Fil-Am skater in town for series of shows

A 20-year-old Filipino-American will showcase her ice skating talent in Manila for a series of shows this month.

Dianna Ramos is part of the American ice-skating group slated to perform at the Ninoy Aquino stadium for the "Melanj on Ice" series of shows.

Ramos and her fellow skaters Ben Blandford, Molly Olsen, Jonathan Harris, Steven Dunderdale and Yevgeniv Shvetsov arrived at the NAIA Terminal I yesterday morning via Eva Air flight from the United States.

In an interview with reporters, Ramos said she was thrilled to perform for her fellow Filipinos.

"The last time I was here, I was only five years old. I’m really excited," gushed Ramos whose parents are both Filipino migrants. Her father Danilo works as a respiratory therapist while her mother is a nurse evaluator.

The show’s producers discovered Ramos in a recent ice skating performance in Atlantic City.

"Melanj on Ice" show is produced by JADI productions in cooperation with National V Entertainment.

JADI Productions said the show would give Filipinos a glimpse of spectacular ice-skating variety shows that combine theatrical circus shows and colorful Broadway musicals. The company said this is the current rage in Las Vegas.

The Melanj on ice show will start on Jan. 25-28 with three shows each day; Feb. 1 with two shows; Feb. 2, 3 and 4 with three shows each day; Feb. 5, 6, 7 and 8 with two shows daily; Feb. 9, 10, and 11 with three shows each day.

The skaters in the "Melanj on Ice" show are former US Winter Olympics skaters, US Junior Nationals local performers and dancers.

Ramos, who recently graduated from high school, said she intends to pursue a college degree after her group finishes its world tour in a few months.

She plans to take up nursing. — Rainier Allan Ronda