on the beat: that is the dribble done flat on the floor, and it stays where it is. The version that actually travels is a different animal. Lift your heels slightly, let each skate roll on its front wheels alone, then pivot and swap. It is small and subtle, and it is the sensation that unlocks the step. Quad technique, from Najete Kada, a French champion in artistic roller skating.
There are two dribbles and only one of them travels. Doing the wrong one for weeks is a common way to conclude that you are bad at roller dance.
The flat version comes first and is a legitimate drill: knees bent, both skates open out together and come back to the middle on the beat, weight staying dead centre. Speed it up, then remove the pause in the middle so it becomes one-two, one-two.
The version that actually moves you is a different sensation entirely: lift your heels slightly and let each skate roll on its front wheels alone. From there you pivot on those front wheels and swap which skate is in front.
It is small and it is subtle, and that is exactly why it gets missed. If your heels are down, the skate cannot pivot, and no amount of trying harder will change that. Find the sensation slowly before you look for any speed. Quad technique, from Najete Kada's Tuto roller series. She teaches quad skating and skates it herself; nothing on this page is a claim about inline skates.
Keep going: this is one section of the full Roller Skating for Beginners guide — sizing, gear, stopping, and where to skate, in one page.