Who knew roller skating could be so complex and artistic?

In fact, in Tenerife, the artistic skaters of MAGMA Patinaje Artistico prove that it’s a hardcore sport – and it’s one that you need to star young if you’re going to make it to the top.

Many of us remember getting a pair of roller skates as a kid, but we would have never imagined doing anything more complicated than trying to skate backward on them.

That’s why a performance uploaded in 2014 of artistic skater Luna Casaretto Merodio is so mind-blowing.

It took place at a festival called and Gala Solidaria, so it was likely a demonstration rather than a competition, but she certainly brought her A-game!

Dressed in a white, bedazzled leotard and looking (and moving) much like a figure skater, Casaretto glides out onto the floor to take a seated position before her music begins.

She either has many friends in the audience or people know just how good this is about to be because she gets plenty of cheers and whistles as she heads out to perform.

And she certainly has a lot of fans online because the video of her routine has nearly 2 million views!

As she begins, the opening a capella lines of Whitney Houston’s cover of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” ring out (that’s right, Dolly did it first!). Houston’s version of the song was on the soundtrack of her hit film The Bodyguard.

Casaretto’s training has no doubt included dance – perhaps ballet? Her flowing movements and body control aren’t something typically learned on roller skates.

But this is no dance – this requires even more balance as well as some gymnastic maneuvers!

Now here’s something you don’t see on ice:

And just like a figure skater, she executes beautiful jumps as well as spins.

Since most jumps in figure skating are defined by where on the ice skate’s blade one takes off from, artistic roller skating has its own lingo. But to those of us who don’t know much about skating sports, many of the maneuvers look the same.

While you might think that roller skates are easier to perform in than ice skates (since they’re more stable), roller figure skating (as it’s sometimes referred to) is often considered to be more difficult since it requires skaters to use more power to push off from the ground. And this isn’t child’s play – Olympic figure skaters Brian Boitano and Tara Lipinski were once artistic roller skaters!

Roller sports such as this have their own international championships – and quad skaters compete separately from inline skaters (those on rollerblades).

As you might imagine, Casaretto has long been participating in these competitions.

And judging by her Instagram page, the 20-year-old is still skating competitively.

Despite it being a beautiful sport, the future of artistic skating is up in the air. According to WorldSkate, which manages all roller sports and their official competitions:

“The World Championships 2020 will be the last world championship hosting figure competitions. Starting from 2021, there will be an annual special event called “Open Figures World Cup” and gathering all categories competitions: the first edition will take place in Freiburg.”

While we don’t know precisely where the sport is going, you can still enjoy it at its best by scrolling down below to see Casaretto’s beautiful routine.

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Source: MAJESMA via YouTube, WorldSkate.org, CanAm Crew via YouTube