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Michelle Kwan is a pretty accomplished woman. Besides being, you know, an iconic figure skater, two-time Olympic medalist, and nine-time US Champion, she's now pursuing a career in politics as the surrogates director for Joe Biden [3]'s presidential campaign. She even finds time to skate for fun, if her Instagram posts [4] are anything to go by. But one thing this successful athlete hadn't done? Skate outdoors on a frozen lake, something she said on Instagram is "really any skaters dreams [5] (sic)."
Michelle recently paired up with filmmaker Jay Christensen (jaybyrdfilms on Instagram [6]) to check off that bucket list item. The result is a mini-film, released on Jay's and Michelle's profiles, that's so sharply-filmed you can hear the crisp sound of Michelle's skates carving across the ice. Michelle's trademark artistry and smooth, graceful style takes centre stage against the stark, wintry backdrop. And she looks so at-ease on the ice, you'd never guess the temperature was hovering just below zero as they filmed. All in all, it was "an epic experience that will forever be frozen in memory!" Michelle wrote, and one that occurred serendipitously: Michelle saw a video of a skater on a frozen lake on Jay's channel, messaged him to ask how it was done, then happened to be travelling towards him and the location that very week.
Luck, or fate? All we know is, we're glad this gorgeous video exists. Watch the full film above, then check out some behind-the-scenes photos and videos from the drone shoot below.
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