Broadway music is going to heat up the ice
Dancing around a red sports car can be easy.
Unless the car is in the middle of an ice rink.
Elisa George, a freshman in biology, said this Saturday’s figure skating performance holds a lot of creative moments, and skating around a red sports car is one of them.
“We’re gonna have a real, red, old convertible car, and we will be skating around it during ‘Grease,'” she said.
Music, lights and flashy costumes will be part of the show Saturday night as ice skaters from around the valley give a theatrical performance on the ice.
Thorson, who is a member of the Cache Valley Figure Skating Club along with her eighth-grade daughter, Ginger, said many people have worked hard to put the fourth annual spring show together. Thorson, who is part of the marketing team with Lynette Anderson, said the award-winning skaters are “slicing into the ice” for this year’s performance.
“If you come to one, you’ll be hooked,” Thorson said.
Each year, Thorson said a new theme is chosen for the skaters. This year’s theme is Broadway on Ice, and she said skaters will perform to music from “Annie,” “Grease,” “Cats,” “Sound of Music” and “Thoroughly Modern Milly.”
“This show is a little bit of theater on ice,” Thorson said. “There’s dancing, music, costumes, athleticism. Figure skating encompasses beauty, art and athleticism.”
Besides coming to watch and support their own USU peers who will also be performing in the show, Thorson said USU students should come anyway because the show can be a break in their stressful end-of-the-year schedules.
“(Students) are tired anyway later in the day, and that is when the show is on,” she said. “So enjoy, take the stress off and study for finals the next day.”
Four different groups of skaters will perform during the event, Thorson said. The groups are Cache Valley Figure Skating Club, USU students, Hot Chocolate Skating Club and Learn to Skate student representatives. Angela Wang, a 10-year-old from Salt Lake City who qualified for the 2007 U.S. Junior National Qualifying Round Champion, will also be a guest skater.
George said Wang will be performing skating solos and will be part of the finale with all the other skaters.
“Woah, she’s really amazing,” George said. “For her age, she is just so amazing.”
George, who has skated for seven years, said she is excited to perform at Saturday’s show, especially since she said she has been practicing about 12 hours per week in preparation. The Cache Valley Figure Skating Club member said she would like as many people from the community to come as possible. For students, George said watching the show will help take their minds off from coming finals.
“It even helps me take my mind off of it,” she said. “That’s why I’m in the show and why I skate. The rewarding part for me is having my friends and family watch what I like to do best. For all my hours of practice, this will be a good reward.”
Carissa Anderson, a coach for Cache Valley Figure Skating Club, said USU students should come to the performance because it’s a good study break and it’s fun entertainment.
“This is not like a movie you can see all the time,” Anderson, who has coached for four years, said. “This only comes once a year. We have anywhere from 3-year-olds up through a 60-year-old man performing. So we have a large variety of pretty much everything.”
USU students should also represent since Anderson said “we did the cheaper price for USU students.”
The show is more relaxed than a competition because the skaters are not getting judged on their performances, she said. Anderson said it helps the atmosphere be more relaxed and fun.
Thorson said she is most excited to see the program come together and about involving the audience with the skaters.
“This is about combining communities within the community,” Thorson said. “This is a community event.”
Reaching out to the community through its skating performance is one of the reasons Cache Valley Figure Skating Club decided to make their Christmas show free, Thorson said. The spring show, however, is just as important as other performances because Thorson said it is used as a fundraiser to help the skating club pay for activities, bring in coaches and operate the club.
The Broadway on Ice spring show is on Saturday, April 28. The event starts at 8 p.m. and will take place at the Eccles Ice Center. The address is 2825 N. 200 East in North Logan. Tickets are available at Macey’s, Eccles Ice Center and Lee’s Marketplace stores. Ticket prices are $5 for adults and $3 for USU students and children 11 years and younger. For more information, log on to ecclesice.com or call the Eccles Ice Center at 787-2288. It is suggested to dress warmly. Food concessions will be available.
“It’s never disappointing,” Thorson said.
-britg@cc.usu.edu