The Martha’s Vineyard Arena transformed into a theatre over the weekend, with lights dimmed and black panels hiding the hockey Plexiglass that rings the rink. A red curtain decorated with icicle lights hung at the far side of the arena.
It was a fitting treatment for a show set to the theme Divas on Ice. The 27th annual Martha’s Vineyard Figure Skating Club spring show featured performances to music by Aretha, Whitney, Dolly, Beyonce, and Taylor (among others), with skaters of all levels getting the chance to display their skills. Bundled-up preschoolers slipped and slid through a obstacle course with help from older skaters and special guest Polly the Penguin. Freestyle skaters in middle school tapped their toe picks to intricately choreographed numbers. Elizabeth Smith, a senior at the high school who has been skating since she was five, performed in her last show to Because You Loved Me. Alexander Aiken, a former national competitor and frequent at the skating shows, drew cheers with his interpretations of Crazy in Love and Uptown Funk.
Backstage before the show, youngsters in the Arena Tots program stood in a circle and held hands as they readied for their big number (set to Gloria Estefan’s Conga). It would be a little different from practice, they were told.
Assistant show director Beth Blankenship-O’Connor, who performed in the skate show when she was growing up, came into the room and waited with the tots and their parents.
“We’ll watch the big kids skate,” Ms. Blankenship-O’Connor said. “And then it’s our turn."
Comments
Comment policy »