IceTalent: Allison, you recently competed in the 2013 Adult National Championships. Tell us about your experience.

AM: It was one of the best I’ve ever attended.  A lot of elite skaters, like Doug Razzano and Adam Rippon, showed up to support us. They were really impressed with how the adult nationals worked.

IT: How did you skate?

AM: I  was happy with my skate. I wasn’t perfect, but I was close. I came in bronze.

IceTalent: What makes Adult Nationals so special?

AM: Adults who skate really do it because they love it; otherwise they wouldn’t get up at crazy hours to try to fit it in before work or after work and  in between all of their children’s schedules. If they go so far as to compete at Adult Nationals, they really worked hard to make it happen. Everyone understands that just the fact that you are there (Adult Nationals) is an accomplishment in itself.  It’s an extremely supportive group.

What do you love about figure skating?

AM: I have two kids and I run a business. I spend my entire day really focusing on solving my client’s problems, solving my children’s problems or helping them solve them themselves. Skating is really the only time I get to work on myself. I just think it’s such a great outlet and it helps me feel better about everything else.

IceTalent: How did you get the idea to start the podcast?

AM: In 2006 I was working the most boring  job  and podcasts and itunes were very new. I needed something to distract me.  In ’07 Kurt Browning was doing commentary at Nationals and he said three things that really frustrated me. Overall I thought he did a great job but three things really bothered me. So I e-mailed his website webmaster. I told him I thought he did a great job and gave him constructive criticsim.  Three weeks later I got an e-mail from his webmaster saying Kurt Browning would like to talk to me. Kurt called me and he invited me to Stars on Ice in Chicago the next day. So we went and Kurt was fantastic. We had a nice chat about it. I said to him I’m going to turn the tables here. Why don’t I interview you as my first guest and then you can critique me and tell me how I did. He said sure and gave me a date of three weeks later. He was my first interview.

IT: What do your interviewees have in common?

AM: I think the number one thing is that they see skating as such a family. These guys devoted their entire childhoods to doing this. They missed parties, friendships, and having dogs. You name it they missed it because they dedicated their lives to this sport. It’s a very unique experience for them. At the end of the day they have these deep, deep connections with each other.  It’s a very tight knit group and I really respect that.

IT: Who would you love to interview?

AM: Dick Button! I wrote him a poem to get his attention. He keeps saying he is interested. He still hasn’t agreed to be interviewed, but I hold out hope that he will. I have my questions ready.

IT: Any plans to travel to the Olympic Games in Sochi next year?

AM: I would really like to go and cover the event. I’m going to try to put all of the pieces together and see if I can get sponsorship or raise the money through Kickstarter to go. I’ve been brainstorming about different prizes I could give. For example, if someone gave $5 they could get a mention on the website. There are some interviews that I would really love to get that will be very difficult to get from here- like Tatiana Tarasova.

-Nicolette House

This month I had the honor of interviewing Olympic Gold Medalist Brian Boitano. He recently released his first cookbook, What Would Brian Boitano Make. While I was talking with him I gained such an appreciation for his hard work and dedication to his pursuits. He truly demonstrates what it takes to be a champion both on the ice and off.

I was struck in particular by one story he shared with me. I asked him if he remembered what he was thinking about during his Olympic program. While he said I could pause his Olympic program anywhere and he could tell me exactly what he was thinking during each moment, it was what he was thinking beforehand that really stayed with me.

If you watched Boitano compete you know he was a consistent skater. Right before he was about the skate his Olympic long program a bout of nerves kicked in. He recalled thinking that he was going to blow it. That the Olympics would be the first time he made mistakes and that it would be in front of thousands of people. He had mere seconds to shut those thoughts down.  He said he looked up at the Olympic rings at the start of his program. He said;” This is it. Focus on one thing at a time”. In the end we know that he not only focused, but went on to win Olympic gold that night.

Competitive athletes and anyone that puts themselves in front of an audience for that matter, are subjected to intense scrutiny and pressure. Nerves are something all athletes must learn to handle. Most of the time athletes feel like they are alone in dealing with it; like they are the only ones that experience nerves before a big event.

But guess what? Everyone gets nervous. Even the the Olympic Gold Medalists. It’s what you do when the pressure hits that counts. It’s deciding in the moment whether or not you’re going to give into the fear and pressure or whether you are going to rise to the occassion.

Turning nerves into excitement and using them your advantage requires practice. Just as technique is trained, or speeches are rehearsed, mental skills must be mastered. Day in and day out find ways to improve your mental toughness. Try meditating, visualizing, reframing your thoughts; try new and different ways for you to build self trust. Because after awhile, mental skills won’t be something you practice anymore. It’ll be part of who you are- someone that trusts his/her abilities and can pull out a great performance when it counts.

Happy reading!

Nicolette

Grilled Salmon with Pea-and-Basil Pesto

One of my favorite ways to prepare salmon is to grill it. Sometimes I place it on a cedar plank, but most of the time it goes right on the grill. Both techniques give it a great smoky undertone. I added peas to the pesto to give the sauce a firmer texture, and this has become one of my go-to sauces. Whenever I would serve this to my opera-singing friend Lorenzo Malfatti, he would change the lyrics from famous Italian songs and arias to words related to the pea pesto topping. Instead of singing “O sole mio,” it became “O peas in pesto.” I make way more than I need and freeze the extra for use on white meat, pastas, and other fish. I use a cup of lemon verbena fresh from my garden, but if you can’t lay your hands on the herb, feel free to substitute a tablespoon of lemon zest as directed below or ½ cup chopped fresh lemongrass. If you don’t have pine nuts, substitute almonds.

Serves 4

1 medium red potato, peeled

¼ cup pine nuts

3 cloves garlic

Pinch of red pepper flakes

2 cups frozen peas, thawed

2 cups basil leaves

½ cup Italian flat-leaf parsley

1 tablespoon lemon zest

Juice of 1 lemon

½ cup olive oil, plus 3 tablespoons

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

4 salmon filets, about 1⁄3 pound each, skins removed

1. Boil the potato in a small pot of salted water. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Strain, let cool, and chop coarsely.

2. Toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium-low heat, tossing occasionally, until the nuts are lightly browned and aromatic, about 3 to 5 minutes. Let cool.

3. Combine the pine nuts, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a food processor with the blade attachment. Pulse until finely chopped.

4. Add the potato, peas, basil, parsley, lemon zest, and lemon juice. With the processor running, slowly pour in ½ cup olive oil, blending until the mixture is smooth. Taste and add salt and pepper as desired. Set aside.

5. Brush the grill grate with olive oil and preheat on medium-high.

6. Brush both sides of the salmon filets with olive oil and coat with a layer of salt and pepper.

7. Grill the salmon for about 4 to 5 minutes. Flip the filets carefully, cover the grill, and grill for 3 to 4 minutes more.

8. Spoon a small amount of the pesto into the center of each plate and spread it out in a little round pool. Place a salmon filet on top of the pesto. Top each filet with a tablespoon of the pesto and serve immediately.

Cooking and writing are just a few new tricks Olympic Gold Medalist Brian  Boitano has up his sleeve. With the recent release of his cookbook, What Would  Brian Boitano Make, Boitano had the chance to reflect on his  past and move forward with his new career as a culinary expert.

While writing the book Boitano had the opportunity to remind himself of the  exciting life he has led. As a competitive figure skater, he began traveling the  world at the tender age of fourteen, as he attended international competitions  and toured in shows. International cuisine was a large part of his travel  adventures.

“I didn’t expect it to be as much of a biographical search through my travels  but it sort of just turned into that. I talk a lot about the first time I went to  certain countries; like to first time I went to Vienna. The recipes are inspired  by my travels but not necessarily knock offs of everything that I had,” says  Boitano.

Cooking has been a part of Boitano’s life for quite some time. He noted that cooking found him, not the other way around. Boitano was the first of his friends to purchase a house after the Olympics, making his place the group’s official gathering space.

“Everybody wanted to hang out at my house and cook. I had this group of six friends and we’d get together almost every night when I was home and cook different dishes. It became a ritual and it was the first time I started discovering how much I love to entertain and cook. It’s how I started developing my own recipes,” says Boitano.

Nutrition has been on Boitano’s mind since a young age. He pointed out that good nutrition is an important part of being an athlete. Boitano notes that athletes don’t always have the time to try different ways of eating to find out what is best for them. Boitano put himself on a diet when he was younger.

“I ate baked potatoes every night for dinner, with plain yogurt and maybe some chives. I had lots of salads. I don’t think my diet was great when I was competing,” says Boitano.

Boitano wishes that he ate the way he eats now when he competed. He tends toward more healthy dishes. He consumes large amounts of fish and is a huge fan of dark leafy green vegetables. He likes to mix his vegetables up and loves trying out different ways to prepare them.

“I try to incorporate every single type of vegetable in my diet. I have this one really great recipe in the cookbook. It’s a cauliflower puree.  I mix apples and cauliflower together and people think I’m serving mashed potatoes. It’s a bed for fish or poultry or anything,” says Boitano.

Boitano equates cooking with skating. Drawing on the similarities between cooking and skating has helped Boitano develop his passion for pleasing the palette.

“There are so many parallels between cooking and skating- all the layers that go into it. The music, costume, athletic ability, and the technical side are like the way a plate looks, the way the flavors melt together, the crunchiness of the tart. All these things go together. It’s the same as skating,” said Boitano.

Boitano draws on his skating experience as inspiration for his success outside of the sport.

“I think that the work ethic that you learn as a skater is so important. Skaters and athletes just have a different idea of what really hard work is.  I think that is the best thing athletes have learned from their sport. That transfers to anything in life,” said Boitano.

After spending his life working up to a gold medal winning performance at the 1988 Olympic Games, Boitano continues to embrace new challenges. He still skates and performs regularly. He can now add published author to his repertoire of success.

Yesterday, I was picking up my new puppy from day care. As they brought her to me, I was told again how much energy she has and that she just runs all day long. Agility may be her next doggie class. We had a quiet ride home, she had some water and food, stretched out on her bed and fell fast asleep. She’s a dog living in the moment and her body said that it was time to rest.

It then occurred to me that as coaches and athletes we often push ourselves too hard. We have a tendency to think that the more we keep going and the more we do the greater the result. Hard work and dedication is necessary to succeed and so is giving your body time to heal after pushing it to the limit.

Sleep is the primary time when the body recovers from exercise. It is when your body rebuilds torn muscle tissue. Without the proper rest you may be going into your next workout at a disadvantage placing you at a higher risk for injury.

A good after exercise recovery plan has a huge impact on fitness improvement and overall performance. A good night’s sleep will help you train more efficiently.

The National Sleep Foundation recommends 7-9 hours of sleep per night. Sleep is an active physiological process by which your body is busy carrying out vital activities. During a high quality sleep, your body produces Growth Hormones (GH).  A deficiency in GH is associated with increased weight gain, loss of muscle and reduced exercise capability.

Listen to your body! If you are feeling tired, soar or notice a decrease in performance, your body may be telling you that you need more recovery time or even a break.

If you hear someone say they are too tired to train today or work on that project, it may not be an excuse. A little sleep or even a fifteen minute nap may do the trick.

My puppy taught me a lesson yesterday. Live in the present and be mindful of the quality of life you are living.

Ilona..

I’ve always been fascinated with anything that moves or glides.  Figure skating has given me the confidence to  try other sports such as downhill and cross-country skiing, inline skating,  and roller skating.  My garage is filled with all sorts of things that move:  Downhill, cross-country, and skating skis, bikes, scooters, roller skates,  and various types of of inline skates including inline hockey skates and off-  road Rollerblades.

The transition to traditional quad wheeled roller skates is very difficult for  ice skaters.  Even though the transition is hard, I wanted to enjoy skating  outside, so I began trying to skate on regular roller skates for fun when I was  quite young.  It was not easy to skate on quads, but I was determined.

I was delighted when I heard about the Rollerblade Company in the mid-  1980s, and I purchased a pair of the original Rollerblades directly from the  Rollerblade company when one of their representatives came to an ice arena  I was coaching at.

My husband and I would attract a following when we skated on what was then considered “crazy looking and weird roller skates” in those days; however, it didn’t take long before everyone who skated outside seemed to be skating on inlines instead of quads.   By the late 1980s and early 1990s, inline skating became very, very popular, so my husband and I no longer stood out when we skated outside on our Rollerblades.

Inline skates felt like ice skates, but it was not possible for me to do everything that I could do on the ice in them since there were no toe stops or picks, and the boots were bulky.  I was delighted, in the early 1990s, when Roller Stop, a company started by John Petell, first invented “The Pic,” which I attached to my original Rollerblades.  I then enjoyed inline skating more with “toe picks” attached to my Rollerblades.  I also took off the heel brake and rockered my wheels slightly by putting smaller wheels at the front and back of my flat Rollerblade frames.

Mr. Petell told me he was working on developing an inline figure skating frame, and I let him know I would be one of his first buyers.

Around the same time, an ice skating coach and inventor named Nick Perna was determined to invent an inline figure skate that would work like an ice figure skate.  There had been some other inline figure skates invented, but nothing had worked quite right.  Petell and Perna came together in the mid-1990s and introduced and invented the PIC® Frame skate.

The PIC® Skate frame and wheels could be used indoors or outside.   Perna’s and Petell’s original vision was to not only give figure skaters a way to train off the ice, but to allow figure skaters a chance to perform in front of audiences when ice was not available.

The PIC® Skate’s frame could be attached to leather figure skating boots.  A urethane or high tech rubber “Pic” that does not move is at the top of the frame.  That “Pic” functions like a toe pick on a figure skating blade, so jumping and spinning on inline skates is possible.  Also, the frame is rockered which makes the wheels feel like they are moving on ice rather than on concrete or a wood floor.

As soon as the PIC® Frame Skate was invented, I bought a pair and attached the frames to an old pair of Harlick skating boots.  I was immediately fascinated in what the skates could do.  Everything I could do on the ice seemed to be possible on PIC® Skates!  Doing jumps felt just like jumping on the ice, but spins took a bit longer to figure out.  I was determined; in time, I was doing sit spins, Axels, split jumps, and flying camel spins on my PIC® Skates.

As often as possible, I’d take the time to experiment and figure out how to do more and more figure skating moves in PIC® Skates.  I wrote down all that I learned.  My discoveries became a book.  How to Jump and Spin on Inline Skates was published in 2000.

Some very famous and accomplished figure skaters skate on PIC® Skates including world figure skating champion and Olympic medalist, Elvis Stojko, and three time US mens champion and two time Olympian, Michael Weiss.  They can do double and triple jumps on inline skates thanks to PIC® skating .  Nick Perna’s dream was to see skaters performing on PIC® Skates in parades and in outdoor festivals, and that dream has also become a reality.  Over ten thousand people in over fifty countries have purchased the product.

I believe that all figure skaters should give inline skating a try since inline skating is a great way to stay in shape and is a wonderful off-ice conditioning method.  Also, being able to do what you can do on the ice on inline figure skates can add an entire new dimension to your skating training.

PIC® Skates are a bit heavier than ice skates since they include a frame, a pic, wheels, and bearings, so you’ll find that they may cause your jumps to improve.  You’ll feel so light on the ice after skating on PIC® Skates that you may feel like you are flying when you jump on the ice.  It has been said that spinning on PIC® Skates is like spinning on top of the world!

Happy Ice Skating and Inline Skating!

Jo Ann Schneider Farris has written hundreds of articles about skating. Her articles have been published in SKATING Magazine, The Professional Skater, Recreational Ice Skating, and have been included in US Figure Skating Online, icenetwork.com, Examiner.com, and About.com. She has been About.com’s Guide to Figure Skatingsince 2006. In 2010, Jo Ann represented About.com at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. She has been a competitive skater and skating coach, and has directed both Ice Skating Institute and U.S. Figure Skating programs. In addition, her own three children are competitive figure skaters who have competed multiple times in both pair skating and ice dancing at the regional, sectional, and junior national levels. In addition, Jo Ann is the author of How to Jump and Spin on Inline Skates. She is a member of U.S. Figure Skating, Ice Skating Institute, the Professional Skaters Association, and the Broadmoor Skating Club.

At Elite Athletic Development in Arlington Heights, local residents train like  professional athletes. Founder and owner of EAD Jim Inman, prides himself and his  team of high quality trainers on giving the “everyday athlete”  access to the  same strength and conditioning methods the pros use. Their mission is to help people  get in optimal shape.

Inman believes that better overall athletes make better basketball players, soccer  players, runners, figure skaters, hockey players or athletes in any chosen field.

“Building strength and conditioning and being in better shape before athletes start working with coaches or training certain skills is going put them one step ahead of the game. That’s our philosophy,” says Inman.

Those working out at Elite Athletic Development aren’t training under the typical body building paradigm used by so many personal trainers and standard gyms. Inman chooses to focus on the quality of a person’s movement rather than on giving exercises to improve appearance alone.

“Obviously a side effect of working on human movement is you’re going to lose weight and increase lean muscle mass,” notes Inman.  “Our focus is on movement.  One of the tings we look at is full range of motion.”

Inman emphasizes the need to incorporate functional movement into workout routines. Conventional workout machines may not do the trick when it comes to strengthening our bodies. Inman says the body is designed to work together. Machines that isolate certain body parts goes against how our bodies are naturally designed to move.

“Functional training means building strength and speed which can be used for sports, activities of daily living, or your job. What we see in the big box type gyms are people sitting on machines doing a particular movement. The machine is supporting the rest of their body. In real life that doesn’t happen. When you’re lifting a box out of the trunk of your car you don’t have a bench to sit on or an arm rest to rest your elbows on. You need to support the body with the rest of your body,” says Inman.

The ability to use our bodies to their fullest range is diminishing in a society that perpetually places people at desk jobs and jobs where they must work behind a computer screen for hours on end.

Inman notes that it doesn’t seem to matter how active people were during their youth. If they have adopted a sedentary work style their mobility will have diminished somewhat. Inman and his fellow coaches and trainers work to help people regain that range of motion by helping them settle into a deep squat or lift their arms fully extended above their heads.

“It’s very humbling, especially for someone that may have played Division 1 basketball and they’ve been sitting at a desk for 15 years. They remember what they used to be able to do and they come in and here and see that somebody that’s 74 can out lift them,” says Inman.

Reclaiming that athletic ability may be part of the appeal of Inman’s gym. There is something for everyone and every fitness level. From the six year olds that attend summer camps to the women in their 70s , to the mothers in their 30-40s EAD works to tailor the workouts especially to their needs and abilities.

In addition to high caliber conditioning programs, Elite Athletic Development is a  CrossFit affiliate, a fitness craze that begun in Southern California and has made its  way to the Midwest. CrossFit yielded good results due to its high intensity and  functional exercise routines. The workouts are constantly varied and scored, turning  the workout into more of a competitive sport.

“I think that is one of the things that has helped with the popularity of CrossFit is that  it covers so many different aspects of overall fitness. I can usually find some area that even professional athletes can use improvement on. Improving that area is going to help them overall,” says Inman.

After 50,000 hours of training under Elite Athletic Development’s belt Inman says the key to top performance is motivation.

“It’s really cool to work with soccer moms because they come in and see the weights and the bar bells and it is intimidating. Then you see them two months down the road hollering and  holding a personal record weight over their head. It’s empowering. It gives them that confidence that they can do more and it changes their perception of what their limits are.  Building their confidence is key but we can’t do that unless they’re motivated to come in,” says Inman.

For more on Elite Athletic Development and their programs visit: http://eliteathletic.com/

It is my belief that a person should never stop learning and striving to improve themselves. Now more than ever technology and knowledge continue to grow at rapid speeds. Staying in the know, can give you the confidence to succeed and to make well educated decisions.

I began my skating career at the age of three and went on to be a triple US Gold Medalist. My next step was to begin coaching young skaters at a competitive level. Although I was an accomplished skater, it was my responsibility to have as much knowledge and information as I could to share with my students. I attended seminars, workshops and competitions that my skaters had not yet qualified for. I tried to stay a step ahead of the game. It paid off and, as my skaters earned the right to compete at these events, I felt prepared and was able to let my students know what to expect.

Fast forward to when my daughter was four and we thought it would be a good idea for me to stay home with her and take a break from my career. I was fortunate to be able to do this but I thought to myself, if I ever want to return I need to stay current on what is happening in my field. I was a member of the Professional  Skaters Association (PSA) and kept my membership active and always kept following the trends.

A few years later, my daughter decided that she too wanted to be a figure skater. Suddenly, I am back to work. The sport had changed dramatically with the loss of compulsory school figures and the newly developed Moves in the Field. No problem, I had already studied the video and attended every workshop that came my way. We were learning these new moves together and I had remained current.

I can keep going here, with international competition and producing ice shows…. but the message remains the same “Never stop learning”

Recently, my husband decided to move his business. All the things I learned over the years became extremely beneficial to this process. Now there were new avenues to explore and I jumped into every learning opportunity I could find. I am happy to say I feel confident that we have the knowledge to give the best possible service we can.

So this brings me to today. I recently received a pin and a letter from the PSA honoring me for 30 years of uninterrupted membership with them. They taught me a lot! This Friday I am hosting a workshop for PSA members. I have gathered together a group of presenters that I believe have some valuable and interesting information to share with their colleagues.

My goal is to share information and bring people together so they can continue to learn and grow.

Learning new things has always served me well and I encourage everyone to “Never stop learning”.

..Ilona

President IceTalent Inc

IT: Tell us about your dance and gymnastics background.

PM: I was a competitive gymnast. I come from a gymnastics family. One brother was an Olympian and the other one was an Olympic coach for the Dominican Republic.  I always studied classical ballet on the sly because back in those days, boys didn’t do that.  That was how I got so good at gymnastics so fast was through my classical ballet training.  After gymnastics I ended up going to American Ballet Theatre on a full scholarship and  then started my dance career. I had a 13 year long dance career where I met my wife.

IT: How did you become involved with skating?

PM: My wife  retired from the stage and opened a ballet school in Michigan. It turned out that there was this ice rink near our house that had  up and coming higher level ice dancers. They started asking us to show them some lifts and things and they thought it was so amazing. The lifts were so different from skating. There was this up and coming team, Donny Adair and Renee Roca, that looked like they had promise. They were fifth in the nation  and that’s kind of how it all started. So as I was wrapping up my dance career and we had another baby, I started slowly teaching figure skating in boots. The first five years I worked in boots.  I first statrted in ice dancing and sitting in on patch lessons to learn about the blade and how it turned and checking. It just evolved from ice dancing to singles to pairs. Here I am 30 years later.

IT: How do you incorporate your dance and gymnastics training into your choreography?

PM: Well in regards to choreography the main thing I take away from the ballet world is that we actually do things on both our dominant and non dominant sides. We spend our careers trying to hide from the audience what our dominant side is. Dancers jump in both directions and turn in both directions. I have found that to be extremely useful, especiallly switching over to the new/old IJS system becaude of the step sequences.  In regards to gymnastics, I do teach alot of jumps. I do alot of Ashley Wagner’s jumps. I actaully teach jumping  from a gymnastics technique not skating technique. I wasn’t a skater, I was a gymnast. If you’re a gymnast you can certainly understand rotating a triple jump when you’re right side up.

IT: How do you choose music for skaters?

PM: Every skater is different  and I don’t have the luxury of choosing music for each skater.  I choreograph over 100 programs a year and many times with the newer skaters that I don’t know, the coaches pick the music.  In picking music you have to look at the design of the body you’re working with. Some kids are a little stockier build and very dymanic and fast and big jumpers and others are lean and lilt.  The music has to not only compliment their body style, but hopefully push them artistically to a different level than what they’re used to.

IT: If you could choreograph to one piece of music what would it be?

PM: That piece would be one of the pieces I did as a ballet dancer many times.  It would be Afternoon of the Fawn. I hope one day I have a skater that I feel can do it justice. That’s my favroite piece of music.

IT: How has the role of choreographer changed with the new judging system in place?

PM: I love the IJS system.  If you’re good at choreographing the component marks you love the new judging system because the new judging system loves you.  I don’t think it’s stifling at all. It’s been liberating to realize that I can have an impact.  For example, if somebody doesn’t do their jumps, hopefully the choreography presentation, interpretation, execution, and skating skills can bring them up so that they can still place well.

IT: What’s the coolest opportunity that skating has ever given you?

PM: Two programs.  One was for Calla Urbanski and Rocky Marvel. They didn’t have the greatest finesse but they were extremely strong, beatutiful physical specimens as people. They gave me music they wanted to skate to. I was thumbing through a  Michaelangelo book and came across his nude athletic drawings.  I go “ah that’s it. I’m going to do a program about their physiques”.  I sent them to the Chicago Institute of Art where  unitards were built and then airbrushed onto their bodies. It took 18 hours and they had to stand there and flex each body part while they (the artists) outlined them in three differnt colors. It looked like a person- if you peeled the skin off all you could see are the muscles.

The other program was for Susie Wynne and Joseph Druar . They wanted to do a tap dance free dance. I said if we’re going to do this its going to be authentic. You’re going to learn how to tap dance. So I got them tap shoes and taught them how. They had the music arranged in New York and they flew me there. I did the tap dancing that you hear on the soundtrack.  Then I matched their feet to make it look like they were doing the tap dancing. On the track that you heard at worlds that was me tap dancing.

-Nicolette House