SMMARTideas

 SMMART ASPIRATIONS...Do you remember?

Do you remember what you loved doing when you were little?  What did you dream about being as you sang your heart out in the bathtub, poured line after phrase into your poetry journal, or raced your friends from the school door to the end of the block?


I remember sitting in front of the mirror running lines from "Annie", or repeating the same phrase over and over until I felt I had pinned the exact emotion required...basking in the rush of Starlight Express or so deeply devastated at Eponine's denial by Marius in Les Miserables. 


I took a drama class in 8th grade and the teacher encouraged me to try out for Summer Institute for the Arts Drama School...I attended for four summers...the best summers of my life as a youth!  But then, so torn between my left and right brain...decided that drama wasn't a practical vocation (not likely to pay the bills and very likely to provide immoral roles and opportunities).  That's how I saw it anyway.  I can't say I'm sorry I didn't pursue the stage.  I guess I figure that hobby finds a way to be satisfied in ways other than Kennedy Center lights, and can be pursued when the little ones aren't so under foot.


Whoa...I usually like to listen to others spill, rather than bare my own soul.  So, back to the point ... Disney on Ice is comin' to town...and one of our own, Janusz McKinnon, from Bountiful is skating in the cast!  I thought I'd share some of his inspiring story.  He loved skating, he pursued it, he's living part of his dream.

JANUSZ JOHN MCKINNON

HOMETOWN: Bountiful, Utah

AGE YOU BEGAN SKATING: 8 years old
WHY DID YOU START SKATING? My parents took my older brother and me to a public skating session at the Bountiful Recreation Center, and both of us liked it so we started to take the Learn To Skate classes.
SKATING ACHIEVEMENTS (Competitions/awards/tests): I skated in numerous regional, sectional and national competitions. I have passed my Gold Freeskate and Gold moves in the field test.
LIST YOUR INTERESTS/HOBBIES/FAVORITE PASTIME: I played a lot of different sports when I was growing up other than ice skating. I played hockey and football in high school. My favorite pastime is hanging out with my friends and just relaxing whether it be going up to the mountains or just relaxing on the couch.
ROLE MODEL(S) (Skating or otherwise): I would have to say Scott Hamilton. I have looked up to him for a very long time. He is a really nice person and is real.
TOUGHEST CHALLENGE (During skating career): Actually after I had surgery on my ankle it took me three years to finally come back and compete for the last time in November. It just took a long time getting the motivation to start training again when I knew that I wasn't going to win or anything. I just ended up doing it for myself and had one of the best times skating and seeing all the people that I had competed against three years earlier.
PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL GOALS: Eventually I want to graduate college and get my degree in athletic training. Besides that, I eventually want to be a skating director at an ice arena.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO KIDS WHO HAVE A DREAM/DESIRE TO DO SOMETHING LIKE SKATING? Don't quit when everything looks like it is going wrong. Because, no matter how hard it is going to be at times, it is well worth it when you reach your dreams.
IF YOU WEREN’T A PROFESSIONAL ICE SKATER, WHAT MIGHT YOU BE DOING FOR A LIVING? I would probably be an athletic trainer or own my own dance club.
WHAT YEAR DID YOU JOIN FELD ENTERTAINMENT? I started in August 2003.
HOW DID YOU AUDITION? I auditioned while the Jungle Disney On Ice show was in Salt Lake City. My coach Karel and his wife Amanda set up an audition with their friend who was the performance director.
WHAT DID YOU DO PRIOR TO JOINING FELD ENTERTAINMENT? I was coaching ice skating lessons in Ogden, Utah, at the Weber County Ice Sheet. I was also working for a security company at different special events such as concerts, U of U football games and many other things.
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY ABOUT PERFORMING? Being able to see the kids in the audience going crazy with excitement about seeing the different characters in the show. Making people smile is what I have always liked to do when I am skating.
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT ICE SKATING? Being able to do something that most people that I know can't. I like the jumping aspect of the sport and over time I finally figured out the spinning part also.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR SKATING STYLE? My skating style isn't too graceful. I just skate how I want to. I like to take all the things that I have learned from the different coaches and add it into my own skating style.
WHAT DO YOU WANT THE AUDIENCE TO GET FROM YOUR PERFORMANCE? I want them to enjoy what they are watching and leave with a smile on their faces.
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT BEING ON TOUR? The chance to travel all over and meet so many different types of people
WHAT COUNTRIES HAVE YOU PERFORMED IN WHILE TRAVELING WITH FELD ENTERTAINMENT? Since this is my first year so far, just the United States. I think that will change the longer I am here.

HOMETOWN INFORMATION

WHERE DID YOU GROW UP? I grew up in Bountiful, Utah.
WHAT MAJOR CITY IS IT NEAR? Salt Lake City
HOMETOWN CLUB WHERE YOU TRAINED/NAME OF COACHES: I trained for about 13 years at the Bountiful Recreation Center. The home club there is the Utah Figure Skating Club. The past three years I have been skating at the Weber County Ice Sheet. The Wasatch Figure Skating Club is at that arena. In Ogden, my coach is Karel Kovar.
NAME OF HIGH SCHOOL/YEAR GRADUATED/LOCATION: Woods Cross High School, graduated 1996
NAME OF COLLEGE/YEAR GRADUATED/LOCATION/MAJOR: Weber State University, not yet graduated, Ogden, Utah, Athletic Training

REMEMBER...to check back for the SMMARTideas Disney on Ice Giveaway!