Interview With Sarah Kawahara

Sarah Kawahara has lived more her in her life so far on the ice than most people could ever dream of. Her own skating career saw her train with legendary Canadian coach Osborne Colson, who also coached skating greats like Barbara Ann Scott, Donald Jackson and Patrick Chan. She toured with Ice Capades for years as a principal performer before turning to the world of choreography, her work earning her two Emmy Awards to date. She's choreographed the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Winter Olympics and for the hit movie Blades Of Glory. She's choreographed television specials starring skating greats like Peggy Fleming, Michelle Kwan and Scott Hamilton, for skating tours Stars On Ice, Ice Capades, Champions On Ice, Holiday On Ice and Disney On Ice. She's choreographed for a who's who of the skating world including Olympic Gold Medallists Scott Hamilton, John Curry, Dorothy Hamill, Robin Cousins, Ilia Kulik, Kristi Yamaguchi, Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov, Oksana Baiul, Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko, Viktor Petrenko and skating legends like Michelle Kwan, Kurt Browning, Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner, Surya Bonaly, Nancy Kerrigan, Lu Chen, Charlie Tickner and Christopher Bowman. The depth to her talent is really unknowing and the quality of the huge body of work she's produced over the years is immeasurable. It was my absolute privilege to interview Sarah and talk about her own skating career, choreography, working with John Curry and Toller Cranston and much, much more in this fantastic interview:

Q: Your body of work as a choreographer is nothing short of awe inspiring. You've won Emmy Awards for your work with Scott Hamilton's "Upside Down" TV special and choreography of the Opening Ceremonies at the 2002 Winter Olympics, have choreographed Stars On Ice, Ice Capades, Champions On Ice, Disney On Ice, Holiday On Ice, over half a dozen TV specials, the skating in the movie Blades Of Glory and have created masterpieces for everyone from Scott Hamilton and Kurt Browning to Michelle Kwan, Kristi Yamaguchi, Dorothy Hamill, John Curry, Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov, Ilia Kulik, Robin Cousins, Nancy Kerrigan, Christopher Bowman and a who's who of Olympic and World Champions. Looking back on everything you've done so far in skating, what were the most challenging moments and which came so, so easy?

A: At the beginning of my choreography career, the producer of Ice Capades, Bob Turk, challenged me with the fact that he thought my style of movement was so unique it would be difficult for me to translate my style to other skaters. Though that was a very good point, I felt I could overcome this challenge because I knew I had the ability to break it all down and teach my style. While doing that, I discovered I also had a good eye for working with and creating for different body types in ways that I could never do myself as a performer. My first choreographic break was to create a piece for Peggy Fleming when she was guest starring with the Ice Capades. Our styles as performers were of a similar lyrical vein. Peggy was very classical and I was more attuned to modern dance. It was a very natural and successful collaboration of styles. The most challenging moments in my career came when choreographing the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. I got to use all of my experience from my careers - arena and stage production work, choreography for TV cameras (40 cameras), working with stars and 1000 skaters from the surrounding community ages 7-75 years old. It was two years of my life with pre-production and the largest ice surface ever created outdoors. I could only rehearse half of the width of the ice size at a time in an indoor arena. It was the ultimate puzzle. The performance had to service a live audience of 60,000 and 45 million television viewers worldwide and we had one shot at it.

Scott Hamilton's "Walk This Way" program, choreographed by Sarah

Q: I've always just been floored not only the creativity and authenticity of your choreography over the years but also with the complexity. A lot of skaters when they turn professional or skate show programs tend to present more watered down choreography, and your work over the years has been nothing but. Where do you a lot of your inspirations and ideas come from and what programs stand out in your mind as being your most memorable work or the work you are proudest of?

A: My inspiration tends to come from nature. I am very aware of the patterns, color and texture one finds in nature and in 'slice of life' occurrences from which I draw my designs. Music orchestration is also something I try to breathe into my choreography to make it a symphony of movement. The complexity of my work really came into fruition through my production work. It first started with solo work, then pairs with Tai and Randy. However, creating for 32 skaters in the Chess production for the Ice Capades was really my first big statement. I had choreographed the Radio City Music Hall /Shipstad production show "Ice" for Peggy, Toller and Robin Cousins and a cast of 45 skaters prior to Ice Capades. That was my first large theatre stage (90 x 60) experience. I love the stage as much as the arena. They are two very different mediums to create in. When I got to work with Scott Hamilton, he was the complete polar opposite of my style. His strengths were his quickness in speed, footwork, athletic jumps and a strong ability to connect with the audience. I saw a way to push his performances to a new and more theatrical level. I am most proud of our body of work together which spanned 18 years through a wide range of choreography. Everything from an original rhythmic piece scored by Chick Corea, to "Mr. Bojangles", to Aerosmith's "Walk This Way". He was gifted at working with props and willing to work through the difficulties of mastering the use of the props throughout the program in conjunction with the technical Olympic caliber of his skating. Examples of this are the golf number from Tin Cup, the cap that velcroed to different parts of his body in "When I'm 64" and the Broadway On Ice pool cue choreography while performing the Harold Hill piece "Trouble" live on the ice theatre stage. Some production favourites are the chimney sweep production for Scott's TV special "Upside Down" (it was a very layered production piece for TV), Ice Capades' "Night On Bald Mountain", "Rhapsody In Blue" for Broadway On Ice, the "1812 Overture" for Champions On Ice and as for solo favourites, Dorothy Hamill's "One Rock N' Roll Too Many", Michelle Kwan's "Fields Of Gold" and Oksana Baiul's Massive Attack program.

Michelle Kwan skating to Sarah's choreography in "Fields Of Gold". One of MY all time favourite skating programs, period.

Q: During your own skating career, you studied with Osborne Colson in Toronto and at the National Ballet School Of Canada. What was your relationship with Mr. Colson like and what did he teach you that has resonated with you all of these years?

A: I studied with Mr. C. from six to fifty one years of age. He was my mentor and my friend. He introduced me to the idea that all the arts are related and that figure skating is also an art form. He molded my artistic vision. Never totally satisfied, he would be constantly changing my programs. My movements were in a continual state of evolution. He guided me through my amateur and professional career. Throughout his life I continued to share my personal life with him, as well as my professional career as a choreographer and director. We thought as one.

Q: You turned professional at the young age of seventeen and toured with Ice Capades for seven years as a principal skater. What did the touring life teach you about skating you hadn't known before?

A: I loved touring and performing with the show. It was like air to breathe and food to eat. I learned that I could reach out and touch the audience with my performance. I could take them with me if I cast the right spell.

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

A: I play the piano.

Photo courtesy "Canadian Skater" magazine

Q: You starred in Toller Cranston's CBC specials "Strawberry Ice" and "A True Gift Of Christmas" and skated in John Curry's PBS special "Peter And The Wolf". What was working with John and Toller like and why is their skating so truly timeless and special in your eyes?

A: I choreographed and skated in Toller's "True Gift". I first performed with Toller in the Ice Capades and then later became his muse for "Strawberry Ice". He created with brush strokes heavy with color and texture as are his paintings. He was very driven by music, although the story always came first. Toller has a wonderful sense of humor and loves the absurd. I'll never forget when he wanted to have synchronized swimmers as shrimp in the tomato soup at the Christmas banquet in "A True Gift Of Christmas". It was an out of body experience for Jojo Starbuck and I to be poinsettia flowers with our heads as portions of the stamen and our arms, the petals. John Curry had a more contained, thoughtful process. He choreographed "Peter And The Wolf" and was rather nervous about it. He knew what he wanted and was very driven by the intricacies of the music. I was the bird and thank goodness I could do things on both side of my body. He wanted me to be very quick and fleeting and loved working me with short quick edges and on point with perfect balance and breath. I loved the experience. I feel privileged to have worked with both. They were both so completely different in style and approach. Skating needed both to shine to validate the depth and scope of what figure skating could offer as an art sport. They broadened the possibilities to the public's eye.

Q: Have there been ideas that you haven't translated to the ice yet that are still in there somewhere waiting to come to life?

A: I have been fortunate to have many dreams come true. I'm still dreaming...

Sarah's "Chicago" program for Oksana Baiul

Q: One skater that you created so much magic for was Oksana Baiul. If you look at a program like her "Chicago" program you just saw such a different skater that you saw in Lillehammer. What was your experience of working with Oksana like?

A: Oksana has so much talent. I really saw her as an entertainer. Unfortunately, she had many personal problems that interfered with her productivity. I truly believe she is one of the most talented, but there is something inside her that is self destructive. Some days she could could do anything - multi layered choreography with lots of detail to the technical execution and performance and then the next day, it was like skating had left her body. My biggest disappointment was that she did not do "Anastasia". I had choreographed a Feld Entertainment show with Oksana in mind for the lead. It would have been huge for her.

Q: I have to ask. The "current skating world" with its judging system and current crop of stars... What do you like and what would you change if it were up to you?

A: I think in some ways it has advanced the ice dancing discipline. The current stars of White and Davis and Virtue and Moir are fine examples of the growth of the field. There is more athleticism and crossover with spins and the movements are using the body in more versatile ways. I think the field has become more exciting to watch. In the singles discipline, it makes the composition more repetitive between individuals hitting the point requirements and the predictability of the composition in terms of points strategy. Pairs as well has become more obviously predictable in composition and therefore less exciting to watch overall.

Sarah Kawahara working with Karen Magnussen in 1973. Photo courtesy Toronto Public Library, from Toronto Star Photographic Archive. Reproduced for educational purposes under license permission.

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

A: Scott Hamilton for his fearless versatility and tremendous sense of connecting with his audience. Toller Cranston for his unabashed showmanship and daring but always with intelligence behind his choices. Michelle Kwan for her trust in me to find new avenues with her performance in the TV specials that we did together. I loved helping her break loose.

Q: What is next for you in skating and what is next for you in life?

A: I'm in development for a new show and still working on my autobiography. I am enjoying my family.

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.

A Double Axel Dinner Party: Recipes Inspired By Figure Skaters

I don't know about you, but I'm no stranger to a knife and fork. I'm no size two anymore, and you know why honey? I love to eat delicious food. From sushi to Mexican and everything in between, I'll try anything once... and usually go back for seconds. Just as we need a little more adventure in our figure skating, we always need to be adventurous with our palates. There is already a wonderful cookbook out there with favourite recipes from the world's best skaters called Figure Skaters' Favorites that you can purchase online for only $20 USD but I decided to join in the fun too and compile or adapt some wonderful recipes for the ultimate of all dinner parties: A Double Axel Dinner Party with recipes inspired by some of our favourite (and not so favourite) figures in the skating world. From Dick Mutton to Spicy John Curry, join me in a culinary adventure of "level five" proportions:

But first... the best dinner party speech of life. "And oh my! This soup's delicious, isn't it?"

MARIE-REINE LE GOULASH

A French twist on a Hungarian classic where you get to CHEAT a little! Serves four hungry judges after a cold, toe tapping day in the rink:

600 g beef shin or shoulder, or any tender part of the beef cut into 2x2 cm cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil or lard
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cloves of garlic
1-2 carrots, diced
1 parsnip, diced
1-2 celery leaves
2 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped, or 1 tbs. tomato paste
2 fresh green peppers
2-3 medium potatoes, sliced
1 tablespoon Piment d'Esplette
1 teaspoon ground caraway seed
1 bay leaf
ground black pepper and salt according to taste
water

Start by pouring yourself a White Russian, because it's always important when making Marie-Reine Le Goulash to put the Russians first BEFORE you start cooking. Heat up the oil or lard (or butter if you feel like cheating) in a pot and braise the chopped onions in it until they turn golden brown. Sprinkle the braised onions with Piment d'Esplette while stirring them to prevent the Piment d'Esplette from burning. Add the beef and sauté until they turn a brownish color. Let the meat and onions simmer in the meat's juices and oil and add garlic, caraway seed, salt and ground black pepper and the bay leaf. Pour enough water to cover the contents of the pot and simmer on low for a while. When the meat's half cooked, add carrots, parsnip and potatoes, celery leaf and more salt to taste, as well as 2-3 cups water. When the vegetables and meat are almost finished add tomato and green pepper and let the Marie-Reine Le Goulash continue to cook on low for another few minutes, removing the pot's lid to thicken. Or... you can always cheat and just throw it all in a slow cooker and go out for a walk or go skating, right?

JEREMY RABBIT

A fabulous rabbit stew that's completely underrated and people never give enough credit to! Get on your A game (get it? game?) and try this old German favourite (Hasenfeffer) that will hop in your mouth faster than Jeremy Abbott can hop into the air for a kickin' triple lutz:

2 3/4 cups red wine vinegar
3 cups water
1 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
8 whole cloves
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
5 stalks celery, chopped
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon pickling spice
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 (2 1/2 pound) rabbit, cleaned and cut into pieces

From allrecipes.ca: "In a large pot, combine the water, white sugar, whole cloves, onion, celery, lemon, cinnamon, ground cloves, salt, pickling spice and black pepper. Bring to a boil, then turn off and allow to cool. Place the rabbit pieces into the mixture to marinate. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spread flour out onto a parchment or aluminum foil lined baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the flour is a light brown color. Remove the rabbit from the marinade and pat dry. Strain the marinade, and discard the solids. Reserve the liquid for later. Heat the oil in a deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Coat the chicken with the toasted flour. Place into the hot oil, and cook until browned on both sides. Remove from the pan, and set aside. If there is oil left in the pan, sprinkle enough of the toasted flour over it to absorb the liquid. In a jar with a lid, mix 1/2 cup of the marinade with 1/4 cup of the remaining toasted flour. Close the lid, and shake vigorously until well blended with no lumps. Heat the pan with the rabbit drippings over low heat. Gradually stir in the marinade mixture, stirring constantly until slightly thickened. Return the rabbit pieces to the pan. Cover and simmer over low heat for 1 hour, or until the meat is falling off of the bones. You may remove the bones prior to serving if desired."

TRIPLE SAL-COW BURGERS

Delicious beef burgers served with three different salad greens (spinach, kale and chard) in them!

1 pound lean ground beef
1 slice bread ground into crumbs (about 3/4 to 1 cup fresh bread crumbs)
3/4 cup finely chopped greens like spinach, kale, and/or chard
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 tablespoon chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
slider or hamburger buns
additional greens for topping
sliced tomatoes
condiments

From GoodCheapEats.com: "In a mixing bowl, combine the beef, bread crumbs, greens, milk, garlic, salt, and pepper. Combine well, but do not overmix. Divide mixture into eight sliders or four quarter-pounders and form patties. Patties can be frozen at this point if you want to make them ahead of time. Divide them with layers of waxed paper. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Place in a zip top freezer bag and freeze. Thaw completely in the refrigerator before proceeding with the recipe. Cook in a skillet or over a hot grill until cooked through. Serve with buns and toppings."

ZAYAK RULE CASSEROLE

A delicious layered casserole with nothing repeated more than twice.

3/4 lb. (340 g) extra-lean ground beef
1 onion , chopped
1 green pepper , chopped
2 tsp. chili powder
1-1/4 cups salsa
2 cups frozen corn
3 large whole wheat tortilla s
1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
3/4 cup Kraft Tex Mex Light Shredded Cheese , divided

From Kraft Canada: "Heat oven to 375ºF. Brown meat with onions and peppers in large skillet on medium-high heat. Stir in chili powder; cook 1 min. Add salsa and corn; mix well. Simmer on medium-low heat 5 min., stirring occasionally. Spread 1 cup meat sauce onto bottom of 8-inch square baking dish; top with layers of 1 tortilla, 1/2 cup meat sauce, sour cream and 1/4 cup cheese. Cover with 1 tortilla, 1 cup of the remaining meat sauce and 1/4 cup of the remaining cheese; top with remaining tortilla and meat sauce. Cover with foil. Bake 25 min. or until casserole is heated through. Top with remaining cheese; bake, uncovered, 5 min. or until melted."

DICK MUTTON

A first rate mutton! If this doesn't put the fanizzle in your shanizzle, nothing else will.

750 grams mutton, cut into 1 inch pieces on the bone
1/4 cup dry coconut (khopra), grated
1/4 cup scraped coconut
4 tablespoons coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 inch piece ginger
2 green chillies
1/2 fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
4 medium onions, chopped
15 cloves garlic
1 inch piece cinnamon
4-5 cloves
5-6 black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
15-20 fresh mint leaves
4-5 cashews
3/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon red chili powder
8 tablespoons oil
salt to taste

From Sanjeev Kapoor: "Grind coriander seeds, fennel seeds, ginger, green chillies, coriander leaves, one onion, garlic, dry coconut, fresh coconut, cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns, caraway seeds, poppy seeds, mint leaves, cashew nuts to a fine paste with sufficient water. Add turmeric powder, chilli powder, one tablespoon oil and salt to the mutton pieces and mix well. Set aside in the refrigerator for two hours to marinate. Heat the remaining oil in a pressure cooker. Add the remaining onions and sauté till golden brown. Add the masala and saute till oil separates. Add the marinated mutton and saute for two to three minutes. Add two cups water, cover the cooker and cook under pressure till six whistles are given out. Open the cooker when the pressure reduces completely and serve hot."

SPEEDY OTTAVIOLI

A convenience take on an Italian pasta dish that is all about speed. It's outdated, has been served the same way for far too many years with no signs of ever improving.

Instructions: open a can of Chef Boyardee ravioli, pour it in a bowl, microwave for three minutes, hope you don't have to eat this ever again.

SPICY JOHN CURRY

Fiery and fabulous, this curry will leave you wanting more! Serves 6.0. And for heaven sakes, have the water and wine at the ready. This one's a scorcher!

2 1/4 lbs meat or 2 1/4 lbs poultry, chopped into 1 inch cubes
1 1/2 large onion, finely chopped
12 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 1/2 ounces fresh ginger, finely chopped
4 1/2 tablespoons ghee or 4 1/2 tablespoons oil
21 ounces canned tomatoes
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato puree
18 dried chilies (birdseye work well) or 18 fresh chili peppers (birdseye work well)
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin, ground
1 1/2 teaspoons coriander, ground
4 1/2 teaspoons chili powder (dried, ground chiles such as cayenne)
1 1/2 teaspoons dried fenugreek leaves (optional)
1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala

From Food.com, shared from Pat Chapman's "Curry Club" recipe book: "Fry the meat in a pan in half the ghee or oil, until sealed (5 to 10 minutes). Set aside. Fry the onion, garlic and ginger until golden in remaining ghee or oil. Mix the spices with a little water to make a paste. Add to the onion mixture and cook for 10 minutes. Add the tomato (tinned, ketchup and puree) and chilies. Cook for a further 10 minutes. Combine the meat and all ingredients in a casserole dish and cook in a pre-heated oven at 400 deg F, Gas 6 for 45 to 60 minutes. (Alternatively, add meat back to the pan with the mixture and cook covered on low heat for an hour. At this stage you can also just throw it all into the slow cooker if you prefer."

NORBERT SCHRAMMBLED EGGS

A German take on scrambled eggs (Ruehrei) that works well for breakfast, lunch OR supper!

3 eggs
1 c. milk
1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. butter

From RecipeThing: "Melt butter in skillet. Mix the rest of the ingredients into a smooth dough, except eggs, which you beat well, and fold into first mixture. Put egg mixture in skillet on high, brown on both sides, cutting and turning while browning."

ANNET POTZSCHED EGGS

You might even say the recipes that came out of the early 80's were eggcellent. See how I did that there?Learn how to poach the perfect egg and serve with Frankfurt Green Sauce (Grüne Soße)!:

Parsley
Chives
Basil
Spinach
Dill
Watercress
1/8 bunch of celery leaves
Spring onion
1 clove minced garlic
2 hard boiled eggs
1 tbsp olive oil
150g Sour cream
100g Creme fraiche or thickened cream
150g Greek yoghurt
Some lemon juice
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
Salt & pepper to season

From Monitor Muncher's Blog: "You want roughly equivalent amounts of each herb (I was using celery leaves as a substitute for another herb but I find the taste is quite strong so I’ve used much less than equivalent). The rest of the ingredients are really to your preference. Taste as you go. Finely dice all your herbs & put them in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, fork your hard boiled eggs mashing them up & whisk in olive oil.  Add 80% of the rest of the ingredients (as you will add more to taste) and whisk it in. Mix it into the herbs. Taste it, does it require more sour cream/yogurt/mustard/etc? Then you’re done."

A DRY PAUL MARTINI

Every good dinner party ends with a nightcap! You may have enjoyed one of these before if you watched Canadian TV coverage of skating in the 1990's. A classy classic that will always leave a good taste in your mouth. Don't drink too many though - you'll end up under a hill.

From Tanqueray: "Splash 2-4 dashes of vermouth on ice and strain. Then pour 1.25 oz of Tanqueray® London Dry Gin onto ice. Stir then drain into a glass and deck with an olive."

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.

Interview With Joanna Ng

In 1990, then twelve year old Joanna Ng participated in an interpretive skating competition that complemented the usual fare at Skate Canada International. She skated an elaborate program that depicted the story of a young Vietnamese woman brought to North America and abandoned there, forced to dance herself into collapse to support herself and WON that competition against skaters nearly twice her age. The prodigal young American skater won the U.S. junior silver medal and went on to later represent a different country - Taiwan - at the World Figure Skating Championships. Turning to a professional career at a young age, Ng continues to skate professionally over twenty years later, recently performing with Broadway On Ice. Joanna took the time from her very busy schedule to reflect on her career, talk about skating 'then' and 'now' and so much more in this fabulous interview:

Q: In touring with companies like Holiday On Ice and Disney On Ice, what are your favourite and most interesting memories? What was the most exotic country you visited?

A: There are so many wonderful memories while doing both Disney On Ice and Holiday On Ice, however, as a performer my most memorable time on Disney On Ice was skating for an audience at the Bulls United Center Stadium in Chicago for a full 20,000 seat audience that wrapped around backstage. That was a very enthusiastic ovation. In fact, all the ovations around the world were the most unforgettable and every time it happened, Sarah Kawahara’s voice would chime in to remind me how exquisite it was and to absorb them because there was an expiration date. Doing the Today Show with Katie Couric and Matt Lauer for publicity was neat, especially since it was in the midst of winter at 5 AM and our costumes were revealing. There's also the time I canoed down the Chicago River during lunchtime, later meeting an actual Native American Princess. For Holiday On Ice, it was performing ten to fifteen shows a week cleanly for nearly five months straight. I was very proud of that accomplishment. The most exotic country I visited was Israel with The Spirit of Pocahontas and the most exotic travel was with Willy Bietak Productions on the inaugural ship Oasis Of The Seas. We cruised on the largest cruise ship in the world from Turku, Finland to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The ship was still being built during the crossing and at one point we stood at the top of the cruise ship to witness it go under the Great Belt Fixed Link Bridge in Denmark, clearing it by only 2 feet that looked like inches. As the lead role in Disney On Ice: The Spirit of Pocahontas, it was one of the most worthwhile and fulfilling experiences I have had, and my appreciation for that time continues to grow.

Q: You represented both the U.S. and Taiwan internationally. How did this come to pass and what were the differences in representing both countries?

A: It was a great honor to have had the opportunity to compete for two different countries. Representing Taiwan came about because my grandfather, who was a Senator of Taiwan, was gravely ill and wanted to see me skate at the World and Olympic Championships. It was a wonderful experience that might not have happened otherwise. Skating for the United States on an international forum was the biggest honor, simply for its recognition and selection to be on their team.

Q: You won the Interpretive competition at Skate Canada in 1990. What was this competition like and do you think there needs to be more competitions with an artistic focus?

A: Yes, skating is not just an athletic sport, but also an art. Skate Canada Artistic was an elite outlet for performance, theater, art depicting art, and innovation. More competitions with an artistic focus would encourage creative talent thereby enrich the sport. For me, it was an opportunity to showcase my talent at an international level. At twelve years old, I was competing alongside some of the greats of the time: Mark Mitchell, Holly Cook, Calla Urbanski and Rocky Marval to name a few.

Q: What are the rewarding and most eye opening parts of coaching?

A: To watch a skater develop athletically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually through their journey to becoming their best.

Q: Who excites you in ladies skating today?

A: There are so many, but Polina Edmunds and Julia Lipnitskaia really stand out.

Q: What makes a good skater and what makes a legendary one?

A: In my opinion, a good skater gets his or her job done, however, a legendary skater is an evolutionary skater with a competitive mindset who makes an impact in the sport. They have technique and the aptitude to evoke authentic emotion through movement that the audience and judges can connect with. It’s athletic, artistic, innovative, inspiring, and ubiquitous through time.

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.

The Other World Champions, Part 2

I wrote a series of articles called "The Other Olympic Gold Medallists" (Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3) that shared the stories of 18 mens, ladies, pairs teams and ice dancing duos that won Olympic Gold and were lesser known to North American audiences. Their stories highlighted everything from love triangles and judging scandals to criminal convictions, a pop music career and winning an Olympic gold medal while pregnant. With the glory, magical memories and heartbreaking moments of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games now one for the record books and the 2014 World Figure Skating Championships in Japan just around the corner, I thought it only fitting to examine the stories of 6.0 World Champions that we may not know as much about we should... and I did in part one of The Other World Champions! Why stop there, right? In part two, let's take a look at the stories 6.0 more World Champions:

EMMERICH DANZER

No, he didn't inspire the Elton John lyric "Hold me close, young Emmerich Danzer". He did, however, stand atop the World podium for three consecutive years from 1966-1968. His success in international competition (which included four European title wins) was largely due to his balance of both strong compulsory figures and free skating. However, it was a fourth place finish in compulsory figures that kept the young Viennese skater from claiming an Olympic gold medal to complete his set in 1968, even though he won the free skate at those Games. He bounced back to win his final World title in 1968, then turned professional and toured with Holiday On Ice and the Wiener Eisrevue (Peter Griffin laugh) better known as the Vienna Ice Revue until 1975. Although he didn't inspire the Elton John lyric, Danzer did dabble in a little night music of his own, recording a hit single in Austria called "Sag Es Mir". Following the end of his professional career two years after the highly successful Vienna Ice Revue went under, Danzer coached in the U.S. for over ten years then returned to Austria in 1989 and took up a career in sports insurance and funding. He's commentated figure skating events for Austrian television and previously served as president of Austria's skating federation.

JACQUELINE DU BIEF

Almost twenty years before Emmerich Danzer didn't inspire "Hold me close, young Emmerich Danzer", people also weren't asking "Where's du Bief?" I'm just full of bad puns today, aren't I? Jacqueline du Bief of Paris, France was both an accomplished singles and pairs skater. As a pairs skater, she won two French titles with Tony Font in 1950 and 1951 and as a singles skater du Bief won six consecutive French titles, the bronze medal at the 1952 Winter Olympics and two European medals. Unlike Danzer, du Bief's reputation wasn't as both a specialist in figures and free skating - her strongest suit was clearly her free skating, which was considered by many to be quite innovative and ahead of her time. After ending her amateur career in 1952 with a World title win, du Bief turned professional and toured for over ten years with Ice Capades, Hollywood Ice Revue, Scala-Eis-Revue and other shows, sometimes skating with her sister Raymonde. Although France has produced major stars in ladies skating over the years like Surya Bonaly and Laetitia Hubert, du Bief remains the first and only ladies World Champion from France.

IRINA VOROBIEVA AND IGOR LIVOSKY

Part of a long reign of Soviet pairs coached by the legendary Tamara Moskvina, 1981 was Irina Vorobieva and Igor Livosky's year. They won both the European and World title that year in only their third season together, Vorobieva having previously skated with and won European and World medals with her previous partner Aleksandr Vlasov. After falling out of favor and finishing third at the next year's Soviet and European Championships and fifth at the 1982 Worl Championships in the rise of a new four year cycle of Olympic contenders, the pair retired early the following season after a second place finish at the NHK Trophy. The pair, like many Soviet pairs it seems, were married but later divorced. Vorobieva eventually moved to Colorado and has coached many top U.S. pairs teams including Shelby Lyons and Brian Wells and Tiffany Vise and Derek Trent, while Livosky also moved to the U.S. and took up a coaching career in Missouri.

FRITZ KACHLER

Interestingly, Fritz Kachler won three World titles both before and after World War I but made the choice not to ever participate in a Winter Olympic Games, subscribing to the belief that sport and nationalism should not be mixed.

After his competitive career, Fritz served as a mechanical engineer, international judge and the ISU's Vice-President for Figure Skating from 1957 to 1959. He passed away in 1973 in Vienna, Austria and holds the distinction of being one of only four skaters to have won World titles both before and after World War I, the other three being pairs skaters.

SABINE BAESS AND TASSILO THIERBACH

The only East German pair to ever win a World title, Sabine Baess and Tassilo Thierbach's long career certainly wasn't without great successes. They complemented their 1982 World title win with four other World medals from 1979 to 1984 and narrowly missed the podium at the 1984 Winter Olympic Games in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. In watching this video of their 1982 pairs free skate, it's very evident that their throws were ahead of their time and a great asset. After ending their career together in 1984, Baess married (she's now Sabine Marbach) and turned to coaching in Germany. She also had a professional career with another East German Champion pairs skater named Tobias Schröter who Baess and Thierbach previously competed against. Baess and Schröter finished third at the 1990 World Professional Figure Skating Championships in Jaca, Spain behind Anita Hartshorn and Frank Sweiding. Thierbach coaches in Germany as part of Ingo Steuer's team and owns his own machine installation business in Chemnitz, Germany.

MEGAN TAYLOR

Along with teammate Cecilia Colledge, Megan Taylor and Colledge were both the youngest ever competitors in any Olympic sport at age eleven when they competed at the 1932 Winter Games. Taylor finished second at two World Championships to three time Olympic Gold Medallist Sonja Henie and faced stiff competition at home and internationally from Colledge, an excellent skater in her own right. Despite finishing second to Colledge at both the 1938 and 1939 British and European Championships, Taylor had the last laugh, winning the World title both years. With World War II ending any chances of her international career continuing, Taylor turned professional and toured with Ice Capades, later retiring from skating, marrying twice and passing away in 1993 in Jamaica. She is remembered not only a World Champion but as an excellent free skater.

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.

The Other World Champions, Part 1

I wrote a series of articles called "The Other Olympic Gold Medallists" (Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3) that shared the stories of eighteen mens, ladies, pairs teams and ice dancing duos that won Olympic Gold and were lesser known to North American audiences. Their stories highlighted everything from love triangles and judging scandals to criminal convictions, a pop music career and winning an Olympic gold medal while pregnant. With the glory, magical memories and heartbreaking moments of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games now one for the record books and the 2014 World Figure Skating Championships in Japan just around the corner, I thought it only fitting to examine the stories of 6.0 World Champions that we may not know as much about we should!

ALAIN GILETTI

Alain Giletti started his skating career as something of a child prodigy, winning his first of ten French titles (nine in singles and one in pairs with Michele Allard) at the age of eleven. He also competed against Dick Button at the 1952 Winter Olympic Games, where he finished seventh as a twelve year old. He wasn't another Shirley Temple though; his success was lasting and impressive. He won a total of five European Championships from 1955 to 1961 and in 1960, became the World Champion. becoming the first French men's singles skater in history to do so. What made his 1960 World Championships win so fascinating was that he was on leave from compulsory military service to even compete at the event and was expected to return and do a four month tour of Algeria following the competition.

Prior to his military service, Giletti trained with coach Jacqueline Vaudecrane in Paris and previously with Pierre Brunet in the U.S. His amateur career came to a halt when he was unable to defend his World title when the 1961 World Championships were cancelled due to the horrific Sabena Flight 548 tragedy that claimed the lives of the entire U.S. Figure Skating Team enroute to that year's Worlds. He turned professionally and toured with both Holiday On Ice and Europe's Scala-Eis-Revue and later settled in Chamonix, France where he coached for many years, Surya Bonaly being one of his former students. Giletti currently coaches in the Angoulême area of France and is much sought after for his expertise in the technical aspect of the sport.

SERGEI VOLKOV

Following the retirement of 1972 Olympic Gold Medallist Ondrej Nepela, the skater to beat in compulsory figures on the men's side of things was definitely Sergei Volkov. A two time Soviet Champion and nine time medallist at that competition, Volkov was a master at compulsory figures but skated in the shadow of countrymen Sergei Chetverukin, Yuri Ovchinnikov, Vladimir Kovalev and Igor Bobrin for many years as he was not as dramatic of a free skater. Fortunes changed for him when in 1974, he won the silver medal at the World Championships and the World title the following year, besting not only his team members but outstanding free skaters like John Curry and Toller Cranston.

To give you an idea of how weighted compulsory figures were at that time, Volkov finished sixth in the short program and fourth in the free skate but still hung on to win the title by more than ten'placings over his nearest competitor Vladimir Kovalev. At the 1976 Winter Olympic Games in Innsbruck, he again won the figures portion of the competition but dropped so significantly in the short program and free skate that he found himself in fifth place overall. Volkov persisted in his amateur career from 1976 to 1978 with a new coach, Stanislav Zhuk, but by 1978 even found himself off the podium at his own National Championships. He retired and started a career as a coach and a family, having a son with his first wife and twin daughters with his second. Tragically, he passed away in Moscow at the age of forty one of stomach cancer in 1990.

ZSÓFIA MÉRAY-HORVÁTH

If you were a woman competing early in the twentieth century, you probably got more than a little nervous when they announced that the next skater to be judged was from Hungary. Lili Kronberger dominated for four years, winning four consecutive World Championships and in 1911, her teammate Zsófia Méray-Horváth was ready to take over the reigns, finishing second to Kronberger at that year's World Championships. The next three years, it would be Horvath's time at the top and the next three World Championships were hers for the winning. Sadly, as World War I cancelled the World Championships from 1915 to 1921, what could have been an even bigger success story never was. Méray-Horvath never returned to skating, as was the case with many skaters whose careers were displaced by the outbreak of both of the World Wars. She turned to a new life as a language teacher. The Romanian born skater who represented Hungary died at age 87 in Hungary in 1977.

GUNDI BUSCH

Like Méray-Horvath who was born in Romania and represented Hungary, Gundi Busch was born in Italy and went on to represent West Germany, becoming the country's first ladies champion in 1954. The daughter of a German businessman, Busch lived in Italy and The Netherlands before settling with her family in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and taking up skating as a four year old. She trained both in Germany and in London, England and quickly moved up the ranks in the skating world, finishing tenth at the World Championships and standing atop the podium only a few short years later.

She turned professional following her 1954 World title win, performing with the Hollywood Ice Revue and marrying World Champion Swedish hockey player Lill-Lulle Johansson. The couple moved to Stockholm, Sweden, where they had their son Peter Johansson. Busch coached skating for many years until she retired from coaching in 1997, the year her husband passed away. Sad news courtesy Anne: "Gundi Busch passed away at the beginning of February at age 78. The German Skating Federation put an obituary onto their website 3.2.2014. RIP." Rest In Peace Gundi!

ANDREA KEKESY AND EDE KIRALY

Ede Kiraly was an accomplished skater both in men's singles and pairs skating, winning 3 medals at the World Championships (1948-1950) just behind two time Olympic Gold Medallist Dick Button and 6 Hungarian titles as a singles skater but 4 Hungarian, two European and the 1949 World Championships with his pairs partner Andrea Kekesy. The Budapest duo also won the silver medal in pairs at the 1948 Winter Olympics. When his partner Kekesy turned professionala, Kiraly graduated from the Technical University in Budapest with a degree in civil engineering and emigrated to Canada, where worked as an engineer and taught skating in Oshawa, Ontario. After a long illness, Kiraly passed away at age 83 in 2009.

PAMELA WEIGHT AND PAUL THOMAS

Ice dancing wasn't always dominated by Soviet and Russian skaters like it was for so many years. As we can see with times changing and the top teams out there right now being largely North American, ice dancing was at its beginning a predominantly British discipline. The first nine years the World Championships officially included ice dancing in the competition, the Union Jack was flying high. The first four years were dominated by Jean Westwood and Lawrence Demmy, but the next British dance duo to rise to the top (however briefly) was the team Pamela Weight and Paul Thomas. Predecessors to great British dance teams to follow like Courtney Jones and his partners June Markham and Doreen Denny, Diane Towler and Bernard Ford, Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, Sinead and John Kerr and Penny Coomes and Nicholas Buckland, Weight and Thomas had been the previous year's silver medallists when they won their British, European and World titles in 1954. They retired immediately, Weight opting to raise a family and Thomas moved into the coaching world. He's currently a coach at the Calalta Figure Skating Club in Alberta alongside great skaters like Scott Davis, Annabelle Langlois and Cody Hay and Jeffrey Langdon, all accomplished skaters in their own right.

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 Suna Murray

Born in Tallahassee, Florida, Suna Murray's story has a fascinating connection to right here in Nova Scotia. Her father Dr. Stewart Murray grew up and played hockey here in the province. Suna started her skating career young, passing her preliminary figures test at the age of five, and through the tutelage of great coaches like Hans Gerschwiler, Peter Burrows and Louis Stong, quickly moved up the skating ranks. Splitting her training between New Jersey and Canada, Murray went to her first U.S. Nationals at the age of fifteen, earned a standing ovation and won the bronze medal, going on to represent the U.S. at the 1971 World Figure Skating Championships. She returned to the podium the following year and achieved every skater's dream: a trip to the Winter Olympic Games, handily outranking skating legend and soon-to-be 1976 Olympic Gold Medallist Dorothy Hamill in the process. Now a Harvard University graduate, mother and coach, Murray took the time from her busy life to talk about her skating career, experience at the Sochi Winter Olympics, coaching and much more in this lovely interview:

Q: You ended your eligible career and such a young age to pursue an education at Harvard University. Did you ever regret not continuing on and trying to make a second Olympic team or was your decision something you were at peace with?

A: I never regretted my decision to attend Harvard. The friends I made there have been life long friends. I have been to all my reunions and volunteer as a mentor for undergraduates.

Q: During your career, you competed against some of skating's biggest legends including Janet Lynn and Dorothy Hamill. What  was your relationship with the skaters you competed against like - were the rivalries as 'bitter' back in those days?

A: Janet Lynn was my idol. When I was twelve, Janet competed in the 1968 Olympics. I loved the way she moved across the ice. I have a funny memory. I was fifteen at my first World Championships. Janet sent her boots to the Skating Club Of New York to be sharpened. I remember touching her boots for good luck when they were sitting in the skate shop and remember Peter Burrows chiding me that she was now my competitor.

Q: Your daughter Kylie Gleason is a former Eastern Ladies Champion and U.S. competitor that you yourself coached for a time. How hard was coaching your own daughter?

A: It was not hard coaching my daughter. She loved to skate and was extremely self motivated. I was more concerned about school. Having gone to the Olympics myself, I knew what a small chance she had. She graduated from Harvard two years ago and now works in New York City as a Consultant for Bain & Co.

Q: You recently attended the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. What were the high points of your trip?

A: My favourite part was the Opening Ceremonies. My Olympic team in 1972 was so small: no ice dance, women's hockey or biathlon, short track speed skating or any of the crazy skiing events they have now. The Opening Ceremonies consisted of the Parade Of Athletes, a few speeches and a Japanese skater lighting the torch. The Opening Ceremonies in Sochi were incredible. There is no way that television could convey how moving they were.

Q: What were your thoughts on the Sochi figure skating events? Do you think that the current judging system is helping or hurting figure skating?

A: I was in Sochi through the men's event. I did not see the ladies. There is too much being made of the Russian judge hugging Adelina. I am sure the American judge hugged Evan after he won. As for IJS, it is what it is. We have to work within that system. I don't feel that it is hurting figure skating. The sport is getting more difficult every year. Now, you have to be an incredible athlete to accomplish what is necessary. Some skaters will never be able to accomplish the technical difficulty required.

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

A: Something people don't know about me... I tutor reading in Dorchester, Massachusetts (a poor Boston neighborhood) on Monday mornings. This is my third year with the same two little girls. They are now in fifth grade, almost reading at their grade level.

Q: What has kept you involved with the sport and loving it all of these years?

A: I love my job, I love skating and hope that I can give that joy to my students.

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.

Hidden Treasures: 6.0 More Fabulous Skaters/Teams That You May Not Know But Should

Hidden in plain sight, some of the most remarkable and phenomenal skaters are not the ones who have won medals on the world's biggest stages. They may not have handled the pressure of competition, excelled at the most difficult triple jumps, had styles that conformed with the mainstream or even gone down that path. On the blog, I've already looked at the Toller Cranston's and Duchesnays of the sport - and even interviewed groundbreaking professional skaters like Gary Beacom, Natalia Bestemianova, Doug Mattis, Rory Flack Burghart and countless others. The first piece I ever wrote when I started this blog was about 6.0 Fabulous Skaters That You May Not Know But Should and looking back at those performances got me thinking of so many other fantastic skaters that the casual or recent fan of skating may not have any idea about. Let's celebrate 6.0 more skaters who have absolutely made an impression on me and I promise will do the same for you!

KATHERINE HEALY

A protege of 1976 Olympic Gold Medallist John Curry, Katherine Healy was one of the best skaters out there who never pursued an "amateur" career. Turning professional at the unheard of age of 11, she skated with John Curry's Company and acted alongside Mary Tyler Moore and Dudley Moore in the film "Six Weeks" before hanging up her skates to focus on her career as a ballerina in the early 80's. After becoming the youngest ever lady to win the USA International Ballet Competition in 1984, she became a prima ballerina with the London Festival Ballet (English National Ballet)! After taking a break from dancing to graduate Magnum cum Laude from Princeton University, Katherine returned to dancing, again assuming prima ballerina roles with Les Ballets de Monte Carlo and the Vienna State Opera Ballet. Returning to the U.S. in 1997, Katherine resumed the professional skating career she long had put on the back burner. Just watching one of her performances shows that attention to body line and classical dance training that few skaters are able to translate to the ice and its simply just beautiful to watch. 

MICHELLE MCDONALD WHEELER AND MARTIN SMITH

A wonderful example of an ice dance team that really blossomed as professionals, Michelle McDonald Wheeler and Martin Smith won the 1991 Canadian Figure Skating Championships after successful careers with Mark Mitchell and Jo-Anne Borlase respectively, and turned professional in 1992, touring the world with Torvill and Dean, skating in Kurt Browning's TV specials and enjoying a following with their unique and edgy programs in professional competition. Their programs to "#1 Crush" by Garbage, "Give Me One Reason" by Tracy Chapman and "Glorybox" by Portishead are performances I just loved for their passion, creativity and sense of fun. Really enjoyed watching these two skate!

ALLEN SCHRAMM

A member of the U.S. international team for 5 years, Allen turned professional and coached internationally, spending some time as the national coach of the French skating team, who certainly benefited from his work in dividends judging by their always innovative styles and program ideas. Now coaching alongside his wife World Professional Champion Angela Schramm (Greenhow), Allen continues to pass on his inventive, languid and one-of-a-kind style to a new generation. All it takes is watching one performance - even a grainy one like this - to see that his style of body movement on ice really isn't like any skater you've ever seen and it really makes him one of the most interesting skaters you could ever watch.

JANE MORRIS COLLINS AND ALFREDO MENDOZA

I first discovered this wonderful adagio pair through the videos of Carl Moseley. I don't know if you're all familiar with Carl but he's a wonderful archivist of vintage professional skating materials and video from the early days of skating. I was mesmerized by this video of this early adagio pair performing as stars with Holiday On Ice and was determined to find out a little more about them! I sadly found out that Jane passed away in 2007, but from her obituary learned that not only was she a really sweet person but a compelling person as well. After becoming Miss Georgia, Jane went on to represent her state in the 1956 Miss America Pageant before focusing her attentions on professional skating. Jane and her partner Alfredo Mendoza (who was a former World Water Skiing Champion) toured the U.S., Mexico and Cuba with Holiday On Ice and even spent time at Cypress Gardens in Florida, helping the artistic staff create balletic routines to be made possible on water skis. Watching this performance shows that their adagio and pairs skills were truly, truly ahead of their time - a performance like this would thrill an audience just as much today as it did then. 

CHARLENE VON SAHER

An exquisite skater with beautiful body line, great technique and wonderful attention to choreography, Charlene von Saher took a very interesting path during her skating career. Born in Wimbledon, England, her mother Marei was a former West German skater in her own time - a silver medallist at the World Professional Championships. Charlene skated under Mary and Evy Scotvold in Connecticut alongside Nancy Kerrigan and first attempted a career in the U.S., finishing as high as 4th on the junior level nationally before opting to represent Great Britain in time for the 1991/1992 season. Despite being forced to withdraw from the 1994 British Nationals halfway through the competition due to a severe flu, Charlene was selected to represent Britain at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, where she dazzled with this memorable and stunning short program that was in my opinion grossly undermarked. Turning professional following that season, Charlene went on to skate professionally in Europe and the U.S. and even compete at the World Professional Championships (Jaca), the same event where her mother had competed decades before. Now a licensed realtor in Connecticut and New York, Charlene remains busy in her community, working with animals and several philantropic and artistic causes.

RICHARD DWYER

Known simply to many as "Mr. Debonair", Richard Dwyer holds the Guinness World Record For The Longest Skating Career. After winning the 1948 U.S. Novice title and 1949 U.S. Junior title, Dwyer competed against Dick Button at the 1950 U.S. Nationals and then went on to start a professional career at the age of 14 in 1950 and continues to lace up to this day! That's simply unbelievable... but it's true! Dwyer has performed with both the Ice Follies and Ice Capades, is a member of the U.S. Figure Skating Hall Of Fame and continues to make guest appearances at special events and the one thing that stands out about his skating is his absolute love of the ice and comfort with it. This performance from 2011, where Dwyer skates with Linda Fratianne, Tai Babilonia, Jojo Starbuck, Tenley Albright and Brian Boitano, makes me smile from ear to ear and I guarantee it will do the same for you. Richard Dwyer is simply the real deal. 

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 Chase Belmontes

Eighteen and full of talent, Chase Belmontes is a name that we are going to be hearing a lot of in the coming years. After suffering with the disappointment of not qualifying to compete at Nationals after already competing there previously, Belmontes fought back and won the pewter medal in the junior men's event at the 2014 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Boston. A skater with personality, flair and confidence, Belmontes took the time to talk about his career to date, fighting back from disappointment, his goals for the future, favourite skaters and much more in this interview that shows just how fabulous (and funny) he is.

Q: You skated very strongly at U.S. Nationals this year, finishing 4th in the Junior Men's event with a free skate that features six triple jumps. What are your proudest and most special memories from your skating career so far? What have been the most challenging?

A: My proudest memory is definitely Nationals this year. I skated the best I ever had so far, and everything felt amazing. It was also the best my hair has looked in a competition, which is an important milestone for me. Boston was absolutely wonderful, and my performances earned me my first international assignment, and being an alternate for Junior Worlds! My parents rewarded me with ice cream cake that said "Congratulations Chase!". One of my most challenging moments from my skating career was not qualifying to Nationals last year. It was really upsetting since I qualified the year before when I was novice. This was also a blessing in disguise because from that point on, I stopped dwelling on what happened and decided to be dedicated and determined to work as hard as I possibly could this season to get where I want. My goal was top six this year. I worked so hard that I surpassed that goal completely! Another challenging moment this year was getting injured a week before the Glacier Falls competition in California. I was off the ice for five days and skated only one practice before I competed. I still wanted to compete to test myself and my mental strength. I skated a clean short, landing my first triple/triple since the week before! My long program was horrendous and I'm surprised the audience didn't throw rotten fruit at me after... but I learned so much from that experience and it made me a better skater mentally and physically!

Q: Looking forward to next season, what are your main goals and what direction do you plan to go in with your programs? Will you be staying in the junior ranks or moving up to skate senior?

A: I plan on staying Junior just one more year. My main goals are to land my triple axel consistently, skate 2 clean programs at 2015 Nationals and I would love to earn more international assignments, including Junior Worlds. Ideally, my biggest goal though would probably be to become Beyoncé in every performance I do this upcoming year. I want the judges to be confused, yet starstruck that Beyoncé is on the ice. Right now I am planning on keeping my long program to "Princess Mononoke", but changing parts of it and rearranging the structure. I am planning on doing a more mature style for my short program next year, and Phillip Mills will be choreographing both of my programs again.

Q: You train at the Broadmoor Skating Club alongside so many talented skaters! How does sharing the ice with so many other great skaters push you to be a better skater yourself?

A: I absolutely love training at the World Arena and being a part of the Broadmoor Skating Club! The past years I have been training here, I skated with top names like Patrick Chan, Jeremy Abbott, Josh Farris, Angela Wang, Rachael Flatt, Agnes Zawadzki, Jason Brown, Ryan Bradley, and many others. Skating on the same ice with all of these amazing skaters is so inspiring. I always try to prove to myself and everyone that I belong on the same ice as these skaters, so I have to constantly improve to prove myself. A few weeks ago, I told John Coughlin that I would have to shave off one of my eyebrows if I did not pull in on five triple axels on the session I was on. Having a multiple national champion watching me jump and making sure I keep my end of the bargain is hugely motivating! I am an extremely competitive person, and have several other skaters who compete against me on the same ice. Of course, it makes me incredibly determined to constantly push myself to be better.

Q:  What do you see as your biggest strengths and weaknesses as a skater and how are you working in training to improve your weaknesses?

A: My biggest strength would have to be my jumping ability. I can land a jump despite having a ghetto take off. I would also say my stamina and passion are both strengths too. I always lose myself in my program, in a good way. My biggest weaknesses are probably my skating skills and program components. I am working really hard and taking ballet classes, dance classes, and on ice lessons several times every week to improve that weakness. This year my component scores nearly doubled from two years ago!

Q: I hear you kind of like Beyoncé just a little. What makes Sasha Fierce fierce in your opinion and would you ever skate to her music?

A: Beyoncé is my life. She is the queen of the universe. I would LOVE to skate to Beyoncé for my short, long, and show programs every year for the rest of my life.

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

A: My favourite skaters are Daisuke Takahashi, Michelle Kwan, and Mao Asada. Daisuke is one of my favorite skaters because of his amazing artistry and ability to do a different style every program. Mao is one of my favorites because of her combination of athleticism (triple axel) and how beautiful her skating and spins are. I also love Michelle Kwan because of her solid consistency and the heart and passion she gives into each performance. I get chills every time I watch her.

Q: Describe your perfect day off the ice! Where would you go, what would you do and how much coffee would you drink?

A: Technically, my perfect day might lead to me getting my stomach pumped, but in a perfect day that wouldn't happen. I would constantly be devouring Ben and Jerry's ice cream and pizza while constantly having good hair. I would spend time with my friends, going shopping, watching movies and being silly! My four cats would also be with me the whole time. I would have at least twelve Java chip frappucinos.

Q:  If a genie could grant you three wishes, what would you wish for (and no, more wishes are not a choice)?

A: First, I would wish to have the ability to snap my fingers and have donuts spontaneously appear in front of my face. Number two... It's generic, but I would wish to get where I want to go with skating, and create many more fantastic memories. Three, to skate pairs with Beyoncé when I'm not skating pairs with Gracie Gold.

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

A: I frequently go to IHOP and I love having their endless pancakes. One time I completely destroyed stacks after stacks of pancakes. I was three pancakes away from breaking the record of the most pancakes eaten at that restaurant! I was so proud of myself!

Q: What do you love most about being on the ice?

A: I love the freedom of being on the ice! I can always express my emotions on the ice, whether it's happily dancing to Beyoncé or having a complete mental breakdown. I'm also surrounded by my friends and people who support me and cheer me on, which is heaven. I love every second of being on the ice.

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.