Whitehorse Daily Star

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Photo by John Tonin

MEETING SCARECROW – Dorothy, played by Mikayla Kramer, meets Scarecrow, played by Sarah Milton, during the Arctic Edge Skating Club performance of the Wizard of Oz On Ice at Takhini Arena on Saturday.

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Photo by John Tonin

INTERMISSION SHOW – Special Olympics athlete Tijana McCarthy performs a solo routine during the matinee presentation of the Wizard of Oz On Ice in front of a packed Takhini Arena on Saturday.

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Photo by John Tonin

TAKEN TO THE WITCH’S CASTLE – Mikayla Kramer, centre, is captured by the flying monkeys. She is surrounding by the Marching Winkies and her travelling companions Scarecrow (Sarah Milton), Tinman (Bronwyn Hays), and Lion (Lenneah Timmermans).

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Photo by John Tonin

WELCOME TO MUNCHKINLAND – Canskate and Early Academy skaters perform as the Munchkins during the first act of the Arctic Edge Wizard of Oz On Ice performance.

Arctic Edge brings Oz to Whitehorse

The lights were dimmed and you would not have been able to play hockey at Takhini Arena on Saturday.

By Whitehorse Star on February 18, 2019

The lights were dimmed and you would not have been able to play hockey at Takhini Arena on Saturday. The stands were packed with eager onlookers waiting for the Arctic Edge Skating Club to take them to Oz.

The lights faded further and the announcer came on over the speakers to welcome the audience and introduce the performers from the Arctic Edge as well as the skaters from Haines Junction.

The spotlight turned to the centre of the ice, the music for Somewhere Over the Rainbow began to play and Dorothy, played by Mikayla Kramer, who trains out of Kelowna, glided onto the ice alone. The show had begun.

This was not the first time the Arctic Edge has organized a winter showcase. It is the first time the show has followed a story.

“This is the first time Arctic Edge Skating Club has tackled a full storyline,” said coach Anna Milton during the intermission. “We have given a whole bunch of onerous to the skaters to become the character in the role they were assigned. They have done a lot of their own choreography and they’ve done a fabulous job.”

As the story progressed Dorothy was whisked away to Oz in the tornado performed by the senior and intermediate StarSkate. There she came across all the characters people remember so fondly from the movie.

Alissa Russel (Glinda), Sarah Milton (Scarecrow), Bronwyn Hays (Tinman), Lenneah Timmermans (Lion), Anika Kramer (Toto), Carrie McClelland (Wizard), Chloe Van LankVeld (Mayor of Oz), and Jamie Nickel (Wicked Witch of the West), all wowed the crowd, in turn, with solo performances of their own design.

The choice to perform to the Wizard of Oz soundtrack was decided upon to give the younger skaters a different opportunity and to better entertain the crowd.

“It has more appeals to the younger skaters and the spectators,” said Milton. “We also wanted to try something different and thought the soundtrack we thought would work really well.”

The performance looked it had been planned for months but Milton said it came together quickly before opening day.

The performance looked it had been planned for months but Milton said it came together quickly before opening day.

“We planned a lot of hours over a very short period of time,” said Milton. “It was probably about four-weeks running into it to get it going before opening. Everyone has chipped in to pull it off.”

As well as performing their skating ability, Milton said it was the first time a lot of the skaters had also had to act.

During the matinee intermission, the crowd was treated to two performances. One was by Yukon Special Olympian Tijana McCarthy, who dazzled the audience with her routine.

The young skaters brought the show to life performing as the crows, Munchkins, and poppies to name a few.

As the Wicked Witch began to melt and Dorothy clicked her heels to go back to Kansas the curtains closed on the performance on what was a stunning display of athletic ability and theatre.

Comments (1)

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Cheryl Van Blaricom on Feb 18, 2019 at 8:00 pm

Nice article! It is a very positive contribution to our skaters and our Community. Thank you!

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