DOUGLAS A. KAID

Herald Staff Writer

ELLENTON - Mark Ladwig promises not to sing.

The national champion caliber pairs skater can do a lot of things on the ice, but when he tried to sing at the Ellenton Ice and Sports Complex's Holiday Ice Show a few years ago, it didn't go so well.

"I did it once, and I got out of sync with the audience," Ladwig said. "It was not pleasant."

So for the year's show, which will be held Sunday, Ladwig will stick to what he does best - skating.

Three of the figure skating school's pairs teams are taking time away from preparing for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships to participate in the ice show. The teams of Ladwig and Amanda Evora and Jeremy Barrett and Shantel Jordan will compete in the nationals, while Tracy Tanovich and Michael Chau are taking part in the novice national championships.

They will all be in St. Louis on the national stage in January, but local figure skating fans can get a good look at them a month early at the Holiday Ice Show.

"It's kind of a fun thing," Jordan said. "We get to get out and skate and do all of our elements, but we're just having fun and showing other people."

Barrett said the skaters spent last week working on the group numbers, and this week they are spending time with the solo and pairs routines.

Though the top-level skaters will do some of their regular routines, they will also do group routines to Christmas music with a light show and various other festive arrangements.

Maria Wirries, 7, is a skater in the school, but Sunday she will show off her voice and sing as well.

"We have 4-year-olds right up to people who don't want to admit how old they are. They haven't seen 70 in a while," joked Kerry Leitch, the complex's figure-skating director. Leitch expects more than 100 skaters from the program to take part in the both of Sunday's two-hour shows. Skaters spend much of their lives on the ice with serious competitions on their mind. This gives them a chance to let loose and show off their creativity.

"It's less trick oriented," Leitch said. "The general audience that comes here doesn't necessarily know the difference between a double jump and a triple jump. In an ice show, they'll do a lot of difficult stuff but not as difficult as what they might do for a competition. It's more entertainment value. They are trying more to entertain the audience and show personality and different types of music.

"We're trying to come up with a comedy routine," Ladwig said.

Leitch is also letting some of his successful pairs teams - such as Ladwig and Evora and Barrett and Jordan - choreograph their own routines for the ice show for the first time. They won't always be world class figure skaters, so just like everyone else, they need something to fall back on.

"The thing about this place is it's a school. We're learning to do ice shows, but we're also learning to be competitive and learning to choreograph programs," Ladwig said. "It's something that in a recreational program we wouldn't even think to try and put together. And if (students) ever wanted to do Disney on Ice, they'd be so used to it from the spotlights and (the groups routines) they have at the show."

Photo Courtesy of US Figure Skating 2005