Beau
Beast

Maradith Feinberg and her co-star.

with the

Run away to the circus? Not Maradith Feinberg.
She left home at age 11 for the ice rink.

SUZANNE CHESSLER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

aradith Feinberg can-
not remember a time
when she did not ice
skate.
The 23-year-old
star of the Walt
Disney World on Ice
production of Beauty
and the Beast has spent
most of her years pursu-
ing a skating career,
first in athletic competi-
tion and later as part of
musical shows.
Her performances as
Belle, scheduled for
March 9-14 at the Joe
Louis Arena, are part of
a tour taking her across
the country as well as
into Europe and , Asia.
Each show affirms that
her strict regimen of
training was well worth
it.
"Skating, to me, was
always like walking,"
said Ms. Feinberg, who
is from St. Louis. "I grew
up skating. My parents
were hockey nuts and
put my brother into
hockey. While he was
playing, they put me on
the other side of the ice,
and I began to figure
skate.
"It was just like that
until I turned 11. That's
when I moved away from
home in order to train."
Until she returned to
St. Louis to attend col-
lege, Ms. Feinberg work-
ed with pros in Colorado
Springs, Philadelphia
and Atlanta, living with
other families involved
with the sport and in
boarding houses for
skaters.
Her schedule required
being on the ice up to
eight hours a day, going
to school for half a day
and working with private
tutors to complete' acade-
mic studies.
"It was very difficult
and took a lot of adjust-
ing," she - said. "We had

strict rules. I really
didn't have a choice if
this was the path I want-
ed to take and continue
competing seriously. In
order to get the proper
training with the proper
coaches, this was what I
had to do."
A gold medalist in fig-
ures, freestyle and pairs
and pre-silver medalist
in dance with the United
States Figure Skating
Association, she has
been Midwestern senior
pairs champion, Eastern
sectional pairs champi-
on, Midwestern senior
ladies champion and sil-
ver medalist in the Asko
Cup of Vienna Interna-
tional Competition.
After teaching skating
as she entered into her
college curriculum, Ms.
Feinberg glided into her
artistic career. She
appeared in "Bugs
Bunny on Ice" at Six
Flags Over Mid-America
in St. Louis, "Winter
Fest" at King's Island
Amusement Park in
Cincinnati and "Around
the World on Ice" at
Busch Gardens in
Tampa.
For her current role,
she lip-syncs the dia-
logue and songs while
the original voices from
the movie are amplified.
"The acting is a new
dimension for me," said
the former communica-
tions major, who took
one drama class in col-
lege. "Before each perfor-
mance, I think about
what the audience
should be feeling and
what facial expressions
and body language I
need to use to achieve
those emotions."
Her skills were refined
by working with the
show's choreographer.

BEAUTY page 82