Hollywood on Ice: The Skating Club of Vail ends its season with “Under the Silver Screen”

The Skating Club of Vail saw record turnout for its annual ice show April 13-14, with new show director Gretchen Lentz returning to Vail to lead the effort after growing up in the program herself.

This year's theme was “Under the Big Screen,” a showcase of Hollywood films and the songs that helped make them popular, and featured 45 kids from the Skating Club of Vail and the Vail Recreation District's Learn to Skate programs in Vail and Eagle.

The kids skated to classics like “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” from “The Wizard of Oz” and “Overturn” from “The Sound of Music,” as well as more recent pieces like the “Avatar” medley and “Pink” from “Barbie.”

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The children began rehearsing for the show in February, with some skaters on the ice 4 to 6 hours a day, 3 to 5 days a week, in an effort to prepare for their roles.

Staking Club of Vail cast members Scarlet Ackerman, Harlie Ross, Rafi Ross, Llana Ross, Teagan Deimund and Ingrid Gerdes were part of a group called the Choctaws, who trained in 4-hour blocks, four days a week . The Rockers, featuring Brooke Weaver, Resi Gaxiola, Frida Ascencio, Avery Deimund, Swazy Slott, Allison Joyce and Lea Jewgieniew, trained in 3-hour blocks, three days a week. And the Mazurkas, who included Myra Street, Laura Recart, Leo Calioglu, Hadley Skinner, Olivia Winkleman, Adriana Koleva, Gabriella O'Gorman, Isabella Fundureanu and Ivanka Jewgieniew, trained in 2.5-hour blocks, three days a week .

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“They were doing this on top of their school work and everything else they were doing,” Lentz said.

At the April 14 show, Lentz made a special announcement to recognize Ingrid Gerdes, a junior at Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy, who also participated in the International Freeskiers & Snowboarders Association tour while preparing for the show on ice.

“Not only did she attend every rehearsal, but she also competed in the IFSA Junior Big Mountain Freeride Ski Championship on Saturday before the ice show, placed sixth at the event and finished fourth in the standings overall of the season,” Lentz said.

New role

Lentz became entertainment director at a time of change for the club. The annual ice show dates back decades in Vail, but after historically taking place during the week between the Christmas and New Year holidays, it was recently moved to a spring slot, creating a new ice sales challenge. tickets.

And the decision to hire a dedicated show director was another change for the club from last year, when the club used a group of directors to plan and run the event.

But Lentz herself had participated in the ice show in a single-director format when she was doing the Skating Club of Vail program and knew she could take on the role. Most recently, she skated under the direction of Charli Kennedy, who served as the show's director from 2017 to 2021.

Lentz finished college in May and returned to Eagle County where she was offered the show director position in October. She said that after studying marketing at the University of Northern Colorado, she was able to apply some of what she learned to make the show a success. In addition to being the show director, she is also the club's marketing president.

Lentz began the season by conducting an analysis of the club's marketing practices and seeing where they could improve.

“I knew we were missing out on some major ticket demographics by not having the show in December, and we needed to make up for that,” she said. “So we really stepped up our marketing and did some fundraising efforts that coincided with the show.”

By the time the first show on April 13-14 began, the club had sold approximately 200 more tickets than last year, making it the most successful show to date in terms of ticket sales.

“I wanted the kids to have fun, but I also wanted the club to succeed, because ice cream is expensive and we have to pay for it,” she said.

Life lessons

In addition to taking on the roles of show director and marketing, Lentz herself skated in the show.

Lentz joined her friend Caroline Pellerito for a duet on the song “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody” from the movie “The Great Gatsby.” Pellerito just returned to Eagle County after spending a year touring with Disney on Ice. They also brought in guest skater Lilah Gibson, a member of the United States National Figure Skating Development Team, who performed a solo to close the show.

Lentz said this part of the program helped showcase a higher level of skating and gave students something they could aspire to.

But Lentz said there's another reason to bring in top skaters, one that may not be as obvious to the public.

“They fall too,” she said. “And it’s important for our younger children to see that.”

Because younger participants are sometimes easily discouraged, Lentz said she enjoys seeing top performers make occasional mistakes, even if it creates an uncomfortable moment for the audience.

“Kids see that not everyone is perfect and you're going to fall and you're going to mess it up,” Lentz said. “But that's part of the beauty of figure skating: life lessons and the biggest lesson is that life is going to knock you down, but no matter how many times it happens, you just get back up, keep going to skate and continue to perform.”