Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-04-07
Credits Instructors
By Bill Fuchs

WI 444oO0A00&AB
haired, handsome youth from
Toronto, thinks Jacqueline du
Bief is doing something wonder
full for skating.
Firstbrook, Barbara Ann Scott.
Miss du Bief and number OF
others have top roles in the Hol-
Iywood Ice Revue which opened
last night at Uline Arena. The
revue will run through Sunday
with performances starting
nightly at $3.50 and Saturday and
Sunday afternoons at 2:30.
The revue is different from
other ice shows seen here in that
the accent is on individual per-
formances rather than on super
productions with glittering props.
And the Paris-born Miss du Bief
makes the most of the opportu-
nifty.
Creates a MOOD.
"She is doing something that's
very rare among skaters" First
brook says. "She creates mood.
She doesn't have to sell herself
to the audience. She draws the
audience to her."
Miss du Bief. a 21-year-old
brunette, in turn gives credit to
the woman who taught her as a
girl. Jacqueline Vandecrane.
IT remember" she says, II
could not pay for any lessons,
but she said 1T is all right And
she pushed me. When I did
something not right she would
say, Now you are going to do 1t
again. And most of all, she
would leave me with my penson-
atty. She would not intrude.
She would correct but would al
ways push me to find my very
own things my own way"
Miss du Bief'S act is one Of
artistic Interpretation. a sort OF
ballet on ice that must be seen
to be appreciated.
Began Skating at 4.
She first began skating when
her parents gave her a pair OF
ice skates for her fourth BIRTH
day, had to give it up when the
Germans occupied France and
started in again in 1945. She
won the women's world cham
pionship in 1852.
Firstbrook, too. praises his in
structor, Gus Lussi. and adds
that good instructors are hard
to come by.
Most teachers are phonies,"
he says bluntly. They sit of
to the side of the rink and drink
coffee and tell you to bend your
knees"
The 20-year-old son of an
executive with business forms
and machinery corporation,
Firstbrook admittedly is smitten
wit hthe show in which he is
billed as the male lead. When
he Joined the show last Christ
mas the revue also picked up a
bargain in the public relations
department.
Two Comedy Acts Differ.
Take the two comedy acts, for
example. Freddy Trenkler and
the three Bruises-Geoffe Stew
ems, Sid Spalding and Monte
Stott. Its good idea to have
both acts in the same Show"
Firstbrook says, because they
don't conflict. The Bruises are
hilarious. Freddie is wonderful
in a different way with his ter
rifle sense of timing"
The husband wife team of
Tommy and Rusty LaVonne put
on an adagio skit that's differ
ent. Most of those acts are
hackneyed," Firstbrook says.
mot this one. This is satire
and is very cleverly done.
Rusty is wonderful, too, in
her sole act, "Tabasco.' And she
took that part over with one
days notice. Karen-She never
used her last nime-had that
number. 1t was hers and she
was the only one who knew much
about it. She left the show the
day before our Christmas open
ing in Chicago and Rusty took
over. The show wasn't hurt q
bit.
Praise for Baxter.
"Skippy Baxter is tremend-
ous," Firstbrook says. "He brings
the house down with that back
ward flip. And I like Bobby
Blake's act. I never had been
much for dancing on ice, but the
way he does it. I like it.
And I can't say too much
about Barbara Ann and then
there's Jack Rafloer and Jerry
Mapes. - Firstbrorok could go
on and on. He may be preju-
diced. but those who see the
show will have to agree with him.
Firstbrook almost didn't turn
pro last Christmas. Four times
the Canadian champion and
fifth in the 1852 Olympics, he
had planned to compete in the
British Championships last De-
cember.
But I finally decided there
was really only one COMPETE
tion-the Worlds and I didn't
figure to win that. Not only that,
but my father was putting out
5000 a year for my trips to
the competitions. My grand
father onceoWned lumber mills
all over Canada. I suppose
we're still using money from
that. I know I have used plenty
Of