Skaters twist, jump at ‘Angels on Ice’
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By Jody Ferres | Sunday, December 17, 2006 |
Photos by John Schultz/QUAD-CITY TIMES Ice skating to the “High School Musical” melody is, from left, Lauren O’Brien, Meghan Olt, Alexis Toporowski and Jessica Fenske during their performance at the Angels on Ice presented by the Figure Skating Club of the Quad-Cities on Saturday afternoon at the Quad-City Sports Center, Davenport.
Anya Cockerell, a member of the Figure Skating Club of the Quad-Cities, performs to the song “All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth” during the Angels on Ice show at the Quad-Cities Sports Center.
Raw Video: Angels on Ice
ith a sequin-filled Santa skirt and fur-lined top, Sophia Maioriello glided across the Quad-City Sports Center ice on Saturday afternoon.
Pulling off spirals and turns, foot-work and small jumps, Maioriello was all smiles as she danced and skated to “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.” Her long, dark curly hair trailed behind her as she skated, with the crowd of 300 pairs of eyes glued to the ice.
As the song ended, she bowed and threw the audience a kiss. For some, ice skating in front of a crowd of more than 300 would be nerve wracking, but for the 6-year-old Bettendorf kindergartner didn’t think a thing of it.
More than 90 skaters twisted, jumped and sashayed to everything from “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” to “Santa Baby” during the annual “Angels on Ice” holiday ice show at the Quad-City Sports Center.
Hosted by both the center and the Figure Skating Club of the Quad-Cities, the holiday show gives local skaters an opportunity to shine on their home ice. The rink was transformed with a Christmas tree montage complete with a life-sized deer.
Roger Weste moved his family from Wisconsin to DeWitt, Iowa, last year so his two daughters could skate and compete at the Quad-City Sports Center.
“This is their first holiday show here,” said Weste, who was searching for a better coach for Talyia, 15, and Dalena, 17. “This really gives the girls confidence.”
Skating to “The Chipmunk Song,” a sister’s number and also with the synchronized skating group, Talyia and Dalena enjoyed what they hope will be one of many “Angels on Ice” shows.
“Everyone does so many different numbers,” Dalena said. “I like to come out and take a peek to see what they put together.”
The two-hour show included skaters from the club and the sport center’s Learn to Skate program. While some only skated in one number, several skaters had multiple costumes and songs to skate to. From solo skates to synchronized skating, skaters as young as five and as old as 60 can have a role in the holiday program.
“We all really enjoy doing this,” said Susan Schweegler, the club’s president. “It’s very enjoyable to ham it up for friends and family.”
The club has been performing a holiday show for the past 10 years. Skaters spend about a month learning and perfecting numbers for their holiday performance. With regional competition just finishing for the competitive skaters, having the show right before the holidays can be a nice transition into the spring competition season.
It’s shows like this that got Schweegler hooked.
“We have so much fun. We’ve been skating for 11 years,” said Schweegler, who also has a daughter active in figure skating. “Shows like this are what got us excited about getting into figure skating in the first place.”
Having older club members like the Weste sisters is one of the things Bella and Anthony Maioriello like about having their daughter, Sophia, skate at the center.
“She can look up to the big girls and see what she could be doing in a few years,” Anthony said. “The best thing about the holiday show is that all kids that are new to skating can participate as well.”
Maioriello started skating when she was 4 and fell in love with the sport.
“She gets angry if we don’t take her four or five days a week,” said her mother, Bella. “Whenever her eyes are open, she’s jumping. It’s a great outlet to expand her energy and it’s always her choice whether to go or not.”
The city desk can be contacted at (563) 383-2450 or newsroom@qctimes.com.
SKATE WITH SANTA
The Quad-City Sports Center will be sponsoring its annual Skate with Santa from 2-4 p.m. today. Admission is $2 and skate rental is $2.
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