Allie Benkart is a new kind of twirl girl. What’s a twirl girl you may ask? If you were a hardcore Disney fan as a child, like Benkart, you may remember a reference in the movie “Go Figure” to this term.
In the movie, members of a girl’s hockey team bully another player for being a figure skater, a.k.a. “twirl girl” for being too girly. Benkart, easily identified by a shock of red hair and fantastic sense of style, is a new kind of twirl girl.
Benkart finished her final of four seasons on SHS’s girls hockey team this winter, but her figure skating career last all year round.
“Right now I’m ranked as a novice, which is two below a senior, which is the highest you can be.”
After watching the Olympics, you may think that figure skating is simply gracefulness and finesse, a beautiful skirted costume dancing on a sheet of ice. Benkart likes to do things a bit differently.
She said that some of her favorite roles in her ice theatre program (musicals lip synched to while figure skating) are men. Benkart’s enormous, outgoing personality shines on ice, playing characters such as The Emcee from “Cabaret” and Harold Zidler from “Moulin Rouge”.
Benkart’s origins on ice do not stem from an Olympic dream at a young age, or a magical feeling that filled her up when she first set her eyes on a pair of skates as a toddler.
“My feet were crooked when I was little. My doctor said that ice skating would help them get back to normal.”
Benkart stayed on the ice long after her feet had straightened, and continues to skate almost every day of the week. She also teaches learn-to-skate classes.
Outside of the rink, Benkart loves to drive around her favorite town, Scituate, in her forest green Honda named “Tiffany” (Affectionately known as “Tiff-Tiff”). She also enjoys taking care of her pet hermit crab, which she co-owns with two other SHS students, and loves to watch Japanese style animation.
Benkart dreams of one day working for Disney on Ice, playing her absolute favorite princess, Ariel. She plans on continuing to skate throughout college, and looks forward to the next four years as an opportunity to meet new people, try new things, and generally have a really good time.