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Orangeville figure skaters perform at Carnival Show

April 4, 2019   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

A spectacularly lit ice pad at the Centre Dufferin Recreation Complex served as the backdrop for the Skate Canada Shelburne Carnival Show on Sunday, March 31.

Figure skaters from the club showcased their skills after a season of hard work and practice to a large and appreciative audience.

The Club invited skaters from Skate Canada Orangeville to perform at the Carnival.

The Orangeville club held their final showcase the previous week at Tony Rose arena in Orangeville and invited Shelburne skaters to be a part of their season finale.  

The theme this year was Dancing Through the Decades with skaters performing to songs from the 50’s right up to present day.

“This is our finale for the year,” explained Shelburne club director Bill McCutcheon. “All the Star Skate groups have two or three numbers and some of the girls have a solo as well. All of the smaller kids are in a group they’ve been working all year.”

Around 60 skaters took part in the event. 

“We started in the last week of September,” McCutcheon said. “We have from two and three year-olds up to 18. Our business is to teach people of any age how to skate. There’s six levels in the CanSkate program. Once they graduate from CanSkate they move up to the Star Skate level.”

The Skate Canada Orangeville club’s final showcase was the 60th year the club has performed after starting way back in 1959.

“We had around 163 skaters this year,” said Orangeville club president John Grey. “Some skated in the first half and other skated in the second half. We thought we’d get the clubs working together so we invited Shelburne to send s group down to our show and they we turned around and sent a group up here to take part in their show. 

Thirteen skaters from Orangeville performed in the Shelburne show. Orangeville skaters have the opportunity to stay on the ice through the spring. 

“We have a spring skate coming up from April 2, to May 2, at the Alder Street arena in Orangeville. 

For the skaters, performing for an audience gave them the chance to show what they’ve learned and demonstrate their skill on the ice.

“When I’m on the ice, I feel like I can say anything,” summed up figure skater, Emmilee Voss, of how she likes the freedom of the sport.

Emmilee performed a solo skate for the audience. The 16 year-old has been on the ice since she was a toddler. She has skated at several venues and been with the Shelburne club for five years.

“You have to be motivated, “ Emmilee said of being part of the skating world. “After you fall, you have to be able to get right back up. I have to skate almost every day. Skating makes you feel very accomplished. When ever I get on the ice I feel like I’m here to do something – and I’m going to do it.”

The skaters performed a variety of routines set to music.

Some skaters performed as a group while several of the older, more experienced performed solo routines under a spotlight in front of the enthusiastic audience.

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