ICE CAPADES by TROY SCHWINDT, photos by ZACKERY WILLIAMS
Holly and David Kirby fell in love while touring with Ice Capades Like everyone else who attended the Ice Capades 75th Diamond
Jubilee Celebration, David Kirby cherished the chance to see old friends and remember that special time in his life. “Ice Capades gave all of us here something, but I’m the most
lucky one because it gave me Holly (his wife of 38 years).” The Kirbys met during their time together while touring the
country as performers in the West Company in 1976. As close friends, Holly would wish David good luck (they called it a “do a goodie”) be- fore he would perform his routine. “It became a superstition before the show,” said David, whose
mother and father were fi xtures in the ice show business. “Then one day I was getting ready for the show and I couldn’t fi nd Holly. I was running all over looking for her before I fi nally found her.” Their strong friendship grew into a courtship and eventually mar-
riage during Christmastime in 1977. One of their favorite memories about touring together with Ice
Capades was when they bought a trailer and hit the road with some of their fellow performers. “There weren’t many of us who did that, but for those who did
we would caravan and that was a lot of fun,” Holly said. “We felt like we experienced more of the traveling and seeing the United States that way.”
When looking back at that golden time, Holly and David count
themselves lucky to have met so many wonderful and talented peo- ple, including the legendary Russian pairs team of Ludmila and Oleg Protopopov. They had defected from Russia and came directly to the Ice Ca-
pades. “At fi rst, I was like, ‘I’m the headliner pairs and who are these
Russians?’” David said. “Well, the Protopopovs taught me more about skating than many of the mentors that I had. They really took us under their wing and helped us. I really learned a great deal from all the peo- ple I associated with, and I really think that’s where I got my education from skating was from the Ice Capades, because I always got to tour with new champions.” Ice Capades greats such as Freddie Trenkler, Terry Head and his
wife Gisela, and many others, left an indelible impression on the cou- ple.
“We had the opportunity to work with people who were icons in
the show and that was really special,” Holly said. Today, Holly and David own and operate the Galleria Ice Skating
Center in Dallas. They have two children, 33-year-old daughter Sarah and 26-year-old son Zachary, and two grandchildren. David is also an IJS technical specialist.
For Holmes, Ice Capades was a family aff air The week before the reunion, Ju-
lie Lynn Holmes (Newman) watched her youngest child graduate from high school.
“I had a 40-year span of raising four
kids, so it was time to start a new chapter,” Holmes, a coach and national technical specialist in San Diego, said. “This is my fi rst reunion, and it’s been amazing.” Holmes, a four-time U.S. silver med-
alist, two-time World medalist and 1972 Olympian, joined the Ice Capades after the Olympics and performed in the West Company through 1975. “We were so sheltered as competi-
tive skaters in this very naïve bubble, so walking into this show biz world, it was a little culture shock at fi rst,” Holmes said. “You just grew to love these skaters as your family, because you were together 24/7 and traveled together, experienced the ups and downs and challenges of life. It really was a family, so I grew to love them and had a good time.” Holmes enjoyed the tours immense-
ly, especially the fi nale in Honolulu. “It was always a treat,” she said. “We were allowed to kind of play
around a little bit since it was the closing show. For one number I had been made the sweetheart of the Navy and wore this short, little Navy skirt. The guys would take it off at one point and I would come back out wearing a little grass skirt.” Canadian stars Karen Magnussen and Sarah Kawahara, and JoJo
Starbuck and Ken Shelley are just some of the performers that Holmes fondly remembers from those glory days. “JoJo has been my lifetime roomie, and to room with her again
here has been like going back in time,” Holmes said. “It’s just skating; it’s this common bond that never breaks,” she
added. “It’s a beautiful golden thread that unites us all. It’s been so much fun.”
Holmes coaches in La Jolla, California, at the University Town Cen- “I’m weaning myself to just a couple of days a week,” she said. “I Holmes worked on the technical panel at the marked the fi rst time she’d been back to the
ter.
love the kids and just love being on the ice.” 2015 U.S. Championships in Greensboro. It U.S. Championships since 1972. Kawahara puts on a show
e the k .S. Championships sinc ahara puts on a sho in Las Vegas Sarah Kawahara put everyone in a great
mood right around lunchtime with her chore- ography to Pharrell Williams’ hit song “Happy,” as part of a fl ash mob outside the doors of the Flamingo. More than 300 Ice Capades attendees took part in the dance number, which was well-received by all standing obliv- iously outside of the historic casino. “I wanted to do something
or
that everybody could enjoy, be- cause the age span is quite wide for this reunion,” Kawahara, a two-time Emmy Award winner for choreography. “I just wanted to do something that everybody
24 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015
75 YEARS
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