Schwan Super Rink's figure skating program attracts top ice dancers

By Barclay Kruse, NSC Chief Communications Officer

Ice dancing is a form of figure skating that many fans are unfamiliar with. But if you hang out at the Schwan Super Rink's skating school for long, you'll find out that the SSR is carving out a bit of a niche as an ice dancing center. That's clearly because two of the coaches, Pamela O’Connor and Jonathon O’Dougherty, are ice dance veterans with an international resume, and they have earned a huge amount of respect as effective coaches -- and engaging, positive people as well.

I blogged about Pam and Jonathon when they first arrived at the SSR last winter. The pair were the 2003 British Ice Dancing Champions and three-time British Championship silver medalists.

Working with Pam and Jonathon here is another Brit, Jamie Burns, 20, who skated here last spring with Nicola Trippick. He's back this fall, but with a new partner, Melyssa James, also 20. Melyssa moved here from Washington D.C., but she has dual Canadian-British citizenship. Jamie and Melyssa will compete in the British Championships, Jan. 7-13 in Sheffield, with the goal of finishing in the top two, which would earn them a spot in the European Championships in Zagreb, Yugoslavia, Jan. 21-27.

Also moving to the SSR to ice dance under Pam and Jonathon is the brother-sister pair of Malcolm, 15, and Sage Kelner, 11, from Minnetonka. This talented pair are current Minnesota champions. This summer they competed at the Lake Placid International Championships, where they finished 4th out of 19 teams. Their next big competition will be the USFS Midwestern Sectionals, Nov. 14-17 in Rochester Hills, Mich., and from there to the U.S. Junior Nationals in Salt Lake City, Nov. 26-Dec. 1.

The Schwan Super Rink's crew of ice dancers: Left-to-right: Coach Pamela O'Connor, Melyssa James, Jamie Burns, Malcolm Kelner, Sage Kelner, coach Jonathon O'Dougherty.

Malcolm admitted it's somewhat unusual for young skaters to pick ice dancing as their skating specialty, but for him it's perfect.

"I like it because there's so much expression and acting," he said. "There's no jumps allowed, so there's more emphasis on technical skating skills and lifts."

We'll keep you informed about the performances of Jamie, Melyssa, Malcolm and Sage in their upcoming competitions.