Jordan Bailey, New York City, NY
Jacqueline Benson, Phoenix, AZ
Jolie Black, Raritan, NJ
Paula Jagodzinska, Sydney, Australia
Miabella Lovell, Frederick, MD
BB McKain, Pittsburgh, PA
Jimmy Morgan, Providence, RI
Sarah Nolan, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
Whitney Overchuk, Germantown, MD
Devin Prasatek, Rochester, MI
Berlin Sohn, Minneapolis, MN
Jordan is a choreographer, performing artist, and skating educator. She has been teaching for 15 years, 6 years with Figure Skating in Harlem; developing teaching specialties in choreography, ice dance, moves in the field, and synchronized skating. They also act as head coach for competitive skaters in NYC-including co-coach for the FSH Aspire 2 team, creating development plans for youth and adult skaters alike.
“After being involved for 6 years, it was great to take a deeper dive and further my education in this topic.”
Jacqueline is the Co-Vice President of AIT, Choreographer, and Contemporary Skating Artist.
“This class helped me learn about the ways in which a deeper understanding of core body movement can make us all better movers, artists, and teachers.”
Jolie currently coaches skaters of all levels and ages at Bridgewater Sports Arena in Bridgewater, New Jersey, emphasizing an athlete-centered, strength-based approach to skating.
“Growth comes from discomfort; strength is mandatory for artistry.”
Paula is a professional show skater, previously performing with Holiday On Ice, Illusion On Ice and Dynamic Shows as part of the Autostadt shows in Wolfsburg, Germany. She is a figure skating coach, and Pilates instructor and the first AIT Level III Certified choreographer.
“6 Ways of the Spine inspired me to explore a greater connection between creativity and the capabilities of our bodies.”
Miabella has been coaching for 6 years and recently received their Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Science at the University of Delaware.
“Skaters tend to not use their core or base of their spine movements in the core which often leads to injury as they are over compensating with other muscles. This class helped me to identify how to correct these problems so my skaters can have long and healthy careers.”
Billy Blades is an imaginative ice skater who blends artistry, athleticism, and play. Their aim is to include sincerity, humor, self reflection, and love in all that they do.
“It was so exciting not only to learn all of the ways that a spine can move across planes, but to see those movements on all different skaters! The creativity of my classmates was the most inspiring of all.”
Jimmy Morgan (he/they) is a coach, choreographer and professional figure skater based in Providence. He focuses on empowering his students by placing value in the whole skater including their long-term emotional and physical well-being. He holds a Mass Communication degree from Boston University. In his spare time, Jimmy is a Pro Ambassador for Athlete Ally, an organization committed to the fair inclusion of LGBTQ+ people in sports. He loves reading, traveling, dancing, and playing with his rescue pup, Cali.
“Don’t be afraid to let your body feel while moving on the ice. We learn to fly with jumps and spins and now we can soar and fall, drag our blades and use all of our being to express ourself through skating.”
Sarah is a Skate Canada Regional Certified Coach Skate Canada Triple Gold Test Level (Freeskate, Skills, Artistic) and had a 13-year Professional Career with Disney On Ice, Holiday On Ice, Magic On Ice Mexico, and Snoopy Rocks On Ice.
“6 Ways of the Spine and the coaching guidance throughout the course exceeded my expectations. The varied and intentional thought behind the resource materials broadened my knowledge of how and why we move as skaters, whilst encouraging further development.”
Whitney has been coaching for over 15 years and is a National and International Theatre on Ice coach.
“By completing the 6 ways course it’s given me the ability to give clearer, quicker corrections in my coaching.”
Devin is a coach based in Rochester, MI and a USFS gold medalist.
“It takes physical and mental strength to embrace non traditional figure skating movements.”
Berlin is a USFS triple Gold Medalist and AIT professional company member (MSP and formerly Boston). She was a principal performer with Willy Bietak Productions and an ensemble skater for Holiday on Ice. Berlin holds bachelors degrees in Exercise Physiology and Computer Science and a Master’s in Business Administration. She loves that contemporary skating with AIT allows her to still challenge and express herself on the ice, even after becoming a mother to 2 (soon-to-be 3) young boys and going through breast cancer treatment.
“The 6 Ways of the Spine course challenged me to move my body in ways that I usually don’t. My biggest takeaways are 1) the importance of a strong core in creating 3-dimensional movement and 2) that combining all ways of the spine in choreography makes a piece more dynamic and impactful; and it’s more attainable to create such a piece once you understand the fundamentals of the 6 ways positions.”