Ski Ballet (a.k.a. Acroski) - by Anne Shier (a.k.a. "Annie")

(see link to:  Olympic demonstration sports)

Ski ballet (later renamed Acroski) was a freestyle skiing discipline from the late-1960s until the year 2000. It is no longer a part of competitive freestyle skiing.

Overview:

Ballet involved a choreographed routine of flips, rolls, leg crossings, jumps, and spins performed on a smooth slope. After the mid-1970s the routine was performed to music for 90 seconds. For a short period of time (in the 1980s) there was also pair ballet competitions, a variation of ballet, where two people performed tricks that not only included spins, jumps and leg crossing but also lifts and synchronic movements. A panel of judges scored the performance.

Notable athletes:

Suzy Chaffee:

Following her ski-racing career, Suzy Chaffee modelled in New York with Ford Models and then became the pre-eminent freestyle ballet skier of the early 1970s. She is perhaps best known by the nickname, Suzy Chapstick, from the 1970s, when she was a spokesperson for ChapStick lip balm.

Lane Spina:

Spina won two Olympic medals at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada and the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France.

Rune Kristiansen:

Kristiansen won a gold medal in ballet at the FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships 1995, and had a total of 54 world cup victories throughout his career. He competed at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Ski Ballet, which was a demonstration event. He was Norwegian champion in ballet in 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992 and 1993.

Olympic demonstration sport:

Ballet was a demonstration sport in the 1988 and 1992 Winter Olympics. The sport has significantly declined in popularity in recent years due to the fact that it did not become an Olympic sport. The International Ski Federation ceased all formal competition of this sport after 2000.

Host (Canadian Broadcasting Company). 2009-12-04. Archived from the original on 2010-04-01. Retrieved 2010-03-16.

Categories: 

·         1960s in sports

·         Freestyle skiing

·         Types of skiing

·         Olympic demonstration sports

copyright 2014, Anne Shier.  All rights reserved.