On the winner’s podium, it was obvious. Get her talking and it’s even more so. Amy Entwistle is not your typical figure skater, and her authenticity and unique approach have carried her to the top.
In late April, in Grand Rapids, Mich., Entwistle won the adult figuring skating championship. It’s the highest honor at the highest level for adults, and the 34-year-old Carrboro resident’s African tribal dance-themed program was a wonder in the way traditional classically themed programs can’t be.
Being an adult figure skater isn’t the most common thing in the first place, and Entwistle often refers to the “kids†of the business, the ones who think they might one day make it to the Olympics.
“The kids’ skating community is very different,†Entwistle said, “They are very competitive, very focused on climbing the ladder and thinking about what sort of international fame they might achieve. Ultimately very, very few people have that type of success.â€
Entwistle did start skating as a 5-year-old, after having her attention captured by a local show in central Illinois.
The Illinois native skated until she was about 13 and then hung up the skates for team sports in middle and high school, going on to play softball in college.
She said she never had any real illusions of skating on the grandest stage, but that everyone in the ice skating community has that dream in mind at some point.
Entwistle wasn’t the next Tara Lipiniski or Nancy Kerrigan, but she said the skills she learned as a kid give her an advantage today.
She returned to skating, while attending graduate school at Tufts University, more for the exercise aspect than anything else.
Today she is a management consultant in the pharmaceutical industry, a job that allows her the flexibility to practice her routine (or program, as it’s called in the figure skating world).
That program is not the type of graceful, flowing piece that Lipinski and Kerrigan are known for; it stands out, though, for its technical merits and emotional aspects. It’s a program inspired by an African dance class Entwistle and her coach, Mary Jo Bullin, took at The ArtsCenter.
“I had started thinking about some sort of tribal program because I like to do a lot of footwork, so I could imagine the rhythm of the drumming beat,†Entwistle said. “So we started to work with that.â€
That meant instead of taking a break during the performance to glide around the ice, every turn of the skate was choreographed to a drumbeat.
This year was her second using the African program, and she said she and Bullin have worked constantly on it over the past two years.
“It takes that long to really get it in my body and to feel the movement and the amount of detailed movement that I want.â€
Judges and audience members didn’t have to wait until she started skating or to hear the music over the speakers to know it was something different. While most skaters wear skimpy and sequin-saturated costumes, Entwistle wore pants and a top with a tribal theme. Feather-like and teeth-like accessories adorned the outfit.
“When you are doing this in the adult sphere, you are doing this for yourself, so you need to be authentic,†Entwistle said. “I would just never wear something because the judges would like it. I appreciate the judges being there, but ultimately that’s not what it’s about.â€
Staying true
For Amy, staying true to herself isn’t all about figure skating, it’s cycling around with her partner and biggest fan, Alyson Hyman, it’s lounging around with her cats, it’s pulling weeds in the garden, it’s staying up all night to read the last Harry Potter book, it’s walking down the street to the Farmers’ Market and it’s not being afraid to pick something up again if she thinks it will make her happy. First it was figure skating, now it’s joining a Carrboro softball team.
“My skating style in some ways reflects Carrboro,†Entwistle said. “It’s a creative place; it’s a place where there’s room for lots of kinds of expression.â€
Entwistle says she skates for herself and she skates for the camaraderie she finds in the world of adult figure skating. It’s not the performance or competition she thrives on (though she’s obviously good at both), it’s the exercise and practice and the moment of connecting with the audience in such a way that they’ll see the emotion in her work and feel the music like she does.
Bullin said while she knows Entwistle likes to compete, it’s not the end-all.
“As a competitor, I don’t find her worrying about whether she wins or loses, she’s just enjoying it,†Bullin said. “If she doesn’t win, it’s not the end of the world. It’s more about doing a good program and if the audience liked her.â€
In addition to the support of her local community and friends, Entwistle says the most satisfying thing she’s gotten out of the experience is the positive feedback from the skating community on her different approach to skating.
Now she’s in the early stages of finding new music and working on another routine for next year, though she said she’s skating a little less than usual as a wind down from the competition season.
But before long, she’ll be back at Triangle SportsPlex in Hillsborough, beating the Carrboro summer heat on the ice. Odds are, Entwistle will be easy to spot. She’ll more than likely be the best one on the ice, but she has, and will continue to, stand out in more ways than one.