IN SYNCH
EDITOR’S NOTE: With the 30th anniversary of the U.S. Synchronized Championships upon us, many may wonder about the origins of this fast-growing disci- pline. With the help of the new SKATING Magazine Archive, we’re able to let “the father of precision skating,” Richard J. Porter, share that story in his own words.
A NEW DIMENSION IN FIGURE SKATING?
by RICHARD J. PORTER (Tis column appeared in SKATING magazine, December 1961)
Ann Arbor Figure Skating Club LIKE A PARADE, everyone loves a skating
chorus. Te curious thing is that we never think of chorus skating until carnival time approaches. Te Ann Arbor Figure Skating Club has discov- ered that chorus work can be an enjoyable ad- junct to the standard trio of figures, free skating and dance.
Te notion of a regular chorus group ap- pealed to us, and we took a flyer on it in the 1957-58 season. We selected a group of veterans from the previous year’s main carnival chorus and added the advanced girl skaters, who were not already included, to make up a group of 24. We met the first weekend of the season and, by stealing odds and ends of time from free skating sessions, managed to sneak in a workout almost every week. Tere were some complaints from others in the sessions, but enthusiasts tend to be thickskinned, and we weathered the criticism. Nicknamed the Hockettes, the chorus skated ex- hibitions at two Michigan varsity hockey games during the first season. By the time the carnival rehearsals began, the girls had enough basic ex- perience and knowledge of specific maneuvers so that we merely had to assemble new programs and polish them up for the show. Te first year answered two major questions.
First, would a group of girls, mostly of high school age, work consistently through the season, or would the novelty wear off? Te answer was resounding; their dedication to work increased steadily throughout the year. Te second ques- tion was whether the group would relax after they had reached the level ordinarily attained by a carnival chorus with the usual inadequate re- hearsal time. Again the answer was clear. Tey had begun to see possibilities for chorus improve- ment they had not imagined before. Tis was the point at which they began to plead for extra time to polish programs. By carnival time it was obvious that the ven-
ture was a success, and the Board of Directors agreed to make a regular workout time available the next year. Te six chorus members who left the club were replaced by tryouts, and practice began again with the start of the next season. Two routines from the previous year were relearned while we experimented with new material. Eventually two new programs were added to the
44 NOVEMBER 2013 Richard J. Porter
repertoire. Exhibitions were given at four home hockey games, and we even went on the road for a game at Michigan State University. Once again the chorus was a high point in the club carnival. We no longer consider it an experiment. It has become a regular part of our club program, even though it must compete with other activities for our very limited ice time. No one doubts that it is permanent. Organization of the group is informal. Un-
like a chorus developed solely for a carnival, the girls make most of their own decisions — when they will skate exhibitions, the general design of their uniforms and carnival costumes, how to treat the rare cases of absence or tardiness for workouts, etc. Even the music they use is selected by the chorus from suggestions by the director. Tere are times, of course, when the director must be autocratic; for example, chorus mem- bers cannot effectively coach one another. On the other hand, ideas for formations or steps often come from the group.
What is good about this type of regular
chorus work? Te main virtue is that it provides the advantages of a team sport, something which is usually unavailable for girls. A group of 24 is essentially anonymous, and the sense of group
participation, even by the real prima donnas, is marvelous. It is good public relations for the club and for figure skating, because many audiences, including hockey game crowds, often enjoy a big chorus even more than a star skater. Finally, it is a unifying factor in a heterogeneous club, for the membership as a whole is proud of its cho- rus. It is possibly farfetched, but we have even wondered if competition between chorus groups might be worth-while. Do the chorus members themselves enjoy
it? You should see their faces when they leave the ice after skating a difficult program before an en- thusiastic crowd! You should have seen the girl who gashed her ankle in the first of two programs insist on going back into the line for the second. You should hear the younger skaters begging to know when they too can join the Hockettes. Yes, the girls like it. And the most hearten- ing thing of all is the spirit with which they work to perform well — as a group. Tis is certainly a valuable aspect of a sport which usually features the individual. And this is why our club feels that it has added a significant fourth dimension to the traditional three of figure skating.
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