Hometown: Baltimore, Maryland
Major: Art and Design
Year: Sophomore
Hobbies: Skating, Music, Shopping, Reading Magazines, Photography
Fun fact: I’m 50% French
HC: When did you start skating?
ED: I started skating when I was seven. My mom took me to the ice rink that had just opened up in Charleston (I was living in West Virginia at the time), and she signed me up for group lessons. I haven’t stopped since.
HC: What types of skating experience have you had in the past?
ED: When I was first starting skating, I went the traditional route of skating freestyle (the jumps and spins that everyone thinks of), while also joining my first synchro team. By the time I was twelve, I realized I didn’t really like freestyle and wanted to pursue ice dancing instead (basically ballroom on ice but with more fun stuff), so I did that and loved it. Meanwhile, I continued skating on synchro teams, moving up in levels as I got older. When we moved to Baltimore, I joined Team Delaware, with whom I qualified for my first Nationals. I skated with Team Delaware at the Intermediate, Novice, and Junior levels throughout high school and went to Nationals three times. I also got my gold medal in the Moves in the Field tests and in the compulsory Ice Dances. Then, I came to Michigan and I’ve been able to continue with both disciplines in the sport by skating on the Synchro team and doing ice dance for the Freestyle team.
HC: Why did you decide to join the Michigan Skating Team?
ED: When I was applying to college, I knew that I wanted to go to a school where I could continue skating, and Michigan is one of the best places to be for the sport anyways. So, when I got into U of M, it didn’t take much thought for me to decide to join the Synchronized Skating Team here. I’ve been balancing school and skating for the majority of my life, and I’m nowhere near ready to take skating out of my life.
HC: How time consuming is it? Do you ever feel like you don’t have time for other things? Is it worth it?
ED: Skating is hard on it’s own, and it takes a lot of time and practice. When you multiply that by twenty girls, it’s definitely time consuming. The synchro team practices together between three and four times per week, plus individual practices and mandatory workouts. I’m also working on passing my international dance tests, which requires more skating and lessons at an off campus rink each week. Between the Synchro team and Freestyle team, I travel between four and seven times a year over weekends, so with college, it definitely adds up. But, I’ve been balancing school and skating for so long that I’m pretty used to it. If I weren’t skating, I wouldn’t know what to do with my time and would probably get too bored. So, it’s definitely worth it. It’s fun, it takes my mind off school and the mundane parts of life, and it’s something I get to be really proud of.
HC: Does the University now classify skating as a club sport or a varsity sport?
ED: At the moment, the Synchronized skating team at Michigan is considered a “club-varsity” sport. We are recognized by the athletic department as a sport, not just a club. We get some financial coverage and privileges from the university, but very few compared to full varsity sports. It’s a student run team right now, meaning that aside from the coaching we plan and organize everything else from our travels to our apparel. But it’s an exciting time for this year because we’ve been working to grow the synchronized skating team under the Athletic Department as a Varsity sport, similar to the dance or cheerleading team. My hope is that by the time I graduate, I’ll be able to say it’s a varsity sport.
HC: I know you guys have skated at some of the Michigan hockey games this year. Do you like that, or would you rather be competing?
ED: Yes, in working with the Athletic Department and the possibility of becoming Varsity, part of that would involve the synchro team also acting as “ice cheerleaders” at Men’s Hockey Games. We had a few trial runs at the beginning of hockey season where we got to perform at the start of the games. It was definitely a new experience because performing for an event like a hockey game as a sort of cheerleader is a lot different than competing a set routine to a piece of music. I’ve never been a cheerleader so skating and dancing in that style in order to get a crowd pumped up was definitely a little awkward at first. But, during the games, it was actually really fun! We got a lot of great feedback after the games from fans, which is always awesome. It’s such a different energy when you’re skating or performing for your peers before a big game than it is when you’re skating in front of your friends, family and judges at a competition. I like both for different reasons. I definitely wouldn’t want to stop competing, but if the team here at Michigan moved in that direction and got to do both I would be all for it.
HC: What is your favorite part about being on the Michigan Skating Team?
ED: There are a lot of things I love about this team. This is cheesy, but the best part is definitely the girls. Synchronized skating requires that you work really well and in unison with fifteen other girls while skating, so naturally, I’ve become really close to all the girls on the team. A lot of the girls I would say are my best friends and that I spend the most time with are on the team. Waking up at five in the morning or having practice until midnight every week would be a lot harder without them. Aside from the friends I’ve made, competing is definitely fun! It’s really rewarding, especially when we do well, to go out and perform for a crowd and show them everything we’ve been spending the last several months working for.
HC: What has been your favorite skating memory?
ED: That’s a hard one. I’ve had so many! One of my favorites was Nationals last year, which was my first year with the Michigan team. We had had a pretty rough start to the season, coming in last at our first competition. So, we worked really hard over the season, increased our score at every competition and then after a pretty good skate at Nationals, we walked away in 4th. That was my first time medaling at Nationals. It was just a really fun, great start to skating at Michigan for me and getting to be a part of the award ceremony was pretty amazing.
HC: What is the most exciting part of skating?
ED: I think the sport in itself is overall pretty exciting! It’s still a growing sport, especially synchronized skating, which makes it a pretty small world. I’ve had amazing opportunities to meet so many people through skating; from a lot of my best friends, to Olympians, to world-renowned coaches, to the children I coach now. There are so many things really. Competitions can be nerve-racking, but at the same time it’s one of the most comfortable times to be in front of a crowd and perform. Traveling is also definitely a plus. It has let me go to a lot of different places that I probably wouldn’t have otherwise gone too. And really, when you don’t get something or something’s not working well and then it finally clicks, that’s really exciting and it feels really good!
Her Campus: What’re some other things that you’re involved with on campus besides skating?
Emily Dahuron: Unfortunately, skating and school take up the majority of my time, so I’m not involved with as many other things on campus as I wish I could. I did, however, just join the ballroom dance team and I’m in the Delta Phi Epsilon sorority.
HC: Do you have a favorite move or trick?
ED: Twizzles. I love twizzles. I could twizzle all day, everyday in any position on either foot and enjoy it. Lifts are also really fun, especially when you’re the one being lifted.