The annual Igniting the Dream Gala raised $1.6 million for Figure Skating in Harlem, honoring Olympians and cultural figures while showcasing the organization's impact on young women's lives.
To hit the ice is to meet reality without negotiation. There is the sharp shock of impact, the sting against bone, the brief mortification of sequins and nylon sliding helplessly across a cold, unforgiving surface, and then that extraordinary pause where a girl must decide who she is going to become.
Does she stay down, embarrassed and aching, or does she gather herself, rise on trembling legs, and try again? Perhaps that is why Figure Skating in Harlem has always felt like one of New York's most elegant metaphors for life and, arguably, one of its most powerful cheat codes for success. The sport is beautiful, certainly, but beauty alone does not carry a skater across the ice.
Beneath every polished turn, lifted chin, and glittering costume, there is pain, repetition, discipline, and the private decision to keep moving after the body has learned exactly how much falling hurts. The 2026 Igniting the Dream Gala, held at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York City, honored precisely that kind of resilience.
The festive evening welcomed nearly 400 guests and raised an extraordinary $1.6 million for the organization's 2026-27 year, a number that speaks not only to generosity but to belief: belief in girls, in discipline, and in the radical elegance of teaching young women to stand tall, fall hard, rise quickly, and move forward with grace. Founded in 1997 by Sharon Cohen with only a handful of girls, Figure Skating in Harlem has grown into one of the country's most significant youth development organizations, serving hundreds of young women each year in New York City and Detroit.
Its model is deceptively beautiful: combine the grace and rigor of figure skating with education, mentorship, leadership training, wellness, financial literacy, tutoring, college preparation, career exploration, and cultural exposure. The result is far more than athletic instruction. It is the careful making of resilient, intellectually curious, emotionally grounded achievers. Unsurprisingly, the evening carried that same duality: sparkle and substance, elegance and stamina, beauty and backbone.
Honorees included Tony Award-winning actress and cultural trailblazer Anika Noni Rose, beloved as the voice of Disney's first Black princess, and Tina Lundgren, Olympic judge and longtime advocate for expanding opportunities for girls in sport. The gala also celebrated The Blade Angels - Alysa Liu, Amber Glenn, and Isabeau Levito - alongside members of Olympic Team USA Figure Skating, including Madison Chock and Evan Bates, Jason Brown, Danny O'Shea, Ellie Kam, Alexa Scimeca Knierim, and Chris Knierim.
There was something deeply moving about seeing Olympic athletes, Broadway talent, philanthropists, chefs, civic leaders, and cultural figures gather around an organization built on the philosophy that excellence is not accidental. It is taught. It is modeled. It is repeated until confidence becomes muscle memory.
Among the notable guests were Emma Bloomberg, Daniel Boulud, Marcus Samuelsson, and Broadway star McKenzie Lewis, a Figure Skating in Harlem alumna whose own trajectory offered one of the evening's most powerful reminders of the organization's long-tail impact. Lewis, who has appeared in numerous productions, presented the award to Anika Noni Rose, creating one of those rare full-circle moments that cannot be manufactured. That is the quiet genius of Figure Skating in Harlem.
The ice may be the beginning, but it is never the end. Skating becomes the language through which young women learn discipline, resilience, posture, teamwork, self-possession, and ambition. The fall is not treated as failure. The fall is part of the choreography.
The win is not merely a medal or a spotlight. The win is the girl who learns she can get up faster than she went down. That mentality has produced a sisterhood of remarkable caliber. Over the past five years, 100 percent of Figure Skating in Harlem high school seniors graduated and entered college.
Ninety-two percent of girls report improved physical fitness and self-confidence, with 96 percent reporting increased determination and discipline. Parents, too, see the transformation: 84 percent report academic improvement, while 100 percent report greater self-confidence and pride in their enrolled children. The evening was a testament to the power of resilience, community, and the belief that every girl deserves a chance to shine, not just on the ice but in every aspect of her life
Figure Skating Harlem Gala Youth Development Resilience
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