The atmosphere was vibrant. There were plenty of smiles.
And there was colour – yellow, green, red, blue and everything in between.
The 52nd Annual Ice Show by the Innisfail Skating Club on March 12 at the Arena dazzled with pure joy from 65 girls and boys who performed under a Colours theme.
It was a different type of presentation from years past. The skaters, who ranged in age from three to 17, did not dance to a targeted theme – like Broadway show tunes, something they may have dedicated themselves to work on for several weeks towards their big Ice Show moment.
Instead, they aimed to show family, friends and supporters the skills and techniques they learned over the course of the season during an afternoon that featured the magic of colours and song, and finishing with an It's a Wonderful World finale.
“Every song is done with colours,” said Linda Paré, president of the club for the past three years. “You will note that Lady in Red will have all the various dances the girls have learnt. They send out two girls doing one dance and a couple of other girls doing another dance.
“In Blue Suede Shoes they will be doing all the things they've done all year,” she added.
Paré said this year's show was special to her because it shows supporters how participating club skaters have evolved over the course of the year.
“I really like this one (show) especially because it really shows what they are capable of, rather than something that has been choreographed by a coach. It actually shows the child themselves, parents, grandparents and community what they have done all year,” said Paré. “With something like this you don't have to prepare quite as long as if you are practising a theme because it is stuff you have practised all year.
“The girls' solos are the ones that they have used in competitions,” she noted. “It is all just carrying on, rather than spend a whole bunch of time and money trying to separate everything.”
And while the annual Ice Show may seem like an event that marks the end of the season, many of the club's skaters will continue to work hard on their growing skills.
“We are not stopping there. We are going to Red Deer to carry on longer,” said Paré, noting the ice at the Arena is being removed at the end of the month.
She said while many young members will be completing Pre-CanSkate and CanSkate learn-to-skate programs this month, others are carrying on with competitions, including one in Bashaw this weekend and another in Lethbridge at the beginning of April.
“They are big, strong competitions where you get all the skaters coming from various areas and places,” said Paré.
Linda Paré
"I really like this one (show) especially because it really shows what they are capable of, rather than something that has been choreographed by a coach."
