Who is Princess on Skates?

At 7 years old, Belle Hadiwidjaja strapped on her first pair of skates and started rolling. Decades later, she still hasn’t stopped. Initially skating for fun, then in competitions, then for exercise and well-being, Belle has kept on her toes for over 20 years. Recently though, she’s taken her skills to a whole new level in a whole new direction.

The birth of Princess on Skates

In July 2020, in the middle of the stage 4 COVID lockdown and bored with Zoom workouts, Belle decided to do something wholesome. With all the shops closed and nothing for her kids to do, she donned her roller skates, set out for the park, and used her 1 hour of exercise to roller dance to music. Parkgoers loved it, and their joy sparked an idea…

The next day, Belle, and daughter Cobi arrived at the park dressed as the cast of Frozen - Anna and Elsa - and danced to everyone's favourite music from the movie. Everyone who passed by stopped to watch, taking videos and cheering. Feeling inspired, Belle expanded her costume collection, regularly appearing at several local parks. And so came the creation of Princess on Skates.

Since then, Yarraville's own Princess on Skates has been featured on ABC news and was a major contributor to Yarraville being named the 5th coolest suburb in the world by Time Out in 2020. Read the extract below:

“Two lockdown stories sum it up. Firstly, Yarraville local Lee Smith-Moir started adding adorable ‘happy signs’ on walking tracks in the area to cheer up locals during our second lockdown. Then there was skater Belle Hadiwidjaja, who has been roller-skating through the streets in rotating costumes to keep families entertained on their daily walks.”

Belle continues to make regular character appearances in 2021 and 2022, dazzling Melbourne residents with her roller skating skills, 21 costumes, and musical performances whenever she can fit it all in.

Now that lockdowns are not longer here - Belle shifts her focus to getting the community to experience the joy of roller skates. She teachers roller skating, performs at festivals, and hosts free ‘Come and Try’ sessions in the park.