"Breaking The Ice" docuseries with Rory Flack coaching an ISI synchro team

[Sylvia]

'Breaking the Ice' docuseries on diverse ice skating team comes to WE tv in July - UPI.com

"Breaking the Ice" follows Washington, D.C.-based coach Rory Flack as she trains a diverse synchronized ice skating team trying to make history.

www.upi.com

Rory Flack is trying to make history, again. The first African American woman to win the U.S. Open Professional Figure Skating Championships is coaching Team DMV, the first diverse competitive synchronized ice skating to make it to the Ice Sports Industry national championship.
Ten middle and high school girls are part of Team DMV out of Washington, D.C., who must endure rigorous training, the inherent racism in the sport of figure skating, and the expectations of their parents to compete successfully.

Breaking News - WE tv Greenlights Ice Skating Docuseries "Breaking the Ice" | TheFutonCritic.com

www.thefutoncritic.com

WE tv, AMC Networks' destination for compelling unscripted television, today announced the greenlight of Breaking The Ice. Produced by Sirens Media, the 8-episode docuseries follows Washington DC-based ice skating champion, Rory Flack, and her groundbreaking journey leading the first all diverse, competitive synchronized ice skating team. The series will debut this summer [July] exclusively on WE tv and sister streamer ALLBLK.
World-renowned figure skater Rory Flack is no stranger to slicing through barriers, as the first African American woman to win the US Open Professional Figure Skating Championships. The figure skater-turned-coach is now spearheading Team DMV, the first all diverse, competitive synchronized skating team striving to make it to the Ice Sports Industry's (ISI) national championship. The team is comprised of 10 middle and high school girls who are up for this challenge. Together, they endure rigorous training on and off the ice, and must manage team dynamics, as well as outspoken parents and skating rivals. On their way to Nationals, Team DMV is defying the odds: will they navigate the inherent danger of the ice and avoid injury? Or push through the obstacles... ultimately, Breaking The Ice!

Preview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hksn-fX4HXE

 

[Sylvia]

Background info from Rory Flack in her post that includes the preview video: https://www.instagram.com/p/CsVTMHcuBzq/

It's finally here, 8 years in the making. Tune in and go on a journey with this diverse synchronized figure skating team. Team Devine Motivational Visionaries (Team DMV.

.

 

[love skating]

This begins next week July 6th on We TV. I got my DVR set!

Watch Breaking the Ice Season Online | WE tv

Watch Breaking the Ice online. Stream the latest full episodes for free online with your TV provider.

www.wetv.com

 

[Simone411]

Thanks so much, @love skating! I just autotuned it. Totally love Rory Flack!

 

[Garden Kitty]

I had missed this thread, but just saw an ad for the series and set my dvr. The bit I saw showed a bit of "tv drama" so I don't know how realistic it is, but I'm definitely going to check it out.

 

[Sylvia]

Q&A with Rory Flack before her series' debut (July 5):

Figure Skater Rory Flack Previews Breaking The Ice and Her Coaching Style

We interviewed figure skating legend Rory Flack about coaching the first diverse synchronized skating team and having WEtv host a docuseries "Breaking The Ice" about it.

www.tvfanatic.com

 

[Simone411]

Thanks so much @Sylvia. Totally looking forward to watching. I like what she says here in the interview:

How do you think your coaching methods differ from some of the other coaches these girls have had, and why do you think your team will succeed?

I’m firm and quick to correct. That’s something that makes them stronger that people don’t understand. If you have a four-minute program and I let you go through four minutes and then I correct it, we do four minutes one more time. That’s only four minutes.

If I correct you throughout the entire thing, and we stop, and we start, and we stop, and we start, by the time you finish, you’ve done 10 minutes of a program. You’ve pushed through, gotten more cardio, and your mind is stronger. It’s a stronger way of teaching for me to change the action quickly.

That makes sense. Why did you choose to do a synchro team versus a singles team or another kind of figure skating?

Synchro is the most prominent and most up-and-coming part of figure skating. We’re trying to show the world it is as strong as the singles. There are movements that they have to do that become more and more difficult.

So, it’s a part of this sport that not a lot of people see, and it’s a relatively inexpensive sport that we’re trying to bring out so that we can have more diversity on the ice.

 

[tennellicious]

I heard about this on TSL and want to watch but I don't have cable (or a TV for that matter).

Please let us know if you like the show @Simone411! Any reviews would be appreciated.

 

[Sylvia]

Lois Elfman's article:

Rory Flack’s creation of Team DMV chronicled in docuseries

In “Breaking the Ice,” an eight-part docuseries that makes its debut tonight on WE TV, Washington, D.C.-based coach Rory Flack.

amsterdamnews.com

ETA 2 more article links:

Figure Skating Coach Rory Flack Looks to 'Bring the Urban Streets onto the Ice' in New Reality Series (Exclusive)

Figure skating coach Rory Flack trains the first wholly diverse competitive synchro ice skating team in WE tv's new show 'Breaking the Ice'

people.com

EXCLUSIVE: Breaking the Ice Wants Fans to Look Beyond Figure Skating’s Predominantly White Presentation

Groundbreaking figure skater Rory Flack speaks to The Root about her new WE tv/ALLBLK series, and an exclusive clip showcases the struggles of her team.

www.theroot.com

 

[Jot the Dot Dot]

Ah, Rory! A true blast from the past! Loved her backflip.

 

[Garden Kitty]

So far I think the show is respectful to the skaters and their families. There is a bit of played up drama and someone not familiar with skating might think that a team practicing for one hour a week has a lot of pressure to compete with the "top teams". But I like how they showed that even at this level the sport can be expensive for families and a time drain as well. Plus they show the commitment required from the skaters and the risk of injury. So far the parents come across as concerned but not "skating parents" and the girls are shown realistically (and not as one dimension characters).

It's still early in the show so that can change, because reality tv often isn't very realistic, but I'll tune in for the second episode.

 

[Willin]

TBH watching this show the producers seemed really dishonest - they're showing ISU-style synchro footage (from Russia oddly enough) and pictures of ISU synchro teams. But the team is ISI and would never be competitive in ISU-style synchro - not that USFS would let a reality show team compete. Depending on the competition (Nationals vs. Worlds) they probably won't even be that competitive - certainly not at Nationals, but at worlds they'll likely get beat by a more diverse team from California.

A more honest documentary about black women in synchro would focus on high level black synchro skaters who are genuinely trying to make world qualifying teams. I can't recall any black Haydenettes, but there's been some on Nexxice over the years, a handful on the Skyliners, and many on the Crystallettes out of Michigan. There's a lot more at the Collegiate level - and that documentary wouldn't have moms to deal with, but you'd be surprised what levels of drama collegiate teams have to put up with from some skaters...

The most honest documentary about race in synchro would just focus on synchro. It's very diverse compared to other disciplines and includes teams from places that aren't typically skating countries (Turkey, Australia/NZ, Mexico, and South Africa in the past). Even in the US many teams have skaters from just about all ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds - especially in places like Detroit, NYC, and the West Coast.

 

[Frau Muller]

I watched the first episode last night. Very pleasant. So great to see Rory Flack - so lean & youthful! I remember her as the Sugar Plum Fairy in one of the initial Nutcrackers on Ice.

 

[Sylvia]

I came across some additional info on the development of the show in this June 17th Facebook post via Rory Flack's production company:

My husband Roi Mitchell Sr., myself & our company The Color of Ice Productions started working this project 2015 as #BlackIceMatters. 2017 We entered into a great partnership with a Jon Crowley. 2020 Sirens Media joined and 2021 WETV started filming. It's been a long journey and I hope you all tune in.

ETA:

Episode #2 premieres tonight (9-10 pm ET) on WE.

 

[Frau Muller]

Episode 2 was excellent. It was the team’s first scored event, in Bowie, MD. Realistic depiction of nerves - skaters, parents, coaches. I usually don’t care about or follow synchro but loved this.

 

[Willin]

I'm kind of astounded how bad of a coach Rory is. She's obviously never coached or choreographed synchro - some of the terminology she's using was outdated 20 years ago. Her husband is either incompetent or heavily in the pocket of the producers or both.

I know why they couldn't find a competent or respectable coach for this sort of show, but they really did a bad job of finding someone. Say what you will about Abby Lee Miller or that cheer coach, but they genuinely knew what they were doing. At a minimum they could've hired someone competent to choreograph and/or do coaching when the cameras were off. They have no hope to win or even place with the current structure and the parents/skaters are all too aware.

But honestly no one but Rory and her husband seem to want to be there. Unlike Dance Moms not even the parents here seem to want to be there - they want their kids to have fun and be happy, not be reality show fodder with a coach like Rory. They're all very unenthused and flat. If the gossip on Reddit is true all the parents and skaters hate doing the show and as a result the producers are desperately recruiting for more at the rink - as if they anticipate many skaters quitting.