Northwoods Adventure: Bemidji Figure Skaters Dazzle at Annual Fantasy On Ice Show

Acrobats, elephants, snake charmers, a magician…this circus had it all. Add lights and choreographed moves on ice and you get a colorful performance by the Bemidji Figure Skating Club.

“Everybody in the club is in that show,” President of the Bemidji Figure Skating Club Nancy Neis said. “We have little four-year-olds and a senior in high school that are all in the show and we mix it them up. You know, little kids with big kids.”

Neis said the director of the show came up with the concept for “Welcome to the Big Top” last year. Most of the songs used in the show are from the movie “The Greatest Showman.”

“Our opening and closing, a lot of them are super upbeat.” Senior skater Kiah Martinson said.

The Bemidji Figure Skating Club also brought in a professional guest skater from the Twin Cities, Amy Berglund. During the show, she did performances with hoops.

“We’re a little club and we’re in a little town, Bemidji, said Neis. “But when we bring our guest skaters in – they’re high test level skaters from Minneapolis – when they come to our show, they are so impressed that we are putting on such a quality show for such a little club.”

Figure skating coach Abby Meyers said using props such as hoops and silks that hang from the ceiling in performances are becoming popular among figure skaters.

“So we had a coach come in and kind of did a mini clinic and taught all the girls how to use the hoops and they had a lot of fun with it, so they decided to kind of put it in with our show,” said skater Abby Meyers.

Martinson said her favorite part about ice skating is the moment she finally accomplishes a move she’s been working on.

“You finally land that jump or you finally nail the move you’ve been working on for a long time, and just the feeling of looking at your coach and being and just thinking, ‘I just did that.’” Martinson said.

This performance was her last one. She has been skating for 11 years and has performed in the annual Fantasy on Ice Show for seven consecutive years.

“It’s really sad being a senior: it’s my last show,” Martinson said. “I was just sitting out here watching some of them and I started tearing up a little bit because of the energy that everyone has around this time is really good.”