Beginner roller skating
The Downtown Is Eight Counts, Two of Them Standing Still
Cross in front, cross behind, stop. One, the skates open. Two, one crosses in front. Three, they open into a spread eagle. Four, the other crosses behind. Five, uncross. Six, bring them back alongside. Seven and eight, you do not move at all. Those last two counts are part of the step and not a gap in it — the dancers who look unhurried are the ones who genuinely stop. Quad technique, from Najete Kada.
The downtown is three ideas in a row: cross in front, cross behind, stop. It runs on eight counts and it moves sideways.
One: the skates open apart. Two: one crosses in front of the other. Three: they open out into a spread eagle. Four: the other skate crosses behind. Five: uncross. Six: bring them back alongside each other. Seven and eight: you do not move at all.
Those last two counts are the part people delete, because standing still inside a dance step feels like a mistake. They are the step, not a gap in it. The dancers who look unhurried and in control are the ones who genuinely stop for two counts and then start again on the beat.
Once it holds, there are two ways up. Jump the step to give it some snap, or double the movement across counts seven and eight instead of resting — that second version is the one you see most often. Quad technique, from Najete Kada's Tuto roller series. She is a French champion in artistic roller skating and teaches quad; 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.