{"id":2452343,"date":"2019-12-18T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-18T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=317820"},"modified":"2019-12-18T05:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-12-18T12:00:00","slug":"its-become-a-part-of-me-snowmass-teens-talk-about-love-for-dedication-to-figure-skating","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/its-become-a-part-of-me-snowmass-teens-talk-about-love-for-dedication-to-figure-skating\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cIt\u2019s become a part of me\u201d: Snowmass teens talk about love for, dedication to figure skating"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.5040871934605\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-317820-195\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/skating-svs-121819-4-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/skating-svs-121819-4-1024x653.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Kelsey Brunner\/Snowmass Sun | Audrey Solberg, 13, left, and Quynh Solberg, 13, perform a Mary Poppins inspired routine during the Snowmass ice show in Base Village Saturday, December 14, 2019.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"2\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"15\">\n<p><strong>Audrey Solberg, 13, left, and Quynh Solberg, 13, perform a Mary Poppins inspired routine during the Snowmass ice show in Base Village Saturday, December 14, 2019.<\/strong><br \/>Kelsey Brunner\/Snowmass Sun<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/skating-svs-121819-4-1024x653.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Audrey Solberg, 13, left, and Quynh Solberg, 13, perform a Mary Poppins inspired routine during the Snowmass ice show in Base Village Saturday, December 14, 2019.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/skating-svs-121819-4-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/skating-svs-121819-4-1-1024x682.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Kelsey Brunner\/Snowmass Sun | Savannah Kallas, 14, performs an ice skating routine for the Snowmass ice show in Base Village Saturday, December 14, 2019.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"12\">\n<p><strong>Savannah Kallas, 14, performs an ice skating routine for the Snowmass ice show in Base Village Saturday, December 14, 2019.<\/strong><br \/>Kelsey Brunner\/Snowmass Sun<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/skating-svs-121819-4-1-1024x682.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Savannah Kallas, 14, performs an ice skating routine for the Snowmass ice show in Base Village Saturday, December 14, 2019.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/snowmass\/its-become-a-part-of-me-snowmass-teens-talk-about-love-for-dedication-to-figure-skating\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/snowmass\/its-become-a-part-of-me-snowmass-teens-talk-about-love-for-dedication-to-figure-skating\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText DropCap\">As snow flurried around Snowmass on Dec. 14 and the mountain\u2019s lifts began winding down, a group of Aspen-Snowmass figure skaters started warming up.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">It was just before 5 p.m. when the young teens began gliding across The Rink in Snowmass Base Village, sporting holiday sweaters and sequined leotards, preparing to perform for dozens of locals and visitors.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s fun to perform when all of the skiers are coming off the mountain and they stop, look and are amazed at what we can do,\u201d said Audrey Solberg, 13, a Snowmass skater with the Revolutions Skating Club in Aspen.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s unique,\u201d added Quynh Solberg, 13, Audrey\u2019s sister. \u201cNot a lot of people do it, and it\u2019s very different from normal sports.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">For about 45 minutes that night, Base Village spectators cheered on the Aspen-Snowmass skaters, and two professionals, as they performed as soloists or in groups during the Snowmassive Celebration.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The Solberg sisters performed a roughly two-minute duet to a Mary Poppins tune, and a host of other young skaters showed off their skills over similar bursts of time to holiday songs like \u201cWhere Are You Christmas?\u201d and \u201cCarol of the Bells.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">But while a handful of skaters said they enjoyed the holiday performance, they also acknowledged that it was just a glimpse of what they do daily on ice.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s become a part of me because I\u2019ve been doing it so long,\u201d Quynh said, noting she and her sister started figure skating at 4-years-old. \u201cIt\u2019s shown me I\u2019m a lot stronger than I think I am and has made me a more independent person.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">About an hour before the Dec. 14 skating show, the Solberg sisters and two Snowmass skaters with the Aspen Skating Club, Corrie Buchanan, 14, and Savannah Kallas, 14, talked about what the artistic yet extremely competitive sport means to them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">All four Snowmass teens said it\u2019s a lot harder than you think, but that the work and dedication they\u2019ve put in so far has resulted in a deep love for figure skating.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s a competitive sport and I\u2019m a really competitive person so I enjoy it, but it\u2019s also a way to express your feelings,\u201d Kallas said. \u201cSome days it can be really stress relieving, especially after a long day of school. You can just get on the ice and let it all go.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Both Kallas and Buchanan said they spend a few hours every day on the ice, practicing their footwork, turns and jumps, and also take dance classes to supplement their skating.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">But while a lot of time is spent on perfecting each skill, or move on ice, the young skaters said the artistic side of skating comes with choreographing each performance to music they can relate to.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWhen you pick your music you have to feel something to skate with it well,\u201d Kallas explained.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Simply put by Teri Hooper, longtime coach and a former high-level skater herself, you don\u2019t get far in figure skating unless you work hard.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">It\u2019s a year-round sport that requires an unwavering work ethic, Hooper said, and is both individual and team driven.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">As a coach with the Aspen Skating Club, Hooper said she hopes her skaters, ranging from age 2 to 70, develop strong time management skills, dedication and self-confidence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s very rewarding to watch the skaters learn, develop and to share the influence skating has had on me and my life,\u201d Hooper said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">And skating has already had a great influence on the young Snowmass skaters\u2019 lives, too. Moving forward, the Solberg sisters said they aren\u2019t sure where skating will take them, and both Kallas and Buchanan have their sights on performing with Disney on Ice, or maybe even in the Olympics.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">All four skaters agreed that they hope to compete and perform on ice for as long as possible.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI fell in love with skating and it\u2019s just something want to keep doing for as long as I can,\u201d Buchanan said. \u201cWhen you first try it, it\u2019s really hard, but if you keep working at it, it\u2019s a lot of fun and you might just fall in love like we did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\"><a href=\"mailto:mvincent@aspentimes.com\">mvincent@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/snowmass\/its-become-a-part-of-me-snowmass-teens-talk-about-love-for-dedication-to-figure-skating\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Audrey Solberg, 13, left, and Quynh Solberg, 13, perform a Mary Poppins inspired routine during the Snowmass ice show in Base Village Saturday, December 14, 2019.Kelsey Brunner\/Snowmass Sun Savannah Kallas, 14, performs an ice skating routine for the Snowmass ice show in Base Village Saturday, December 14, 2019.Kelsey Brunner\/Snowmass Sun Show CaptionsHide Captions As snow [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2452343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-19 01:43:31","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2452343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2452343"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2452343\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2452343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2452343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2452343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}