The 2023 National Showcase concluded on Sunday with over 400 competitors participating in the seven-day competition. Held at the Skating Club of Boston in Norwood, Massachusetts, the competition brought together the nation’s best and most creative theatrical skaters.
Overall, winners were crowned in seven Parades of Champions: senior, junior, founders, adult, duet/trio, adult duet/trio and interpretive.
Senior Parade of Champions
Ashlyn Olson (Ice House Skating Academy) returned to National Showcase and successfully defended her title, once again etching her name into the Richard Dwyer Trophy. Olson gave a moving performance to an instrumental version of “So Anyway” from Next to Normal, earning a score of 56.17.
Stella Maples (All Year FSC) took home the silver medal with her performance to “Little Girls” from Annie, where she portrayed the character Miss Hannigan. She received a score of 54.01.
Remington Bennett (Ice House Skating Academy) placed third after a beautiful skate to “Ne Me Quitte Pas” by Celine Dion.
Koko Hirano (All Year FSC) finished in fourth place with a score of 52.70.
Junior Parade of Champions
After finishing fourth at last year’s National Showcase, Lexi Galuszka (Ice House Skating Academy) will now add her name to the Haley Gans Skate with All Your Heart Trophy as the winner of the Junior Parade of Champions. She skated to a poem and was awarded a score of 44.23.
Natallia Anisimava (All Year FSC) presented the officials with an energetic skate to “Friend Like Me” from the live-action Aladdin film to receive the silver medal. Her program was given a score of 42.35.
Katrina Impellizzeri’s (Ice House Skating Academy) dramatic performance to “Crazy” by John Adams secured the bronze medal and a score of 40.14.
Mia Rocco (SC of Boston) took home the pewter medal with a score of 39.15.
Founders Parade of Champions
New this year, the Founder’s Parade of Champions is presented to skaters at the preliminary, pre-juvenile and juvenile levels who exemplify the importance of movement, performance and audience interaction in their performances. The award also honors those who created the world of Showcase, Morry Stillwell and Jack Curtis.
12-year-old juvenile skater Rachel Samiri (All Year FSC) captured the inaugural founders trophy with a score of 33.02.
Addison Ibanez (Coyotes SC of Arizona) personified Sid the Sloth from Ice Age. Her performance to “Continental Drift” by Thick & Thin earned a score of 28.75.
Trishia Cerrillo (Alaska Assoc. of FS) skated to “Conga” by Gloria Estefan to take the bronze medal with 28.66 points.
Sienna Pantano (Ice House Skating Academy) took home the pewter medal with 26.89 points shortly after watching her mother Ashlee Pantano win the adult title earlier in the day.
Adult Parade of Champions
Ashley Pantano (Ice House Skating Academy) stood on top of the podium for the second year in a row in the adult competition. Her emotional performance to “Take Me to Church” achieved a score of 51.03.
Justin Ly (Los Angeles FSC) came in second, scoring 42.97 points, earning his highest marks for performance and artistic appeal.
Nikki Siciliano (Ice House Skating Academy) took home the bronze medal after her performance as Miss Hannigan from Annie captured 36.43 points.
Julia Santy (Tri-Cities FSC) took home the pewter medal with a score of 35.31.
Duet/Trio Parade of Champions
The senior and adult title winners, Ashlyn Olson and Ashley Pantano (Ice House Skating Academy) teamed up to win the duet/trio title with a moving performance to “Fields of Gold” by Jae Hall. The duo dominated the competition and received a score of 54.96.
Bartholomew and Kormos (Ice House Skating Academy) followed behind in second place with 37.99 points, skating to “Goodnight Junior” from Veggie Tales. To complete the performance, the duo dressed in pajamas.
Kat and Em (Ice House Skating Academy) dressed like Oompa Loompas and skated to music from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the Musical, collecting a score of 32.87.
The trio Sam, Lilly and Mikaela (Ice House Skating Academy) captured the pewter medal with 31.67 points.
Adult Duet/Trio Parade of Champions
Djuric, Kociuba and Christianson (Ice House Skating Academy) captured the gold medal as a trio. Their Despicable Me-themed program
Married duo Justin and Erin Ly (Los Angeles FSC) personified figure skating Barbie and Ken during their performance, earning 33.58 points, scoring the highest marks for their artistic appeal.
Interpretive Parade of Champions
For the interpretive competition, skaters are all given the same piece of music with only a few minutes to fully choreograph a 1 ½ minute performance. This year the song was “I’m Coming Out of My Shell” by Frank Vlastnik.
Natallia Anisimava (All Year FSC) gave a comedic and physical performance while wearing a taco costume that fit the “shell” theme of the chosen song well. She took first place with 37.05 points.
Mylie Shook (FSC of the Quad-Cities) finished with the silver medal scoring 34.72 points. She impressed the judges with her artistic appeal while wearing a sparkly gold tuxedo jacket.
Anna Thomason (St. Moritz ISC) placed third with 34.33 points. Her mismatched costume of a vest and alien headband paired with an orange prop ribbon made her performance engaging for the audience.
Addison Ibanez secured the pewter medal and a score of 34.14.