Dancer, Racer and Now a Skater

 Freshman Fun!

I have only skated a few times before and I have thought about taking figure skating lessons but I didn't. When I was signing up for classes at the College of Charleston I saw the beginner figure skating class and decided to take it and I am really glad I did because I've had so much fun.

I had so much fun and was able to learn so much from Coach Debbie. Every Wednesday from 1 to 3:30 I went to the Carolina Ice Palace in North Charleston from August 21 to November 20.

For the 14 weeks we had class we learned so many skills and during the second half of the semester we had to create a skating program. We were able to get into groups, however I decided to go solo. I was worried we wouldn't have enough time to get together to complete it and I already had a vision in my head before we started the programs.

The first two videos were from my 4th class on the ice and the following video is from my 5th class.

When I first got on the ice I was really shaky and nervous about falling. Through Coach Debbie's instructions I was able to improve my balance. Being a dancer and transitioning to the ice is not the easiest thing to do. When I dance I have to keep my weight in the balls of my feet, when skating forward the weight in my heels and skating backwards the weight is in my toes. I think this was the most difficult part when I first started because I had to think about it more.

Over the weeks of skating I improved so much from when I started. I even bought my own skates, I have a wide foot so the rental skates kind of hurt my feet. I really like my skates because I am the only one wearing them so are able to mold to my feet and feel comfortable.

I bought this Up dress in Disney a while
back and decided it was perfect to
wear for my program.

When I started my program I didn't know what song I wanted to use but I knew I wanted to use a Disney song. The more I listened to songs I decided to use "Married Life" from the movie Up. I love this song because it is a beautiful piece and it is very graceful and I knew I would be able to choreograph to it. I didn't want to pick a song that was fast because being a beginner and going fast can be hard to control and stop.

Overall the experience was so much fun. When we performed our programs of November 20, I was so nervous because I was the only one on the ice for about 3 minutes.

They videoed all of the programs so we can watch them later and either remember them or look back at them later to see how much we may have improved.

Next semester I am taking the intermediate skating class. They also talked to me about taking the adult classes at the ice palace because they really liked my program and they want me to improve further with skating.

This is my skating program, some parts were shaky because I was nervous but overall I was pretty happy with how I did.