What: C3 Ice Academy Open House
When: Monday, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Where: CU Recreation Center
As the weather starts to heat up this summer, a Boulder-based creative movement company is giving locals a way to cool off.
Dance and figure skating company Catalystic Cadence Collective, Inc — or C3 — is kicking off its second year with a summer ice academy in hopes of bringing ice skating culture to Boulder and reviving the rink at the University of Colorado’s Recreation Center.
Cliff Patterson, who graduated from CU with a dance degree earlier this month, founded C3 last summer as a way to share his passion for skating.
“I chose Boulder because I think there’s a void,” Patterson said. A lot of people in Boulder that skate are driving to other cities to do it and I wanted to be able to provide something more local for our kids in Boulder.”
The company is holding its first open house Monday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the CU Rec Center near the ice rink, which is currently under construction and will reopen May 28, according to Rec Center staff. Patterson and other C3 members will answer questions about their summer classes and give an off-ice demonstration — a common way to get new skaters comfortable with the movements before putting them on skates, Patterson said.
Patterson, 30, said he’s been on the ice since age 4 performing and skating competitively and began teaching when he was 18. C3 is the third company Patterson has founded but the first in Boulder.
The 15-member company, including some CU students, calls the campus rink home for practices, performances and a summer academy. The company is hoping their use of the rink combined with the plans to renovate the Rec Center, including the ice, will revive Boulder’s only indoor facility.
Steve Najera, associate director of facilities for the Rec Center, said the rink will get a complete overhaul replacing the surface, mechanical systems, spectator area and locker rooms.
Lindzy Ruttenberg, who will be a senior at CU this fall, skated as a kid and maintains the hobby at CU’s rink and as a member of C3.
“It’s about bringing the culture to Boulder and reviving the amazing rink that we already have,” Ruttenberg said. “It’s so accessible but so many people think it’s just for students. We want to change that and make it more for public use.”
Because the rink is not available to the public for drop-in skating, C3 is hoping their programs will help locals get some time on the ice.
Boulder resident Alison McCombe said she still remembers her days on the ice and is excited to give her son a chance to learn under Patterson in the academy.
McCombe’s 8-year-old son, Nathaniel Stein, participated in one of Patterson’s dance projects for CU last year. McCombe said after trying several athletic activities she has never seen Stein connect with an activity the way he did with dance.
“It will be great to have access to lessons right here in Boulder,” McCombe said.
“Convenience is a big part of it,” she said. “We have busy lives and I don’t want to have to drive 45 minutes to get him to and from practice.”
McCombe said she hopes skating will catch on in Boulder, allowing C3 to continue offering summer academies and making more use of the CU rink.
