Ice show an annual Austin hit
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, March 14, 2000
Twelve-year-old Elizabeth Newman can’t forget last year’s ice show put on by the Riverside Figure Skating Club.
Tuesday, March 14, 2000
Twelve-year-old Elizabeth Newman can’t forget last year’s ice show put on by the Riverside Figure Skating Club.
"I really liked the Broadway theme," she said. "We had great costumes and great songs."
This weekend, Newman will be skating to Nancy Sinatra’s "These Boots are Made for Walking" in a show that figures to top even Broadway.
"Riverside Express 2000" is the theme for this year’s ice show at Riverside Arena. Public performances are at 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.
Riverside Express 2000 will take the audience on a jaunt through the 1900s, exploring the swing years of the 1930s, the rock-n-roll years of the 1950s, the peace-and-love years of the 1960s, the disco years of the 70s and the MTV years of the 1990s.
The curtain closes after a battery of young skaters carrying flashlights perform to the music of Star Wars.
"We’re traveling through the eras," said Chris Amy of Lanesboro.
Amy is a 27-year coach with the local skating club. She began working on the ice show in September by organizing music, holding tryouts for the myriad numbers and ordering costumes. Amy said the rigorous behind-the-scenes work is well-worth the effort.
"This is what the little kids work all year for," she said, "to show their family and friends what they’ve learned."
The show features some 100 club skaters from Austin, Albert Lea, Blooming Prairie, Lyle and Hayfield.
The skaters range in age from 3 to 18, and include skaters like Austin 15-year-old Trista Munk, an advanced skater who has passed even the highest levels of figure skating testing.
Because of talented skaters like Munk, this year’s show will not feature out-of-town professionals as it has in the past.
"We’ve got some high-test skaters of our own," Amy said.
But the beauty of the annual ice show is watching the range of abilities of the local skaters.
In addition to the "high test" skaters, the show features group numbers with beginning skaters who have little more ice-time than Bambi.
Seven-year-old Jacobi Leckness is one of those beginners. She was busy Monday, decorating the lollipop she’ll use in the "Good Ship Lollipop" number.
"I’ve never been in a show before," she said. "I never thought I could do it.
"I can’t wait."
Brady Slater’s column appears Tuesdays