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Volume CXXXIII, Number 18 |
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Local skaters show off and teach moves
By March 3 the Winter Olympics will be history and TV coverage
will return to normal. But America's fascination with figure skating -
which surges every four years (especially if an American athlete medals)
- will linger on.
Local fans of the Olympics' most popular sport don't have
to go through skating withdrawal just because the winter games end. The
Skating Club
of Brunswick will present "That's Entertainment," its annual
musical skating extravaganza at 6 p.m., Sunday, March 3, at Dayton Arena
on the Bowdoin College campus.
Audiences will have the opportunity to see over 50 local
skaters perform
individual and group routines to Broadway and patriotic music.
The skaters, who range in age from three to 76, are all
members of the Skating Club of Brunswick or students at the Bowdoin College
Skating School. They will be joined on the ice by special guest stars,
including Jr. National Intermediate dance pewter medalists Fiona Donegan
and Ian Commee of Maine, and Jr. National Juvenile ladies silver medalist
Julianna Cannarozzo of New Hampshire.
The show will celebrate America, with a first act revolving
around New York City, and a second act steeped in patriotism. Among the
highlights, the Bowdoin Skating School's junior drill team will perform
a group number to "New York, New York," and the Thursday morning
adult class will perform to "Sunny Side of the Street." Routines
will also be performed to "Skaters Waltz," "Hero,"
"Shenandoah," "Grand Old Flag," "Yankee Doodle,"
and "Coming to America," the unofficial theme of the Salt Lake
City games.
Advance tickets are $3, and are available at Shop 'n Save,
Elm Street, Brunswick, or from any participating skater. Tickets at the
door are $5. For more information call (207) 729-0951.
No matter what your age or athletic prowess, you've probably
been inspired by Scott Hamilton or Michelle Kwan, and dreamed of landing
a
triple axel or performing a perfect layback spin center ice. Local skating
shows like "That's Entertainment" provide the opportunity to
see figure skating live. And the Bowdoin Skating School has provided lessons
for decades to aspiring skaters, or skaters who just want to have fun
on the ice,
for decades.
"Skating is a passion," says Brunswick native
Linda Despres, who has taught at the skating school for over 20 years,
and been its director for 15. "Once you take it up, it's always with
you. Even if you take a sabbatical from it, you always come back."
Despres first started skating at the Bowdoin Skating School at age 11,
and knew immediately she wanted to do it for the rest of her life.
Offered through the Department of Events and Summer Programs
at Bowdoin, the Skating School attracts students from all over Maine.
High school students from across the country have been known to investigate
Bowdoin's ice facilities and skating school when applying to colleges.
Lessons are held for tots and adults every Thursday morning from 9-11
between October and March in Bowdoin's Dayton Arena. Sessions for older
kids are given on Saturdays.
For more information about the Skating School, call (207) 725-3433.
Courtesy of the Office of Communications
Bowdoin's official sports information site- box scores, latest results, directions to games