On Saturday, March 21, St. Olaf Figure Skating Club hosted its annual Spring Ice Show, whose theme was “Glee.”
St. Olaf Figure Skating Club is a student-led organization for anyone interested in learning how to ice skate and getting involved in a team sport. The organization has students ranging from those who have been skating for only two months to those who have been skating for 17 years.
The club’s executive board makes the decision on the theme. In an interview with The Olaf Messenger, President Kayla McMayer ’26 explained the club’s choice.
“There are a lot of ‘Glee’ covers, and this definitely adds a variety to the show,” McMayer said.
“Glee” is a popular television show about a high school show choir in Ohio which aired between 2009 and 2015. The cast of the show covered over 700 popular songs throughout the course of its six seasons, making “Glee” a good theme for the ice show.
Freestyle Gold kicked off the show with a group performance. The upbeat mash-up style of music is a staple of “Glee,” where singers put multiple songs with the same theme, artist, or feel together into one number. The wide array of songs selected by each performer meant the audience was never bored.
A helpful digital program informed the audience of each performer and song, as well as each skater’s favorite “Glee” character. The overall fan favorite was unsurprisingly Sue Sylvester.
Some “Glee” fan favorites included “Sweet Transvestite” from “The Rocky Horror Show” performed by Val Bassetto ’26, “Somewhere Only We Know” performed by Flossie Juliano ’29, “Valerie” performed by Annelise Moe ’28, “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” performed by McMayer, and “Womanizer” performed by Ashley Holm ’27. Another upbeat mashup was performed by several general organization members to “Singing in the Rain” and “Umbrella” by Rihanna.
Next, the club switched it up by inviting special guests to perform at their show: the St. Olaf Women’s Club Hockey Team. The women performed a choreographed number with their gear on and hockey sticks out.
The intrigue of the show goes beyond the cool moves on the ice. There is a lot of background work, creativity, and planning that goes into each number. Since the figure skating club is student-led, the executive board choreographs numbers off the ice before bringing them to the group. The group then gives input such as tricks and features to add. Each member choreographs their solo numbers individually.
For Presidents McMayer and Olivia Ceminsky ’26, this spring show marks their last performance as members of the St. Olaf Figure Skating Club. The ending was bittersweet for McMayer.
“I feel very sad because it is the end of a chapter, especially because I have been skating for so long,” McMayer said. “I am very proud of what everyone has done, and how we were able to pull this show off in a short amount of time. I am thankful for our skating community.”
Ceminsky added that this show was her 21st figure skating performance, and also one of her favorites.
The show had a full audience, and the cheering and applause lasted for what felt like the whole night.
Evgenia Roth ’26 attended the show; in an interview with The Olaf Messenger, Roth said, “I am especially proud of my roommate [Ceminsky] … She has the most beautiful spins and jumps and the biggest genuine smile on her face.”
