{"id":10205,"date":"2017-10-13T14:20:07","date_gmt":"2017-10-13T18:20:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/figureskatersonline.com\/news\/?p=10205"},"modified":"2018-04-23T21:33:46","modified_gmt":"2018-04-24T01:33:46","slug":"ice-theater-of-new-york-to-honor-tai-babilonia-and-randy-gardner-on-50th-anniversary-of-partnership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/figureskatersonline.com\/news\/2017\/10\/13\/ice-theater-of-new-york-to-honor-tai-babilonia-and-randy-gardner-on-50th-anniversary-of-partnership\/","title":{"rendered":"Ice Theatre of New York to honor Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner on 50th anniversary of partnership"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Maura Sullivan Hill<\/span><\/p>\n

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Babilonia and Gardner. (Photo credit Michon)<\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner first took each other\u2019s hand on the ice at the ages of 8 and 10, respectively, in 1968. It was the start of a journey that led to five pairs titles at the U.S. National Championships, from 1976-1980, and a win at the 1979 World Championships.<\/span><\/p>\n

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They overcame Olympic disappointment, after an injury to Gardner took them out of the 1980 games, and weathered personal trials, like Babilonia\u2019s battle with addiction, to embark on a successful career as professional skaters and performers. Now, 50 years later, the duo is as united as ever \u2014 though not on the ice quite as much as they used to be. They don\u2019t perform much these days, but Babilonia works on presentation with the students that Gardner coaches, and they both perform in his stage show, \u201cGo Figure: The Randy Gardner Story.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cI can\u2019t believe we\u2019re saying 50 years, and it seems like it went by fast,\u201d Babilonia says. \u201cBut in another way \u2014 my god, that\u2019s a long time! From 8 and 10 years old, and I just turned 58, it\u2019s mind-blowing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Gardner echoes his partner, and muses on what has made it work for so long: \u201cIt\u2019s quite special. I never thought we\u2019d be doing this. It\u2019s a lot of compassion, compromise, exploring and growing together, and a shared passion for skating and work and being a pair team. A lot of life lessons have come along the way, too.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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As the great \u201cTai and Randy\u201d \u2014 as fans call the beloved pair \u2014 celebrate this 50<\/span>th<\/sup><\/span> anniversary, the Ice Theatre of New York (ITNY) will honor them at its annual benefit gala and performance on Oct. 30.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cWe honor skaters who have displayed artistic aspirations within their skating career, or who have stayed in skating and enhanced the sport during their lifetime, and Tai and Randy personify that,\u201d says Moira North, the founder and artistic director of the Ice Theatre of New York. \u201cGoing into their 50<\/span>th<\/sup><\/span> anniversary of working together, we wanted to honor them. It is a professional marriage that needs to be celebrated.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Show<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

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\"\"<\/a>The Ice Theatre of New York is the first nonprofit ice dance company in the nation, dedicated to figure skating as one of the performing arts and a dance form. For more than 30 years, ITNY has provided \u201ca venue for artistic voices and collaborations, to see what\u2019s possible in our icy world,\u201d as North puts it. The company also puts on performances and skating clinics for students in the New York Public Schools in all five boroughs, exposing them to a new form of physical activity and artistic expression.<\/span><\/p>\n

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ITNY\u2019s annual fall benefit show and gala is their main source of fundraising, and this year\u2019s show not only honors Babilonia and Gardner, but will also feature a performance from Russian Olympic and World Champion Evgeni Plushenko. <\/span><\/p>\n

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It\u2019s Plushenko\u2019s first show on U.S. soil in 11 years, and he is returning to skate in honor of his agent, Ari Zakarian, the recipient of the ITNY Alumnus Award. Zakarian, a former ITNY performer, will receive the award in recognition of his success as an agent and producer of ice shows, particularly in Russia, Japan, and Korea.<\/span><\/p>\n

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After the show \u2014 which will feature a number about global warming, a tango, and an ensemble number to \u201cRhapsody in Blue,\u201d among others \u2014 ITNY will present the awards at the gala, which will include a silent auction, dinner, and dancing. <\/span>Missy Van Buren<\/span> and the late Marilyn Kasputys will receive the Ice Angel Awards for their generous financial and volunteer support of the organization through the years.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Grateful to Be Honored<\/b><\/span><\/h4>\n

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Babilonia and Gardner became World Champions in 1979 in London and performed at Wembley Arena at a royal gala affair for Queen Elizabeth. (Photo credit Tony Duffy)<\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Babilonia and Gardner were paired by their coach, Mabel Fairbanks, the first African-American inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame for her efforts to break the color barrier in the sport. Both said that they never expected to still be working together 50 year later, but it is a friendship and partnership for which they are profoundly grateful.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cI call it five decades of the best roller coaster ride ever,\u201d Babilonia says. \u201cYes, we did some amazing things on the ice and representing our country, and we had an amazing professional career. But through all of it, it\u2019s the friendship for me. I\u2019m so proud of it and protective of it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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The pair won their first national title in 1976, but their performance in 1975 didn\u2019t give any indication of what was to come. Babilonia remembers struggling with a growth spurt that year.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cIt was almost like I forgot how to skate,\u201d she recalls. \u201cIt was the roughest year for me and Randy. The lifts were hard, the jumps were off, and there was chatter around us, about maybe needing different partners.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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But Babilonia and Gardner \u2014 and their coach, John Nicks \u2014 didn\u2019t waver. \u201cThe next year, everything went back to normal, we won our first national title and qualified for the Olympic team,\u201d she says. \u201cYou don\u2019t see that now. If someone is having problems, they are onto the next partner, but that wasn\u2019t even a thought for us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Though both Babilonia and Gardner attribute their commitment to each other as the key to their success, they are grateful for the support of family, friends, coaches, and mentors. <\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to all the people that are going to be in the room: past honorees; people who I, or Tai and I together, have looked up to; mentors and people who have been an inspiration and support to us,\u201d Gardner says. \u201cThe room is going to be full of those kinds of people, and it\u2019s an honor to have them there as the Ice Theatre of New York is honoring us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Babilonia agrees: \u201cIt is going to be special, and I\u2019m so honored. I\u2019m starting to work on my speech, because there are a lot of people in our circle to thank.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Tai and Randy Today<\/b><\/span><\/h4>\n

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Babilonia and Gardner. (Photo credit Norbert Schramm)<\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

These days, Babilonia and Gardner still work as a team, just in different capacities. They\u2019ll occasionally break out some pairs moves \u2014 like their famous spirals or spread eagles \u2014 for fun, but their last formal performance was in Scott Hamilton\u2019s CARES Foundation ice show in Cleveland three years ago.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Gardner is on the ice several times a week as a coach and choreographer in the LA area, and Babilonia often works with him to help students polish their programs and presentation skills. Babilonia also works as a motivational speaker with \u201cReady, Set, Gold!\u201d, a mentoring program in Los Angeles middle and high schools led by former Olympians and Paralympians. Her son, Scout, is now 22 and will graduate from the police academy in December. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Dorothy Hamill with Babilonia and Gardner (Photo credit Jay Gendron)<\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And though they aren\u2019t performing on the ice any more, they do perform together in Gardner\u2019s stage show, \u201cGo Figure: The Randy Gardner Story.\u201d Gardner says the show is a live autobiography, and 1976 Olympic Champion Dorothy Hamill is also part of the cast. After a successful debut in LA in 2015, the show will have a 10-day run at the Delaware Theatre Company in Wilmington, Delaware, starting January 18, 2018. For details and tickets, visit the DTC’s website by clicking here<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

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To buy tickets for the Ice Theatre of New York benefit show and gala, or to donate to ITNY, visit the ITNY website here<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

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And for more from Babilonia and Gardner, check out their thoughts on the current pairs scene heading into the Olympic season.\u00a0<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Maura Sullivan Hill     Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner first took each other\u2019s hand on the ice at the ages of 8 and 10, respectively, in 1968. It was the start of a journey that led to five pairs titles at the U.S. National Championships, from 1976-1980, and a win at the 1979…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10207,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[290],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/figureskatersonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/figureskatersonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/figureskatersonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/figureskatersonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/figureskatersonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10205"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/figureskatersonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10205\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10338,"href":"https:\/\/figureskatersonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10205\/revisions\/10338"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/figureskatersonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/figureskatersonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/figureskatersonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/figureskatersonline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}