Customer Reviews (1)

a modest book with an incredible depth of artistic content!
This book has been around for a while but nothing can hold a candle to the depth of artistic and technical content that Ricky Harris has given us in this "must have" book! Her expertise and technical insight is areal gift to us all, the chapters on" Design in Space and Time","Movements from Gestures" as well as "Warming Up" &"The Ice Barre" show such artistic evaluation andimplimentation.Since She runs a dance studio her chapter on "WhyDance?" is especially relevant and the photos of her studentscertainly validate that she is a Master Teacher in her field. Actually I amsurprised that her book is not more widely known and used in the skatingfield. I teach an on/off ice course for figure skaters and am alwaysrecommending this book to both skaters and coaches for its clarity,accuracy, and wisdom..."be humble; ask for help if you need it. Onelittle word from someone may cause that light to switch on", and one Ialways harp on "A Stretch is NOT a Warm up!" ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Wonderful Tale about a Wonderful Couple!
Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean look and act the part on ice reminiscent to Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers on ice. But off the ice, they lead separate lives and married other people probably wisely. Jayne is married to American sound engineer, Phil Christensen who they met and fell in love on one of the ice tours in 1994. Chris' relationships with French Canadian skater, Isabelle Duchesnay ended in divorce. SHe and her brother were Chris' protege in the 1992 Winter Olympics and only won a disappointing Silver Medal. Jayne is a lot less controversial and likable. Anyway Chris divorced Isabelle and married American skater and US champion ladies' Jill Trenary. They are reportedly living in America with their two children. Torvill and Dean are no longer a skating couple but their legacy is quite unforgettable. When they won their first world ice dance championships conquering the Russians, they were awarded an M.B.E.(Member of the Order of the British Empire). Their coach Betty Callaway received one in 1984 as well. During 1984, they set records and an unforgettable four minutes on the ice dancing to Ravel's Bolero. They should have been elevated to an O.B.E. then but that didn't happen until 1999 after they retired from the sport. While other athletes have become dames and knights, Torvill and Dean returned one more time in 1994 to a disappointing Olympic Bronze medal. 1994 was probably a forgettable year in figure skating for those of us who learned that the beautiful sport is filled with jealousy, rivalry, and ugly hatred that makes the sport look as brutal as any other off the ice. Anyway, Torvill and Dean are not like that. They play by the rules even though between 1992 and 1994, the ice dancing rules became so restrictive from music to moves that it is any wonder that the great era of ice dancing was between 1984 and 1992. Since then, it has been a shadow of it's old glorious self. Of course, Dean and Torvill now coach and lives far apart. They were awarded the OBE way too late. Their legacy will not be forgotten. Jayne is a classy lady and quite forgiving compared to other skaters. It's nice that Dean is creative without losing his masculinity. God bless both Jayne and Chris and their futures. ... Read more

Book Description
In the winter, life in McKinley, Minnesota, revolves around the rinks, where kids play hockey and grown-ups skate to scratchy phonograph records. Then, the year Marsh and his best friend, Willy, are twelve, Carl appears at the rink, wearing a battered, old leather flight jacket and doing a strange dance that is both beautiful and disturbing to watch.

It is Marsh and Willy who discover the terrible secret behind Carl's dance, a secret that threatens to destroy him. But a small miracle occurs, and Carl's dance becomes a fragile and tentative expression of hope and the healing power of love.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Beautiful and Breathtaking
This book is one of those that will leave you breathless and dazed. I loved Carl and what he did. The tender love story part will melt even a hard heart. I loved the ice skating and cold atmosphere. That made the "rose" part even more beautiful.

Dancing Carl
Dancing Carl is a book about two boys who meet a mysterious man named Carl. They live in a small town, McKinley, Minnesota, that revolves around winter. They have a gravel pit that they flood and freeze. After it is frozen, they divide it into smaller arenas for hockey, kids skating, music skating, and freestyle. Carl takes over Stan Johnson's job of deciding when to flood the gravel. He takes over the warming house, along with the rinks. He also has a strange power that he uses to solve many problems and also has the ability to skate on the ice in sneakers. Willy and Marsh think there's more to Carl than just the insane, drunk, depressed bum that the townspeople see so they decide to check it out for themselves.

I think this book was a good book. Although it is dull in some places, it gets interesting in the end. Usually, the plot jumps around at the end of chapters but it stays still in the end. First you have to understand that Carl is thought as insane and some of the townspeople aren't exactly glad for him to live in the warming house. " `I guess he's been doing some pretty weird stuff. Dancing or moving or something. And he's taken over the rinks like it was his town or something...' "

Willy and Marsh find out about Carl, about his life and his power. If Marsh had not brought the B-17, an army fighter jet, model then Carl wouldn't have gone over the edge. He truly goes insane and, using his power, reenacts what had happened in his past. Willy and Marsh see why Carl has all the beat-up army gear and why he is all washed up. If it weren't for Helen, Carl may have been really gone mental.

Helen appeared one day in a Russian square hat and the same type clothing as Carl's flight jacket. This is my favorite part in which Carl performs several dances dedicated to Helen on the ice rink, with the entire town watching. I don't like the end, though, when Marsh learns that Carl and Helen move and suffer from many problems. "And I heard many things still later. I heard that Carl went crazy and should have been put it the state hospital and I heard that Helen had some part of her brain hurt many years before and I heard they moved into a house together and shared government checks. I heard they couldn't be married because of something in Carl's life and I heard even later that Carl died of drink and Helen had to go to a special home to live and all of this happened in some other town they moved to and none of it, not one single thing of what I heard, makes any difference at all."

Wonderful story
I love Gary Paulsen! This book is such a sweet and sad story. I think this is one of his best books ever.

Not just dancing....
A friend of mine, I'll call him Carl, SR, gave me this book to read. He said to me, "it's about the dance man, the dance...." So I read it. It is about more than just the dance. It is about love, deception, revenge....all centered around this guy, Dancing Carl.

If you like the book "Dancing Carl" you may also like "Bedtime for BoBo", "The Tird Burglar", "What Color is Your Boxers", and "Scott M's Dance Tutorial".

dancing carl
This book was alright, I found it to be very confusing. Everytime there was a new chapter it seemed like the book had just forgot about all theother chapters and started on another subject. If you are one who likes books like that and are able to keep up with changing subjects then this is a great bok for you. Anyway this book is about two best friends, who meet this guy that takescare of the ice skating rinks in their town. He is Carl. Every now and then Carl will come on to the rinks and dance, his dance makes everyone stop and look . The two boys look far into Carl, I mean they search for the reason he does this. They find there answer after one of the boys brings a model of and B-17 war plane to the rinks. Please read the book. It was ok but confusing at times. ... Read more

Book Description
Frozen Assets shines a spotlight inside the world of figure skating, exposing the intricacies involved in making it in the sport and depicting the personalities who rule it. From judging shenanigans to Scott Hamilton, Michelle Kwan and much more. Told with comments from top skaters, Frozen Assets offers a -page behind-the-scenes look at the most beloved and fascinating winter sport. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Really nothing new
In reading this book I got the distinct impression that the author compiled it from the many newspaper articles and skating magazines. Interviews with real skaters are included but there's really nothing new or different - fans of the sport and skaters are already familiar with these issues and discussions. Might be interesting for news fans of the sport

CAN'T WAIT FOR BOOK 2
Mark Lund tells it like it is,but even as this book was being written the entire world of skating was changing yet again with the scandals of Salt Lake City.

When Mark started International Figure Skating Magazine,I was the person who told him it's the "TIME Magazine of skating"and never has that been more true than it is today.

Mark and his staff, including Lois Elfman are wonderful investigative reporters and are not afraid of finding out the truth.I applaud their efforts on this book and cannot wait for volume two, which I am sure is already in their minds.

Congratulations for a wonderful effort.A Must read for all followers of this beautiful sport which has such a dark political undercurrent.

Ted Wilson
Laguna Hills, California

Strong background on the current state of figure skating
This book was clearly prompted by the pairs skating debacle at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games. Strong background on the promotion powerhouses that drive the elite level of the sport (likened to the studio system of Hollywood.) Lund provides a balanced framework in an essay format to let readers draw their own conclusions as to the future of the sport. Good quotes from skaters voicing opinions on both sides of the issues. An insightful retrospective on why skating went from double digit TV ratings in 1994 after the Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding scandal with umpteen made for TV pseudo competitions to the present state of a nearly non-existant professional figure skating circuit. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

a russian skater's life
this book is aimed at young readers, and it tells the story of Ekaterina Gordeeva and her late husband Sergei Grinkov's first meeting, first success as a pairs team, Olympic glory and to her life now without Sergei.Aninteresting topic and well worth reading as Gordeeva is talented and strongminded young women that young people can admire. ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR), published by The Register Guard on January 29, 2002. The length of the article is 954 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Tseng dancing through ranks of figure skating.(Sports)(Commitment: The South Eugene junior puts in time on and off of the ice.)
Publication: The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR) (Newspaper)
Date: January 29, 2002
Publisher: The Register Guard
Page: E8

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