Fraser, Michigan – Over 1,200 skaters were in Fraser Michigan competing at the 2023 National Theatre on Ice hosted by Harmony Theatre Company. IceWorks Skating Club sent all three of their teams to Nationals with Team Spectacle competing in the Intermediate combined division and Team Envision along with Team Mirage competing in Preliminary. In only its fourth year of existence, the Club brought home two Bronze national medals back to Aston. This year’s requirements per U.S. Figure skating were a theme based around Nature and emphasis on rotational movement and the chorographical requirement was call and response.
Team Spectacle who finished 9th last season found themselves in first place with a score of 25.92 after the Choreographic Exercise which was performed to “Up the Mountain” by Regina Spektor. The Free Performance themed to Dreaming of France earned a score of 41.05 to give IceWorks Theatre on Ice program the first National medal in the team’s short history. The combined score of 66.97 was a season’s best score on the sports biggest stage, earning a Bronze medal overall. When asked about what attributed to showing by all three teams at Nationals, Program Director Richard Sharpe credited the choreography of Kate McSwain and the work put in by fellow directors 3-time Olympian Mojca Kopac-Tiernan and 6-time Adult National Dance Champion Yovanny Durango “One of the biggest influences was bringing in Kate for choreography for the Choreographic Exercise, she really highlighted the importance of the exercise and the movements and it seemed to really resonate with the kids. Our skaters and the three of us as directors really emphasized the what and the how of what we were doing and it really pushed all three teams to invest themselves into the performance side of what theatre is.”
Team Envision’s Free Performance themed “A Night at the Casino” earned a total score of 30.25 which was 2nd amongst Preliminary teams. The Choreographic Exercise was set to a combination of “ A Final Call” and “Evolution” by Imogen Heap & Dan O’Neill, which totaled 18.13 points. Finishing with a combined score of 48.38, Team Envision finished third overall, capturing a Bronze medal. Sharpe along with Yvonny Durango, who was also competing at Nationals with his 1st State Ice Theatre program in the Adult division coached Team Envision this season. “Everything that we are doing is going hand in hand, our skaters are becoming stronger overall. You can see the performance, timing and expression that we use in theatre starting to show in our skaters solo programs as well because the emphasis in on the performance and being in sync with the music and not so much concerned with jumps and spins, you can see the skills and what is being learned translating” said Program Director Richard Sharpe
Team Mirage, the newest team in IceWorks Theatre on Ice program earned a seasons best total of 32.26 at Nationals. The Choreographic exercise was performed to “Survivor by 2Wei” and the Free Performance “A Day at the Office” was a crowd favorite featuring music from NBC’s hit television show The Office. “This was a good experience for our team, they posted their best total score of the season which all the coaches are happy with. We’re going to continue to get better and improve, that is the goal always” said Sharpe on what the team can take away from their first trip to Nationals. “We were in a similar place last season with Team Spectacle and look what they accomplished this season. The future is bright for all three of our teams, we want to get a little better every day, whether its on-ice skating, off-ice training or in some of the other training we are implementing we always want to be better as a unit and overall, as a program”.
IceWorks Skating Club will be hosting open Theatre on Ice auditions on Monday August 21st beginning at 5:00 PM. Anyone with interest should contact Program Director Richard Sharpe at theatre@iceworks.net For more information visit www.iceworkssc.org