sunjoy
04-09-2007, 11:41 PM
This was a charity event where the FSH (http://www.figureskatinginharlem.org/inside/index.html) girls get to skate and schmooze with top-name skaters.
Sasha was having fun on the ice, "boogie-ing" to the music (but not really skating, just hamming it up for the girls).
Evan got mobbed the most for autographs.
I recognized Johnny as he walked into the rink, and without really thinking, shouted "yeah johnny!" from the pedestrian overpass that I was watching from. He turned around and waved, which rocked! :)
There was one really little girl (must have been around five y.o.?), who had a really good scratch spin. She went around concentrating on practicing her elements, more-or-less oblivious to the flow of traffic, which was mostly CCW (except for ppl going into spins).
Also there among the name-skaters were Arakawa, Scott Hamilton, Tanith & Ben, Emily, (maybe Sarah as well, not sure), Timothy Goebel. Czisny was announced, but I didn't see her on the ice. None of them figure-skated, although a few skated with the FSH girls, and posed for pics on the ice, etc.
Figure Skating in Harlem (http://www.figureskatinginharlem.org/inside/index.html), is a group that tutors girls on and off the ice. Something like 70% of the girls are "B" students, the rest are "A" students. Good grades are part of the deal: no grades, no skate!
The FSH girls did a couple of group numbers in really colorful costumes. I think one was from Lion King. Their spotlight skater tried a few double-toes -- shaky landings, but I was impressed. It's got to be insanely nerve-wracking to skate in front of top-name skaters, and from what I hear, the FSH girls are strictly recreational; they don't compete, so not much experience skating for audiences at all.
ETA: I also felt some uncharacteristic fondness for Donald Trump, whose company runs the rink. It's probably one of the prettiest places to skate in a major city, and undoubtedly one of the prettiest places in NYC. That's a consequence of the Wollman family, but Trumpco keeps the rink humming along with sufficient cleanliness and efficiency, and for that I'm glad.
Sasha was having fun on the ice, "boogie-ing" to the music (but not really skating, just hamming it up for the girls).
Evan got mobbed the most for autographs.
I recognized Johnny as he walked into the rink, and without really thinking, shouted "yeah johnny!" from the pedestrian overpass that I was watching from. He turned around and waved, which rocked! :)
There was one really little girl (must have been around five y.o.?), who had a really good scratch spin. She went around concentrating on practicing her elements, more-or-less oblivious to the flow of traffic, which was mostly CCW (except for ppl going into spins).
Also there among the name-skaters were Arakawa, Scott Hamilton, Tanith & Ben, Emily, (maybe Sarah as well, not sure), Timothy Goebel. Czisny was announced, but I didn't see her on the ice. None of them figure-skated, although a few skated with the FSH girls, and posed for pics on the ice, etc.
Figure Skating in Harlem (http://www.figureskatinginharlem.org/inside/index.html), is a group that tutors girls on and off the ice. Something like 70% of the girls are "B" students, the rest are "A" students. Good grades are part of the deal: no grades, no skate!
The FSH girls did a couple of group numbers in really colorful costumes. I think one was from Lion King. Their spotlight skater tried a few double-toes -- shaky landings, but I was impressed. It's got to be insanely nerve-wracking to skate in front of top-name skaters, and from what I hear, the FSH girls are strictly recreational; they don't compete, so not much experience skating for audiences at all.
ETA: I also felt some uncharacteristic fondness for Donald Trump, whose company runs the rink. It's probably one of the prettiest places to skate in a major city, and undoubtedly one of the prettiest places in NYC. That's a consequence of the Wollman family, but Trumpco keeps the rink humming along with sufficient cleanliness and efficiency, and for that I'm glad.