聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 The Arcola Figure Skating Club closed out a successful season with 鈥淟ove鈥�-the theme of its 2016 ice show, on Sunday, March 6 in Arcola.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e chose the 'love' theme because it allowed us to choose from a lot of different types of music and put on a unique show,鈥� says skating club board member, Stacy Brownridge.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e've got kids from as young as three skating with our Can Skate group this year,鈥� adds Brownridge. 鈥淲e've also got older skaters who are in the StarSkate group. At that level, you're working with an instructor at your own level and learning dances, jumps, spins and other elements.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭his tear Taylor Hengen is our CanSkate instructor and Dawn Brady and Halle Doty are our StarSkate instructors.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e've got boys and girls from the Arcola-Kisbey area in our club as well as some skaters from Stoughton, whose parents bring their kids to us because we've got our (artificial) ice in earlier.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Skaters from Can Skate to StarSkate showed off their skills to an audience of over 100, many of them proud parents and grandparents, after Molley Vert started the performance with 'O Canada.'
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The tiniest skaters-some of whom missed the show due to illness-kicked off the show, charming the crowd with their skating steps and bows.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Solo performances by senior skaters Olivia Brownridge, Kyra Donahue, Alicia Fleck, Dacey Fleck and Gracie James punctuated the performance, with the StarSkaters stopping to gather flowers and stuffed animals from the audience after their routines.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Coaches Taylor Hengen and Halle Doty also skated solos and the StarSkate group performed a routine set to the song 'Feel Again' in a darkened arena.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Each group who presented their love-themed routines were praised by Brownridge, who said: 鈥淭hey all gave excellent performances.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 After the Grand Finale-where all of the skaters received an enthusiastic encore from the crowd-skaters remained on the ice for report cards and award presentations.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The 2016 CanSkate Rising Star award recipient was Madison Richaud, the CanSkate Athlete Award recipient was Solomiya Makar and the 2016 StarSkate award was presented to skater Dacey Fleck.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Board member Brownridge also had special praise for an unseen star behind the scenes.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e'd like to give a special thank you to our rink caretaker, Russ McMillan,鈥� she says. 鈥淗e always keeps our rink looking great, and today is no exception. But today, he went above and beyond. Earlier today, he scrubbed off all of the puck marks on every piece off glass for the ice show. He really goes above and beyong for us and we really appreciate it.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e have a lot of people to thank,鈥� continues Brownridge. 鈥淲hether its on or off the ice, a lot of people made this season a success, and the Arcola Figure Skating Club would like to thank the skaters and their parents for their commitment to our club, to our coaches and to everyone who has helped us over the past year.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e're really pleased with our season and today's show and we're already looking forward to next year.鈥�
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