Skaters lace 'em up for Halloween ice show

Tampa Bay area ice skaters and soap opera stars will combine efforts to entertain crowds at Saturday's event.

		Devon Hall, 9, of Dunedin practices her jumps and spins at the rink at Westfield Shoppingtown Countryside in Clearwater.
[Times photos Libby Volgyes]

		Ashlee Elrod, 12, helps her sister Alyssa Elrod, 5, during an ice skating practice Thursday.

CLEARWATER - What happens when you mix soap and ice?

You get good, clean family fun.

On Saturday, 32 skaters, ages 5 to 44, will perform during the Fall Halloween Ice Show at the Tampa Bay Skating Academy's ice rink in the center of Westfield Shoppingtown Countryside.

Joining them will be special guests Crystal Hunt and Troy Kurtis, co-stars on the CBS daytime soap opera Guiding Light. Hunt will give a short talk and Kurtis will croon some pop/Latin numbers while playing his guitar. The two then will be available for pictures and autographs.

"This is an unusual mix of entertainment. There is a little something for everyone: soap stars, skating and singing," said Dana Hall, vice president of Skaters Activity Fund Effort, a nonprofit organization that helps offset expenses for competitive figure skaters. The organization is hosting the event, which is sanctioned by the United States Figure Skating Association (USFSA).

The 90-minute presentation is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. and will include a medley of artistic, dramatic, character sketches by local figure skaters.

For children, the Grinch and Cindy Lou Who (a.k.a. Ashlee Elrod, 12 and her sister Alyssa, 5) will pair up in full costume to skate to You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.

Kelley Castillo, 15, will perform as the Native American princess, Pocahontas, when she interprets the Oscar-winning song, Colors of the Wind. The only male skater in the cast, 11-year-old Michael Murphy, will skate as Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius.

Both of the soap stars hail from the Tampa Bay area.

Hunt, who plays the rich and spoiled Lizzie Spaulding, is a local teen from Clearwater who attended Palm Harbor University High School. Her grandfather, George Hunt, owned the construction company that built the mall, formerly known as Countryside Mall.

"I love knowing that he built the mall. He died when I was 3, and this (mall) is something that helps me remember him," the 18-year-old said. She said although she spends most of her time in New York City now, "Florida will always be my home."

Kurtis is from Tampa, where his mother still lives. He is the former lead singer with the Latin band MDO, formerly known as Menudo. Now he plays the role of Nico Castano, a troubled teen.

Fans of the rink's fall figure skating shows will remember Susanne Searles, 24, lead figure skater at the rink for 11 years. She skates at the senior level in the USFSA and at the Freestyle 9 level through the Ice Skating Institute. Her performance Saturday night to All That Jazz from Chicago could be her last.

"I'm teaching now and just don't have the time to devote to training," she said. She is a third-grade teacher at Curlew Creek Elementary in Palm Harbor and a skating coach at the rink.

"There have been many great shows, and I've enjoyed all of them. We'll see what happens," she said.

The Fall Halloween Ice Show will be Saturday at the ice rink at Westfield Shoppingtown Countryside. The event, from 5 to 6:30 p.m., is free.

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