Juneau Skating Club to thaw winter blues in annual spring show
- Klas Stolpe
- 12 hours ago
- 10 min read
‘Skating Through Wonderland’ will showcase the skills of local talent and former Olympian guest artist
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
The Juneau Skating Club has been part of the capital city’s sporting history for over 20 years and this season’s annual spring show, “Skating Through Wonderland,” will showcase that importance with three winter-blues-lifting performances at the Treadwell Ice Arena.
“My hope for every show is simple,” JSC figure skating coach and spring show director Kendra Hergett said. “I hope that every audience member at some point during the show feels something. Whether it be joy, sadness, inspiration, etc., I hope that some skater on the ice sparks some sort of emotion for the audience.”
The emotions will begin at 7 p.m. Friday with the opening performance. Two additional shows will be 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday.
“Skating has a very tight grip on me,” said JSC’s Laura Parker, 15. “I’ve had hard times in the past where I was wanting to quit and I just couldn’t. I see it as my oxygen. You might be able to hold your breath for a little while, but you can’t live without it.”
Parker helped Team Alaska skate to a Silver Ulu at the Arctic Winter Games in Whitehorse last month, along with JSC skater Canon Cryderman, 12. Team Alaska Figure Skating was coached by JSC coach Leah Farzin with assistance from JSC skater and coach Muriel Walatka.
“Arctic Winter Games was an amazing opportunity to get out of my comfort zone,” Parker said. “I definitely needed it. Meeting the skaters and the team itself was just such a fun time. I think it overall is going to give me a mental advantage to the upcoming season.”
Parker has been skating since she was seven, inspired by friends who were skating at a higher level and wanting to join them. She will be skating as the White Queen to music by Danny Elfman (“The White Queen”) and Queen (“White Queen-As It Began”).
“This year for the White Queen I started practicing for it about a month ago,” Parker said. “Running it over and over, making it precise. It’s a beautiful piece and an amazing character to portray. I’m always up for bringing a character to life on the ice once a year. My skating in this program is very fluid, smooth and of course I have some new tricks I put into it this year...I am not sure where it (skating) is going to take me. I have some dreams and plans, but my future continues to change and mold itself into something different every step I take. The only thing I truly know is that I will never let it go. I’ll always find a way back to this small hometown rink and back to the ice.”
JSC coach Hergett will be featured in a performance entitled “Alice’s Tears,” to a Taylor Dallas Vidic remix of “Wet Tennis Shoes.”
“I will be trying to embody moving water as best I can,” Hergett said. “I am excited to be skating to one of Taylor Dallas Vidic’s new songs from her album release last weekend. Her music mixed with the visual of water will hopefully bring the audience into the moment of when Alice is crying.”
The former professional dancer with Disney On Ice started skating at age three.
“My mom took me to a rink since it was the warmest place in town on a cold winter day,” Hergett said. “I have loved it ever since…As a coach I try to coach from a place of understanding and empathy. I think that skaters do best when they feel comfortable and confident. I try to pass on all the lessons I have learned in this sport and make sure that what they are doing is never dictated by what I would like them to do, but by what they want to do.”
Hergett said any of the JSC skaters could pursue a professional career if they set their minds to it.
“I offer it to my skaters as something we can train towards if they’d like,” she said. “But I haven’t had anyone take me up on it yet. It takes a certain amount of acting ability as well as technical skating experience to be successful in that environment, and that doesn’t suit everyone’s needs. I was lucky to have a coach who went into Disney On Ice and I was able to follow in her footsteps with some mentoring.”
The spring show’s Alice in Wonderland-based theme will bring together all the JSC skaters, from the younger tots learning to skate to the figure skaters doing axel jumps, lifts and spins.
“I started skating when I was three because it was the first thing we chose to do after COVID,” said Kennedy Duncan, 8. “And the ice rink is really close to our home so it was easy to go… I feel good on the ice. It’s also nerve-racking because there are so many people watching us. The funnest part is to learn how to do the routine for the ice skating show.”
Duncan is on the JSC Team Iris and also skates in one of the Learn-to-Skate numbers. Team Iris perform “Flowers” to music by The Foundations (“Build Me Up Buttercup”) and includes Duncan, Sophie Barker (8), Victoria Custer (9), Parker Heard (8), Matilda Higdon (11), Daryl Lagundino (9), Clara Malueg (9), Osias Martin (12) and Amelie Roberts (10).
“I hope to do a trio with friends in the future,” Kennedy said. “I also want to move up to Team Fireweed and then Team Forget-Me-Not…I am currently working on my scratch spin and a catch-foot spiral. I just love to ice skate!”
Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé senior Paige Kirsch is a JSC coach of Team Iris, a figure skating coach and will be performing as the Queen of Hearts.
“I first started skating when I was six,” Kirsch said. “I started because my neighbor, who was around five years older than me, had been skating all of the time and wasn’t able to babysit me. Because I wanted to see her, I figured I would just join skating, and it stuck.”
Kirsch said her favorite part of being a coach and why it’s so meaningful “is that I know I’m supporting and growing a community that has had such an importance in my life. Seeing my students improve and watching their love for skating bloom brings me so much joy. Next year I plan to join a club collegiate synchronized figure skating team and continue to compete.”
As Queen of Hearts she will skate to Christina Aguilera (“Haunted Heart”) and Lady Gaga (“Bloody Mary”).
“As the Queen of Hearts, I will try to portray strength and power as a strong female character,” Kirsch said. “Skating to me is about discipline and community. I think that skating has taught me a lot of valuable life skills like being disciplined, connecting my body to my mind, and how to be a functional part of my community. When I’m on the ice, I usually feel focused…and cold (when I’m coaching). My advice for young skaters starting out — and this is advice I give to many of my students — is to not compare your timeline and progress to others. Everyone excels at different things, so it only helps to focus on what you can work on and not how others are progressing.”
Molly Heidemann, 13, has been skating since she was three, but started lessons with JSC at age four.
“The first show I ever did with them I was in the Tots program my first year,” Heidemann said. “And we were all Humpty Dumpty. I started because my sister Lydia used to skate as well so my mom signed me up thinking I would enjoy it, too. However, I did quit after probably about a year, but I decided a few years later that I wanted to start again. Since I was older I never did levels one and two and got to go straight to three…I have always enjoyed doing a sport my older sister also had done. I have some very close friends in skating that make it even better. When I skate I feel like I'm in a whole different state of mind. It feels like an activity where I get to learn and excel, but also be with people I love and I really enjoy that time.”
Heidemann will be skating in “Tweedledum and Tweedledee,” a duo with Maggie Thorn, 12. Other duos include Rylan Martin, 14, and Alex Sill, 11, as the Walrus and the Carpenter and Millie Mar, 11, and Carina Roberts, 12, as Hedgehogs.
“This is only my second time being in a duo, my first was in the winter showcase,” Heidemann said. “But I have been in a lot of group numbers. I would say most people are more comfortable skating in a group rather than a duo or solo, and I am one of those people, but I find myself getting more comfortable as time goes by.”
She is excited to perform the duet this year with her good friend, Thorn. Both are also on the JSC Team Fireweed synchronized skating group, which will perform “Chess Pieces” to a trio of songs by Frank Sinatra (“Fly Me to the Moon”), Dua Lipa (“Levitating”) and Coldplay (“Sky Full of Stars”). Team Fireweed include Heidemann, Thorn, Minuet Cryderman (9), Elaine Duvall (12), Nina Hollatz (14), Rylan Martin (14), Carina Roberts (12) and Alex Sill (11).
“I really enjoy doing this with her,” Heidemann said. “It is a very playful routine, with interesting outfits. The idea of this routine will hopefully make the crowd happy and entertained. I hope people are satisfied with our performance, and we can have as much joy during it as we want the crowd to feel watching us.”
Said Heidemann, “I am not sure what will happen with my skating in the future. But what I do know is that I'm really enjoying it now and want to keep going with it, learning more, and having fun. Along with skating I have a very busy life. I do volleyball and horseback riding as well. This entirely fills up my schedule, but I love being busy and working hard for everything I love. I would really like to thank all my past and present coaches, especially Paige Kirsch and Emily Bowman. I would also like to thank my family. My mom and dad are so supportive of all my activities as they drive me and cheer me on.”
JDHS senior Ellis Gottschlich, 17, is a JSC figure skating coach, a Learn-to-Skate instructor and skates on JSC Team Forget-Me-Not, which competes at U.S. Figure Skating events.
“I started ice skating when I was seven because my cousins were doing it and loving it, so I signed up, too,” Gottschlich said. “When I’m on the ice and in my element, I feel free and like nothing else matters besides having fun and enjoying the moment…Most skaters become Learn-To-Skate coaches when they turn 14, so I followed that path as well. Over the past few years, I’ve worked my way up in what level I coach, so now I’m teaching the highest LTS level before skaters pass into figure skating. This has been my favorite level to teach so far because I get to tell them that they passed and that they’re officially figure skaters. This news always brings them so much joy and it makes me incredibly happy to be a part of it. I started private coaching in 2024, which is a different dynamic but just as rewarding. My favorite part of coaching younger skaters is the excitement that they get when they get a new skill or pass a test. I am so proud of how far all of my students have come and I’m proud to know that I played a role in their progress. I’m still figuring out what my long-term plans for skating are. Since I’ll be staying in town for school, I will definitely continue coaching and skating for fun, but I don’t plan to compete anymore. As long as skating is bringing joy into my life, I will continue doing it.”
Gottschlich will perform as Alice in the production, skating to “Falling” by HAIM. She will also perform with Team Forget-Me-Not in Cards (“Don’t Stop the Music,” Rihanna / “A Good Song Never Dies,” Saint Motel). Team Forget-Me-Not includes Gottschlich, Kirsch, Cryderman, Duvall, Mia Hollingsworth (17), Sam Lagerquist (18), Avery Lingle (16), Rory Love (15), Aoibhinn Reetz (13) and Maggie Sill (14).
“As Alice, I hope to portray her curiosity and sense of whimsy,” Gottschlich said. “My choreography and music connect to show her journey, specifically the moment she falls down the rabbit hole and enters a world she doesn’t yet understand…Skating as a team is so special because of the sense of unity and connection we all have. We’re all working together and supporting one another because we all have the same end goal. As a soloist, I enjoy expressing myself individually and showing off the hard work I’ve put in. Both experiences are very meaningful and rewarding in their own ways.”
Other solo performances include Duvall as Tiny Alice, Olivia Gardner (adult) as the Cheshire Cat (“Preybirds” by Rabbitology), Lagerquist as the Mad Hatter (“Madness” by Muse), Reetz as the March Hare (“Madness” by Ruelle), Adilynn McClain (14) as the Caterpillar (“Magical Fantasy” by Dimitriy Sevostyanov) and Cillian Peterson (15) skating to “Jabberwocky” by Donovan.
Trio performances include M. Cryderman (9), Mayumi Steinke (9) and Gabriela Villeio (10) as Potion Bottles and Cakes; Matilda Higdon (11), Nicholas Hope (18) and Daryl Lagundino (9) as the Caucus Race Birds; C. Cryderman, M. Sill (14), and Rory Love (15) as Tea Party attendees in the Mad Tea Party; Elsa Barker (8), Sophie Barker (8) and Victoria Custer (9) as Flamingos (Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass); and Hollingsworth, Hollatz and Nathalia Miller (3) as Roses (“Everything’s Coming Up Roses”/“Flowers” by Bette Midler/Leon Bridges).
Learn-To-Skate classes will perform in The Curious Oysters, Teacups (“Everything Stops for Tea,” Professor Elemental) and Frogs (“Being Green,” Van Morrison). They include Duncan, Heard, Lyra Babbit (9), Karinna Bernhardt (7), Raffy Carillo (12), Raphael Condevillamar (9), Reveille Cryderman (6), Lucy Kemp (5), Natalie Kemp (8), Isolde LaPenter (7), Rori Lenaker (8), Scarlett Liscio (8), Solwyn Lockyear (7), Clara Malueg (9), Osias Martin (12), Sabrina Nemec (6), Carly Overson (10), Lucia Panzich (7), Lydia Pritts (10), Amelie Roberts (10) and Gracie Scott (10).
Guest artist is Polina Edmunds, a two-time U.S. National silver medalist (2014, ’16) and 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics competitor She first performed for the JSC in their 2023 Spring production.
Edmunds will skate to “Autumn Leaves” by Doris Day and to “Welcome to Burlesque” by Cher.
The closing number will feature all cast members skating to “White Rabbit” by Jefferson Airplane.
Tickets for “Skating Through Wonderland” can be purchased at https://skatingthroughwonderlandJSC.eventbrite.com.
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@gmail.com.
