Treni On TourBy Scott Kindberg1/26/2008 - Jamestown Native Is Headliner For Disney’s High School Musical  Jamestown native Kristen Treni, far right, and Bradley Santer of Sydney, Australia, far left, are among the headliners for Disney’s High School Musical: The Ice Tour. Jamestown Skating Academy students Michael Donovan, second from left, and Ryan Coombs are hoping to make the jump to the professional ranks after graduating from high school in June. Submitted photo A visitor to the Jamestown Skating Academy offices at the Jamestown Savings Bank Ice Arena spots a magazine on a table. Upon closer inspection, he realizes that it’s actually a program from Disney’s High School Musical: The Ice Tour. Intrigued, the visitor picks up the program and starts to leaf through it. As he does, music begins playing from its pages. An office door opens. It’s Kirk Wyse, the JSA co-director, who hears the music. "That," he said, pointing at the program, "is the best ice show ... EVER." Wyse and Lenel van den Berg, the other JSA co-director, should know. After all, not only did they spend years with the Ice Capades and Holiday on Ice, performing shows all over the globe, but they’ve also sent a number of their students into the professional ranks. That’s what prompted the two men to make a recent trip to Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. One of their former students, Kristen Treni, was playing the lead role in Disney’s High School Musical: The Ice Tour. According to its Web site, the show is "the one and only live fusion of songs, dance and team-spirited fun inspired by the smash hit Disney Channel Original Movie "High School Musical" and "High School Musical 2." Treni, a Jamestown native, is one of the show’s stars. Treni, 27, has been in professional ice shows since she was 19. Before that, she was one of Wyse’s and van den Berg’s most successful competitive skaters, dating back to when she was 6. But after all those years on the ice, in addition to the obvious wear and tear on her body, Treni was considering hanging up her skates and pursuing other career options. Then the opportunity to try out for Disney’s High School Musical: The Ice Tour came about. It was something she couldn’t resist, and she ultimately landed the lead role of Sharpay, the scheming student who wants to be the star of East High School’s annual musical. "I’ve done some amazing shows," Treni said during a recent visit to the JSA, "but this is the perfect role at this point. To be part of such a phenomenon ... the role for me is a great . ... They really did take this to another level." "It was just so rewarding and so fun to see Kristen in the show," said van den Berg who taught Treni her first lesson. "She was, as the kids of today say, ‘totally amazing’ in the role of Sharpay." That’s kind of what Treni has done since leaving competitive skating in her late teens. A five-time U.S. National Championship competitor, the Southwestern Central School graduate was a member of several traveling ice shows before winning the top prize on the TV reality series "Skating’s Next Star." Immediately after that show aired on Women’s Entertainment network, Treni took six months off and considered other career options, but the pull of the sport she loves was too strong. Healthy and raring to go, Treni landed the coveted role with Disney’s High School Musical: The Ice Tour. She’s been on the road since July as part of the East Coast cast, which has had performances in Atlanta, Philadelphia, New York, New Jersey, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland and Mexico City. "The audiences have been awesome," Treni said. Two fans who helped fill Quicken Loans Arena last week, Michael Donovan and Ryan Coombs, are crossing their fingers that they’ll get to follow in Treni’s rather large skates. Both Donovan and Coombs are JSA students and are hoping to turn professional after they graduate from high school. Donovan and Coombs, who will graduate from Hilton High School and Warren Area High School respectively in June, are preparing audition tapes for a Disney casting director. Their hope is that they’ll be selected to a role for High School Musical: The Ice Tour. "It’s really a good opportunity to travel the United States and the world, and do something I love to do," Coombs said. "We encourage our skaters to take advantage of their talent and the unique opportunity that is theirs in the ice show world, if they want it," said Wyse. "Right now, our former students are performing in the Far East, Europe, and, of course, Kristen is touring the U.S. We just need to get a few more out there and then, at any given time, a skater form Jamestown will be performing on every continent on earth." Donovan, who has been a member of the JSA since 2005, said he knew he wanted to one day be a professional after seeing Wyse’s and van den Berg’s Excellence On Ice, which is held every spring at the Jamestown Savings Bank Ice Arena. "That put me over the top and it gave me the show bug," Donovan said. Treni believes both Donovan and Coombs are ready to make the jump to the pros. "They’re both really strong skaters," Treni said. "They catch on really quick, and Kirk and Lenel have done a good job (with them). "(The show) opens up so many doors. I was pretty shy and reserved (before), but I got a chance to experience so many things and see so many places."
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