The Student News Site of Mililani High School

Trojan Times

The Student News Site of Mililani High School

Trojan Times

The Student News Site of Mililani High School

Trojan Times

The Cost of Paradise
Dannika Pila and Arie YamasakiFebruary 7, 2024
Left to right: Trumpets Rylan Akau-Morgan, Peyton Kahiapo and Skylar Hamasu stand in first position during the City of Lights Parade on Dec. 2.
Great Minds Think Alike: Collaborations Between Mililani Schools
Gianna Brown and Arie YamasakiFebruary 7, 2024
Senior Marcus Morifuji faces off against senior Ava Mayfield in a game of chess. The Tabletop Gaming Club
hosted its first chess tournament on Nov. 30, any student was welcome to participate.
Checkmate! Tabletop Gaming Club Hosts Chess Tournament
Marcus Morifuji, Sports Editor • February 6, 2024

Dice-Cholodzinski has her “Golden Moment” in ice skating show

By Mary Conner
[email protected]
(Photo courtesy of Jill Dice) Zofia Dice-Cholodzinski (11) (far right middle) and her fellow skaters hope that this event will impact their ice skating experience for the better as they continue their careers knowing they skated with gold medalists.
(Photo courtesy of Jill Dice) Zofia Dice-Cholodzinski (11) (far right middle) and her fellow skaters hope that this event will impact their ice skating experience for the better as they continue their careers knowing they skated with gold medalists.

Junior Zofia Dice-Cholodzinski participated in the “Golden Moment” figure skating show, headlined by Olympic champions Kristi Yamaguchi and Brian Boitano at the Blaisdell Arena on Nov. 20 and 21. The event featured special guests: First Lady of Hawaii, Dawn Amano-Ige, Francesca Weems from Hawaii News Now and “Hawaii Five-O” actor Daniel Dae Kim. “Golden Moment” was organized in an effort to emphasize the importance of early childhood literacy in Hawaii. For the amateur participants, this event was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“I would say there was an excitement there, everyone was excited about the performance, to see all the athletes and everything,” said Jill Dice, Dice-Cholodzinski’s mother. “I think everyone that went to the event was really interested in ice skating or fairly interested in ice skating. I think it was a pretty exciting atmosphere.”

Participating in the show allowed Dice-Cholodzinski to experience what it was like to perform with world-renowned athletes. Along with the large cast and esteemed hosts of the evening, Olympic gold medalists Meryl Davis, Charlie White, Shizuka Arakawa, Katia Gordeeva; world champions Kurt Browning, Yuka Sato, Miki Ando; and national champions Takeshi Honda and Jeremy Abbott were featured in the performance. “The performers there were really nice to us as a group. They made us feel like we were welcome, like we were part of the team,” said Dice-Cholodzinski. “It wasn’t just like they had their performance, and then we were just an exhibition.”

Dice-Cholodzinski has grown as an athlete since she first began the sport at seven years old. “I think she’s become more confident, and a more solid ice skater. She does a lot of things, but ice skating has always been something she wants to do. When she performs, it (teaches) her to really be expressive and things like that and maybe to push herself outside her own comfort zone,” said Dice.

To prepare for the event, Dice-Cholodzinski spent two months rehearsing the number, which included weekly on-ice practices and several off-ice practices to fine-tune the choreography; however, to her the hard work is an escape. “I like it because it’s so different, and there’s just those moments where you just feel like you’re one with the ice. It’s the hardest feeling to explain,” said Dice-Cholodzinski. “That gliding feeling is something that you can’t really experience anywhere else. I feel free when I do it.”

The love and support of her parents, friends and coaches has always encouraged Dice-Cholodzinski to continue ice skating. “For me, it was just a really great experience. It just made me so very proud that she was skating, starting an event for something that big. I was just very excited that she was skating on the ice,” said Dice.“It’s always exciting to see students perform in events like this,” said Dice-Cholodzinksi’s coach, Flo Steed. “It would have been a wonderful learning experience for them just to see these amazing skaters, but nothing like getting to share the ice with them. Most skaters in the country don’t get that kind of opportunity.”

Dice-Cholodzinski’s passion to ice skate has rubbed off on her parents in more ways than one. “She inspired me to skate. I don’t skate now, but we actually went to an international competition. We did a production number, we did ‘The Jungle Book,’” said Dice. “I was allowed to skate in the number with her, and that was very cool for me.”

Dice-Cholodzinski plans to audition for future shows, and will continue her ice skating career even after high school. For now, she continues to rehearse for whatever opportunities come her way.

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