ORANGE PARK - The Rolling Gems are skating through the county, and beyond, at full speed.

For founder Kelly Williams, that means expanding on their roller routines, grasping their impact and indulging in community outreach.

"Everything has its season, and right now, it's our season."

With more than 20 years of professional performing arts experience, Williams created the Rolling Gems as a passion project that has since blossomed to new heights. 

Made up of skate-dancers, novice skaters, moms, educators and even some professionals, the company rolls around town showcasing their skills for crowds. Williams started the group around five years ago, while she lived in New York. Calling herself a Gypsy, Williams has garnered various theatrical, film and television credits, while also gracing the stage in numerous concert events and theme parks. 

But, after years of a fast-paced lifestyle and hard lessons learned, Williams said it was time to slow down and take a breather.  So, she moved back to Florida just four months ago to become a caretaker for her family.  What she brought with her was an idea that had been packed away.

Skating was a popular pastime in the Northeast. That's why the earlier beginnings of the Rolling Gems started in the Big Apple.

"At the time, it was not a company. It was designed for something that I needed, and it was just going to be a meet-up group of skaters. And we were going to go to different skate events in the Northeast area." 

After moving to Florida, she said she had to pivot and appeal to a completely different territory. Williams said she had already started implementing the company, but this time, she was taking it full skate ahead.

Hosting virtual auditions, finding herself joining placemaking classes at Downtown Vision, Williams said she spent time carefully crafting the Rolling Gems into the best of the best.

The skaters practice choreographed routines filled with twirls, tricks, flips and some groovy dance moves. Each is up to five minutes long. 

"[For] many of them it's their first time learning how to dance and skate together in one, as well as move in formations and on specific counts for a routine that has a beginning, middle, end. There is a lot of choreography."

"They have taken it in so well. Do they understand it 100%? No, but they are trusting me and following me and are seeing the results."

The Rolling Gems made their debut at Stuff the Bus in August, where they skated to support local classrooms in need. On Sept. 4, they also performed at the Orange Park Mall for the 904 Day event.

On Halloween, the crew performed their "Monster Mash Boogaloo" outside the Skate Station Funworks on Blanding Boulevard to provide entertainment for a trunk-or-treat event.

Williams, along with Rolling Gems Assistant Choreographer Vincent Bevilacqua, partnered with the Crazy Sk8s Crew. Bevilacqua, a jamskater with the VNLA Skate Company, also travels around the country for competitions and performances.

"It's very important to me that we also maintain the umbrella of community service, too," she said. "We're not just an entertainment company; that's definitely not the concept I wanted because I know there's many of them out there and they're great.

"But that's not who I am. I like to have community outreach. Because a lot of this is my community."

Williams, who grew up in Orange Park, attended Grove Park Elementary and Orange Park Junior High. She performed at the Orange Park Mall in her early dance days and frequently visited Skate Station Funworks.

"A lot of these community programs were things that I was involved in as a kid," she said.

Although the Rolling Gems mainly features adult skaters, Williams said she hopes to expand her company to include youth skaters, more local creatives and an arts education concept.

It looks like the Rolling Gems aren't stopping anytime soon.