Persistence, passion pay off for Allegro!
by MIMI WHETSTONE
Topping the Masters podium for the first time since 2010, Alle- gro! proved it has what it takes to come out on top with a cheerful performance to music from the Cirque du Soleil show “Kooza.” “We have a wonderful coach who comes up with these great ideas and we just embrace them,” team captain Marjorie Bryen said. “Tis program was fun and sultry and made us show our creative side, but also our powerful side. It was our best skate to date and that’s exactly what we planned to do to- day.”
“Last year we did a serious
vampire theme, and this year we wanted to do something complete- ly different,” coach Carrie Brown added. “We wanted something that was fun and happy that they could really enjoy on the ice.” Taking the title with a 7/2 ma-
jority, the Michigan-based team’s precise formations and matched lines led them to their second-ever Masters championship, an accom- plishment for which the team cred- its perseverance and a passion for the sport. “Being a Masters team, you’re
always overcoming things,” Bryen said. “We’re adults and we have personal lives. We work through that. We’re a very close-knit team and we’ve loved this season. We
36 APRIL 2014
want to win every time and do our best every time. We love skating together and we especially love this sport.” Finishing just off the top spot for the first time in three seasons, Esprit de Corps earned the silver with a 6/2 majority. “Tey were fantastic,” coach
Dede Wilson said. “I absolute- ly loved their performance. Tey came off the ice and they were thrilled with how they skated.” Choosing music by Big Bad
Voodoo Daddy previously used by the Esprit de Corps adult team in 2008, the Massachusetts-based squad overcame busy schedules to have fun and enjoy their free skate in Colorado Springs. “About a third of this team skated to that music back in ’08 and were really excited to do it again,” Wilson said. “It’s got a real fun factor to it. It’s very sassy. Last year we did a program that was sort of spooky and mysterious, so we just wanted to bring the fun factor back. It suits this team perfectly.” “Tis year we have seven orig-
inal members from the team who skated this program before, but this year we’re bigger and badder,” Nik- ki Faulkner added. “Our team has been growing this year and there are a lot of professional women on the team. So because of busi-
ness trips and other obligations, we’ve had to choreograph and re- choreograph everything based on who could make it to the com- petitions. We had a blast today.” Finishing with the bronze, DC EDGE continued to be a presence to be recognized in the event, earning its sixth consecutive podium finish at the U.S. Synchro- nized Skating Championships. Te team’s model performance was pic- ture-perfect, as each member exud- ed head-to-toe attitude. “Our theme was “supermod-
els” and our motto has been to be ‘sass-tastic,’” Michelle Daichman said. “It’s a word we made up to embody the entire theme of the program. I think we sold it. We had a lot of attitude. We love skat- ing this program so we wanted to put it all out there and leave noth- ing behind.” Performing to a medley
of runway-inspired songs in- cluding Right Said Fred’s
“I’m
Too Sexy” and RuPaul’s “Super- model (You Better Work),” the three-time U.S. silver medalists won bronze with a 5/2 majority. Skating to selections from
Motown: Te Musical, Denver Syn- chronicity dazzled its home-state crowd en route to earning the pewter with a majority of 8/4.
GOLD
Allegro!, 7/2
SILVER
Esprit de Corps, 6/2
BRONZE DC EDGE, 5/2
PEWTER
Denver Synchronicity, 8/4
masters
A LLEGRO!
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