Types of Group Numbers for the Holiday Show

Christmas is coming the goose is getting fat, time for the rink to do a skating show with hats.

Honestly, I always see a lot of hats at Christmas  Winter Solstice  Snowy Holiday  Winterval   Festivus Saturnalia  okay, at the rink show in December.

Also, Hats rhymes with fat, so call me doggerel lazy.

Anyway, I went skating today (45 minutes! 2 1/2 laps backwards!) and saw people out working on their programs with 3 foot long candy canes and decided to present a universal Holiday Show on Ice!

The Coaches Group Number

The Group number of a bunch of weak skaters and a star skater

The Group Number with the best costumes

The Basic Skills 1 class...
They get the biggest round of applause....

But the adults steal the show with a classic Adult Swizzle Train Number

Adults know how to shake it baby!

Also, adults know how to 'shake it' after the show too!

An Ice Show Group Number: A Time Line (edited)

Phase 1: Herding Cats--Everyone's all over the place

Phase II: Herding Flamingos--people know their spots but there's some wildness still going on

 

Phase IIb: The skaters get 'into' their roles as zombies--Every one has a different zombie artistic vision...

 

Phase III: The group number comes together and the coach's vision is realized

 

Phase IV: The show: Now and Forever!

 

PhaseV:The Coach Gets a well deserved nap

Thanks to Coach Amazing for her great choreography and super coaching! Here's a virtual bouquet of our thanks!

Death Has Left the Building

The Ice Show is over.

Scariest thing about it? Skating with that hockey stick. I swear, if I do this again, I'm going to work on learning how to do a spin or even a crossover with that stick. And proper hockey skating in dance boots. I felt like a pre-alpha skater with that stick. Tried a 3 turn with it---not doing THAT again.

Second scariest thing? Skating with a hockey stick in the Finale. Dozens of little kids going really fast. I just skate off back stage rather than be on the ice in the melee' and run the risk of tripping or whacking one.

I don't know how the costume looked from the stands. If you were there, please let me know if the bones showed. I'm not really satisfied with the look of the 'robe'. Maybe next time, I'll go with a cape, or oooh, a custom costume. Let me tell you, it would have been cheaper to go custom. There's probably $150+ in all that stuff. The floaty glittery fabric alone was $11 a yard! And I think I cut it wrong. Sigh.

On the other hand, the vertical line on the leggings does make my legs look slimmer. *wink*

 

I skate on Team Death

But now that I have the costume, I'm wondering if I can do a Dance Test in it,

Maybe, the Midnight Blues? Hmmm.

Although at the rate I'm going, that costume might be a heads up to the judges on my ability to do the outside Mohawk in the Rocker Foxtrot.

*Sigh*  Back to real skating for me. See you at the Ice Show next year!

Dress Rehearsal

I spent 5 1/2 hours in my skates the other day. I now understand why there are special 'coach skates'. My feet were on fire after all the driving, and skating, and walking around in skates, and some more driving. I moisturized and got some heat to my feet and they feel much better.

The rehearsal went really well. All of the skaters but one showed up, and we all got input from our coach. Most people can hear their musical cues, and there's only a couple of skaters I have to cue directly. So my role as the "Yeller of Numbers" has pretty much gone away.

Thank the Lord.

My costume--the Personification of Death---is mighty fine. I have pictures, but I'm not quite ready to post them until after the show.

How can I tell my costume is "mighty fine"? Well, I  stepped out into the lobby in full costume with my mask on and two very small kids screamed in terror. Their mom and I spent 5 minutes explaining about costumes, and acting. After that, I didn't put the mask on until I was ready to step on the ice. There were lots of little kids around.

Who's that scary lady?

Backstage, behind the curtain, had some scary moments of its own. I'm back there in a mask, with a hockey stick and surrounded by little kids. The curtain is held up by poles that in turn are held up by 2'x2' metal plates.

DANGER!

So, behind the scenes skating safety:

Step one: Don't fall
Step two: Don't whack a kid with Death's Scythe (a hockey stick)
Step three: Don't step on a metal plate
Step four: Don't step on the concrete where the zamboni sits since for some reason the gate is open
Step five: Don't fall on a kid
Step six: Don't fall on the hockey stick

Since I wrote the above, I've been sent a video of the last half of the rehearsal. I'm pretty much invisible once I get behind the line of zombies skaters, which is what I'm supposed to be. The part where I'm center stage wasn't videoed, so I don't know if the 'working it' that I was doing paid off. Sigh. At the end I noted, "NEED MORE KNEEBEND."

Also, I need to be taller. By about a foot. So I need a foot more leg.....hey I'm surrounded by zombies maybe I can use one of theirs!

The costume, though, D*** it looks fantastic!

I look just like this but with a hockey stick instead of a scythe, a hockey mask instead of a hood, a shorter robe,  tattoed arms instead of sleeves, plus I'm shorters and cuter.

Got the picture?

The Ice Show Cometh

I'm not quite panicked yet, but a little tremble of speculative unease is beginning to build.

Last night Coach Amazing gave me my choreography as the Angel of Death for the zombie number. The dress rehearsal is coming up. And there's going to be spotlights at the show. This weekend I finish the costume, and take it to practice on Saturday freestyle. As soon as it's picture worthy, I'll post it.

Basic Costume Idea

On the lighter side, I took a plastic foot and plastic hand to Coach Amazing for her to use on zombie costumes. "You can now say I gave an arm and a leg for the show," I said.

What does my choreography consist of? In the beginning, I have to do some simple 'band leading' of the herd of zombies, then I have to skate around and cue people by clacking the hockey stick and calling out their numbers so they can strut their zombie stuff one at a time. I think this is where the spotlight comes in. They get spotlighted as they do their jumps or spins. I have to cue one skater by touching her, since she's hard of hearing, and that's about it. At the end I have to do a slow two foot rotation waving the hockey stick over 'dead' zombies and fake laughing. So, nothing special.  No jump, spins, and I suspect a swing roll is not a good Death move. I was tempted to do the step behind from the Rhythm Blues, but I have to cover too much ice.

This role would be dynamite for someone with real skating skills. Somebody tall and thin, who could pass for Death. But, they've got me.

Hi! I'm short, cute Death.

The Hockey Stick

Coach Amazing gave me a kid's hockey stick to practice with for the ice show during show practice. Her words were, "We'll build you up to a regular stick though."

I ham it up quite a bit 'directing' the zombies in time with the music, slapping the stick onto the ice to cue the next skater to do her bit (so far all girls), and generally try not to fall on the thing. I've been warned not to carry it 'high'. Really that seems the safest place for it.  I don't want it out in front of me where I can fall on it. But carrying high appears to violate some hockey 'safety' rule, so I have to push it around with the blade on the ice while I weave around the show skaters. That terrifies me.

For once I'm allowed to hunch over and skate with a wide stance. No one's yapping at my heels about 'extension' with a russian accent.  The stupid stick though disrupts my balance and arm position. I really feel uncomfortable doing quick turns, even two foot ones unless the thing is carried over my shoulder. Still, I'm at least getting some experience with it. Hope I don't whack someone with it. One of the freestylers strayed into show practice ice while I was looking at Coach Amazing. I could have taken him out in a heart beat if I hadn't heard his skates clatter.

Too bad I still can't do a hockey stop. It's not something that comes up in ice dance.

Thank God.

 

Small but fierce

Dr. Death is waddling into the Building

As part of the spring ice show, I have been selected to be Death--Destroyer of Worlds. Since commercial costume sizes run very small I have to wear a Plus size costume. Right now I feel like Muffin---Destroyer of Waistlines.

We had our first practice last week at Big City Rink with the director, Coach Amazing, going over the basic dance steps for the block of skaters. Recruiting is still going on and we don't know how many adults will participate.  My role as Death---Destroyer of Worlds, is to use a hockey stick  to lead the zombie orchestra, and use the stick to 'sweep' the star performers into their turns as their time comes up. It's a character role. I skate around a lot and wave my arms.

My job is to be a ham.

I can do that.

The problem is the hockey stick.

I've done this role before at Lake Placid and I practiced with the stick there. But my role was very small. I hung around the boards and shook it 'evilly' at people. Then at cue one  I skated in the center, did a slow two foot spin and slammed the stick down on cue two. This time there's more skating.

But no place to practice with that stupid stick. The stick is sized to the player. Do you know how tall most players are? How short I am? I need a child's stick. Not very threatening.

So I'm a little concerned with the stick. Under the press of time, I consulted Coach Cruella who said 'hold it this way' then 'no, this other way'.  And in the end I was no more certain than before.  I may end up having to consult Dance Coach at HockeyTown Rink who apparently skates on the 'losingest' recreational hockey team in the HockeyTown area. Other hockey players at the rink rave about his skating. "OMG. It's amazing the stuff he does!" They'll say then go on to describe some trivial figure skating thing--like a three turn into some mohawk to a back three into a power crossover. In their eyes he's this amazingly fluid hockey skater instead of an amazing fluid ice dancer in a jersey.  I asked him about this one time. "So, does your skating background make you good at hockey?" He rolled his eyes, "No stick skills." 

But do you know how to hold one?

Coach Amazing wanted me to wear a hockey jersey over my costume. So, NO. First off I'm paying for the costume myself and hockey jerseys cost Real Money. And don't come in petites. I said I'd make a fake jersey and put a fake emblem on the back.


Then we were stumped. We skate at the Big City practice rink for an NHL team. Which is better (politically)? Put the local hockey team's emblem on the back or a rival hockey team's emblem on the back?  Coach Amazing grabbed Notable Bob to ask his opinion.

He said, "Well, there's the Flyers. We have a rivalry with the Flyers. And the emblem is black and white." a pause. "Or the Penguins."

I was a little surprised by my visceral reaction. "I am not skating as a Penguin. I already look enough like a penguin!"

They do have the most adorable emblem though. It makes you want to go out and hug a hockey player.

Hug a Player.

So back of the costume, still undetermined. Pretty sure though, I'm not going to waddle away in my Plus sized costume with a penguin on the back.

Edit: For those interested, there will be a skull on the back......Maybe.