Graduate Story: Sarah Warden '98, Imagica of Boston
![Sarah Warden ice skates](/images/Sarah_1.jpg")
Dickinson helped shape me into the individual that I am today through the education and all the amazing people I met there. —Sarah Warden '98
Former Spanish major Sarah Warden '98 shares her love of ice skating as a performer with , the first theatre on ice in the USA. Performing nationally and internationally, she and her team create a world combining the grace of figure skating with the excitement of theatre and dance.
Tell us a little about your work.
Imagica of Boston is the first theatre on ice team in the USA. The team used to compete nationally and internationally against the younger teams since there was not an official adult category. Now there are several different team levels for all ages and skill levels. Each team has two programs: the choreographic exercise, which is the short program that always has three different elements that you have to portray in two and a half minutes, and the long program, in which the team creates a world in about five minutes or less. This year the elements are street art, contrast and release. I have been a member of Imagica since 2014. I skated as a child, and, shortly after returning to the United States after living abroad for about 13 years, the company I was working for at the time had their holiday party at the Frog Pond in Boston, an outdoor rink. Shortly thereafter, I bought skates and learned to figure skate again. My mom encouraged me to join the theatre on ice team shortly before she passed away. I skate in her memory. This is my 10th competitive season on the team, and I help with costumes and makeup as well as finding venues for our team dinners. I have represented team USA. four times and competed with my team in France three times. I absolutely love all my teammates; the camaraderie, support, laughs and fun we have performing, and we are there for each other through ups and downs.
What was your Dickinson experience like?
At Dickinson, I felt part of a community, and I am very grateful for the education I received and all the dear friends I met there. I fell in love with the limestone buildings and the study abroad programs on the tour I took when visiting different schools in high school. I knew then that Dickinson was the perfect school for me because it was not too small and not too large. As a Spanish major, I loved that there were no more than 10-20 students in my Spanish classes. I could request help or have insightful discussions with professors and peers, and I enjoyed being part of the Hispanic Club with the dinners. Outside of classes, I worked at the Phone-a-thon to help fundraise, I worked in the college advancement stuffing envelopes, I was a Spanish tutor and I am still an active member of Pi Beta Phi. I am still very close with many of my classmates. One of my dearest friends and I met on our first day at Dickinson. We were in the same freshman dorm. I am still in touch with many of my sorority sisters. I was able to meet more Dickinsonians during my junior year whilst studying abroad in Málaga, Spain. I am still best friends with one of my classmates who studied abroad in Málaga with me.
How did Dickinson help prepare you for where you are today?
Dickinson prepared me to be curious, to challenge myself, keep an open mind, to have passion for cultures and to see more of the world. Shortly after I graduated from Dickinson, I was a volunteer English as a Foreign Language teacher through WorldTeach in Costa Rica for two years. I was thankful that I had experienced living abroad and living with a family in Málaga my junior year. I worked in the art world in New York City and then went off to do a master’s at New York University in Madrid, Spain, where I resided for 10 years. In Madrid, I worked at a private equity firm as an office manager, and I was thankful that I was bilingual. Dickinson helped shape me into the individual that I am today through the education and all the amazing people I met there.
TAKE THE NEXT STEPS
Published August 2, 2024