This is slightly off topic, but some of you may be involved in similar projects, and this is a note of encouragement.

The skating school that I helped start and that my daughter coaches at just had their end of season skating show. As this was their first season, it was also their first show, which had to be put together from top to bottom in just six weeks.

We had one Russian coach (one of the school's two owners) saying "You cannot do this in six weeks, you need ten," and another Russian coach who had skated with Disney on Ice for twelve years saying "It will be alright." We did "The King and I," which is a great show for a school, as there are loads of kids in it.

We got the costumes from Chinatown at the last possible minute after the online store in Singapore emailed that they couldn't meet our deadline for shipping. We didn't have a clean run-through until the last session before the show. My daughter, who led the Basic 4 class, came off the ice saying for the first time "it's going to happen."

Not only did it happen, but it was really great. Our two Russian Disney on Ice coaches skated two pairs programs, my daughter and two of the owner-coach's students skated their programs (as foreign visitors to the court,) and all the kids did their group numbers without a hitch. There were a few spills, and I talked one tyke into staying on the ice after a nasty spill by telling her that now she was a real skater, as real skaters in the Olympics fall and get up and keep going. That was my role on the ice, to take care of any unexpected events. One thing I did which was not planned, was to tape a program on the glass in several different spots as a quick reference for the coaches. I also picked up any fallen accessories such as fans or ribbons, and I stayed with a younger group while their coach skated solo.

The costumes were gorgeous, bright colored "kung-fu" suits that we got at a bulk discount price. Most importantly, the parents were pleased and the kids had a real sense of accomplishment. I suspect the school just broke even on the show.

I've only been involved in a couple of shows, but I've never seen one completely ready until the day of the show.

Lots of voluntary help seems to suddenly pour in, routines that looked terrible in rehearsal suddenly come together, and everyone always has a great time (more or less).

And that's what it's really all about... having a great time!!!!

Bless the volunteers!

I am working on a show right now. I have to spend at least 1-2 hrs on it everyday & that's just for the development!

My wife and I just helped out at our local rink ice show.. Three shows over three days. We checked all the kids in and out for each of the 20 different programs....we were tired, but we had loads of fun...

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Keeping School Figures Alive!!