Olympic Figure Skating Hopefuls to Dazzle at The Winter Village in Hamilton

Looking for an unconventional type of entertainment you don’t see every day? Catch a dazzling performance featuring Australia’s Winter Olympics figure skating hopefuls at The Winter Village in Hamilton.



On 5 June 2021, from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Team Nova Australia, alongside a group of young and talented skaters, will perform in front of a Brisbane audience for the first time since the COVID-19 restrictions. 

These Winter Olympics hopefuls have been training at Iceworld Boondall and to further prepare themselves for the challenge in 2022, they will be entertaining the visitors of The Winter Village for 13 weeks. 

Team Nova Australia is composed of 15 to 21-year-old figure skaters, who have won the Gold for the country at the Trophy d’Ecosse in Scotland before the pandemic lockdowns in 2020. They will be showcasing their newest exhibition routine to the music of Tik Tok sensation Aurora.

Also performing for The Winter Village visitors are Felicity Smyth (19), Eliza Smyth (22), Paris Stephens (20), Darian Kaptich (19), and David Kranjec (25).  

Felicity, a student of Nutrition and Science at QUT, ranked second at the 2021 Town trophy championships in April 2021. Her goal is to win the Australian National Championships. She will be showcasing her latest program using the soundtrack from Netflix’s Bridgerton.

Photo Credit: Supplied

Eliza, who started training as a 3-year-old, will make The Winter Village performance her comeback bid after an injury. She is currently training for the Winter Olympics Pairs Event and will perform a routine with one of Ellie Goulding’s songs at the Hamilton pop-up.

Paris is a four-time Australian National champion and a skate program teacher who has won the gold at the Town Trophy championships senior division. She will perform her latest routine to one of the music of the Broadway show “Chicago.” 



Darian, a technical and artistic figure skater, is a third-placer at the 2020 Australian Championships men’s division and was a three-time junior national champion. He has also won the gold at the Reykjavik International Games. For The Winter Village, Darian will show a sneak peek of his new routine for 2021. 

David, who is also one of the coaches and choreographers of these skaters, is a very accomplished figure skater and has competed at the Nationals, the World Junior Championships, the  Four Continents Championships, and the European Championships. His performance will be based on the sounds of the Cinematic Orchestra, which he self-choreographed.

Photo Credit: Supplied

Helping the figure skaters out are coaches Melina Simjanovic, Vashti Lonsdale, Stacey Carter & Mitchell Chapman, aside from David.

The Winter Village is set up at the Northshore Riverfront Event Site and will open from 3 June to 29 August 2021. Open for seven days a week, the pop-up event site will also have heaps of bars and restaurants, a fantastic igloo village with snow showers, and an ice skating rink.