Top 10 Ways to Perform for a Cause

Most people have had a family member, friend, or somebody they know who has had breast cancer or another serious illness. When you’ve experienced something like this directly or indirectly, the cause has a much more powerful impact on your life.

October was Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I feel very strongly about this cause as my grandmother is a breast cancer survivor. Thanks to early detection, she didn’t have to go through the worst ordeal. But no matter how treatable a cancer is, it is still very serious and affects families in a personal way.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month is a fantastic way to get people involved in the cause. However, this is a cause that is worth being involved in year-round.

Here’s my list of top 10 ways to perform for breast cancer awareness:

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Image Credit: Image by Mark Menzies at Flickr Creative Commons.

November 18, 2011

2011 Christmas Show Time

2007 Viejas Christmas Show

2007 Viejas Christmas Show

We’re already back at the annual Viejas Casino Christmas show time! Chea co-directs and produces the show with our friend Michelle Ford. This is the 5th year of the show, which is held in the middle of the outlet center by the Christmas tree. The shows are on November 10th and 11th at 6pm. It’s free to watch. Friday is the busiest night, but Thursday has the seating reserved for the tribe. So it’s standing room only on Thursday. I’ve starred in the show the last four years, but I chose not to do it this year because of lack of time in my schedule.

If you or your child will be performing in a Christmas show this year, check out our previous posts with lots of show skating tips:

Top 7 Show Essentials by Christina

Is Performing on Ice the Same as Theatre? by Christina

Christmas Show Pointers by Will

Top Tip for Skating Performances and Competitions by Christina

Feel the Love of Performance by Christina

Why You Should Arrive Early for Skating Performances by Christina

Show Skating Inspiration by Will

Skating to the Music by Will

November 7, 2011

Top 5 Performance Reminders for Skating Competitions

Christina Chitwood and Mark Hanretty performing the Finnstep at the 2009 European Championships (Photo by Liz Chastney)

Christina Chitwood and Mark Hanretty performing the Finnstep at the 2009 European Championships (Photo by Liz Chastney)

With regionals having recently ended, competitions for our students coming up the next two weekends, sectionals and nationals coming up, and the international competition season continuing, I want to provide some tips for any competitor, any level. Some of these may seem basic, but even the top competitors in the world sometimes forget to do them.

1. SMILE! :) Unless your coach has asked you to use a different expression to portray your program, you should be smiling!

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October 21, 2011

Top Tips for Skating Competitions

Christina warming up for the 2009 NRW Trophy, Dortmund, Germany.

Christina warming up for the 2009 NRW Trophy, Dortmund, Germany.

Figure-skating competition season is here! Along with all the hard work comes the stress of remembering everything needed for a competition and the actual competition performance. Let’s not forget the parents, coaches, and audience members who have the stressful job of supporting the skaters, which can be a lot harder than it looks.

I think everyone involved with figure skating during competition season needs support. Here are some articles with tips for skating competitions from my brother, Will (former international pairs competitor representing the U.S.), our mom, Deb Chitwood ( founder of Raising Figure Skaters with ideas from a parent’s perspective) and me (former international ice dance competitor representing Great Britain).

I hope these ideas help eliminate some of the stress so that you can experience the joy of competition!

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July 29, 2011

Inspiration for Getting into Character

Olympic Rings from the 2010 Winter Olymics Opening Ceremony (Photo by Liz Chastney)
Olympic Rings from the 2010 Winter Olymics Opening Ceremony (Photo by Liz Chastney)

All individuals need inspiration in different ways for getting into character. How you get into character may be completely different from how your friend, teammate, or co-worker gets into character. I love using movies and TV shows to inspire character!

Here are some that I love to use:

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April 7, 2011