Arena two was unrecognizable at first, with all the glass and ads covered in black or dark blue material and the lights dimmed. The spotlights picked out spinning, skating blurs of colour on the white rink, drawing all eyes and creating the illusion the audience was somewhere other than the aging hockey arena.
And illusion, that movie magic, was everything that night. Whether attending the 1 p.m. or 6 p.m. show the feeling was of dusk, as the skaters danced through numbers culled from some of the most memorable movie music of the last 50-odd years.
The show covered a diverse array of movies, guaranteed to touch on at least one of your favourite shows, whether the theme of an action franchise like James Bond; the brassy sound track to the great fantasy of our time, Star Wars; the pop sounds of the kitschy 80s romance Footloose; or the twangy sounds of indie movie darling O Brother Where art Thou.
And that’s not even half of them.
Skaters interpreted a host of pop-culture references on the ice, whether changed into the cute twirls of young children as the gopher Bill Murray memorably chased, or the beautiful acrobatics of more artistic interpretations of movie themes.
Even hockey players joined in on the action, skating their way through Footloose as Patrick Swayze Doppelgangers.
The club was happy with the result of their hard work.
“This past weekend’s Ice Show, Movie Magic and Memories on Ice was a club highlight and an opportunity for Quesnel residents to watch our amazing local homegrown talent,” coach Sharon Chow said.
The event also marked the end of Jo-Ann Nadalin’s time with the QFSC with flowers presented to her in thanks for her hard work and contribution to the club, along with a group hug.
“I know that every single one of us is sad to see Jo-Ann leave,” skater Selena VanAert said.
“She has improved our skating as well as our attitudes and personalities greatly in the years she was with us. You can really tell that she cares about us and is passionate about helping us out in every way possible.”
Extra marks if you can correctly guess each movie in the slideshow.