
{"id":6321,"date":"2009-06-25T07:27:36","date_gmt":"2009-06-25T15:27:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/?p=6321"},"modified":"2009-06-25T07:27:36","modified_gmt":"2009-06-25T15:27:36","slug":"carrboro-champion-skates-against-the-grain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/2009\/06\/25\/carrboro-champion-skates-against-the-grain\/","title":{"rendered":"Carrboro champion skates against the grain"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/skater1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/skater1.jpg\" alt=\"Amy Entwistle performed her African tribal dance-themed program in April to win the adult figure skating championship. Photo by Quicksilver Shots \" width=\"100\" height=\"150\" align=\"left\" \/><\/a><strong>By Beth Mechum<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Staff Writer<\/em><\/p>\n<p>On the winner\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s podium, it was obvious. Get her talking and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s even more so. Amy Entwistle is not your typical figure skater, and her authenticity and unique approach have carried her to the top.<\/p>\n<p>In late April, in Grand Rapids, Mich., Entwistle won the adult figuring skating championship. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the highest honor at the highest level for adults, and the 34-year-old Carrboro resident\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s African tribal dance-themed program was a wonder in the way traditional classically themed programs can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be.<br \/>\n<!--more--><br \/>\nBeing an adult figure skater isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the most common thing in the first place, and Entwistle often refers to the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153kids\u00e2\u20ac\u009d of the business, the ones who think they might one day make it to the Olympics. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The kids\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 skating community is very different,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Entwistle said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153They 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.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Entwistle did start skating as a 5-year-old, after having her attention captured by a local show in central Illinois.<\/p>\n<p>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. <\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Entwistle wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the next Tara Lipiniski or Nancy Kerrigan, but she said the skills she learned as a kid give her an advantage today.<\/p>\n<p>She returned to skating, while attending graduate school at Tufts University, more for the exercise aspect than anything else.<\/p>\n<p>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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s called in the figure skating world).<\/p>\n<p>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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a program inspired by an African dance class Entwistle and her coach, Mary Jo Bullin, took at The ArtsCenter.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I 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,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Entwistle said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153So we started to work with that.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It takes that long to really get it in my body and to feel the movement and the amount of detailed movement that I want.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Judges and audience members didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t 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.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153When you are doing this in the adult sphere, you are doing this for yourself, so you need to be authentic,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Entwistle said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I would just never wear something because the judges would like it. I appreciate the judges being there, but ultimately that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not what it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s about.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Staying true<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For Amy, staying true to herself isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t all about figure skating, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s cycling around with her partner and biggest fan, Alyson Hyman, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lounging around with her cats, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pulling weeds in the garden, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s staying up all night to read the last Harry Potter book, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s walking down the street to the Farmers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Market and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not being afraid to pick something up again if she thinks it will make her happy. First it was figure skating, now it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s joining a Carrboro softball team.<\/p>\n<p> \u00e2\u20ac\u0153My skating style in some ways reflects Carrboro,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Entwistle said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a creative place; it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a place where there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s room for lots of kinds of expression.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Entwistle says she skates for herself and she skates for the camaraderie she finds in the world of adult figure skating. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not the performance or competition she thrives on (though she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s obviously good at both), it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the exercise and practice and the moment of connecting with the audience in such a way that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll see the emotion in her work and feel the music like she does.<\/p>\n<p>Bullin said while she knows Entwistle likes to compete, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not the end-all.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153As a competitor, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t find her worrying about whether she wins or loses, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just enjoying it,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Bullin said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153If she doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t win, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not the end of the world. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s more about doing a good program and if the audience liked her.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n<p>In addition to the support of her local community and friends, Entwistle says the most satisfying thing she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s gotten out of the experience is the positive feedback from the skating community on her different approach to skating.<\/p>\n<p>Now she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in the early stages of finding new music and working on another routine for next year, though she said she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s skating a little less than usual as a wind down from the competition season.<\/p>\n<p>But before long, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be back at Triangle SportsPlex in Hillsborough, beating the Carrboro summer heat on the ice. Odds are, Entwistle will be easy to spot. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll more than likely be the best one on the ice, but she has, and will continue to, stand out in more ways than one.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/gardenlady3.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/gardenlady3.jpg\" alt=\"Photo by Beth Mechum. \nAmy Entwistle tools around in her garden on Elm Street, an activity she enjoys when she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not figure skating.\" width=\"150\" height=\"113\" align=\"left\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Beth Mechum Staff Writer On the winner\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s podium, it was obvious. Get her talking and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6321"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6321\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6325,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6321\/revisions\/6325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}