6 minute read
Reflections on Ice
reflectionsON ICE
Spring Show Is Source of Joy for Skaters, Audience
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BY ANNA SWARTZ
A Long-Awaited Event
Three years is a long time to wait for your favorite annual event as a figure skater – Reflections on Ice. Just ask Molly Schelosky, who is a coach and choreographer who also skates in the show.
“After cancellations of our last two shows due to Covid, all [of us] were incredibly excited to get back on the ice and perform for the audience,” Schelosky said. “The show was filled with great music and over 100 skaters ready to debut what we had been working on for weeks! It felt amazing to be able to perform in front of a big crowd again to celebrate all our hard work.” The 50th anniversary of the Reflections on Ice show, titled “Night at the Museum,” was held at Civic Arena on May 13-15. A total of four performances were held over the weekend. Based on the 2006 movie of the same name, which starred Ben Stiller, the show boasted participating skaters ranging in age from 3 to 63. According to Schelosky, the skaters come from the St. Clair Shores Figure Skating Club, members of the learn-to-skate program and synchronized skating teams from the area.
In addition to the open-to-the-public shows, a special dress rehearsal show for the developmentally disabled is held on Friday morning. Shorewood Kiwanis coordinates invites and provides snacks for attendees at the show.
Behind the Scenes with the Director
Claire LaDue has served as the director of the Spring Ice Show for 15 years. She grew up in England and competed there before joining Disney on Ice and touring all over the world. She met her husband in the U.S. and directed at two rinks before coming to the Civic Arena.
“I immediately knew that this would be my home due to the camaraderie amongst the coaches,” she says.
Planning the behind-the-scenes aspect of the show is a six-month project for LaDue, who picks out and orders 250 costumes for the occasion. The ones she can’t find to fit her theme, she has made. She also picks and edits about 75 songs total for the music in each number. Skaters are then grouped together by age and levels. That’s usually 30 acts, she says. Coaches, including LaDue, then choreograph the numbers.
LaDue’s daughter Sophia is a senior this year, and she had her first solo in the show. “I’ve been watching her since she was three. It’s her favorite time of year.”
“The ice show is very special for the skaters and different from competing because they don’t have to do their hardest elements and land jumps and [focus on] rotating all their spins. They seem to become more comfortable as the weekend progresses, and they really start to shine.”
Schelosky, who played Marie Antoinette during the show, shared LaDue’s sentiment: “It was so much fun. After spending a whole year competing by yourself, [doing] something with other people was just an amazing feeling.”
Shorewood Kiwanis’ Involvement
That incredible feeling was shared by the audience as well. The crowd of 400 with developmental disabilities who attended the dress rehearsal on Friday morning greatly enjoyed the show, says Shorewood Kiwanis member Dave Rutter. He, along with fellow Kiwanian Lori Grimsley, were the volunteers who spearheaded the annual involvement of their organization this year. This includes coordinating attendees with local organizations, greeting guests, escorting them to seats and giving them goodie bags.
“This is the highlight of their year – even more than birthdays and Christmas,” Rutter said. “They really love it. It works great for both sides, for the skaters and the patrons. It’s been a very good arrangement for 50 years and brings them joy.”
Shorewood Kiwanis also gives a cash donation to the St. Clair Shores Figure Skating Club to contribute to the cost of renting a wheelchair ramp/platform that holds 10 wheelchairs side by side. This roughly five-foot by 40-foot platform was placed on the north end of the rink, giving a birds-eye view. The Kiwanis also placed an ad in the show’s program, to help support the St. Clair Shores Figure Skating Club. Rutter explains how helping the skating club fits perfectly into Kiwanis' mission of helping children: “It incorporates physicality with art, and it teaches life lessons. When you’ve landed a jump, you’ve fallen 100 times before that.”
Top: (L-R) St. Clair Shores Figure Skating Club soloists and featured skaters Luc Henri, Rachel Vohs, Lydia McNanney, Sophia Kalyvas, Ryleigh O’Donoghue, Sophia Riviera, Molly Schelosky, Abby Owczarek, Lucy Turrini and Sophia LaDue Middle: Molly Schelosky Bottom: Participants in the group number “Vikings”
FAMILYlife
1+1=19
This series follows St. Clair Shores resident George Arsenault’s journey. Now 94 years young, George looks back at what it was like to raise a family of 19. The Day 1+1 Equaled 19
BY GEORGE ARSENAULT
June 10, 1966 was a perfect day: Delores and I were married and started our 1+1=19 joint venture. It was sunny and in the low 70s as I drove my children to Delores’ house on the morning of the wedding. After all 17 children passed final inspection, we got into our two nine-passenger station wagons and drove to St. Clare De Montefalco Catholic Church in Grosse Pointe Park for the wedding. The children were full of anticipation, as Delores had planned for all 19 of us to be included in the ceremony. Delores’ sister Patricia asked our two youngest daughters, “Who’s getting married this morning?” Three-year-olds Mary Ann McMillan and Janet Frances Arsenault both answered, “We all are! All of us!” They were right. We were all getting married. One big happy wedding would make one big happy family. That was our prayer.
We wanted unity, and it would start from the very beginning. It would not be your children and my children. It would be our children. Delores’ four older boys – Donald, Jamien, Tim and Joe – were on the altar assisting Father Sweeney in the mass ceremony. Six-year-old Susan McMillan and 5-yearold Aileen Arsenault wore blue organdy dresses as the lookalike flower girls. The remaining children preceded down the center aisle, followed by the bride and groom. All the children dressed up in their best, many had new shoes. Everyone had something new. It was quite a glorious show.
The next step was the seven Arsenault children joining the McMillan children at St. Clare School in the fall. The school was full, but the principal adjusted and added seven more spots for our family. When the two 3-year-olds started school two years later, the nun said to little Mary Ann, “You’re from the Arsenault-McMillan family, aren’t you? Which one are you?” Little Mary Ann replied, “I’m number 17.”
On our way to the church, my car radio was playing songs like “People,” “Strangers in the Night,” and “Follow Your Dreams” from the popular movie, “The Sound of Music.” I felt that this was a good omen, and I thought that this venture of ours was predestined to succeed. Everything was pointing in that direction.
George and Delores’ wedding day on June 10, 1966.
George Arsenault has been a St. Clair Shores resident for over 26 years. He worked for GM, retiring after 36 years, and then retired from Chrysler Motor in 1996 after eight years. He worked as a financial analyst, computer programmer and systems director. He raised a family of 19 in the Grosse Pointes before moving to St. Clair Shores.
