Creating ‘A Place Between Mass & Echoes’: A Love Letter to the Skate Community by Symoné

I knew for a while that I wanted to make a roller-skate show, something that would celebrate the skate community, while also creating space for emotive, movement-driven work.

A Place Between Mass & Echoes is just the beginning for Inviktus, a project that has grown from a simple idea into a powerful show for audiences and internally a group of movers who support each other. 

Forming Inviktus

Inviktus is made up of seven roller skaters drawn from the global street and dance skate community. Together, our backgrounds span Latinx, Afro, Hip Hop, Circus, Partner and Jam skating. Even beyond these styles our personalities and dance style fusion influence a specific signature to how we all move. 

The group began in 2024, when a few of us worked together on corporate skate jobs. Even then, there was something special about the rapport: comfortable, supportive, and full of creative energy. I knew I didn’t want it to be a one-off gig. We all knew each other already, whether from skate events, line dances*, or even just sharing each other’s work on Instagram. The UK/EU skate community feels at once big and small, and the connections are deeply woven. 

We are a collective that is primarily LGBTQIA+ and POC-led, and those identities are an important part of who we are. But I want to be clear: this show is not about personal characteristics or labels, and it’s not just a reflection of identity politics. This show is an exploration of non-verbal communication, the power of movement, and the deep interconnectivity of community. Our identities are an important layer to who we are, but not the boundary of the work. 

*In skating, “line dances” are choreographed sequences performed in unison, where skaters move together in lines or formations.

A Place Between Mass & Echoes Influences

The first spark came from thinking about dance circles. I was reflecting a lot on my time in the voguing community and reflecting on the “special ingredients” from skate meetups (a.k.a. skate jams) , i.e. moments where rhythm, exchange, and community collide. I started to think about the infectious power of these spaces and the ongoing challenge is that there are so many spaces lost for skaters to congregate. For example, iconic roller rinks that undergo financial hardship and close, and public locations that are unwelcoming to skaters. The larger perspective of this that has fuelled the show is the vitality of community spaces being upheld, not a club night or a festival, but places that are centered around people meeting to share their love for movement. 

As the idea developed, we worked with Yami Lofvenberg, a core member of the political, female-led POC collective Hot Brown Honeys and an icon in the hip hop dance scene. It was important to collaborate with someone who not only understands the culture, but can also co-lead the creative space with depth and sensitivity. 

Inside the Show

The performance itself unfolds entirely through music from our live DJ, group formations, and repetitive signature states. There are intentionally no words spoken. Instead, the invitation is for audiences to think and watch with their bodies, to respond physically and emotionally rather than intellectually. 

At times, the show feels like a manifesto or even a love letter. Despite its choreographic sequences, the energy is raw and reminiscent of a street skate jam – loose, celebratory, yet grounded in community. Audiences have spoken about the infectiousness of the music, and the show’s energy has carried across in ways we hoped for but couldn’t fully anticipate. 

Show Motifs

Certain motifs and states run through the work. Among them are Echoes and Heart Beat, moments that pulse with both repetition and rhythm. For me, these echoes existed before the show began and continue on afterwards. 

The costumes are equally intentional: a blend of avant-garde sportswear and scrap fabrics, stitched together so each skater’s personality and style comes through in what they wear.

Artistic Insight

The title is poetic and possibly obscure..! A Place Between Mass & Echoes is simply referring to the liminal space between times of congregation with others and the leftover feeling where only memories remain. While I can’t speak for traditional dance forms, club and street dance styles are so rooted in community, and the imagery of moving with a mass of strangers, freestyling or exchanging skilled moves is a part of the culture, and these moments and locations are so temporary. 

Lessons from the Process 

One of the most significant aspects of this project is that, for many of us, it was our first time in an R&D process. That felt special. It was an opportunity to learn together in a new kind of environment, one that wasn’t focused solely on choreography and skills, but also on conversation, collective learning, and building a shared vision. This approach shaped how we ran the room, how we created space for everyone to contribute, and how we built trust as an ensemble. Some of the original intentions to include more moments of rest, subvert dance and performativity were lightly included in the week. This was partially because we discovered that while everyone is confident devising movement, task based performance would be newer and would require much more fruition for performers who come from an entertainment/skill based background. 

Looking Ahead 

This is just the beginning. We’re manifesting more time to train together, to deepen the creative process, and to move into a new phase of development. 

That next stage will mean bringing in artists and devisers from a live art background who understand skate culture and can help us explore new methods of making. The work right now is dance-heavy, but there’s potential to expand further, bending the expectations of entertainment in unusual ways, and finding new edges of what skate performance can be. 

Like Inviktus itself, A Place Between Mass & Echoes will continue to grow. 

Closing Reflection

To us, the show is both a love letter and a manifesto. It celebrates community, identity, and the power of skating. It captures the feeling of a street skate jam, while also pushing that energy into new choreographic and artistic territory. We hope audiences leave with that infectious feeling that we leave on the dance floor after each show.