Above:
Cindy Hall, in costume as a large rat from Ballet Northwest’s The Nutcracker, coaxes a girl out onto the ice at Olympia’s new seasonal ice rink Thursday evening.
By
Janine Gates
Little
Hollywood
To the delight of
children and other skaters, characters from Ballet Northwest’s The
Nutcracker skated in costume to music traditionally associated with
the production Thursday evening at Olympia’s new seasonal ice rink, Oly on Ice.
The skaters were the
dancers who will perform in The Nutcracker from December 7 – 16 at the
Washington Center in downtown Olympia.
Cindy Hall, a Shelton
art teacher, plays one of eight large rats who fight the Nutcracker. In
costume, she coaxed young skaters onto the ice and chased after others.
An experienced skater
and dancer, Hall danced with the Pacific Northwest Ballet. Her mother was in
the Ice Follies and her daughter is also a dancer.
Other dancers in costume
included Giovanny Garibay, 15, of Centralia, who plays the lead role of the Nutcracker.
The role of Clara is played by Nina Ivanenko, 14, of Lacey. She has been a
ballet dancer for eleven years. June Marie Brittain, 17, of Lacey, has danced
for fifteen years and plays the Arabian lead.
At Tuesday night’s city
council meeting, Mayor Cheryl Selby said the revenues from Oly on Ice has so
far surpassed expectations.
Little Hollywood asked
Scott River, associate director for the City of Olympia Parks, Arts and
Recreation Department, a few questions about the rink’s dedicated budget source,
cost, and revenues.
“The projected cost of
the rink is $365,000, with an estimated revenue of $151,125 through
sponsorships and gate sales. The revenue from the gate helps to offset the
expense of installing and operating the rink.
“For the first year, the
rink will be subsidized by as much as 60 percent, and there is a goal of
reducing that subsidy by 15 percent each year over the next three
years. We’ll re-evaluate at that point,” said River.
The 60 percent subsidy
for 2018 is covered by a combination of department user fees, general funds and
Olympia Metropolitan Park District funds. The revenues generated from the
rink are not available for other city priorities.
Asked about the cost of
utilities, River said that the only utility of any significance is power.
“The national average
(for a rink this size) is $20,000 for a season but we believe that is
significantly higher than what our bills will be. Of course, we won’t actually
know until the season is over, but we conservatively budgeted towards the
national average. Utilities are part of the department budget for this
project.”
Oly on Ice opened
November 16 and continues until January 6 with cheap skate nights, group rates,
and special events.
For past stories about Oly on Ice, go to Little
Hollywood at https://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com
and use the search button to type in key words or go to the city’s ice rink webpage
at OlyonIce.com.
Above: Cast members of Ballet Northwest’s The
Nutcracker gathered at Olympia’s new seasonal ice rink Thursday afternoon in
downtown Olympia.
