Rory Flack
Encyclopedia
Rory Flack (born April 28) is an African American
professional figure skater. She is well known for her Russian split jumps and being the third woman in the world to do a back flip.
, and raised in Phoenix, Arizona
, and San Diego, California
. She lived for 15 years in Wasilla, Alaska
, and worked as a coach there and in Anchorage, Alaska
.
She is the niece of Roberta Flack
. Rory was married to Ralph Burghart
seven time Austrian National Figure Skating Champion, from 1992 to 2009. Their oldest son Rendell Burghart is a National competitive tennis player and their younger son, Remington Burghart, is a four-time National ranked competitive figure skater in the United States.
. Mrs. Fairbanks was Rory’s inspiration to continue on after wanting to stop at an early age, due to racism. Two years later, Debi Thomas
, Bobby Beauchamp and Rory Flack skated to three medals at the US National Championships. This was the first time three African Americans competed at the Nationals, and they all earned spots on the International team.
In 1991, Rory started her career as a professional figure skater. She moved from California to Cincinnati and skated in the production Broadway on Ice. She choreographed a routine and auditioned and was selected for a solo spot. She heard from fellow skaters about an open professional competition, The US Open Challenge Cup. Advised not to compete by the show producer because she would lose her next gig, Flack kept her eye on her star and entered the competition. She had many friends behind her supporting her. Rory had a great childhood friend who taught her to do a back flip on ice. That made her one of three women in the world to do this. The Competition had two parts for the skaters without a world title. The winner of the Challenge round would advance to the Championship round. The Championship Round was filled with Olympic Champions and World medalists. Performing to Ella Fitzgerald
and Louis Armstrong
's “Summertime”, she not only won the Challenge Cup, Rory placed third in the Championship Round, won the Inaugural Golden Blade Award (given to the most artistic skater of the entire Competition) and became the star of Ice Capades.
In 1992, while starring in Ice Capades, Rory took time off from the Tour to compete once again at the US Open. She skated to “Fever” and a 5 minute version of “Am I Blue”, she won the Silver Medal. In September 1993, Rory gave birth to her first son Rendell. Two weeks later she skated as a pair team with her then husband in the opening of the Rockefeller Center
.
In 1994, Rory was asked to be in The Nutcracker on Ice. She co-starred as the Sugar Plum Fairy alongside Olympic Champions Oksana Baiul
and Brian Boitano
. Still driven to win the US Open, she trained daily from 2 am to 4 am. Rory entered the US Open skating as the underdog. This year was different. The reigning World Champion Yuko Sato
had entered, so all eyes were on her. Rory performed to Aretha Franklin
's "Think" and took first place after the Technical Program. She was in the best shape of her life and doing all of the triple jumps. The question on everyone’s minds was “Could she keep it together?” Rory kept it together and won the 1995 US Open. Shortly after, Rory opened an Figure Skating school in Alaska called Artistry Of Movement Ice Skating Academy. The Academy was created to train grassroot skaters from learning to fall to winning championships. She also continued to perform on National and World television in professional Competitions and shows in her free time.
In 1997, Rory gave birth to her second son Remington.
In 2001, Ms. Flack appeared with Aretha Franklin
, choreographing one production number and two solos for the event. One week later, Rory was given the honor of accepting The Lifetime Achievement Award from the Women’s Sports Foundation on behalf of Mabel Fairbanks
. Inspired once again by Mable, Rory founded her production company The Color of Ice Productions.
January 2002 Ms. Flack created, produced and choreographed the first all African American Ice Skating production Ebony on Ice. The production ran for ten weeks at the Legacy Theater in Chicago, where Rory appeared as the headliner with unique guest, Savion Glover, Kenny Gambel and Howard Hewitt to name a few . Later that year she won her second professional title at the American Open Professional Championships.
In 2003, Flack kicked off her revised production of "Soul Spectacular On Ice" AKA "Ebony On Ice" in Florida and Washington, DC, with sold out performances at the Lincoln Theater. The show received rave reviews from the Washington Post with the artical intialed, "On Ice, Black Music And Dance Catch Fire" By Natalie Hopkinson, Washington Post Staff Writer, with this opening statement " The ancestors couldn't have foreseen this" and sold out performances a national tour was scheduled. Ms. Flack is currently working on bringing her production of Soul Spectacular On Ice back for the public to enjoy for years to come.
Later the same year, Rory appeared as a guest star in Ray Charles
' last performance, "A Tribute to Ray Charles on Ice" at the Staples Arena in Los Angeles, California, where the LA time acknowledged Rory for bring a new "Flavor on Ice".
In 2004, Rory was an Assistant Choreographer for a television production of A Tribute to Earth Wind and Fire on Ice. She also was the Lead Choreographer for two production numbers, personal two solos and a number for Brian Botiano and Brian Orser.
In 2006, She performed in "A Tribute to Wynona Judd". Rory had the honor of skating with Wynona and Naomi singing a duet. She also Skated in the last aired Professional Skating Championships Ice Wars
USA verses the World. Since then Rory has been performing in countless worldwide television specials and starring in many star-studded galas. All these accomplished without an Olympic or World Medal.
Rory was the first skater to break the barrier in Professional Figure Skating, she was always told “Rory, no one can make it as a Professional Figure Skater in the World without a National, World or Olympic title”. She was the exception to the rule, with her abality to capivate the croud with her unique style; Rory is still performing all over the world to this day...
. She also competed internationally, winning the silver medal at the 1987 Grand Prix International St. Gervais
. Her first year as a Championship Lady at the 1987 US National Championships, her performance not only wowed the country but also earned Rory an appearance of with footage on Saturday Night Live
, this was the first time a figure skater was on the show. Four years later, Rory was preparing for the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France. Two months before the qualifying event, she injured her back and could not compete. She retired from competitive skating in the winter 1991. Rory is also a World Professional, US Open Professional Champion and The American Open Champion.
. Rory has been Keegan's choreographer from the beginning of his skating career. Keegan is one of the first Academy members from Alaska. She also coaches Jacquelyn Garces, and her son Remington Burghart to name a few. Ms. Flack currently divides her time coaching between Alaska, New Jersey and Provo, Ut. And offers clinics all mover the world.
In 1993 Flack was sought out by The Seattle Skating Club and hired to help build their basic skills and program as well as help in devolping the new Olympic Training rink in Lynnwood Wasington.
1994 -2008 took Flack and family north to Alaska when she was hired by the Anchorage FSC to direct and head their Learn to Skate program. One year later Flack founded Artistry Of Movement ISA and over the next 14 years this training program and the Burghart family hosted skaters from all over the world. Some of these skaters went on to compet in International, Jr Worlds and World Championships.
.
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
professional figure skater. She is well known for her Russian split jumps and being the third woman in the world to do a back flip.
Personal life
Flack was born in Belleville, IllinoisBelleville, Illinois
Belleville is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city has a population of 44,478. It is the eighth-most populated city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area and the most populated city south of Springfield in the state of Illinois. It is the county...
, and raised in Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, and San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
. She lived for 15 years in Wasilla, Alaska
Wasilla, Alaska
Wasilla is a city in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, United States and the sixth-largest city in Alaska. It is located on the northern point of Cook Inlet in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley of the southcentral part of the state. The city's population was 7,831 at the 2010 census...
, and worked as a coach there and in Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
.
She is the niece of Roberta Flack
Roberta Flack
Roberta Flack is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who is notable for jazz, soul, R&B, and folk music...
. Rory was married to Ralph Burghart
Ralph Burghart
Ralph Burghart is an Austrian figure skater. He is a seven time Austrian national champion. He competed at the 1992 Winter Olympics and placed 18th....
seven time Austrian National Figure Skating Champion, from 1992 to 2009. Their oldest son Rendell Burghart is a National competitive tennis player and their younger son, Remington Burghart, is a four-time National ranked competitive figure skater in the United States.
Bio
Rory Flack began her skating career at age 5. At age 13, Rory met the pioneer for African Americans in figure skating, Mabel FairbanksMabel Fairbanks
Mabel Fairbanks was an African-American figure skater and coach.She fell in love with figure skating in the 1930s when she saw Sonya Henie in movies. She could not skate in the 1930s because she was not allowed to join a skating club due to being African-American...
. Mrs. Fairbanks was Rory’s inspiration to continue on after wanting to stop at an early age, due to racism. Two years later, Debi Thomas
Debi Thomas
Debra Janine "Debi" Thomas M.D. is an American figure skater and physician. She is the 1986 World champion and 1988 Olympic bronze medalist, having taken part in the Battle of the Carmens at those games.-Personal life:...
, Bobby Beauchamp and Rory Flack skated to three medals at the US National Championships. This was the first time three African Americans competed at the Nationals, and they all earned spots on the International team.
In 1991, Rory started her career as a professional figure skater. She moved from California to Cincinnati and skated in the production Broadway on Ice. She choreographed a routine and auditioned and was selected for a solo spot. She heard from fellow skaters about an open professional competition, The US Open Challenge Cup. Advised not to compete by the show producer because she would lose her next gig, Flack kept her eye on her star and entered the competition. She had many friends behind her supporting her. Rory had a great childhood friend who taught her to do a back flip on ice. That made her one of three women in the world to do this. The Competition had two parts for the skaters without a world title. The winner of the Challenge round would advance to the Championship round. The Championship Round was filled with Olympic Champions and World medalists. Performing to Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
and Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
's “Summertime”, she not only won the Challenge Cup, Rory placed third in the Championship Round, won the Inaugural Golden Blade Award (given to the most artistic skater of the entire Competition) and became the star of Ice Capades.
In 1992, while starring in Ice Capades, Rory took time off from the Tour to compete once again at the US Open. She skated to “Fever” and a 5 minute version of “Am I Blue”, she won the Silver Medal. In September 1993, Rory gave birth to her first son Rendell. Two weeks later she skated as a pair team with her then husband in the opening of the Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th and 51st streets in New York City, United States. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was declared a National...
.
In 1994, Rory was asked to be in The Nutcracker on Ice. She co-starred as the Sugar Plum Fairy alongside Olympic Champions Oksana Baiul
Oksana Baiul
Oksana Serhiyivna Baiul is a Ukrainian professional figure skater. She is the 1994 Olympic Champion in Ladies' Singles and 1993 World Champion.-Early and personal life:...
and Brian Boitano
Brian Boitano
Brian Anthony Boitano is an American figure skater from Sunnyvale, California. He is the 1988 Olympic champion, the 1986 and 1988 World Champion, and the 1985-1988 U.S. National Champion. He turned professional following the 1988 season...
. Still driven to win the US Open, she trained daily from 2 am to 4 am. Rory entered the US Open skating as the underdog. This year was different. The reigning World Champion Yuko Sato
Yuko Sato
is a Japanese voice actress.-Anime voice roles::*Agent Aika as White Delmo R*Animal Yokocho as Issa...
had entered, so all eyes were on her. Rory performed to Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
's "Think" and took first place after the Technical Program. She was in the best shape of her life and doing all of the triple jumps. The question on everyone’s minds was “Could she keep it together?” Rory kept it together and won the 1995 US Open. Shortly after, Rory opened an Figure Skating school in Alaska called Artistry Of Movement Ice Skating Academy. The Academy was created to train grassroot skaters from learning to fall to winning championships. She also continued to perform on National and World television in professional Competitions and shows in her free time.
In 1997, Rory gave birth to her second son Remington.
In 2001, Ms. Flack appeared with Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
, choreographing one production number and two solos for the event. One week later, Rory was given the honor of accepting The Lifetime Achievement Award from the Women’s Sports Foundation on behalf of Mabel Fairbanks
Mabel Fairbanks
Mabel Fairbanks was an African-American figure skater and coach.She fell in love with figure skating in the 1930s when she saw Sonya Henie in movies. She could not skate in the 1930s because she was not allowed to join a skating club due to being African-American...
. Inspired once again by Mable, Rory founded her production company The Color of Ice Productions.
January 2002 Ms. Flack created, produced and choreographed the first all African American Ice Skating production Ebony on Ice. The production ran for ten weeks at the Legacy Theater in Chicago, where Rory appeared as the headliner with unique guest, Savion Glover, Kenny Gambel and Howard Hewitt to name a few . Later that year she won her second professional title at the American Open Professional Championships.
In 2003, Flack kicked off her revised production of "Soul Spectacular On Ice" AKA "Ebony On Ice" in Florida and Washington, DC, with sold out performances at the Lincoln Theater. The show received rave reviews from the Washington Post with the artical intialed, "On Ice, Black Music And Dance Catch Fire" By Natalie Hopkinson, Washington Post Staff Writer, with this opening statement " The ancestors couldn't have foreseen this" and sold out performances a national tour was scheduled. Ms. Flack is currently working on bringing her production of Soul Spectacular On Ice back for the public to enjoy for years to come.
Later the same year, Rory appeared as a guest star in Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
' last performance, "A Tribute to Ray Charles on Ice" at the Staples Arena in Los Angeles, California, where the LA time acknowledged Rory for bring a new "Flavor on Ice".
In 2004, Rory was an Assistant Choreographer for a television production of A Tribute to Earth Wind and Fire on Ice. She also was the Lead Choreographer for two production numbers, personal two solos and a number for Brian Botiano and Brian Orser.
In 2006, She performed in "A Tribute to Wynona Judd". Rory had the honor of skating with Wynona and Naomi singing a duet. She also Skated in the last aired Professional Skating Championships Ice Wars
Ice Wars
Ice Wars is an annual elite figure skating team competition. The first Ice Wars took place in 1994. The competition format is "Team World" vs. "Team USA" or "Team North America". The 2005 competition was one exception, with the format changed to a "Battle of the Sexes" format, Men vs. Ladies...
USA verses the World. Since then Rory has been performing in countless worldwide television specials and starring in many star-studded galas. All these accomplished without an Olympic or World Medal.
Rory was the first skater to break the barrier in Professional Figure Skating, she was always told “Rory, no one can make it as a Professional Figure Skater in the World without a National, World or Olympic title”. She was the exception to the rule, with her abality to capivate the croud with her unique style; Rory is still performing all over the world to this day...
Competitive career
Flack competed on the national level of the United States and is the 1986 U.S. Junior Bronze MedalistUnited States Figure Skating Championships
The United States Figure Skating Championships is figure skating competition held annually to crown the national champions of the United States. The competition is sanctioned by U.S. Figure Skating. In the U.S. skating community, the event is often referred to informally as "Nationals".Skaters...
. She also competed internationally, winning the silver medal at the 1987 Grand Prix International St. Gervais
Grand Prix International St. Gervais
The Grand Prix International St. Gervais was an annual senior-level international figure skating competition held in Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, France. For many years, beginning in 1969, it was paired with a similar competition in Germany, the Nebelhorn Trophy, to form a series called the Coupe des...
. Her first year as a Championship Lady at the 1987 US National Championships, her performance not only wowed the country but also earned Rory an appearance of with footage on Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
, this was the first time a figure skater was on the show. Four years later, Rory was preparing for the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France. Two months before the qualifying event, she injured her back and could not compete. She retired from competitive skating in the winter 1991. Rory is also a World Professional, US Open Professional Champion and The American Open Champion.
Coaching and choreography career
Flack coached and choreographed in Alaska until 2009, and currently runs the Artistry of Movement Academy in Provo, Utah. She has choreographed and coached for many World and National level figure skaters, among them is Keegan MessingKeegan Messing
Keegan Messing is an American figure skater. He was the silver medalist in the junior men's division at the 2009 nationals. He placed 4th at the 2010 World Junior Championships.- Career :...
. Rory has been Keegan's choreographer from the beginning of his skating career. Keegan is one of the first Academy members from Alaska. She also coaches Jacquelyn Garces, and her son Remington Burghart to name a few. Ms. Flack currently divides her time coaching between Alaska, New Jersey and Provo, Ut. And offers clinics all mover the world.
Program Director
In 1992 while Ms Flack was coaching and prepairing for her first Professional Championship she had the honner of replacing Brian Wright as the Director of Choreography at the Indiana World Skating Academy.In 1993 Flack was sought out by The Seattle Skating Club and hired to help build their basic skills and program as well as help in devolping the new Olympic Training rink in Lynnwood Wasington.
1994 -2008 took Flack and family north to Alaska when she was hired by the Anchorage FSC to direct and head their Learn to Skate program. One year later Flack founded Artistry Of Movement ISA and over the next 14 years this training program and the Burghart family hosted skaters from all over the world. Some of these skaters went on to compet in International, Jr Worlds and World Championships.
Recording Artist
Ms Rory is currently working on her recording career. "I have all ways loved singing and have wanted to record a CD. I feel it is never to late to live your dreams." Rory is niece to Robert FlackRobert Flack
Robert Flack may refer to:*Robert Flack , South African cricketer*Robert Flack , English cricketer...
.
Results
| Event | 1988 |
|---|---|
| U.S. Championships United States Figure Skating Championships The United States Figure Skating Championships is figure skating competition held annually to crown the national champions of the United States. The competition is sanctioned by U.S. Figure Skating. In the U.S. skating community, the event is often referred to informally as "Nationals".Skaters... |
15th |