[Guest Post] A circle of shared breaths by Janet G. '27

janet: when my friend Eleanor floated the idea of a guest blog about synchronized ice skating, I was VERY excited. not just because hashtag alysa liu and co my ice queen icons,⁠01 in fact i'll have you know that we floated this idea LAST year which means that yeah we were ahead of the times etc etc but also because MIT’s ice rink and ice skating culture in general is lowkey underrated!! and also Eleanor is so sweet and i knew whatever club she leads would be super full of heart. hope you enjoy this little window into MIT ice skating and how clubs can form super organically!

“Wait, what’s synchronized skating?”

I remember getting asked this question a lot since coming to college. If you’ve never heard of synchronized skating, or “synchro,” it’s a team-based discipline that uses formations and shapes while pulling from just about every other skating discipline (singles, pairs, and ice dance) to create a coherent program. Teams typically range from 12 to 16 skaters, all moving in sync on the ice. Synchro often gets overlooked by the general public because it’s relatively new, but over the past several years, it’s been pushing to be included in the Winter Olympics and gain more recognition.

Before we continue, I should give a quick intro — hi! I’m Eleanor, a junior studying 6-14⁠02 </span>Computer Science, Economics, and Data Science and 15-2.⁠03 Business Analytics I started skating in my freshman year of high school, and skated synchro competitively from high school to my freshman year at MIT (huge thanks to PNR!). I knew I wanted to keep skating in college and beyond, and have always loved the community aspect of skating. This led me to join the skating community here at MIT: the MIT Figure Skating Club. ⁠04 Check us out on instagram: @mit.figureskating and website: https://web.mit.edu/skatingclub/www/

We have over 120 members in the club, ranging from former national & international competitors to people who are completely new to the ice. Everyone is welcome regardless of their skill level! The club is very flexible. Members can skate as much or as little as they want, which makes it much easier to balance skating with classes, psets, UROPs,⁠05 </span>MIT's undergrad research program! and other commitments. 

After my freshman year season ended and sophomore year started, I didn’t realize how much I missed synchro. Somehow that slowly turned into something—building synchronized skating at MIT from the ground up—and here’s the journey leading up to it. Hope you enjoy!

When I first heard You Will Be Found⁠06 from the musical Dear Evan Hansen // janet: also one of my fav musicals btw  in 2021, I knew there was something special about the song that deeply resonated with me. It’s a song I’ve wanted to skate to ever since, and while my freshman year living group was recovering from the loss of a friend in October, I realized it’d be too lonely to skate to a song that’s meant to embody community and friendship alone. So, why not ask my MIT FSC friends to join?

That’s how it all began.

When I reached out to Amelie and Angela, two talented ‘28s in MIT FSC with Team USA junior-level synchro experience, they gave an immediate, enthusiastic “yes!” 

11/16/24 Sat.

Made the group chat for us three! Our little Dear Evan Hansen crew was officially born.

The three of us quickly bonded through late-night choreography sessions, brainstorming ideas, and supporting one another through setbacks (upcoming exams, deadlines, random things that popped up…). It definitely wasn’t all smooth sailing. There were tough conversations about balancing the team’s needs with individual constraints like time conflicts, skill levels, and, most of all, our differing visions and expectations for the program. But through this process, we got to truly get to know one another, which is something super special and made the creative process happen.

We got organized fast. We made a team group chat, set up a when2meet for practice scheduling, and collated a Google Drive with everything else: attendance trackers, practice content slides, music cue & lyrics timestamps, and step-by-step breakdowns of the program. By the end of that week, we were ready to kick things off with our first official off-ice practice.

👀 Glimpses of practice schedule & progress tracker!

11/22/24 Fri. 5:30–7 pm off ice 👟 @ new vassar yoga room

Agenda:

– SYNCHRO 101 🔥🔥 (off-ice edition)

– Put people in program spots!!!

– Learn beginning arms and choreo to the end of box

– Walk through/figure out box intersection (neighbors and holes)

– Transition steps for spin & twizzle groups

– Lifts and pair moves: armpit lift face down and face up for group lift; sideways 3 ppl lift for transition lift; monkey lift; fish lift

GOALS:

– Have a solid understanding of Box Intersection Holes

– Know the beginning and box choreography SOLIDLY so we can hit the ice running Saturday!

📸off-ice practice

11/23/24 Sat. 8–9:30 am on ice ⛸️ @ johnson rink

Agenda: (expecting limited space on ice due to group lessons)

– SYNCHRO 101 🧊🧊(ON-ice edition)

– How to skate together!

– Drill: left, right, push cross push cross mohawk slip, pump, pushcross lean, push cross lean — In pairs then in fours (CCW drilling box steps); Focus: keep arms and line on axis the entire time

– Walk through beginning through end of box intersection on ice, make adjustments as needed

GOALS:

– Comfortable with pair flare move

– Comfortable with intersecting through box

It’s definitely an uphill battle, especially since for most skaters on the team, this is their very first time doing synchro and skating as a team (literally, side by side with others!). A lot of the synchronized skating concepts and awareness that felt natural to the three of us had to be broken down into pieces and explained to the team. This included things like how to properly connect, timing of steps, spacing, and so on. The commitment is huge, much bigger than I’d anticipated. Everyone put in so much time and gave up most of their ice time—time that could have been spent practicing individual programs—to focus on synchro. There were times when attendance was disappointing, and we fell far behind schedule, struggling to make the progress needed to finish the program. Re-centering ourselves around the idea that we were a team made a huge difference. It helped us refocus on our shared goal and brought everyone closer together, especially during the more challenging moments during practices. 

Then came Thanksgiving break, a little breather amidst the busyness, to slow down and reorient ourselves. It was definitely much needed, but it also meant we were left with only one week until the show. After some hard conversations, we finalized the team with 13 skaters who stuck with the group until the end!

The week leading up to the show was jam-packed: one hour of on-ice practice every single day from Monday through Saturday, with off-ice practice scattered throughout. Many changes were made during that final stretch: figuring out which steps worked best, switching positions here and there, and making sure everyone was doing the elements they felt comfortable and excited about. We didn’t want to put anyone in a position they weren’t comfortable with, whether it was lifts, jumps, or transitions, so we always looked for ways to balance and adjust. Spoiler alert: all the tweaks to the program worked out in the end!

👀 What I jotted down in my notes app that day

12/8/24 Sun. SHOW DAY!

Pre-show rehearsal time: Run-throughs went well! Almost did a back-to-back?! Love the energy — everyone is so excited to perform!! Knowing that this time I’ll be stepping onto the ice not alone but with my friends who poured their hearts into this program alongside me makes me so happy. 😆

📸 circle of shared breaths - a unique synchro thing where everyone breathes together before the skate

📸action shots from the program

📸action shots from the program

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After the show, the response was overwhelming. Friends, alums, and audience members reached out to tell me how much the program resonated with them. Some brought flowers, others shared their own stories of connection and resilience. It meant the world to all of us! 🫶

📸team photo <3 featuring alex, amelie, angela, athena, bridget, cassie, connie, eleanor, fiona, justine, karen, lana, and mandy

Fast forward to now, and I’m halfway through my junior spring. Things are far less crazy and hectic, and I’ve finally had the chance to slow down and reflect. Looking back, it wasn’t a bad decision after all. I underestimated just how much effort this would take, but seeing everyone show up and give it their all in the end made it completely worth it. The jam-packed practice schedule, our inability to stop constantly thinking about choreography (help I couldn’t get it out of my head for two weeks straight!), the countless sleep-deprived days with one deadline after another, and the stress of finals week approaching… 

But I’ve realized that it doesn’t matter, because in my heart—especially after coming to MIT—I’ve learned that prioritizing what truly brings me joy can be difficult, but it’s 100% worth it!! For me that comes from skating with my friends, creating something meaningful, and sharing it with others. I genuinely don’t know how I would’ve managed without this family ❤

AND! this one program became the start of something bigger: the formation of MIT Synchro!

Since then, we’ve brought in triple the number of skaters at all levels to try synchro. We put together Mamma Mia! in Spring 2025 and The Greatest Showman in Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 MIT FSC shows.

mamma mia!

the greatest showman!

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It’s still kinda crazy that an idea during the drive to the NYU Competition⁠07 One of the three US Figure Skating Intercollegiate Competitions in the Northeast Region in a season. MIT FSC competes at all three competitions (and is the host to the second comp!) in early November 2024 turned into this whole roller coaster of a journey. I’m really excited to see it keep growing, and for more people to get to know synchro. We’re already planning to make it more accessible for anyone in the MIT community to try it out through workshops and/or joining the program. 

None of this would’ve been possible without the love, passion, and support from the skaters of MIT FSC, and I’m really, really proud and grateful for it all!

Heart so full,

E