Ski Ballet Makes (Another) Comeback At Verbier, Switzerland

There is a subtle and impressive art to the precise ski control required. MGG describes ski ballet as "a romance of alpine skiing, ballet, acrobatics, musicality, and figure skating." Read more about ski ballet below. 

But this wasn't a one-off event. Last weekend on Saturday 6th April, on the slopes of Verbier, another incredible scene unfolded. 

Fabrice Becker, winner of the gold medal at the 1992 Albertville Winter Olympics issued the call to arms on our behalf, and no fewer than 16 top former ski ballet athletes from around the world attended the MGG ski ballet demonstration event. 

Some of the athletes hadn't seen each other for almost 30 years, let alone strapped on a pair of ski ballet skis, and nobody was under 50, but their age didn't come through one bit. 

At the invitation of MGG, and hosted by Fabrice Becker and Annika Johansson, the athletes all arrived on Friday 5th for a reunion meeting, followed by a practice session on the same slope that the event would take place the following day (Piste des Grands-Creux in the La Chaux zone of Verbier). 

This was then followed by some customary après ski, and a group dinner.

Then on the Saturday morning at 10am, the main event began, starting with a one and a half hour jam session for all the athletes to fully warm up and perfect their routines, and ending with a final half hour dedicated to a full ski ballet demonstration. 

All the athletes gave it their all, putting their hearts and souls into the show, and delivered an amazing demonstration for the hundreds of people in the audience. 

 The crowd was going wild and loved every minute of it. Even the CEO of Verbier, who came to watch incognito, afterwards declared it one of the events of the season.

After the demonstration, the athletes ran a ski ballet teaching clinic, and around 15+ of those in attendance, including Julien Regnier, freeski royalty and founder of Armada Skis and Black Crows Skis, and former professional Armada team pro Ruben Principe, tried their hand at a variety of ski ballet manoeuvres and tricks, which are all much more difficult than they look. 

Julien even had the misfortune of snapping a pair of Leki ski ballet poles belonging to Niklas Jernberg clean in two, while attempting a front flip - an (unfortunately) amusing moment, but also cause for some alarm, given the severe shortage of ski ballet equipment globally.

MGG is currently gauging interest to see whether they would be able to meet the minimums required to find a manufacturer willing to make new skis and poles. If you would be interested in purchasing new ski ballet equipment, you should make this known by emailing: support@mgg.ski . 

Professional ski ballet came to an abrupt end in the early 2000s, and the careers of many top level athletes instantaneously ceased to exist. 

But to have a platform to once again show the joy that this remarkable sport gave both them and the watching crowds clearly meant a huge amount to everyone involved. The outpouring of happiness and contentment since the event from the wider ski ballet community, and those who took part, is also noteworthy. 

The whole weekend was filmed by Scott Goedkoop and his team, and will form part of a feature length ski ballet documentary which will be released in early 2025.

The athletes who took part include Fabrice Becker (gold medal 1992), a host, Annika Johansson (5th place 1992), also a host, Jonas Lundblad, Niklas Jernberg, Mats Fredriksson, Klaus Mühlstein, Tina Spillmann, Justin Holland, Thomas Heyerdahl, Simen Andresen, Cedric Good, Beatrice Stocker, Christine Rossi (gold medal, 1988), Isa Brun-Rickli, Claudine Fleury, and Heini Baumgartner (10th place 1988, 5th place 1992). 

If you missed this event, fear not. Given the success of this event, it's likely that another like it will be held in the near future. 

Until then, we'll be waiting for that documentary.