Professional skater and coach Aidas Reklys has been living in the USA for seventeen years, but he regularly visits Lithuania and gives impressive performances to his compatriots. This December, the talented Lithuanian is coming with a special show where he will perform together with skaters from several countries. Aidus and I talk about love for the profession and life on the other side of the Atlantic.
Aidai, how did you come up with the idea of holding a show in Lithuania, after all, you can gather more viewers in America?
The idea of bringing an impressive ice show to Lithuanians has been floating around for a long time, and this year I received an offer from my colleagues. Of course, the biggest incentive to perform in Lithuania is the fact that my father lives here, who turns 85 in January. As long as dad is still walking on this Earth, it is always my pleasure to skate for him, because it was he (along with mom) who brought me to the ice. An additional motivation to skate in Lithuania is the desire to encourage figure skating: one would like to see the Lithuanian flag more often on the award podium at the European and World Skating Championships, especially for solo skaters.
What makes solo skaters special?
Their performances are always the most technically complex. In general, there are two types of skaters: “rules skaters” who represent very well in competitions and “emotion dancers” who capture the hearts of the audience in performances. They may not do so well in competitions because it is difficult to control their emotions, but during the show they can be completely released and skate on the verge of madness (smiles). December 26-31 medalists and Olympians from America, France, Spain, and Latvia will appear in the upcoming shows. I have selected those skaters who will sensitively touch the hearts of the audience and give a lot of adrenaline.
You will also appear on the ice yourself. Still learning new tricks or have it all mastered?
It’s always fun to do new things, but now it’s hard to squeeze something new out of yourself on the ice. I have already mastered everything: from the triple jump to somersaults on ice. I was the first to perform the latter trick in Lithuania. The skaters coming to Lithuania with me will also demonstrate impressive acrobatic tricks. I hope that a lot of small viewers will gather, because we want to give them unforgettable experiences during the Christmas period. Of course, adults are also welcome – there will be enough joy and adrenaline for everyone.
Are Lithuanians interested in figure skating?
I haven’t been back to Lithuania for more than two years due to the pandemic, so I can’t say for sure. However, I know that Lithuanians living in America are really interested in skating. With the program of American Olympic dancers, we traveled all over the east coast and it was fun to see Lithuanians who came up after the performances to say hello, take pictures, and get an autograph. I hope that we will be warmly welcomed in Lithuania as well. True, this show will be different from figure skating competition broadcasts, because some of the elements that our skaters perform in competition are “illegal” – they are forbidden to perform because of the possibility of twisting the neck. We will not limit ourselves during the show.
Have you ever been injured while performing crazy tricks on ice?
I must have been born under a lucky star because no serious injuries occurred. I got a little injured during one of the tours with the Olympic champions. At that time, we had to perform three shows a day. The first two times are fun and pleasant, and by the third time you can already feel the fatigue, the smoke entering the arena, the flying decorations, and the skated ice start to get in the way. I hit a hole in the ice while preparing to do a somersault and couldn’t resist properly. Having already jumped in the air in a quarter of a second, I realized that I would not have enough height to completely turn over and land on my feet. Fortunately, I landed quite successfully – I only scratched my forehead. Colleagues kept coming over to ask if I was okay because they saw that I crashed. It was lucky that I was wearing a scarf because I was playing a pirate, so backstage we just put ice on it, applied painkillers, fixed the scarf and no one noticed that I looked like a unicorn (smiles). I wouldn’t really call it trauma.
How did it happen that a skater from Lithuania became a coach in America?
in 2006 I finished my bachelor’s studies at the then Lithuanian Academy of Physical Education. I narrowly missed the Olympics, and I was invited to the USA to dance on ice in a pair with an American woman. Until then, I was a solo skater, doing triple jumps, somersaults. I’ve always been more into acrobatics than ice dancing. I would say that solo skating is suitable for those who like more adrenaline, more physically challenging tricks, are not afraid of the risk of falling. Ice dancing is otherwise a difficult sport, but there are fewer falls, unless you can’t talk with your skates (smiles). Most often, athletes who are not successful in solo skating, but still do not want to start the sport on ice, turn to ice dancing.
As soon as we started dancing, I noticed that two long routines of ice dancing were just a warm-up for my body compared to the strain I had when skating alone. In solo skating, after two skates, the lungs want to go for a walk (laughs).
We danced as a couple with an American for about two years, but I was drawn to the excitement and challenges. I returned to individual performances again, took part in an ice show, then trained the younger generation of skaters. First I worked in Chicago, now in California.
How did you fit in in America?
I like new places, new experiences. I also accepted America as something still new, unknown, like another country