Interview With Asher Hill

Canada has produced some of the best ice dancers that the world has seen... from Tracy Wilson and Rob McCall, Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz to the reigning Olympic Gold Medallists Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. Like in the U.S. right now though, Canada has an extreme depth to its ice dancing field. One team that's in that top group of skaters vying for a trip to Sochi is Kharis Ralph and Asher Hill. In three consecutive years, they won the national Pre-Novice, Novice and Junior titles and went on to compete at the 2008 World Junior Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria where they placed in the top ten. Since then, they have competed on the Grand Prix circuit and at the Four Continents and World Championships. Skating from everything from traditional African folk music to Gershwin, Michael Jackson and Freddie Mercury, Ralph and Hill have proved not only to be a strong team technically but a standout team artistically as well, a team unafraid of taking risks choreographically. For the last five seasons, they have ranked in the top 5 in Canada as Senior ice dancers and they hope to make the jump to the podium this season. It was my absolute pleasure to chat with Asher about the changes they've made to their training during this Olympic year, traveling around the world, the 2010 Winter Olympics and much more. You'll love his wonderful sense of humour!:

Q: With your partner Kharis Ralph, you won the 2008 Canadian junior title and have gone on to represent Canada internationally at the World Championships, Four Continents Championships, the Junior World Championships and both junior and senior Grand Prix events. What are your proudest or special moments from your competitive career?

A: I have been so fortunate to be able to travel around the globe and represent my country! There have been so many great moments through out our skating career. For me, Worlds in Nice was definitely a huge highlight. Mostly because as a child I always imagined myself being called on to ice at a World Championships and hearing the announcer say "Representing Canada". It still gives me so much pride and happiness. Also, competing in both Korea and Japan for the Junior Grand Prix Final was a pretty awesome experience as well.

Q: With your program choices, you always seem to go in unconventional directions, choosing African folk music and Freddy Mercury's music (for instance) within recent years. How do you and Kharis select your music and how involved are you in the choreographic process?

A: Well, Kharis and I are both very involved with the music selection. We pretty much just pitch a genre we may want to do for each year and just start the grueling process of music research. We do, although, make sure to keep a completely open mind to any music that may peak our interest, even if its not in the particular area we were thinking. For example, this year 3 days before we went for choreography we decided to do a complete 180 with the music. We were literally choosing music as we were choreographing with Julie Marcotte and it made the process really fun and completely different. This year for our free dance, we went to Montreal to work with Julie. She really involved us in the process and really worked with our emotions and feel for the music. Because she hasn't worked with us, she didn't know our limitations and just had fun with us. It was amazing and I would love to work with her again.

Q: You have placed in the top five in the senior level for the last five years at the Canadian National Championships. What are your goals for this season and what improvements have you made in your skating to try to reach the podium this season?

A: Getting a medal at Nationals has been our goal for the past few seasons. It always escapes us. This year, we are really pushing ourselves to get that medal and a trip to the Olympics. Trying to compete as much as possible, we started working with our ballroom coach as soon the program was finished. We are leaving no stone unturned. For me, I really wanted to work on improving the way I deal with things emotionally and try and as many negatives into positives as possible. We have such strong teams here in Canada so it not to going to be easy, but I have faith in our ability. All we can do is put our best foot forward everyday and improve in every little way possible.

Q: Who are your three favourite skaters of all time?

A: My three favourite? That's really tough... Daisuke Takahashi, Tessa and Scott, and Pang and Tong. There way too many skaters but thats all that came to mind.

Q: How would you describe your ultimate 'day off' away from the ice? What would you do and where would you go?

A: Day off? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN!? I am not quite acquainted with that term. In this metaphorical world of days off I guess it would involve a nice sleep in followed by a nice big breakfast at Cora's. I would get two entrees (one of which must be a raspberry chocolate crepe) then go shopping for a new pair of Converse. I would probably be hungry again so it's Thai food or a huge burger! Then I'll probably go back home, lay in my bed and watch hours of horror movies and cartoons. I am very mature.

Q: Like Alexe Gilles who I also interviewed recently, you have a twin sister! What is your relationship with your twin like?

A: Yes, I have a twin sister. Her name is Acacia. She also used to skate. She competed at the Senior National level in free skating. I was better than her at that as well. My sister and I are very close. Qe were always together waking up in the mornings to go skating. In school, we were always in the same classes (even in high school - we may have abandonment issues!). As little kids, we used to have our own office skating competitions in her giant room. Between the two of us, we would be 20 different competitors. Each program would be at least 9 minutes long! We are still very close and she is very supportive. I know me making the Olympics would be a dream come true for her too.

Q: My sister and I totally did the same thing! Next question... while still competing as an ice dancer, you also competed on a national level (Novice and Junior) as a singles skater. Do you still enjoy singles skating and how hard was making the transition from doing both singles and dance to focusing on one discipline solely?

A: Looking back to when I did both disciplines... I could hardly believe it. The hours spent inside an ice rink were crazy but I loved doing it. I still love free skating because you have freedom of movement and you can make up things on the fly without affecting someone else. In fact, I actually competed last Februrary for my University at the OUACs in singles. I almost died doing a four minute program, but I had a great time. Focusing on one discipline wasn't hard at all. The hardest part was trying to figure out what to do with my spare time in the afternoon, but that void was soon filled with school.

Q: Who do you think are the greatest musicians of all time?

A: Freddie Mercury, Prince, Etta James and Micheal Jackson

Q: What's one thing about you most people don't know?

A: Is being black interesting? I do think its interesting to be a black figure skater. There aren't many of us in the sport so I do like to celebrate it! In terms of something people may not know about me, I have a really great memory but I can never remember names. I remember how I met you, the direction of the wind, and if Mercury was in retrograde... but when it comes to names I will always forget! I am also a cartoon fanatic (especially X-Men original 90's series and South Park). In short, I am a nerd.

Q: What have you learned most from competing internationally and what has been the strangest or most interesting thing you've seen in your travels worldwide?

A: Competing around the world has taught me to perform under pressure under any conditions and gave me a glimpse into different cultures. As for the craziest thing I have ever seen in my travel I think the Pearl Market in China was just insanely crazy - so much awesomeness in one building! I realized I am super good at haggling. Also the shopping districts in Japan blew my mind and also how progressive yet so in touch with older culture they were. The other stuff is completely classified... hahaha.

Q: What are your long term goals or plans in life and in the sport?

A: As for life, I have no idea really. I'm working on getting my coaching levels and finishing my degree. I would love to stay involved with the sport and maybe become a choreographer. We'll see where life takes me.

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.

Interview With Craig Buntin

With partner Valerie Marcoux, Craig Buntin won his first Canadian National Championships in 2004. That same year, he won the bronze medal at the Four Continents Championships and placed in the top ten at the World Championships. Over the coming years with both Marcoux and later partner Meagan Duhamel (who is the current world bronze medallist with Eric Radford), Craig won 2 more Canadian titles, 6 medals on the ISU Grand Prix circuit, finished in the top 10 at the World Championships another 5 times and competed at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy. After retiring from competitive skating in 2010 after winning a final medal at the Four Continents Championships, Craig has founded a Montreal tea and coffee company, given TEDx Talks and become the first student to be accepted to do an MBA at McGill University without an undergraduate degree. We talked about the highs and lows of his skating career, his experiences since hanging up his skates, The Amazing Race, persistence and much more in this truly inspiring interview:

Q: You have won the Canadian pairs title 3 times and won 7 senior Canadian pairs medals with partners Meagan Duhamel and Valerie Marcoux, in addition to competing at the World Championships, Olympic Games and countless international competitions. What was your favourite performance or competition memory?

Q: If I had to put a top three together, I would probably say the following in no particular order... The 2004 Canadians long program in Edmonton: Val and I were really the underdogs coming into these nationals. We had moved to Montreal after a disappointing season the year before and had both been working full time jobs while training to support our dream. We knew this was a make or break competition for us as we were really at the end of our rope financially. I’ll never forget rounding the last corner, coming into our final lift and seeing the crowd standing on its feet. It was one of the greatest moments of my life... The 2006 World Championships short program in Calgary: By this time we were 3 time Canadian champions in our home country coming off of the 2006 Olympics. My family and very close friends that I grew up with in Kelowna made the trip out and were sitting about 4 or 5 rows up in a packed Saddledome. It was one of the best shorts we had done in years and despite the roaring crowd, I remember feeling as though my friends and family were the only ones in the building. It was the first time that many of them had seen us live so it was a very special for me... The 2008 World Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden: After Val retired in 2007, I had about 2 and a half years to find a partner and qualify for the 2010 games. I had driven about 3000 km across North America looking for a partner and, having found Meagan, I knew we had a shot. We worked so, so hard that season and managed to place 3rd at Nationals after only about 8 months together. We were thrilled. During the gala the next day, however I heard a loud ‘POP’ in my shoulder which I later found out was the sound of my labrum (a ligament) tearing. I needed surgery but the World Championships were only 3 months away. The next 3 months were spent running programs and learning to lift with my left hand – it was a painful winter. We got to Sweden and, despite the injury put down a clean long and placed 6th at our first World Championships. It was complete vindication.

Q: You and John Mattatall (who's from my home province of Nova Scotia - hayyy!) auditioned to compete on the first season of Amazing Race Canada, which is one of my favourite shows. Why do you think you would have made an amazing team?

A: Johnny and I unfortunately were not selected for the first season, but we’ll keep trying… they can only say no so many times! I think we’d be great because we are both capable of functioning with no sleep and constant laughter. I don’t know if we've ever not had a good time!

Q: Who are your all time favourite Amazing Race teams?

A: Definitely Tim Hague Sr. and Tim Hague Jr., winners of The Amazing Race Canada this year. Tim Hague Sr. has Parkinson's disease, as does my Mom so it was incredibly inspiring to see what he was able to accomplish.

Q: Where would you most want to visit if you made it on the show?

A: Nunavut.

Q: Pairs skating is a very dangerous but exciting sport. What is the scariest accident you've had on the ice?

A: In Novice, my partner's blade went through the side of my hand on a side by side flying camel. I was fortunate to have missed the tendons but the nerves were cut pretty badly. I still have no feeling in my right thumb. Other than that, I think I was actually pretty lucky throughout my career.

Q: If you could meet any famous person living or dead who would they be and why?

A: Without question, Muhammad Ali. While his greatest accomplishments in and out of the ring have been widely documented, there was one interview that always inspired me. After being banned from boxing then finally allowed to fight again, he began a long and difficult comeback. While vying for a title shot, he had his jaw broken by a relatively unknown fighter named Ken Norton. After the fight, with his jaw wired shut, he was quoted as saying "the talk is that Ali is finished; he's washed up, but I have a big surprise for the whole world: The bee has not lost its sting and the butterfly still has its wings." At the time most people believed he was completely finished, but a year later he proved them wrong by taking the title from George Foreman, one of the hardest punchers in heavyweight history. The quote echoes in my mind whenever it gets difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Q: Of today's top skaters, who do you think has the best chance to be the next Olympic gold medallists in pairs?

A: When I was skating, the two pairs skaters that I most admired were Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov although, at the time, they were each with other partners. I was pretty excited when I heard they would be skating together and I don’t think they have disappointed. Plus, he’s completely nuts and I've always loved that about him! The other team that might surprise this year is Meagan and Eric. Having skated with Meagan and having trained in the same rink as Eric, I know these two are capable of miracles if they put the work in at home. From what I hear, their training has been very good over the summer so nothing these two do this year would surprise me. Olympics aside, I actually really can’t wait to see this year’s Nationals. Kirsten and Dylan have been constantly improving and I think they could be a real wild card this season. They're the team that, if given an inch, will take a mile.

Q: What was the experience of competing at the Olympics like?

A: Beyond words. twenty years of having one single goal, summarized in an instant by looking up, hearing your name, and seeing the Olympic rings. It was life altering.

Q: Canada is known for its tradition of great pairs skating in recent years - from Barbara Underhill and Paul Martini to Isabelle Brasseur and Lloyd Eisler and Jamie Sale and David Pelletier, among countless others, including yourself. What do you think makes Canada's pairs skating program so strong?

A: I think it is a combination of rich skating tradition, focused coaching and strong training centers. We still have a long way to go in supporting our athletes to the level that some other countries support theirs, but I think Canadian talent does a fine job of working, fighting, and clawing its way to the top. Since retiring, I have taken a position as a board member of AthletesCAN (the voice of Canada’s national team athletes) and on the Skate Canada Member Services Committee, so I’m hoping to play a small part in helping Canada’s next generation.

Q: You recently got married! Congratulations. What other exciting things have been going on in your life since you ended your competitive skating career?

A: Thanks! While skating, I started a company which I ended up selling last year. I also applied, and was accepted into the MBA program at McGill University despite not having an undergrad degree. I had been out of school for 12 years when I went back so it was pretty terrifying! I finished last year and I am currently looking to start the next chapter. It’s been a really fast, really crazy few years.

Q: What is the biggest lesson that figure skating taught you?

A: Embrace failure. In my career I lost many, many more competitions than I won. Each failure brought with it change and future success. I learned that the best measure of success is the speed at which you get up when you’ve been knocked down.

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 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.

Break Out The Protractor, Calculator And Vodka: I'm Breaking Down Program Component Scores

You heard me right, it's time to break out the protractor, calculator and vodka! I'm breaking down Program Component Scores. In her 2009 article "Art Not Math: There's No 'Component Skating'", Monica Friedlander talked about Program Component Scores and how the aspects that quantify those scores vary so differently from judging the actual artistry or impact of the performance. "A closer look at the second mark," explained Friedlander, "reveals how little it does to measure art - not that anyone even claims it does so. After all, those who concocted the new system named the second mark, most creatively, 'component score'. What it actually assesses is a patchwork of randomly-selected categories that have little in common with each other and even less with our notion of beauty on ice." Friedlander raises an excellent point in this article, one that's certainly not new. Our concept of an aesthetic, of a magical performance or a magical skater is built in that moment, in that performance and in that skater's presence on the ice. If we break down the math and look at the Program Component Score categories, which are each evaluated out of a perfect 10 in increments, we really see how little artistry and the overall performance is factored into a skater's PCS scores and how judges have and will continue to allow room to use PCS scores as a way of justifying whatever placement they choose to rank skaters in. There's room to hide. Let's take a look at each of these categories:

SKATING SKILLS

Right off the bat, we see that the first category has NOTHING to do with presentation. If anything, it's judging something that's really far more difficult than any jump or spin (or damn close). A skater's overall skating quality and ability to control edges, steps and turns and use of "effortless power to accelerate and vary speed" tells us nothing about the skater's ability to present a program. "Skating Skills" were first introduced when I was skating long before the IJS system came to town here in Canada by CFSA (now Skate Canada) as a means to teach edge control and good footwork technique and mainly, as a replacement for patch (compulsory school figures). As you can see in today's program composition and the way skaters move from 3 jump combination with arm variation to haircutter spin, the long, deep, controlled edges and straight backs of school figure days are not what the "Skating Skills" program has taught today's skaters or what the majority are translating into their "skating skills". Furthermore, there's a lot of room to hide for judges here. If things like knee action, foot placement, glide, power, "sureness of deep edges, steps and turns" and "mastery of multi-directional skating" are what the judges are looking for, do you see a HUGE difference between skaters like Patrick Chan and Daisuke Takahashi for instance? I really don't. However, Chan earned more than a point higher than Takahashi in this department at the short program at the World Championships and almost a full point more in the free skate. If you look at the results of any competition, you can easily see how this is one area where judges can use PCS scores to 'correspond' to technical scores, especially the judging of footwork sequences.

TRANSITIONS

Time to break out the flash cards and check off another box. Keeping in mind that I'm referring to each of these categories as they relate to singles skating and not pairs or ice dancing (that's a whole other beast on Riedells we'll talk about another day). 'Transitions' as it relates to PCS scoring refers to the footwork, positions and movements that link elements. This includes the variety and difficulty of the entrance and exits of jumps and spins. They're all doing footwork into those triple flips. They're all performing convoluted steps and connecting moves in their program, as much as I wish they wouldn't. Again, this leaves room for judges to kind of they want but doesn't address the artistic impact, presentation or musicality of the skater.

PERFORMANCE/EXECUTION

Now, we're getting into something with some substance. Get out your protractors and graph paper... we're talking about performance/execution. Performance is defined as the involvement of the skaters physically, emotionally and intellectually in their music and choreography. Carriage, style and individuality, clarity of movement, variety and projection are all things being assessed in this category of the PCS mark. While this category does address a skater's actual performance ability on the ice, you have to question how this particular score is being evaluated. If you look at things like individuality and projection, you would assume that a skater or team who is putting on a show would be more rewarded in this category. Again, going back to last year's World Championships, which I'm using as an example, the German team of Nelli Zhiganshina and Alexander Gaszi's theatrical and very creative free dance earned a PE score of 8.43, the exact same score awarded to the American team of Madison Chock and Evan Bates, who placed two spots ahead of them in the free dance with a more traditional program. Their scores in 4/5 of the categories in the Program Component Scores (PCS) were equal or more than that of the Germans.

CHOREOGRAPHY

The choreography category of PCS judges the arrangement and choreography of the program itself, taking into account pattern and ice coverage, phrasing and form, originality of purpose, movement and design, idea, vision, proportion, unity, utilization of personal and public space... I'm going to go back to Monica Friedlander's article when I talk about the mathematical judging of choreography, which is completely open to interpretation: "The best computer scientist on earth could not program a machine to judge an impressionistic painting. After all, a child will draw a tree that looks much more like the real thing than Claude Monet's does. Yet most of us will still give the thumbs up to Monet." And let's be real here for a second. That's the problem with the way most judges are judging choreography as it relates to PCS. The choreography and program structure and concepts that skaters are presenting in their competitive programs is designed not to be that child's painting but to be the Monet. The constant recycling of tried and true music and choreography from skater to skater by the same choreographers in the same movement styles shows that a certain model is often rewarded by the judges and the skaters and choreographers are clearly dishing up "choreography" and not choreography because "choreography" is that Monet that will trump the child's painting in many judges eyes.

INTERPRETATION

As it relates to PCS, "interpretation" refers to the personal and creative translation of music to movement. Skaters are judged on effortless movement, expression of the music's style, character and rhythm and "use of finesse" to reflect nuances of the music. The problem I have here is not the subjectivity of these definitions but the fact that you see such variations in the scoring of musical interpretation. I'm going to go back to the free dance at Worlds again. Sara Hurtado Martin and Adrian Diaz Bronchud of Spain finished 19th out of 20 couples in the free dance at Worlds. Their interpretation score was the second lowest of any team in the competition... but if you really watch each dance and forget skating skills, twizzles, footwork, dance spins and even choreography and focus strictly on musical interpretation and expression of the music's style, character and rhythm and just step back and watch as a spectator as it relates to this particular free dance as compared to the others, lesbihonest... this does not make a heck of a lot of sense. Computer says no.

As Monica Friedlander said it best when she wrote, "but what does a pointed toe and beautifully arched back give you? What about a program skated with pathos, flow, deep edges, and a tingling sense of musicality? On a lucky day maybe a few extra points. Hardly worth killing yourself for. Everything else being equal or nearly equal, sure, every point counts. Competitions have been won or lost by less. But given the limits on the time and effort skaters can invest in their training, what would you rather focus on the most? Landing that quad even if it kills you, or making sure your body looks good while you do it?" And I think that's the bigger problem with PCS scores, bigger than the obnoxiously inflated scores you'd see sometimes when Patrick Chan went out and missed a ton of jumps and that "room" the judges had/have to use these scores subjectively to their end. It's that skaters and choreographers that are choreographing IJS programs aren't seeing the kind of rewards or an "EDGE" for the skaters in the PCS marks if that is the program's strength. Not only are the first 2 categories not even really related to presentation but more to skating skills themselves, the latter 3 often don't reflect in the marks the true nature of what we always see out there. Take a skater like Jeremy Abbott and his "Bring Him Home" free skate. At last year's U.S. National Championships, where he finished 3rd behind Max Aaron and Ross Miner, he did best both other skaters in PCS scores overall, but if you look at the margin in certain categories (especially from certain judges) it kind of makes you wonder how these scores are even being reached. I'm not talking about who has the highest PCS scores here, I'm talking about whose scores are close to that score. And that's in general.

The problem with IJS judging of presentation, artistry and "PCS" is that the moment and that magical program are often not being rewarded with that momentous, magical mark. A big part of that problem stems from the fact that judges are asked to evaluate each program and skater independently of one another. When it comes to PCS, it just doesn't make a lot of sense. Monica Friedlander put it very well: "As human beings we intuitively judge by comparing. We can look at a piece of paper and guess very accurately where the middle point is simply by comparing the two halves. But if we had to guess how many inches across the paper is, we’d not do nearly as well. Why are judges expected to do just that?" On her blog sk8maven, fellow blogger Terese raised another excellent point about PCS judging: "Yes, I understand that falls, step-outs, stumbles, etc. are already assessed lower marks in the TES (Technical Element Scores), but I don’t have to tell any of you who are reading this that multiple mistakes effect the flow and emotion of a program. That’s just the way it is. The PCS rules as written now theoretically provide a given skater with a relatively fixed mark from performance to performance, which I think is a mistake." There are clear flaws with the way PCS scores are reached that are glaringly obvious.

When I interviewed Allison Scott most recently, she reminded me that "6.0 is not coming back". But what those technical merit and artistic impression/presentation/composition and style marks did for skating was allow us to revel and share in those moments that the skaters and choreographers created. There was a connection between the performance and those marks given in the "kiss and cry" area that allowed us to step into that world of the competitor and feel a CONNECTION with them and their results in competitions. As Monica Friedlander eerily foretold in another 2009 article called "Kiss And Cry Drama Is Dead": "The silence of the audience is deafening, and not only because the arena is often empty. What exactly is there to get excited about? The drama of competition is over with the summary, monotonous announcement of one solitary, totally meaningless, ugly, incomprehensible global score: 127.3. Art has never been assessed in a more mechanical way. The skater, baffled as much as anyone, instantly gets up and vanishes behind the curtain, where he will have ample time to dry his tears or give free reign to his elation after the cameras have moved on to the next competitor. So why have a Kiss & Cry at all with a Code of Points scoring system? It’s so anticlimactic, it’s embarrassing to the sport. Its only purpose nowadays seems to be to show off the stuffed animals the skaters struggle to clutch onto while snapping their skate guards back on. Everything else happens so quickly, no one has time to either kiss or cry. Skaters, coaches, and audiences are equally perplexed and unemotional during the brief moments when the spotlight visits that little area between the ice and the backstage, where skaters sit down, listen to the score, and failing to understand it, get up and leave. Maybe we should rename it the Sit & Shrug. It’s us, the skating fans, who now cry. And so should those who dreamt up the new scoring system and who now see the fans, the networks, and the corporate sponsors walk into the sunset."

It's hard not to be pessimistic when you know someone's right and there's honestly nothing you can do about it. Evolution and change happens and has happened. 6.0's not coming back, figure skating won't be what it once was because Marie-Reine Le Baguette or whatever her name was ruined all of our fun and we're now being unwittingly turned into skating fans watching skating being scored like gymnastics. We don't and won't stop watching though, because we love watching figure skating. And there's something beautiful in that - it's like supporting a wayward child or a lost friend. Giving up on people and on anything isn't and shouldn't be easy, especially when we love them... even if we feel disheartened with or don't agree with the direction they are taking.

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.

Interview With Mark Ladwig

In 2010, Mark Ladwig and his partner Amanda Evora represented the U.S. at the Winter Olympic
Games in Vancouver, British Columbia. Now almost four years later, Mark is retired from competitive figure skating and is a married father who still has a lot of love for a sport he dedicated himself to for almost two decades. His skating career saw him not only compete at the Olympics in 2010, but at 2 World Championships, 3 Four Continents Championships and numerous Grand Prix and international competitions. It was my pleasure to speak to Mark about his competitive skating career, his current career in the sport, fatherhood and more!:

Q:  In your skating career, you have represented the United States at Grand Prix events, the Four Continents Championships, World Championships and at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, where you finished within the top ten. Looking back on all of your travels - all of those competitions and experiences - what are your proudest moments? Which were the hardest?

A: I would say the hardest was my first senior Nationals. I put so much pressure on myself and carried it through the whole program like a #45 plate on my back. Compared with the elements I did at the end of my career, it was a piece of cake difficulty wise and yet I made it such a big deal back then. I can remember barely making it through to the end without passing out. I am proudest of every time I did a clean program, in practice or competition. The short at the Olympics was especially sweet - to be on such a stage and skate well, no matter how the judges marked it, I did what I planned and succeeded.

Q: Pairs skating requires you to not only master difficult lifts, twists, throws and death spirals but also to have strong individual skating skills for those side by side jumps and spins. Before you started skating pairs did you ever do singles skating?

A: I skated singles from 1992 to 1999. In 1996, I won the novice short program at Upper Midwest Regionals, by landing my double lutz while others attempted and missed their double axels. That experience taught me that playing to your strengths can make you a champion. I got 6th in the free skate because I carried the pressure of "making it" through the program but I made Sectionals narrowly. I placed dead last, but I really enjoyed it!

Q: I was talking with someone today about social media - Twitter, Facebook - we all use it these days and love it to some extent. There's certainly a dark side to it though and I have been hearing a lot lately about this from skaters. I suppose there's nothing like hate mail at your fingertips. Have you had negative experiences with skating fans and social media, and what are your thoughts on this?

A: I really have not really had a bad social media experience, but I also limit my activity to the salinity of what you would see posted by a business. I do not screen friend requests, but I double and triple think before posting.

Q: What's your favourite song right now?

A: Paolo Nutini's "New Shoes". It's kind of a theme for life this past couple of years.

Q: In 2006, you got married and in 2009, you welcomed your son into the world. How much did marriage and fatherhood change you as a person and what would you say if your son grew up and told you he wanted to be an Olympic pairs skater?

Q: Responsibilities of the real world, like having a baby who is 100% dependent on you for care, clears your perspective about what is really important. I have known my wife, Janet, since 7th Grade though we didn't date until after high school. Thankfully, she understood about how much I like skating even before we got married. Holden will have to find what makes him happy and I will support him with whatever he aims for in life. My parents did a great job with me and my two siblings, letting us go into what we each love to do. My brothers is an officer in the military, my sister a dentist and I figure skate. We all achieved in our own chosen field and I hope nothing less than for Holden to find what he loves and shoot for excellence, too.

Q: Your partnership with Amanda Evora lasted ten years, which is pretty much unheard of for most pairs teams. What made you work so well together and are you still friends/close?

A: Teams from the past had long partnerships, that was the norm until this past decade. If teams want to be successful they are going to have to stick together. Amanda and I both believed in the goal of making programs that connected with audiences and going out to skate every program to the best of our abilities. We don't see each other like when we trained, especially since I have joined Jackson Ultima Skates as a Technical Rep and I am travelling a lot. We catch up when we can. Usually it's at skating events.

Q: What is one meal you could eat everyday and not get tired of?

A: I love bread and butter. It was my go-to staple in Vancouver at the Olympics and it just always tastes so good.

Q:You're quite active within U.S. Figure Skating and obviously quite knowledgeable about the top skaters in the U.S. right now. If you had to make bets, which skaters currently competing do you perceive as real medal threats for Sochi?

A: As a media labelled 'dark horse' back in 2010, I wouldn't count anyone out to go to Sochi. As Sarah Hughes showed, skate well and you can win the gold.

Q: Having competed under both the 6.0 and IJS systems, which do you prefer and do you think the way the sport is judged and promoted now has helped or hurt the skaters and fans of the sport? If you could change one thing about the way pairs skating is judged under IJS what would it be?

A: I truly wish I owned a time machine. I would go back as the skater I became under the IJS, with all the difficulty and variations, to the 6.0 days to do my program just to see the faces... and then tell them, well in 2014, every team looks that good and better!

Q: What's one thing about you most people don't know?

A: I can fix, mount, adjust and sharpen your ice skates.

Q: Who, in your opinion, are the three best pairs teams of all time and why?

A: All time? I'm not qualified for that... but here's my favourites: Gordeeva and Grinkov (elegance and the ability to story tell through their programs), Scott and Dulebohn (I saw them over 2 years persevere and it inspired me) and Lyons and Wells (he wasn't the typical physique for pair when compared with those from Europe and I loved watching them on TV as a kid).

Q: When you look back on your skating career and every experience you've had, what did you learn the most from competitive skating?

A: Perseverance. I began in 1999 as a no talent hack with little chance to ever attend U.S. Nationals. I am the sum of hard work, a heavy amount of self critique, a lot of coaching, a ton of love from my family and the full grace of God.

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.

Interview With Madeline Stammen

Anyone who's ever heard a wonderful song, read a great book or watched an amazing play knows that when you see someone with a really and natural special talent, there's just no denying it. Before watching this season of Young Artists Showcase, I wasn't familiar with Madeline Stammen or her work. In a class of its own in the Grassroots Division of the competition, Madeline showed not only her command and musicality but her ability to choreograph fresh, interesting new pieces for other skaters. A definite star of the choreography and skating worlds in the future, it was my absolute pleasure to get to know Madeline a little better in this interview:

Q: You have a background in competing yourself. What can you tell us about your "amateur" skating career and what is your favourite memory from your competitive skating days?

A: I began competitive skating when I started working with my lifelong coach, Candice Brown Burek, at the age of eight. Although I adored competing, I was unfortunately plagued with numerous ankle injuries throughout my competitive seasons that prevented me from participating in multiple competitions many years in a row. As my mother always says, God finds a way to turn crappy things into blessings, and because of my injuries I was able to develop my spins, artistry, and skating skills at an early age.  I'd have to say one of my favourite skating memory in the competitive days was performing in Colorado Springs at the World Arena in the summers. The surround stadium was incredible and invigorating, and the Figure Skating Hall of Fame was right around the corner. In a place like that, you are engulfed in skating history wherever you go, and I always came home inspired and ready to work for the next competition!

Q: In deciding to skate professionally on Royal Caribbean cruise ships, what have been both the most scary and rewarding parts of making that decision and living it out?

A: When I was assigned my first professional show, I was barely legal and fresh out of high school. Most kids my age were being shipped off to school, and I shipped myself off to... well, a ship. This was extremely scary in itself, because not attending college right away seems to be an abomination to kids my age these days, and it's never easy to go against the crowd. I was choosing a unique path compared to my piers, blindly committing to a seven month contract and living in the middle of the ocean... but to be honest, that was a cakewalk compared to the infamous quick changes in shows! I swear, you don't know fear, or pain, until you've zipped up a chunk of your inner thigh! Jokes aside, I have to say that there is no better reward than the feeling of seeing a crowd jump to their feet. That is when I know I chose the right path.

Q: What made you personally decide to participate in YAS (Young Artists Showcase)?

A: My coaches had always told me I should participate in YAS back when I was competing, but I didn't give it serious thought until I came home from my first show contract and began working with Jodi Porter's American Ice Theatre. Many of Jodi's students had participated in YAS in the past (as well as this year!), and they couldn't stop talking about what an amazing experience it was, and how much they grew as choreographers through this experience. I had to have a piece of it!

Q: What makes YAS so important to figure skating right now?

A: What can it help do to evolve the sport? A choreographer provides a framework, movement, pattern .... ) When done right, choreographers withhold the key to what it takes to not only make the skater a champion, but to modernize the sport of figure skating. The future of figure skating relies on the hands of the choreographer, their work is what is showcased to the world, and that is why competitions like YAS are so important, because it highlights and encourages new and creative works within the artistry of skating, rather than simply glorifying how many rotations you can spin in the air. We all know skating as a sport, but it is unique in that it is an art form as well, and YAS is only going to amplify the art of skating as it continues to grow through the years.

Q: When it comes to creating choreography, what components of creating a new piece do you find to be the most fun and the most challenging?

A: Creating something from a great piece of music has to be the most fun for me. I pretty much listen to every genre you could think of, and each time I hear an interesting song, some sort of skating program is always buzzing through my head. I'd have to say the most challenging part of creating is starting the piece in the first place; sometimes there are so many ideas rushing through my mind, that it is hard to stick with one particular movement that I like.

Q: Who do you believe are the greatest or most inspiring choreographers that figure skating has ever seen? What about the greatest or most inspiring skaters?

A: Personally, Ricky Harris has to be the most inspiring choreographer for me. I wouldn't really know where to begin with all of her accomplishments, but she was the first to do so many things for the sport of figure skating, including putting comedy on ice! As far as skaters go, I have many favourites, but I would have to say Sasha Cohen for her impeccable line and extension.  

Q: What is one thing about you most people don't know?

A: Most people are surprised to find out that I am a honestly pretty big nerd. I love to read and watch any type of movie by Marvel or set in medieval times.

Q: What are your favourite book and your favourite song?

A: Moving onward with my nerdiness, my favourite series of books is called a Song of Ice and Fire (most people know them as Game of Thrones). As for my favourites song, I could never answer that, because it changes every week!

Q: If you could pick just one word to describe yourself, what would it be and why?

A: Courageous.  In general, I've never been afraid to step outside the lines of the norm. It's actually quite invigorating for me! Live without limits, and you can accomplish and survive through anything with a bit of courage.

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.

Long Lost Mothers And Skating Books

I feel like Sophia Petrillo. I lie. I'm definitely more of a Rose. But let's pretend. Picture it... Gastonia, North Carolina, 1941. The war was raging overseas but the Gastonia Armory was alive with the thrills of the Royal Ice Palace Revue, an ice show that featured 26 performers; 14 trick and figure skaters and a 12 lady chorus. Producers of the show allowed and encouraged people to dance on the ice during the intermission to the sounds of Nick Nichols, his Swinging Ice Men and his Electric Organ. The dancers were dancing on the ice in shoes and the indentations made by the dancers high heels could be heated away with a hot iron. It was in this era and in this shows that Mesha Provo uncovered the story of her birth mother, who was a touring ice skater in several shows of the era and went on to coach skating until a fall and injury forced her off the ice at age 70. Mesha, who is in the process of writing two books about her birth mother's life and researching her life's story and the role skating played in it, talked to me about her experience and her birth mother's fascinating story.

Charlotte, Mesha's birth mother, was not a wealthy woman and didn't have money to train like many other skaters. She did have some formative training in the sport before she started her professional career though. "I know patch was everything to her and she loved it. As I understand it, it taught (and almost self taught) discipline and the lines of skating," said Mesha, referring to the compulsory figures that were schooled rigorously to all skaters during that era. Charlotte earned her first job as a skater in 1939. Her first position in a show was as a chorus skater, which developed into a role as a feature skater with a show called the Royal American Ice Palace. "It toured with the Royal American Show, which was the largest carnival in the world for over 70 years. The Royal was for Canada and the American was for the United States," explained Mesha. "They also joined a large show for a spot date in Atlanta and then went to Cuba in March of 1940 in a show they called the Ice Follies, which was not the Ice Follies. They had some well known skaters in it. They performed at the Opera House in Havana. I have some great photos of that trip. Then in April, they went out with the carnival, which ended their season in mid October and the ice show traveled by bus for spot dates in the deep South till December." Mesha went on to explain, "After that season, the owner of the ice show joined the army in January of 1941 (U.S. was not in the war yet) and the ice show transferred to another carnival, Beckmann and Gerety, and ran that season till the end of October. She was back in Detroit by the end of November 1941 and everything changed." With regards to skating shows in the Southern states, Mesha explained "for some cities, Mobile, Birmingham, etc. this show was the first commercial ice show presented. I think that's pretty cool and back then it was the old Jim Crow laws." Charlotte continued her skating career after World War II ended in 1945: "August 15th, 1945, was the end of the war and she auditioned and got a spot on the Ice Cycles of 1946. It was a third show as a combined effort of both the Ice Follies and the Ice Capades. But she made a blunder and that cost her her big chance. She was only 26. I have a cheque from Holiday on Ice from the 50's, but I believe it was only a spot date." After retiring from professional skating, Charlotte taught skating in a community rink in the 1960's. Skating was in Mesha's genes: "I was born in Michigan and probably like Canada, skating is what you did in the winter if you wanted to play outside. I skated as a child, often 4 times a week, but never had lessons or did it progress to anything. I had no information about my birth mother growing up. I wish I did, I think I would have been more athletic, if I knew that is was a part of her life."

Charlotte had Mesha when she was 32 years old. She wasn't "a kid" (as Mesha stated) but she was still in the midst of her professional career and desired to continue skating at the time. They reunited in 1992, when Charlotte was 72 years of age. I asked Mesha why it was so important that she meet her birth mother and her answer was beautiful: "Your question is the hardest and easiest for an adoptee who has found their own voice... because I had to and I wanted to. I was 39 and secure. It is really rough for young people who are trying to find themselves (in life), I wouldn't recommend it unless you have a good pillow to fall back on."

The first book Mesha Provo aims to write is to be called "Skates On A Suitcase" and will share the biographical story from Charlotte's birth until she was 40 years old. "The whole search and found is not part of that story," explained Mesha. It will be included in a second, later book. "I get caught up in the research and I have this gnome on my shoulder that wants me to get it right." Mesha appears to be on the right track, doing her homework about skating and even hoping to talk about more skaters and shows from the era in this book. And that's what's so fascinating about reading and writing about history... when you go to look for one thing, you find 20 more things that fascinate you too! One of these things is Mesha and Charlotte's story. If you'd like to know more or see many of the wonderful pictures Mesha has uncovered as she explores her mother's story, check out her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/skatesonasuitcase. If you have more information about that golden era of figure skating from 1935-1950, reach out to her! She'd love to hear from you as she works hard to share a story that's very important to her and very interesting to all of us.

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.

Interview With Nathan Birch

Ask just about any skater, choreographer or skating fan who their favourite skaters of all time are and the same names keep coming up again and again... Janet Lynn, Robin Cousins, Dorothy Hamill, Katarina Witt, Michelle Kwan... but the one name that seems to recur more than most is that of 1976 Olympic Gold Medallist John Curry. John revolutionized skating bringing dance to ice and ice to dance, blurring the lines between sport and art and changing the world's perception of what skating could be. Discovered by John, Nathan Birch became a performer with and a member of The Curry Company and went on to choreograph for numerous skaters and create The Next Ice Age in 1988 with fellow company member Tim Murphy. The Next Ice Age has not only presented exquisite ensemble skating pieces for decades but has educated and schooled skaters in the same on ice program John Curry's company employed - classes teaching lean, line, edge quality, speed and carriage. Nathan's career and gift to skating has been nothing short of extraordinary. It was my absolute honor to have the opportunity to talk with Nathan about The Next Ice Age, his experiences working with John Curry, his career in skating and his opinions on choreography, dance and skating.

Q: When did you first start skating and what can you share about your early career in the sport and what led you to show skating?

A: I started skating at the age of nine and took to it like a long lost friend. I enjoyed the feeling of winning but not competing. Reaching a national level in the sport helped my confidence, yet at the age of 18 I thought there must be more than medals. As fate had it I met John Curry in Boston where he was filming his PBS special "Peter and the Wolf" and two years later I was making my professional stage debut with his Company at the Metropolitan Opera House in Lincoln Center.

Q: How would you describe your experience working and skating with John Curry and his company? What made John so special as a skater and a person and why do you think he's still considered one of the most legendary skaters of all time?

A: My experience with John Curry shaped and molded my entire skating career and still influences every aspect of my work. He was a fierce task master who never compromised his ideals. The spirit of artistic skating has entrusted itself to different custodians over time. At the time John was that caretaker he dealt with the never ending challenge of legitimizing skating as art in two ways. He engaged known choreographers from the dance world, and he restaged known dances made on the floor and put them on ice. This was what he had to do in order to advance skating as a dance form at that time. And yet it was his original work which I look back on with the most respect. That moment when his "GLIDES" debuted at the Met instantly changed the course of history in dance and skating which is why he remains legendary. John used his Olympic Gold medal as a stepping stone to advance skating as a dance form. We, the skaters, learned so much from the different perspectives of the dance choreographers who came in to work with the Company. They also learned about the challenges skating presents. John knew innately this process was an important step to earn respect from dancers. The choreographers spent a lot of time (and as John always reminded us, "time is money") figuring out how to negotiate speed with line, curve, and timing. John always said that one day the best skating choreography would be made by skaters once they mastered their technique and gained the discipline and the courage dance choreographers had to learn. It could be argued the best caretakers are not only good custodians, but also possess the ability to show others the way forward. John's "GLIDES" was a true step in that direction. 

Q: In 1988, you and Tim Murphy founded The Next Ice Age, a skating company that has brought amazing choreography to the ice and theatre stages for decades now. In addition to bringing The Next Ice Age to the Kennedy Center Opera House, you have personally been involved in creating countless choreographic works both for The Next Ice Age and other projects. What are your proudest moments as a choreographer and if you had to tell us about your one favourite piece, what would it be?

A: As I look back over the past 25 years there are a few highlights. I am fortunate to have had my work 'presented' by institutions like the Kennedy Center and the American Dance Festival. I am so appreciative to the National Endowment for the Arts and for the respect of individuals I greatly admire in the dance world who have helped and supported me on my path. They gave skating the opportunity to be seen by sophisticated dance audiences. We were just the drivers of the vehicle. We celebrate our 25th Anniversary this month and will have an event marking the occasion April 11th and 12th in Baltimore called a Class Reunion.

Q: You took a nine year break from choreography and have come back full force in recent years. What did you with your time away from the ice, what brought you back and what has changed the most in that time?

A: Mainly I moved home to care for my Mom, a choice I'll never regret, ever. At that time I was choreographing for international skaters and traveling a lot. I also taught both in New England and Maryland. During the 9 years my teaching started to become more specific and my eye more discerning. After my Mom passed away I made the choice to stop traveling and focus on working with young skaters. This remains enormously rewarding as it is most efficient to identify and disallow unwise habits to form. It's much better to teach new dogs old tricks if one is shooting for longevity. This is why The Next Ice Edge is so exciting to me. Our mission is to create, present, and preserve skating as a dance form through performance and education. It was an important incubation period for what was to come next. I started making group dances again because I finally had a core group of skaters that could move the way I wanted them to. Also, the manager at the Gardens Ice House in Maryland studied modern dance in college so he got it. The skating coach we work most closely with, Denise Cahill, also whole heartedly supports the work. Denise is a founding board member. She, along with good management and the talent, make it all possible.

Q: What, in your opinion, are the most important things that ANYONE choreographing skating for stage should consider or keep in mind?

A: Even the largest stage is minuscule in comparison to most ice rinks. Group skating can turn into a big amorphous mess very quickly on stage. My advice to a choreographer making skating for a proscenium setting would be to keep the groupings smaller so that speed can be utilized and not compromised. Save the larger groupings for the affect of fullness.

Q: This season you will be presenting the premiere of two new works - a piece set to "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" and a new piece called "Triune" set to the music of Maurice Ravel. The Next Ice Age will be performing at Michael Weiss' show this month and at An Evening With Champions at Harvard University next month. What can you tell us about these new works? 

A: "Triune" is premiering October 5th at Harvard University. It is a trio set to music by Ravel. It is short and was built for our satellite professional company in Boston. In rehearsal, there were moments I was moved to tears as I witnessed the skaters embody the difficult simplicity of the movement. Their talent allowed my to go to a high level of detail and I can't wait to see it at An Evening with Champions. "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" is a work in progress which will premiere at our reunion in April. This Sunday, September 15th, we will perform a section of it at the Michael Weiss Foundation event featuring skaters from our resident company.

Q: In what ways do you think artistic skating has earned more respect in recent years and how do you think it can reach a wider audience in the future?

A: I can't really judge what is considered artistic skating I guess because the word artistic has such a broad scope. I have my own point of view I will go into later. Having said that, there seems to be a wider spectrum in skating , considered by many as artistic, which has surely contributed to greater popularity and therefore respect. Right now for my tiny contribution it is most important to practice the process of what it is I envision so I can get really good at it. Doing it a long time doesn't mean one has mastered anything yet, so I just keep plugging along and fortunately for me skaters remain interested. I admit this feels like what I should be doing and it's up to others to market it to a wider audience. I have been caught up in that aspect before and it can really distract one away from what is truly at hand. I started this whole venture to do something other than compete, only to discover that competition IS everywhere. For instance, when we were on dance presenters season rosters alongside of major companies like Merce Cunningham, Paul Taylor, Alvin Ailey, Mark Morris, and others, it was clear to me that in order to stay in that milieu I was going to have to compete for the dollars that put them there. I admit when that light bulb turned on I was a bit deflated. For better or worse I am an idealist, but we don't live in an ideal society. I would prefer a cooperative society to that of a competitive one, but that's not reality. My internal struggle is this very fact. The way I have been able to make a living in the sport is by focusing on the technique and choreography, rather than points and placements. Fortunately I have wonderful coaches that hire and support me to do just that. So my choice is to "DO," it and right now our little machine is functioning with all cylinders on "go." Our objective is longevity. Before we started, Tim Murphy, John Curry, and I sat down and had extensive discussions about ways to form a new company. Tim and I didn't want our names in the title, so we were playing around with the word,"new…" It was John that said it should be the NEXT Ice Age as we wanted to always move forward. We wanted to distinguish ourselves from what was already out there. Together we coined the phrase, "artistic ensemble skating," to describe ourselves. It eventually got shortened to ensemble skating. Today, I am flattered when people use that term not knowing it's origin. I suppose it could be said we are the tortoise, not the hare.

Q: What would be your absolute dream meal?

A: I love this question! I am an avid amateur chef and in my head have already written 3 books… I have countless recipes and for me it's a fun escape. Let's just say I love to cook. My husband and I have designed and built the most beautiful kitchen at our Stone Barn in New England. Lots of people can make food together as it is essentially the entire first floor of the structure. So my dream meal is to make food with friends and family all day long and slowly graze throughout.

Q: Who are your three favourite skaters of all time and why? 

A: I have so many favourite skaters... all for different reasons. When I was little I was obsessed with Toller. As I grew up I learned to admire him more as a complete artist on many levels. If I had to choose only 3 skaters, they would have to be individuals who not only had a major impact and influence but sought to present skating as dance. To me, they would be Belita, Dorothy Hamill, and John Curry. It all gets down to the foot and boot. With them the boot IS the foot and the foot is the boot. Through virtue of her extraordinary film work that will last forever, Belita was balletic, theatrical, and entertaining. Any young skater should study her work. One of, if not the most beautiful dances we produced was a solo Tim Murphy made in 1997 for Dorothy's appearance with us at The Kennedy Center Opera House, entitled "April." Just thinking about those eleven minutes of perfection makes me literally well up inside. What Dorothy has done aside from performing is invest long term in Skating Class. In addition, she is a skating celebrity who values improving her craft with fervent diligence. Her iconic longevity has changed skating forever. John showed me the way by example. I would be surprised if the world ever saw an artist with greater influence in skating. He taught me to forge my own path and because of him I had the opportunity to make original work, without having to rely on known dances or dance makers names to legitimize skating as dance. He did that for a future skating world he wasn't able to live long enough to witness entirely. I used to watch him from the wings in performance. In his "Lyric Suite" each night he cried at the same place in the dance… literally tears down his face at one particular musical passage. Truly remarkable. A new book about him is coming out soon and I am anticipating its release greatly.

Q: You offer an on ice class called The Next Ice Edge that brings skaters through an exercise that teaches them edge control, carriage and formation. This was a mandatory part of John Curry's daily routine and was a mandatory class when Dorothy Hamill hired The Next Ice Age as well. Why are classes like this so important and why don't more skating coaches and choreographers put more emphasis on such important lessons?  

A: Class is important only if the instructor has something specific to teach from a technical and execution aspect. The 'how to do something' is most efficiently taught in Class. If it's just about skating down the rink in a semi-organized fashion then I fail to see the value other than aerobic. What is being taught and why it's being taught that way ought to be considered and explained. The concept of Class has grown a lot. I hope different methods emerge from teachers who take the "how and why" seriously. This phenomenon occurred in dance and today there are many different classes a dancer can take at studios all over the world. My method is not right or wrong, good or bad, but I can explain it, I know why it works, and I have learned to allow it to evolve. I suspect my Class will be different down the road from what I emphasize now. Perhaps my greatest privilege was to teach Class for Dorothy's Ice Capades. I am humbled to know that many of those skaters teach their own classes now. The Class I taught then is different from what I teach now. It is simply a point of reference from which a skater can move freely in any direction. I promote the idea of technique before artistry because I believe one facilitates the other. Only by having a clear technique does one earn the right to abandon it entirely and improvise. Class also provides a unique opportunity to develop a non-critical discernment by observing fellow classmates.

Q: You have said that "skating is a legitimate form of dance and that it deserves the respect of the world as an art". Could you elaborate on this statement? 

A: Skating only deserves the respect as a legitimate art if real work has gone into it that is sustainable, comes from a clear vision, and has a history. Artistic ensemble skating can't just be produced from nothing. One can't hire a bunch of skaters, throw a lot of money at it, turn on the lights and music and say, "look everyone, it's art!" That CAN however be skating as entertainment... which is completely legitimate and viable in it's own right. One isn't better than the other, they are just different. Art is closer to philosophy and entertainment is closer to commercialism.

Q: How can more people see your work or make a donation to support your performance and education programs?

A: Preserving live performance for viewership when it comes to skating is not an easy task. We have bits and pieces on our website, www.thenexticeage.org. There, people can see when and where we will be performing and appearing. People can also donate there if they want. We are a 501c3 not for profit company.

Q: What's one thing about you most people don't know?

A: The hardest question for last…I'm really pretty much an open book and I think people who get to know me really get to know the real me. I'm sometimes too honest. We all make choices and I suppose it could appear as though I have made some nonsensical ones along the way. I don't make choices in haste. I think about them a lot before changing course or holding anchor. I weigh all the possible repercussions and ramifications before acting. I trust my navigational guidance and don't regret anything. Sacrifice doesn't truly exist because when you let something go, you make room to receive. When one gives something up they also get something. It's all a learning and growing experience, and mistakes are correct decisions yet to be discovered.

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 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.

Finding Peace On The Ice: Figure Skating And World War II

When war and hate threatened to destroy the entire world, it almost took the ice with it. With the World and European Figure Skating Championships cancelled from 1940-1946 by the International Skating Union due to World War II, not even dropping bombs and unspeakable hell on earth could tear people away from the ice. For six years, the world's people watched in horror, fought, suffered and struggled as over 61 million people lost their lives. A vast majority of them weren't even members of any military force, they were sadly civilians. A  lot isn't widely known about what happened to figure skating during those trying times and I did a little research and found out some fascinating stories about skating that took place during that era, skaters that served and sadly, the story of 1939 World Silver Medallist Freddie Tomlins, who won his first and only world medal the year that the World War between the Allies and Axis broke out. In tribute to those millions of people who lost their lives, I wanted to share not only their stories but the overview of figure skating during World War II.

Canadian Champion Ralph McCreath

With North American involvement not ramping up until later in the war, Canadians and Americans especially continued to find solace on the ice. Theatrical skating shows like Ice Follies continued to tour throughout the war in North America and although they had no World Championships to continue to, Barbara Ann Scott, Ralph McCreath, Michael Kirby, Nigel Stephens, Norah McCarthy, Mary Rose Thacker, Eleanor O'Meara, Sandy McKechnie, Olga Bernyk, Alex Fulton, Joyce Perkins and Wallace Diestelmeyer all won Canadian titles during this time period of international chaos and tragedy. Ontario's Stewart Reburn, who was a Canadian National Champion as a singles skater in 1929 and 1931 and a Canadian pairs champion in 1935 and Olympian in 1936 with Louise Bertram, was one of several skaters who served in World War II, joining the Royal Canadian Air Force at the war's outbreak. Ralph McCreath, who continued to skate and compete during the war in Canada, also served during World War II for the 48th Highlanders Of Canada and Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps. Both survived the war. After finishing his service, McCreath won a final Canadian men's title (making a total of 3 senior titles and 1 junior title) in 1946, served as a judge and member of the Canadian Figure Skating Association (now Skate Canada) and was inducted into the Canadian Figure Skating Hall Of Fame.

U.S. Champion Eugene Turner

Meanwhile in the United States, figure skating was still also continuing (and thriving) during the war. Unlike Canada where the championships were cancelled during one year only, the U.S. Figure Skating Championships were always contested in at least one discipline during World War II. Like their Canadian friends, Americans Dick Button, Robert Swenning, Eugene Turner, Bobby Specht, Arthur Vaughn Jr., Joan Tozzer, Jane Vaughn Sullivan, Gretchen Merrill, Bernard Fox, Donna Atwood, Doris Schubach, Walter Noffke, Donna J. Pospisil, Jean Pierre Brunet, Sandy MacDonald, Harold Hartshorne, Edith Whetstone, Alfred Richards Jr., Marcella May, James Lochead, Kathe Mehl Williams, Anne Davies and Carleton Hoffner all won national titles in the U.S. during years that the World Championships were not held. With the exception of the 1941 North American Figure Skating Championships held in Philadelphia, none of the U.S. (or Canadian) champions during this time period really had anything else to continue on to after their wins unfortunately, making for VERY short seasons for these skaters. Like the Canadian skaters mentioned earlier, the U.S. figure skaters were not without their involvement and service in the war. 1940 and 1941 U.S. Champion Eugene Turner served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Forces, piloting a P-47 Thunderbolt in 69 missions over Germany and occupied areas of France. After the war, he returned to the ice, skating professionally, coaching, choreographing and writing about the sport. Bobby Specht, who won the 1942 title, also served in the Air Force and then went on to skate professionally with the Ice Capades. Edward LeMaire, who won a U.S. junior mens and pairs title, served as a navy pilot during World War II. Sadly, although the survived the war, he was one of the skating judges onboard Sabena Flight 548, which crashed in Belgium and killed the entire U.S. team heading to the World Championships in 1961. So was Harold Hartshorne, who was also a judge and U.S. champion during the war. Their legacies lives on in U.S. Figure Skating's Memorial Fund, which provides funding needed to allow top skaters today achieve their goals and dreams. Another American skater with a strong connection to World War II is 1992 Olympic Gold Medallist Kristi Yamaguchi, whose mother Carole was born in an internment camp in the U.S. during the war.

World Champion Cecilia Colledge

Great Britain was among many countries that flat out cancelled their National Championships from 1940-1945. What is interesting to note is that their 1939 Champions Henry Graham Sharp and Cecilia Colledge both immediately reclaimed their national titles following a five year span of no competition. Surely they must have found ice time somewhere to practice their brackets, loops and lutzes? From stories told to me by my grandmother, who lived in Britain during the war, I hardly think there was necessarily even time to think about skating. As a young girl, she survived the blackouts, Barrow Blitz and bombings of Barrow-In-Furness, where my father was later born.

Even the Nazis and their axis of power seemed to like their ice skating it seemed. Benito Mussolini's Italy continued offering competitive figure skating during the war - Carlo Fassi won his first two National titles in 1945 and 1946. The formerly independent First Republic Of Austria was occupied during the Anschluss Österreichs of 1938, when Austria became not a country but a province or state of Germany known as Ostmark. During the earlier part of the war, "Ostmark Championships" were held in the Nazi occupied Austria from 1938 to 1943. German Championships were also held in different German cities with the exception of in 1945 and 1946, when they were cancelled. 1942 German men's champion Erich Zeller's skating career was cut short when he was forced to enter the Wehrmacht German forces. He later went on to coach skaters like Norbert Schramm and Dagmar Lurz, write 2 books about skating and serve as president of the West German federation. Two other German born skaters//coaches with a strong connection to World War II were George and Leah Mueller, who came to the U.S. in 1942 to replace John Johnsen, a coach at Tacoma's Lakewood Ice Arena who would spend World War II in Europe working as a U.S. Counter Intelligence Officer. The Muellers were internationally acclaimed skating coaches who had previously taught in Boston, Toronto, St. Louis and Philadelphia. Due to anti-German sentiments in and after wartime, the Muellers were introduced in Tacoma, Washington as "the Millers". They worked in Tacoma until 1947.

George and Leah Mueller posing outside Lakewood Ice Arena. Photo courtesy Tacoma Public Library, D13538-9.

Sadly, not all skaters who served in or were affected by the war went on to brighter futures in better times. After winning the silver medal in the 1938 World Championships, the final World event held before World War II broke out in 1939, Freddie Tomlins of Lambeth served in Great Britain's Royal Air Force and was killed in a battle against a Nazi submarine over the English Channel on June 20, 1943 at age 23. His short skating career saw him compete at the 1936 Winter Olympics which were ironically held in Nazi Germany. Not only did Tomlins lose his life, but many skaters (especially in Europe) lost the very ice they skated on, as many, many rinks throughout Europe were damaged or destroyed during the war. This certainly gave North American skaters, who had been competing and training with little or no interruption, an edge in competition when the North American, European and World Championships resumed. The horror that was World War II changed the world forever and did not leave the skating community or its skaters untouched. One of my favourite authors, Margaret Atwood, once said that "war is what happens when language fails". We must use our language, our big girl words, to share the stories of war - of the bad - to ensure more lives aren't lost by people who choose to subscribe to violence. It never makes sense. We're here on this Earth to love and until people understand and live that way, we'll never fully achieve peace. I hope I live to see a day where we do.

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.