Galleria Dallas is well known for its glitz and glam but for the next two weekends it will showcase a whole new level of bronze, silver and gold.
Galleria Ice Skating Center’s David Kirby has been bringing top-tier talent to celebrate the holidays on ice for several decades. Since 1991, more Olympic champions have performed at Galleria Dallas than any other ice rink in Texas.
The tradition continues on Saturday as the Canadian superstar pairs team of Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford skate their way around the tallest indoor Christmas Tree in the United States. Duhamel and Radford have pretty much done it all since teaming up in 2010. They are two-time world champions (2015, 2016), 2018 Olympic gold medalists in the team event, 2014 Olympic silver medalists in the team event, 2018 Olympic bronze medalist in the pairs event, two-time Four Continents champions (2013, 2015), the 2014–15 Grand Prix Final champions, and seven-time Canadian national champions (2012–18).
I caught up with Meagan at last week’s Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Vancouver where she shared that, since retiring from competition last spring, she and Radford have stayed busy skating in ice shows, having just finished a major two-month tour across the country with The Thank You Canada Tour.
Following more show appearances this month, Duhamel will keep up the pace in the new year with several skating seminars and motivational speaking engagements in January and February. And she has somehow found time to complete her studies in nutrition.
“I want to start a wellness program for young athletes,” Duhamel stated in a follow-up email, “and to promote healthy living and healthy habits so they can have long and beautiful careers without suffering. I also plan to study yoga and do my training so I can teach yoga and also want to open a vegan cafe with a yoga studio inside of it.”
Does she miss the spotlight of competing around the world? “I don’t miss competing at all actually! I do miss training though,” she said. “I love the daily grind and long training days.”
Clearly she likes the grind. “I also coach pairs and singles, at all levels from juvenile singles to senior pairs!! I live in Boucherville, right outside of Montreal and I coach in two clubs around that area.”
Partner Radford, also coaches and is an emerging musician and composer. His music was featured at the recent Grand Prix Final in Vancouver. Radford is also the first openly gay man to have won a gold medal at any Winter Olympics and has served as an ambassador for the Canadian Olympic Committee’s #OneTeam program to combat homophobia in sports. In 2017, Radford became engaged to Spanish ice dancer Luis Fenero.
Meryl Davis and Charlie White, who became the first American’s to win the Olympic gold medal in Ice Dance (2014), will not perform Dec. 22 as previously reported. Headlining the Dec. 22 bill will be Canadian mega-star Patrick Chan. Chan has no shortage of titles: Olympic Gold Medalist (Team event), Olympic Silver Medalist, three-time World Champion, two-time GPF champion and 10-time Canadian champion.
Fellow Canadian Keegan Messing will also skate on the 22nd. A showman and sure-fire crowd pleaser, Messing won gold at the 2018 Nebelhorn Trophy and silver at Skate Canada International in October.
Scheduled to join the party will be DFW’s own pairs team of Ashley Cain and Timothy LeDuc (who have hardware of their own including 2017 US bronze medals and 2018 Four Continents’ silver).
Watch the stars shine and the ice glisten Dec. 15 and 22 as the Galleria Dallas Tree Lighting Celebration continues.
Dec. 15: Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford; Audrey Lu and Misha Mitrofanov
Dec. 22: Patrick Chan; Keegan Messing; Ashley Cain and Timothy LeDuc
— Coy Covington
