The Sisters Ice, Cynthia and Vickie, founded the “Roller Tourism” project. They explain the goal of this project, its technical execution, and the challenges encountered.
Traveling everywhere on roller skates is possible! It’s the ambitious project of the Sisters Ice, two professional roller skating sisters. After the rinks in Contamines-Montjoie and then Auxerre, it’s the third edition this year, and they are settling on the French Riviera. This Thursday, the two young women filmed their videos at the Museum of Photography, amid the “Seas and Mysteries” exhibition, by Laurent Ballesta.
Can you explain your “Roller Tourism” project?
“The goal of our project is to highlight cultural sites, local specialties, and outdoor tourist spots. We showcase these places through our art, roller skating. The aim is to introduce these sites to people, places we visit, or would visit, as tourists. The Sisters Ice are here to let you discover unusual, original, typical, cultural places, all on roller skates. At times, it’s a bit eccentric, original, but it allows us to connect both worlds.”
How did you end up roller skating in a museum?
We reached out to various museums to see if they’d like to participate in our project. Many of them agreed because they found the idea original. It prompts curiosity—people wonder: why are these girls on roller skates? Then they notice we’re in a museum, and they quickly forget about the roller skates. They become interested only in the place we’re showing.”
Are roller skates like shoes to you?
Exactly, it’s like wearing shoes. It feels natural to us, we’re used to it. Last year, for the Olympics, we represented all sports with roller skates. We went on grass, on pebbles, in a pool. We go to the sea, onto the sand with roller skates. It’s our accessory!
Why did you choose Nice? And why the Museum of Photography?
First of all, we have a connection to this city. We have family here; our grandparents and great-grandparents come from Old Nice. Even though we are originally from the Paris region, we are attached to this city.
Also, the places we film, be they museums or a distillery, are places that attract us as tourists. The Museum of Photography, with its sea theme, is a place we would visit. It attracts us for our personal culture, history, enrichment, and discovering new things. We love history, culture, and we love sharing this passion through our videos. If we can inspire a passion for museums, history, photography, it’s amazing.
Your goal was to combine travel and roller skating?
Absolutely! Initially, we are artistic skaters. Since we started competing, we travel everywhere even just for a training camp. During vacations, we would look for places to roller skate or ice rinks. Since we began roller skating professionally in 2016, it has completely changed our vision of travel.
Today, no matter the destination, we scout for roller skating spots. The day we arrive, the first thing we do is put on our roller skates. A quick round trip from the port to the airport to start the trip. We truly want to bring people into our world, to discover unique things. So far, it’s working.
Do you have a team assisting you with all the videos?
No, it’s just the two of us. We handle everything in detail, from planning shots to choosing outfits and makeup. Then we divide the technical work. Cynthia does the video editing, and I (Vickie) handle the music editing. We put it all together. The video is sent to the collaborators (museums, hotels) for approval. Once they give the go-ahead, we publish on our socials. We are on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube. In September, our website will be launched, with all our content there.
How long does this project take you?
For this “Roller Tourism” project, we spend three weeks preparing before coming to Nice. Then there’s a week of filming on site. Lastly, another week for post-production, including video editing. So, it’s at least six weeks of work.
Can you make a living from this project?
No! All the projects you see on Instagram so far are funded by our own resources. We don’t live off social media, but from our profession, meaning shows, shoots, photo sessions, and the classes we teach. Social media is our playground, it’s where we express ourselves. We diverge a little from the academic way, branching out in all directions.
Living off social media is not a goal. Our aim is to use them as a showcase of what we produce, be it the social media content, like “roller tourism,” or for shoots and filming.
