{"id":39385,"date":"2025-03-04T19:36:09","date_gmt":"2025-03-05T00:36:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/?p=39385"},"modified":"2025-03-05T12:36:34","modified_gmt":"2025-03-05T17:36:34","slug":"legacy-on-ice-a-powerful-showcase-of-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/legacy-on-ice-a-powerful-showcase-of-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Legacy on Ice a Powerful Showcase of Community"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Photo by Melanie Heaney<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"Editor’s note: The Legacy on Ice benefit<\/a> raised $1.2 million to be distributed equally between U.S. Figure Skating Family Support Fund<\/a>, Greater Washington Community Foundation\u2019s \u201cDCA Together Relief Fund\u201d<\/a> and DC Fire & EMS Foundation<\/a>.\u00a0 On March 30 at 1pm, it will be broadcast on NBC. An online auction<\/a> will remain open through April 3.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

It was an emotional afternoon on Sunday, March 2 as the figure skating community, along with Washington, D.C. first responders, came together to honor and remember the 67 people, including 28 members of the figure skating community, killed in the crash of American Airlines Flight 5342 on January 29. The show\u2019s hosts, Brian Boitano and Kristi Yamaguchi, welcomed the near-sellout crowd, noting that \u201cwhile it is important to mourn the lost lives, it is also important to celebrate them\u201d and the impact they had.<\/p>\n

With each heartfelt performance, the skaters shared both grief and resilience with the audience in the arena and those watching online around the world. Joining the skaters on the ice was an array of past champions \u2013 Nancy Kerrigan, Paul Wylie, Scott Hamilton, Kitty and Peter Carruthers, Richard Dwyer, Peggy Fleming, Michael Weiss, Johnny Weir and Nathan Chen assisted Boitano and Yamaguchi with tributes and skater introductions.<\/p>\n

Among the particularly moving performances was Junior skater Sofia Bezkorovainaya\u2019s graceful skate to \u201cSomewhere Over the Rainbow.\u201d To honor her coach Inna Volyanskaya and training mates Everly Livingston and Franco Aparicio, and their families, Sofia wore the same dress worn by Everly this season. Following her solo, Sofia was joined by Washington FSC clubmates in a group number to \u201cYou\u2019ll Be in My Heart,\u201d ending with Sofia holding a bouquet of flowers upward, in memory of their coach and friends.<\/p>\n

Newly-minted Four Continents bronze medalist Jimmy Ma gave an emotional performance to \u201cI\u2019ll Fly Away,\u201d the music Jinna Han, one of the four Skating Club of Boston members lost in the crash, skated to this season. Fellow SCOB members and U.S. pairs champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov immediately followed Ma with a lyrical skate to \u201cPapa, Can You Hear Me?\u201d that had the audience spellbound.<\/p>\n

But the biggest emotional moments came from Max Naumov and Isabella Aparicio. Max, U.S. pewter medalist, chose to honor his parents and coaches, 1994 world pairs champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadym Naumov, with a powerful program to their favorite song, \u201cThe City That Doesn\u2019t Exist.\u201d In his introduction, Wylie explained that whenever the song would be played, Evgenia and Vadym would \u201cjump up and slow dance together because it had such a deep emotional connection for them.\u201d There was not a dry eye in the arena as Max poured his emotions into his skating, ending on his knees looking up toward the sky with tears in his eyes.<\/p>\n

Franco Aparicio\u2019s sister, Isabella, summoned incredible courage to skate a moving tribute to her father and brother. Skating to a recording of her father playing Pachelbel\u2019s \u201cCanon in D\u201d, Isabella gave a graceful performance while fighting back tears. Most in the audience also had tears in their eyes as they gave her a standing ovation.<\/p>\n

Johnny Weir\u2019s \u201cMemory\u201d, in tribute to the University of Delaware FSC members \u2013 coach Sasha Kirsanov and ice dancers Sean Kay and Angela Yang and their mothers \u2013 lost in the crash, and Ilia Kulik\u2019s \u201cGabriel\u2019s Oboe\u201d tribute to his student Olivia Eve Ter of the Ion FSC, showcased their beautiful skating. Sarah Everhardt\u2019s sophisticated program to \u201cI\u2019ll Take Care of You\u201d by Beth Hart, skated in tribute to the Skating Club of Northern Virginia members lost in the crash \u2013 Brielle Beyer and her mother, Edward Zhou and his parents, and Cory Haynos and his parents \u2013 showed a strong connection to the music. She should consider this genre of music for a competitive program.<\/p>\n

Other skating highlights included Amber Glenn\u2019s lyrical and powerful skating to \u201cRise Up\u201d, Jason Brown\u2019s show version of \u201cImpossible Dream\u201d, Andrew Torgashev\u2019s short program to \u201cL\u2019Enfer\u201d by Stromae, Alysa Liu\u2019s \u201cHero\u201d (in tribute to the first responders), Camden Pulkinen\u2019s \u201cOn the Nature of Daylight\u201d, Madison Chock and Evan Bates\u2019 \u201cOnce I Was Loved\u201d and Ilia Malinin\u2019s \u201cHope\u201d. Group numbers \u201cHalo\u201d, a re-creation of Yebin Mok\u2019s choreography class at this year\u2019s National Development Camp (NDC) and ending with a trio skate of Ashley Cain, Gracie Gold and Mok, \u201cImagine\u201d, and Capital Theater on Ice\u2019s tribute to their teammates Everly and Alydia Livingston to Vivaldi\u2019s \u201cFour Seasons\u201d and \u201cFlying\u201d by Cody Fry were also deeply moving.<\/p>\n

From the show\u2019s first notes to the finale to Lady Gaga\u2019s \u201cHold My Hand\u201d that ended with the cast holding hands in a heart, the underlying theme was of unity and shared strength. Moments and gestures interspersed throughout the show \u2013 Naumov encircled by Ma, Efimova and Mitrofanov as they raised a candle together, a moment of silence with audience members holding up their phones with flashlights on, the acknowledgment and applause for the hundreds of first responders at the crash scene \u2013 emphasized that no one grieves alone and those lost will never be forgotten.<\/p>\n

And there was also resilience. In a brief video preceding the \u201cHalo\u201d number, Kevin Coppola, director of this year\u2019s NDC, affirmed, \u201cThe 2025 National Development Team will forever have 151 members in our hearts and we will keep gliding for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo by Melanie Heaney Editor’s note: The Legacy on Ice benefit raised $1.2 million to be distributed equally between U.S. Figure Skating Family Support Fund, Greater Washington Community Foundation\u2019s \u201cDCA 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