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THE SLOPES — The Winter Olympics are upon us and we’re all excited to see speedskating, Alpine skiing, snowboard halfpipe and dozens of other events, but unfortunately we will not be seeing ski ballet.
Many people probably don’t remember ballet skiing, but there is likely a small portion of the population that not only remembers it but also misses it.
I came across this little gem of a video of a 1985 ski ballet competition in Breckenridge.
What is ski ballet you ask? It’s basically figure skating on skis, but way more bizarre. There is music and fancy outfits while skiers do stunts and twirls on their skis.
According to Wikipedia, the sport was never made an official event in the Winter Olympics, but was an Olympic demonstration sport in 1988 and 1992. The International Ski Federation dropped the sport in 2000, and fancy skiers and costume designers had to find a new gig.
Check out this short video and get a glimpse at what may have been had we as spectators embraced this goofy, yet fantastic sport. Just think had we supported ski ballet we could be enjoying our new favorite TV show, Ski Ballet With the Stars.
Now we all live in regret.
