By: Taylor Christensen | Royal Oak Review | Published April 24, 2024
ROYAL OAK — The Royal Oak Ice Show will spotlight animals in its 44th year April 27-28 at the John Lindell Ice Arena.
Titled “Animal Kingdom,” the performance will feature dinosaurs, unicorns and even pink elephants dancing around the ice, according to a press release.
Members of the show are either a part of the New Edge Figuring Skating Club or the Learn to Skate program; these two groups together have more than 100 skaters ranging from ages 4 to adults.
Marcia Little, the show director for “Animal Kingdom,” has been an active member of the figure skating community since she was 3 years old.
Little competed as a skater for 14 years and then joined Disney on Ice and traveled with the group for six years. Since then, she has been coaching and choreographing. Little directed the 2011 Royal Oak Ice Show as well as the 2023 ice show.
“I have not seen an animal theme done before,” Little said in a press release. “Once I started to look at music options, I realized it would be something new for everyone.”
Three graduating seniors will be taking the spotlight during the show as soloists.
According to the press release, the three have “passed tests well beyond the beginner level, according to the standards set by U.S. Figure Skating.”
Seniors Maggie Day and Ally Pollock are both from Berkley, and Elena Keenan is from Lathrup Village.
Day has been a skater for 13 years and has skated for 11 of those years at New Edge, according to newedgefsc.org/seniors-2024.
This year will be her ninth ice show in Royal Oak, and her fourth year skating for the Berkley Royal Oak Unified figure skating team.
Day said that she will spend upward of 16 hours per week practicing for her solo or the group numbers that she will be in for the show.
“This year’s show has much more scheduled practice time than the past shows,” she said in an email response. “The increased practice makes me really excited because I feel that we will all be prepared to skate our best.”
Day and the other senior girls will be performing a solo during the show; she said that they will each portray a different animal during their solo piece.
“Animal Kingdom” will not be judged, according to Day, but being a skater comes with self-criticism, and no matter if there is a judge or not, she is always reaching for perfection.
“Us skaters are definitely our own biggest critics,” she said in an email response. “It is really nice to skate for ourselves, but I do enjoy the competitive experience of being judged.”
The connections and time spent with her friends at the rink makes this all worth it, and is the best part of creating a show like this, according to Day.
This will be Day’s final ice show, but she is looking forward to continuing her ice skating career at Michigan State University, where she will be on the skating team.
“It’s honestly bittersweet, because I am really excited for the next chapter in my life, but I will definitely miss the community we have at New Edge,” she said.
Little said in a press release that the show will be unique and provide a way for the skaters to showcase their personal talents.
“The city’s annual show is highly anticipated by our skaters. There are so many rules to competing but this is their opportunity to highlight favorite skills and sparkle under the lights,” Little said. “It’s also a time to spotlight the diverse figure skating program at Royal Oak.”
The show will begin at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, April 27, and at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, April 28, at the John Lindell Ice Arena at 1403 Lexington Blvd.
Tickets cost $12 for ages 13 and up and $10 for ages 6-12 if purchased in advance. If not, there is a $2 additional fee.
The show is free for children younger than 6. There will be on-ice seating as well as bleacher seats to accommodate for large crowds.