Castle Pines sisters Chloe and Mia Maciolek brought life to Walt Disney’s classic tale of Sleeping Beauty.  Pictured above,  Prince Phillip defends the sleeping Princess Aurora (Chloe) from the evil Maleficent (Mia).

Mia Maciolek (above and below in pink) played Sleeping Beauty in South Suburban Ice Arena’s Fairy Tales on Ice show last month.  Younger sister Chloe (above in black) played the princess’ arch enemy, Maleficent.

By Lisa Crockett; photos courtesy of Showtime on Ice

Sisters Mia (left) and Chloe (right) Maciolek are the best of friends in real life.  But last month they played mortal enemies, figure skating in South Suburban Ice Arena’s annual Showtime on Ice production.  This year’s show, titled Fairy Tales on Ice, featured vignettes of several classic fairy tales, including Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty.  Seventeen-year-old Mia played Princess Aurora, while sixteen-year-old Chloe took a turn as the villainous Maleficent.

“Sleeping Beauty is my favorite princess, and the whole thing was really a lot of fun,” said Mia. “I’ve just graduated from Rock Canyon High School and so this was my last show.  It was fun to get a role I really wanted.”

The part of princess was a bit of a departure for Mia, who in years past has played more comedic roles, including Sebastian in The Little Mermaid, a muse in Hercules, and Mike TV’s mom in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Heading off to Creighton University in Nebraska this fall to study biology, skating will take a backseat to studies.  It will be a dramatic change – since she was six years old, maintaining a practice schedule of at least 10 hours per week, skating has been a defining influence in Mia’s life.

“Being a skater has really taught me a lot about time management,” said Mia. “I have time at the rink, school work, and off-ice conditioning that all need to happen and it’s hard to juggle it all, but it’s taught me a lot.”

Younger sister Chloe, who also somehow finds time to play competitive soccer, said she loved that playing parts opposite each other gave them one last skating season to bond as sisters.

“It was so much fun to work together on this one last show,” said Chloe.  “I’m glad I got to work with her one more time.”

Now that the performance has wrapped up for the season, Mia and Chloe are looking forward to the increased time to work on skating skills. Both girls are committed to completing the 16 skills tests offered by the U.S. Figure Skating system; Mia has thus far completed 14 of the 16 tests, achieving “gold medal” status.

“I love that skating is an individual sport that I do on my own, but I also get to be around people that I like,” said Chloe. “I also like that I’m never done, no matter how good I get there’s always something new to learn, so it never gets boring.”

Mia agrees, and though time on the ice will be harder to come by in between college classes, she knows the life lessons she’s learned are invaluable.  “I love spinning, there are so many variations and positions, there’s always something new to learn,” she said.

To learn more about the South Suburban Ice Arena’s annual “Showtime on Ice” production, visit www.showtimeonice.com.

Editor’s note:  The Pat Bowlen family and the Denver Broncos have been supporters of this show for the past 20 years.  Mrs. Bowlen was a figure skater, and all of her girls then grew up in the skating community. This year, a portion from all ticket sales on opening night were donated to the Alzheimer’s Association of Colorado in support of a cause that is dear to their family and so many others.

Editor’s note:  The Pat Bowlen family and the Denver Broncos have been supporters of this show for the past 20 years.  Mrs. Bowlen was a figure skater, and all of her girls then grew up in the skating community. This year, a portion from all ticket sales on opening night were donated to the Alzheimer’s Association of Colorado in support of a cause that is dear to their family and so many others.