ATHLETES’ CORNER
On Saturday, February 13, the MIT Theatre on Ice team competed at the Skating Club of New York Showcase, a United States Figure Skating-sanctioned competition in theatrical skating held in New York City. The team placed second in the Production Ensemble event.
Choreographed and coached by Rebecca Nagle, the team put on the tale of a wedding party that develops a catastrophic but hilarious twist. The team skated to a medley of wedding-themed music, including “Going to the Chapel,” “Here Comes the Bride,” “Where Were You on our Wedding Day,” and “You Can’t Hurry Love.” Bridesmaids Katherine J. Fang ’12, Victoria W. Lee ’10, Ann Ouyang ’11, Carla Rivas G, Aubrey L. Samost ’10, Aviva R. Siegel ’13, and Allie Stiny escort the bride, Diana S. Cheng ‘04, while groomsmen Mickey Barry and Jessica A. Eisenstein ’06 escort the groom, Shawn Pan ‘12, to the chapel to get married. At the last minute, however, Cheng has second thoughts and sprints off, leaving Pan and his groomsmen in a frantic search for the bride. The wedding party then breaks off to showcase individual elements such as spirals and lunges, a splice through toe-loop sequence, and also individual jumps. In the end, the wedding party realizes that “You Can’t Hurry Love,” and the groom and groomsmen forgive Cheng enough to lift her in the program’s grand finale.
“It’s a really fun program — just in time for Valentine’s Day!” Ouyang said. “The program has really grown in participation since the team was founded. It’s a great experience because people think of skating as a very individual sport, but we’ve showed that team programs are also exciting and fun.”
MIT’s Theatre on Ice team was founded in 2007. In 2008, the team competed at the 13th Annual International Theater on Ice competition, held at the Gordon H. Paquette Arena in Burlington, placing fifth. Last year, the team placed first in the Production Ensemble event at the Skating Club of New York Showcase.
Upcoming team events include an intercollegiate skating competition co-hosted by the MIT Figure Skating Club and Boston University Figure Skating Club on February 27—28 at the Johnson Ice Rink and MIT Figure Skating Club’s annual exhibition on Friday, March 12 at 7 p.m.
— Victoria Lee, team member