Sports
Trenton Skater to Represent Team USA in Spain
The Harmony Theater Company will be sending two teams to compete in Spain at the Nation's Cup this April.
A local Michigan team has been selected to represent Team USA at the Nations Cup for theatrical skating.
Harmony Theater Company, which is based out of Hartland, will travel to Spain in 2013, where two of the four teams will compete to bring home the gold for their country.
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With 48 young skaters representing towns across Michigan, the skaters will perform a long program and short program in a combination of theater and skating.
“Theater on Ice is a combination of technical skating and theatrical skating, it’s like musical theater on ice,” coach Michelle Hunt said. “It’s done in six minutes and we can have up to 30 on our team and we tell a story from beginning to end.”
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Although details of their upcoming performance our kept secret, The Harmony skaters are working hard to prepare for their elaborate performances that will include music, costumes, acting and technical skating.
“Skating is so tense- competitive skating- it really is,” Hunt said. “So this is just a nice outlet to remember that you love skating. To have that one day that you just get to come in and have fun and still be competitive and still be challenged, but just to enjoy yourself.”
Isabella Colasanti, 16, says she decided to try theatrical skating to join a team and skate with her friends.
“You can tell that everyone is having fun,” the Highland skater said. “But they’re trying their best and they want to win.”
This past June, the team traveled to Ohio where they competed at the National Theater on Ice Competition. The skaters from the preliminary team won gold, while the junior, senior and adult teams won bronze.
Their accomplishments and placing during Nationals earned them a place on the US team, according to Hunt, and fulfilled a team goal she and her young skaters had set back in 2009.
“What’s a better life lesson than that,” Hunt said. “Work and achieve your goals, now we just have to get them there.”
Fundraisers and Community Support
The team, which currently has no sponsors, will be sending 64 people including skaters and coaching staff to compete in April.
“I feel like its such an amazing opportunity for any child to be able to compete for their country,” Hunt said. “It’s our own form of a little Olympics here.”
Focused now on fundraising, team parent Lisa Johnson, who handles public relations for the team, said they were determined to make sure each skater was able to make the trip.
“They’re talented, they’ve earned this right and we don’t want them to not be able to go because it’s a financial burden,” Johnson said. “That would be a crime.”
Several team fundraisers will be planned for the team, with the first one taking place this Saturday at LaFountain Automotive, where $20 will be donated to the team for each person who comes to take a test drive.
The team also accepts donations through their website. To make the trip to Spain, each skater needing $2,500 so the team is hoping for support from the communities their skaters are from including Birmingham, Brighton, Bloomfield, Fenton, Hartland, Highland, Royal Oak, Novi and White Lake.
For many of the young skaters, however, the reality hasn't hit yet that they will soon be wearing red, white and blue and skating for their country.
“It hasn’t really sunk in no matter how many times I’ve told someone,” said Hartland skater Jacque Shrader-Goetz.
For now, the team continues to focus on their skating, spending hours on the ice preparing for their journey together.
“They’re dedicated to their sport,” coach Baiba Lieckfield said. "They work really hard, but they’re dedicated to each other. They love it, they love each other and they work hard together. I’m really proud of them."
The Harmony skaters also have a Facebook page for anyone who would like updates or to follow the team on their journey to Spain.
Harmony skaters that will travel to Spain and be competing in the Nation's Cup include:
Senior Team
City
Junior Team
City
Bartholomew, Paige
Brighton, MI
Alestra, Madison
South Lyon, MI
Beck, Holly
Fenton, MI
Amick, Bree
Canton, MI
Bodo, Emily
Howell, MI
Apple, Carly
Milford, MI
Brown, Richard
Detroit, MI
Bennett, Remington
New Lothrop, MI
Colasanti, Isabella
Highland, MI
Biehl, Abbey
Pinkney, MI
Conrad, Paige
South Lyon, MI
Biernacki, Beth
Fenton, MI
Corrigan, Kelsey
Brighton, MI
Brooks, Angela
South Lyon, MI
Craw, Victoria
Monroe, CT
Bryant, Kelli
Brighton, MI
Dorantes, Olivia
Bloomfield Hills, MI
Colasanti, Sonoma
Highland, MI
Frost, Mikenzie
Davison, MI
Domka, Anna
Brighton, MI
Griswold, Emily
Madison Heights, MI
Gallette, Sophia
Birmingham, MI
Guerra, Crystalrose
Los Angeles, CA
Greenwald, Halle
Fenton, MI
Hanson, Ashley
Royal Oak, MI
Iglewski, Holly
Brighton, MI
Hartsell, Steve
Westland, MI
Kummerfeldt, Meghan
Howell, MI
Hunt, Piercyn
Grand Blanc, MI
Legacy, Alissa
Brighton, MI
Kormos, Alyssa
Milford, MI
McDavid, Shannon
Milford, MI
Lepkowski, Cat
White Lake, MI
McDavid, Sydney
Milford, MI
Lepkowski, Megan
White Lake, MI
Nussle, Jacob
Fenton, MI
Lieckfield, Ali
Howell, MI
Pagogna, Isabella
White Lake, MI
McGraw, Erin
Hartland, MI
Petty, Anna
Novi, MI
Olson, Ashlyn
Grand Blanc, MI
Shrader-Goetz, Jacque
Hartland, MI
Pantano, Ashlee
Fenton, MI
Vermillion, Jessica
New Hudson, MI
Rickert, Morgan
Swartz Creek, MI
Wignal, Cassandra
Trenton, MI
Tamakloe, Candice
Soutfield, MI
Vassel-Beasley, Jolie
Bloomfield, MI
Wagner, Chloe
Birmingham, MI
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