What better way to spend the season than to revisit some of skating's best holiday themed performances! Pour yourself a glass of apple cider, gather around the computer and tell that Grinch to back off and cook his own roast beast, it's time for some holiday skating...
ROSALYNN SUMNERS - WHITE CHRISTMAS
At the 1989 World Professional Figure Skating Championships in Landover, Maryland, Rosalynn Sumners turned in a beautiful artistic program to Irving Berlin's rendition of the Christmas classic "White Christmas". Complete with a one foot axel, double toe-loop, Ina Bauer into double flip, a massive double Axel, a double loop and elegant spirals, spins and connecting moves, this program, its costuming and choreography harkened to an earlier time and had such a timeless, gorgeous quality about it.
EKATERINA GORDEEVA AND SERGEI GRINKOV - PAS DE DEUX FROM THE NUTCRACKER
In a program that illustrated the dance of The Sugar Plum Fairy and The Prince in the Christmas classic "The Nutcracker", two time Olympic Gold Medallists Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov were in their element and exquisitely so in this performance to Tchaikovsky's "Pas De Deux" from the 1992 Disney Christmas On Ice special. I've always thought Katia and Sergei were honestly one of the absolute best pairs teams of all time because they made you forget just how technically strong they were and made everything look so effortless all you ever focused on was the performance itself... and this lovely performance was no exception.
JAMIE SALE AND DAVID PELLETIER - SANTA BABY
With this tongue in cheek Christmas classic set to the music of the inimitable, late Eartha Kitt (whose autobiography "I'm Still Here" is a must read, by the way), Olympic and World Champions Jamie Sale and David Pelletier are at their very best. I've probably seen dozens of skaters interpret this music in made for TV holiday specials over the years, but this interpretation from the 2004 Holiday Festival On Ice has to be my favourite. David in the Santa suit is precious, and Jamie is radiant as always.
PAUL WYLIE - O HOLY NIGHT
Paul Wylie's fiery and passionate interpretation of the holiday classic "O Holy Night" has got to be one of the prettiest holiday skating programs out there. Paul's always dramatic and theatrical style was very well suited to this music choice, and he really gave this program an extra touch of feeling. A pleasure to watch!
DOROTHY HAMILL - STILLE NACHT (SILENT NIGHT)
When you combine the music of Mannheim Steamroller and the skating of 1976 Olympic Gold Medallist Dorothy Hamill, how can you not have magic? But as magical as the pairing sounds on paper, this performance from "The Christmas Angel" transcends any expectations. The held edges, the glide, the importance of each connection and turn... Dorothy's skating is and always has been in a class by itself and this pairing couldn't be any better suited if it tried.
Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of the figure skating reference books "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating": https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.
PAUL WYLIE - O HOLY NIGHT
Paul Wylie's fiery and passionate interpretation of the holiday classic "O Holy Night" has got to be one of the prettiest holiday skating programs out there. Paul's always dramatic and theatrical style was very well suited to this music choice, and he really gave this program an extra touch of feeling. A pleasure to watch!
DOROTHY HAMILL - STILLE NACHT (SILENT NIGHT)
When you combine the music of Mannheim Steamroller and the skating of 1976 Olympic Gold Medallist Dorothy Hamill, how can you not have magic? But as magical as the pairing sounds on paper, this performance from "The Christmas Angel" transcends any expectations. The held edges, the glide, the importance of each connection and turn... Dorothy's skating is and always has been in a class by itself and this pairing couldn't be any better suited if it tried.
Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of the figure skating reference books "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating": https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.