The Soldotna Regional Sports Complex figure skating team will be dancing their way across the ice Sunday at an annual show.
The show, “Can’t Stop the Dancing,” will bring together figure skating and a wide variety of different dance styles, said Madalyn McEwen of the Soldotna Parks and Recreation Department. There will be performances Sunday at 1 and 4 p.m. at the complex.
McEwen has led the figure skating team for 22 years and is the director of the annual event, which is now in its 11th year.
“It’s all the local skaters and all the numbers have something to do with dancing,” McEwen said. “We try to do a couple of group numbers and individual numbers, it’s pretty mixed.”
The local skaters range in age from 6 to 60 years old and each participates in several numbers throughout the act.
“My favorite would probably be the couples numbers because there are so many different ones with different ideas of dancing attached to them,” Rachel Shassetz of Soldotna said.
Shassetz, who is 18 years old, has been skating with the team her whole life, she said.
“It’s our 11th ice show, which is cool, and I’ve been in all of them,” she said. “It’s always fun working with everyone and all the new people that come in every year. I always look forward to the shows and seeing the new people come to watch them.”
McEwen has choreographed each of the figure skating team’s shows, each year choosing a different theme. The team begins planning the theme in November and starts practicing their performances starting around December, according to Shassetz.
Last year, the team performed “Heard it on the Radio,” but McEwen is very excited for the variety of music that this year’s theme offers, she said.
“I just started looking for good songs that have dancing or dances that go along to it, we’ve got a little bit of everything. We have the peppermint twist. There’s country. There is anything from rock ‘n’ roll to ‘I Got A Feeling,’” McEwen said. “They’re going to do skating routines and dancing, there is some dance in each routine. There is a bunch of twirls out there, ballerinas and everything.”
Tickets for the show are $6 and can be purchased at the door Sunday. The first performance is at 1 p.m., followed by a second performance at 4 p.m.
“It’s a fun event that we do every year and it’s great to see all the people that come out for it. I love watching the kids skate in their costumes, the lights, the camera and seeing the routines.” McEwen said.
Reach Kat Sorensen at kat.sorensen@peninsulaclarion.com.
The Soldotna Regional Sports Complex figure skating team presents “Can’t Stop the Dancing,” on Sunday, April 2 at the sports complex with two performances at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. The annual event features routines by local skaters of all ages. (Photo courtesy Madelyn McEwen)
