March 2008
We would like to thank all the awesome people who helped get us out on the ice for our first World Championships. Let’s go in chronological order. First, thank you so much Mitch Lewis for retrieving Brent’s new boots from the Philadelphia Skating Club. Then, thank you Liz Lewis for thinking to put some nice pink guards on the skates! Next, thank you Joan Josephson for meeting Mitch at the airport and then transporting the skates from Philadelphia to Goteborg (the thing we couldn’t seem to accomplish.)
On the Goteborg side, thank you Madelyn from accreditation for relentlessly calling the airline to track the bag. And thank you also for encouraging us to go on with plan B. Next, thank you Galina from accreditation for finding material for a new OD outfit. We are glad we did not officially give you a heart attack when approaching you with our request for an African outfit, though we know we came close. Very sorry. Thank you clothing store H&M for having Argentine Tango appropriate clothing, and thank you Britt from the organizing committee for altering all the store bought clothes. Of course, thank you also Britt for being so positive and confident that we could not only have costumes, but have good looking ones at that!
Thank you Tania Bass for
the Fed Ex package with not only a new OD shirt, but extra material
to use. Then thank you Ing-Marie for the brown OD pants that were
made overnight. That is record speed in our books! Next thank you
again Tanith and Ben for loaning a pair of skating pants for the
freedance. Looks like we don’t need to use them now, but it
definitely put our minds at ease.
Thank you John Millier, Kathy Slack, and our coaches Robbie and Cheryl.
For the most part we all kept our cool, and John definitely kept us
going with a sense of humor!
Finally, thank you everyone here and from home who were concerned and wanted to help. You made us feel so special. Thanks!
Pre-Season
This has been a crazy off season. Coming off a truly satisfying and successful year we decided to follow it up with two brand new programs. Our spring and summer have been really busy trying to push our skating to a new level. But what’s really exciting about this year is that we are trying to bring in a lot of off-ice expertise for our programs. One of our goals has been to become better at off-ice dance and try and translate that as realistically as we can to the ice. We have always been good at performing emotionally, but we feel like we can expand that through our whole bodies.
So, what else is new for this year? Well, you might want to be sitting down for this. My hair is short. I know, it’s a big deal, I really miss it. But, it looks great. And for Kim, well, she is more beautiful than she has ever been. Also, to be able to perform these new and really difficult programs we have focus a lot of our off ice conditioning.
To be able to do all of this we have had a lot of support. From our families to our fans, to the USFS. Everyone around us is stepping up there game to help us step up ours. And we truly appreciate it.
It time for me to get back to training. I hope that you noticed that I didn’t tell you what we are skating to for next year. That’s because I hope that you will get the chance to see us in person at either our grand prixs or at nationals. And if you can’t be there in person to yell, scream, and enjoy. Then you will hopefully be able to catch us on tv.
See you there - Brent
April 2007
Well, this has been quite an exciting season. It has marked a lot of firsts- first international medal, first Grand Prix competition, first trip to Four Continents and first National medal! This last one could have been a bit too exciting for me; I took my first fall due to excitement trying to get to the podium during my first awards ceremony. (Hopefully some of you caught this and were able to enjoy a good laugh…. what are embarrassing moments for anyhow?) Also for the first time we were featured in Skating magazine and even got to answer our first “Kid’s Questions.”
So, with all these new adventures, we still feel like we are just beginning. It is such a nice feeling as we know there is so much more to learn about skating, competing, ourselves, and each other.
Right now we are taking this time to not only work on our basics, but also try other movements and styles, to become better skaters, dancers, and performers. We are also getting new show programs choreographed in preparation for our upcoming exhibitions. Please check them out if you are in the area. We will once again have two fundraiser shows, both in Ardmore, PA and Santa Rosa, CA. First on the bill is the “Night of Champions” at the Philadelphia Skating Club in Ardmore, April 21st, which will feature the extraordinary Richard Dwyer!
In
closing, we would like to say that our skating will always and forever
be touched by Michelle Van Dyke, a skating coach, friend and inspiration
in Santa Rosa who recently passed away. Michelle came to Spokane for
the free dance event at Nationals, and though not well enough to come
to the arena, her presence and the energy she brought with her (in the
form of those called “Team Michelle” :> ) created an
aura that made the evening incredibly special. Michelle has always been
both a part of my skating life and my actual skating and will continue
to always.
July 26, 2006
This entry is being written a little bit in reflection of Nationals, which has been our most exciting competition to date (yes, in the large span of the 10 months we have been together.) There is something about Nationals that makes it unlike any other competition during the season. Everything is amplified--the space, the crowds, the nerves, the stimulation—and of course it being an Olympic year, all this came across even more. Knowing all this, but not knowing how we would deal with it as a team, we had our little pre-game talk a few weeks prior to leaving for St. Louis and decided that when all was said and done, we wanted to make sure that we would walk away saying that we let ourselves enjoy the whole experience. This can surprisingly more difficult than it may seem. However, we kept that goal in the forefront of our minds and ended up having such a fulfilling week.
One of the best moments was the morning Free Dance warm-up, where we got to share the ice with all the top teams. All the spectators were cheering and smiling, and there were so many requests for autographs afterwards that we definitely got our fair share of an ego boost. It is pretty cool to be surrounded by so many people who love to watch skating. Participating in something that can seem so selfish at times, it is nice to think that maybe you can also make someone else happy, even if just for a moment.
Of course the highlight of the week was the actual Free Dance event. A huge thanks goes out to anyone sitting in the front rows who kept their promise to clap for us during our skate. The crowd was awesome! An award should go out to all the St. Louis spectators. Hopefully it is known how grateful skaters are to receive such encouragement and support.
Nationals
was a pretty excellent experience for us. It is funny because some people
came up to us that night after the Free Dance and said, “I hope
you guys aren’t too disappointed” Our response- “How
could we be?!! We just had one of the most exceptional moments of our
lives!!”
October 23, 2005
Our first international trip and competition together….and somehow we managed to stay partners and friends the whole time! All joking aside, we really had a great time at the Karl Schafer Memorial. Vienna was GORGEOUS. Somehow we scored perfect weather and found plenty of time to sight-see. Hard to name our favorite sight, since we didn’t exactly see eye-to-eye on that. Brent’s favorite site, which just turned out to be Kim’s least favorite sight was a random stop off the Vienna subway line named “Philadelphiabruke.” We had to have been the first tourists to ever take time away from the beautiful sites to see a random suburb of Vienna. Brent has some crazy Philly pride! Cheryl and Kim passed the time trying to figure out exactly where this Philly pride comes from anyhow.
The competition itself went very well, even after mix-up at the first draw, leading to a second draw in which we drew first! The Tango Romantica was the selected dance, which we were psyched about because it is one of our favorite compulsory dances. We skated well and continued to improve throughout the competition, finally placing 4th in the freedance and finishing 5th overall. We were very happy with our performances and very grateful to have the opportunity to compete internationally. With each competition we learn more and gain more experience with each other.
Overall is was a pretty successful trip, especially since Kim was able to find the “Gruner Veltliner” wine specifically requested by her boyfriend and Brent was able to find his pre-competition Belgium waffle! :>
August 28, 2005
It is difficult to completely describe how memorable the “Spirit of Champions” exhibition, in Santa Rosa, CA turned out. In fact, the whole weekend was incredible. There was a skating seminar one day, followed by the exhibition, reception, silent auction, and raffle the next. It being our first exhibition at Snoopy’s Home Ice and only our second exhibition ever, we were hoping just to generate some excitement and support. Our hopes were far exceeded; so many people turned out to participate, whether it be to watch, skate, or volunteer. The energy around Snoopy’s Home Ice was amazing.
The line-up for the exhibition was very exciting. We got to get out on the ice several times, but that wasn’t the best part in our opinions; we had local talents, such as Nina, Sam, and Domina, along with long time SRFSC member and fellow Nationals teammate Jordan Wilson….and then to top it all off we had the beloved Skippy Baxter and legendary Richard Dwyer. How lucky we felt to skate with such a star-studded group. The reception immediately following was equally impressive. Food, refreshments, good friends, and beautiful weather- couldn’t really ask for anything more. There was also an amazing assortment of silent auction and raffle items. Doug Van-Dyke of E.R. Sawyer Jewelers generously donated two $500 gift certificates to his store. Thank you Doug!
What did we learn from the whole weekend? We learned that everyone in Santa Rosa sure knows how to put on a show. We can’t wait until next time!
Saturday, August 13, 2005
Welcome to our first journal entry! We have just returned from The Lake Placid Ice Dance Championships and it feels great to have our first competitive experience together under our belts. Between the very new judging system and all the fantastic teams, it is an extremely exciting time to be an American ice dancer. We were very pleased with our performances in Lake Placid, particularly considering how early it is in the season….and not to mention how early it is in our career! We feel that we’ve laid down a very solid foundation and that seems to have come across in Lake Placid. Goal achieved!
Now we are back to training, keeping in mind all the helpful feedback we received in Lake Placid. We are also preparing for our upcoming seminar and exhibition in Santa Rosa, CA next week. It should be an incredible event! There is an amazing raffle and silent auction line-up, in addition to a spectacular cast of Santa Rosa skaters. Please check out more information about The Spirit of Champions event on our website. And you can always email us regarding any questions you might have. Please come check it out if you are in the area!
Have a great summer!!
Kim & Brent