Ice Chips brings Brown, Nagasu back to Boston
After hosting an extremely successful World Championships, The Skating Club of Boston pulled itself together just two weeks later for three shows at Harvard’s Bright Arena in front of full houses. Guest star Jason Brown was back in front of an audi- ence for the fi rst time since a back injury sidelined him in No- vember. Brown showed off his crowd-pleasing style in two new programs, a fun one to “Canned Heat” and a powerful one to “Writing’s on the Wall.”
The Oakland City Council honored U.S. intermediate champion Alysa Liu (St. Moritz ISC) during a meet- ing in April. Liu, the youngest competitor in the in- termediate class, performed her free skate to music from the soundtrack of The Addams Family.
Skating on her 23rd birthday, Mirai Nagasu performed with pas- sion to “I Put a Spell on You” and with dreamy lyricism to “On Golden Pond.” The club’s own Ross Miner was the third star of the show, skating a superb program, with a triple Salchow and triple fl ip, to Ed Sheeran’s “Sing.” Miner also hosted the show with pairs skater Jimmy Morgan. Other performers included Morgan and his partner Alexandria Shaughnessy, and 2016 U.S. junior medalists Megan Wessenberg and MIT freshman Kevin Shum.
After not performing for so long, Brown said he felt a few jitters.
“I was writing my mom before the show, and I was like, ‘Mom, I don’t know why I’m so nervous!’” he said. “I love this, and it’s so fun, and I’m so excited that I’m healthy and prepared and ready. It was less nerves, and more excitement, to be about to per- form. You know you’re ready and you’ve just got to do it, you’re not looking back. It’s not fi ve and a half months ago, it’s today!”
The Skating Club of Boston has been putting on an annual show since before it was incorporated. According to former U.S. Fig- ure Skating president Ben Wright, the club was the fi rst to put on a complete ice carnival in what was called the “international style,” in 1911. “Ice Chips” is the oldest continually presented ice show in the world.
— Sarah Brannen
Danica Popp, a 7-year-old and second grader at Curtis Strange Elementary School in Kenosha, Wis- consin, selected fi gure skating for her learning fair project. Popp started skating recreationally at 18 months and is now in Basic 8 and is a member of the Cutting Edge Figure Skating Club. She is looking forward to trying out for the IceStars, the local syn- chronized skating team. Popp enjoyed explaining fi gure skating to her peers and teachers, and she even demonstrated some elements.
The Eden Prairie Figure Skating Club in Minnesota recently performed its annual ice show. “Frozen: Let’s Heat Things Up” was performed by 125 local fi gure skaters ranging in age from 3 to 18, including members of the Eden Prairie FSC and the Eden Prai- rie learn-to-skate program. The show included individual and group performances and featured elements from the favorite Disney movie, along with several other hot- and cold-themed songs.
Stan Kimer, one of U.S. Figure Skating’s most avid supporters, penned a blog on his consulting website about how Eric Sjoberg has inspired him with his talent and perseverance. Sjoberg, then 12, won the silver med- al in the novice ranks in 2014. He underwent a major growth spurt in 2015 — he shot up 8 inches — and fi nished 11th at novice, before return- ing this year to win the same division. “So what can we learn from Eric?” Kimer wrote. “First, to not give up when we go from the top of the heap to the bottom. Instead, work even harder with renewed determination. And second, as things change, adjust and build on our new assets. Eric was able to use his new height and weight to add strong, athletic jumps to his earlier artistic fl are to deliver an excellent competitive program. As Eric continues to work hard, I look forward to seeing this young athlete representing the U.S. on the World stage and Olympics in future years.” To read Kimer’s blog, go to
www.totalengagementconsulting.com/ blog/2016/02/lessons-character-young-teen/.
54 JUNE/JULY 2016
PHOTOS BY SARAH BRANNEN
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