Colin Ratushniak (born 18 August 1985) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

professional

ice skater Ice skating is the self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates. People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting. Ice skating may be perfo ...

and politician who appeared in the TV show ''

Dancing on Ice ''Dancing on Ice'' is a British television series broadcast from 2006 to 2014 and then from 2018 to 2025. It was presented by Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern. Other previous hosts include Phillip Schofield and Christine Lampard. The series ...

'' in 2011, with celebrity skating partner

Laura Hamilton Laura Jane Hamilton (born 24 April 1982) is an English television presenter, property expert and entrepreneur. She began her career on children's television, presenting shows such as ''Fun Song Factory'' and on Nickelodeon. She participated in ...

. In September 2012, Ratushniak attained a two-year visa and moved to the UK to concentrate on building a career in TV production. In November 2020, he was elected the mayor of the town of

La Ronge La Ronge is a List of municipalities in Saskatchewan, northern town in the boreal forest of Canada, boreal forest of Saskatchewan, Canada. The town is also the namesake of the larger #Population centre, La Ronge population centre, the largest ...

, Saskatchewan.

Background

Born in

Gillam, Manitoba Gillam is a town on the Nelson River in northern Manitoba, Canada. It is situated between Thompson and Churchill on the Hudson Bay Railway line. Many residents of Gillam are employed by Manitoba Hydro at one of their many facilities or suppo ...

in Canada, Ratushniak began skating at the age of two. He played

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

until he was 12 years old, at which point he began making the transition from hockey player to

. When his family moved to Brandon, he continued training and began his competitive career.

Competitive career

From 1998 to 2002, Ratushniak reigned as the province of

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

's men's novice champion. He also won a pre-novice bronze medal at the Junior National Championships in 2000.

Professional skating career

2003–2010

In 2003, after graduating from high school, Ratushniak turned professional and joined Feld Entertainment to skate in the critically acclaimed

Disney on Ice Walt Disney's World on Ice is a series of touring ice shows produced by Feld Entertainment's Ice Follies And Holiday on Ice, Inc. division under agreement with The Walt Disney Company. Aimed primarily at children, the shows feature figure ska ...

productions, touring the UK in 2008 with the show "High School Musical." For the next 8 years he continued to tour, working with illustrious names such as Rand Productions and Karen Kresge Productions, to date performing in over 50 countries and 500 major cities across 5 continents. During this time he also developed his skills as a

pairs skater Concentration is a round game in which all of the cards are laid face down on a surface and two cards are flipped face up over each turn. The object of the game is to turn over pairs of matching cards. Concentration can be played with any number ...

, pairing up with Amanda Frank and Isabelle Gauthier. In 2010, at age 24, Ratushniak performed his first backflip on the ice.

2011

Dancing on Ice

In January 2011, Ratushniak took his first foray into the world of prime time TV when he appeared as a professional skater in series 6 of the UK TV show ''

'' with celebrity partner,

and the couple were early favourites to win the series. They eventually finished runners up in the series to

Brianne Delcourt Professional skaters from the British television show ''Dancing on Ice'' are figure skaters who appear with celebrities in front of a panel of judges. Most of the professionals on the series are former ice dancers or pair skaters. Competi ...

and

Sam Attwater Samuel Attwater (born 10 April 1996) is an English actor and singer who played Leon Small in the British soap opera ''EastEnders'' and its online spin-off '' EastEnders: E20''. He won the sixth series of ''Dancing on Ice'' in March 2011 and p ...

and went on to perform in cities across the UK with the '' Dancing on Ice Live Tour''.

=Performances/results

Beyond Broadway

In August and September 2011, Ratushniak performed alongside Olympic figure skating champion

Joannie Rochette Joannie Rochette (born January 13, 1986) is a Canadian physician and retired competitive figure skater. She is the 2010 Olympic bronze medallist, the 2009 World silver medallist, the 2008 and 2009 Four Continents silver medallist, the 2004 Gr ...

in the show ''Beyond Broadway'' at the

Canadian National Exhibition The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), also known as The Exhibition or The Ex, is an annual fair that takes place at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the third Friday of August leading up to and including Labour Day (Canada), ...

(CNE). Performing with professional partner Isabelle Gauthier, they skated to the song "

Seasons of Love "Seasons of Love" is a song from the 1996 Broadway musical ''Rent'', written and composed by Jonathan Larson. The song starts with an ostinato piano motif, which provides the harmonic framework for the cast to sing "Five hundred twenty-five thous ...

" from the Broadway musical ''

Rent Rent may refer to: Economics *Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property *Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production *Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...

'', as well as joining the rest of cast for other routines.

Tropicana – The Passion Tour

The end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012 saw Ratushniak performing in the '' Holiday on Ice'' show, Tropicana. Running from December 2011 until February 2012 across The Netherlands and the UK, the show was created and choreographed by Olympic champion

Robin Cousins Robin John Cousins MBE (born 17 August 1957) is a British former competitive figure skater who was BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1980. He was the 1980 Olympic champion, the 1980 European champion, a three-time World medalist (1978– ...

MBE and featured music from singer

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow ( ; born Barry Alan Pincus on June 17, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer with a career that spans over sixty years. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", "Looks Like We Made It", "Brandy (Scott ...

. The show premiered in

Eindhoven Eindhoven ( ; ) is a city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, located in the southern Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant, of which it is the largest municipality, and is also locat ...

and went on to play in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; ; ; ) is a city and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital city, capital and largest city of the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Maastricht is loca ...

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

Zwolle Zwolle () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the Capital city, capital of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Overijssel ...

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

and

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

2012

Skating on Broadway

In March 2012, Ratushniak travelled to

Irapuato Irapuato is a Mexican city and municipalities of Mexico, municipality located at the foot of the Arandas Hill (in Spanish Language, Spanish: ''Cerro de Arandas''), in the central region of the Mexican state, state of Guanajuato. It lies between the ...

in Mexico to perform in the Ucha Atayde Entertainment production of ''Skating on Broadway''. The show's cast performed to a selection of songs from

Broadway musicals Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), many of the extant or closed Broadway venues use or used the spelling ''Theatr ...

with Ratushniak taking the starring role in the sections for ''

'' and ''

Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated Musical film, musical Coming-of-age film, coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts (writer), Jonathan ...

''. He returned to Mexico in April 2012 and again in June 2012 this time performing the show in the cities of

Villahermosa Villahermosa ( , ; "Beautiful Town") is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Tabasco, and serves as the municipal seat (governing county) of the state. Located in Southeast Mexico, Villahermosa is an important city because of its ...

and

Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...

respectively. During the latter period he took on the additional role of Company Manager, responsible for co-ordinating all aspects of the show's production.

Quebec club shows

In between his shows in Mexico, Ratushniak joined forces with pro partner Isabelle Gauthier once again to perform as guests in the Annual Gala shows of skating clubs in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. As well as their

routine from the show Beyond Broadway, Ratushniak and Gauthier performed a new routine that they'd choreographed especially for the shows, skating to the song "

Moves Like Jagger Moves may refer to: * ''Moves'' (ballet), by Jerome Robbins * ''Moves'' (magazine), a periodical * ''Moves'' (Singing Adams album), 2012 * ''Moves'' (Kirara album), 2016 * "Moves" (Big Sean song), 2017 * "Moves" (Olly Murs song), 2018 * A mo ...

". The shows took place at skating clubs in Charny, Abénakis and Lac-Mégantic.

Rock on Ice

In April 2012 and again in June 2012 Ratushniak performed in the production of ''Rock on Ice'', a show which ran alongside the production Skating on Broadway. He joined the cast for the show's run in the cities of

and

in Mexico performing as both a soloist and member of the ensemble to songs from rock legends including

ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in Houston, Texas, in 1969. For almost 56 years, it consisted of vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard (musician), Frank Beard, and bassist-vocalist Dusty Hill prior to his death in 2021. ZZ ...

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and the virtuosity of their guit ...

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

and

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

. His role as Company Manager whilst in Durango encompassed both shows.

Kyran Bracken's Ice Party

After moving to the UK permanently in September 2012, Ratushniak performed for the first time with professional skater, Patti Petrus, at Kyran's Bracken's Ice Party in Blackpool. The show took place from 1 to 3 November with Ratushniak and Petrus skating pairs routines alongside other professional skaters Karen Barber, Daniel Whiston and

Stars on Ice Australia

In November 2012 Ratushniak travelled to Singapore to perform in the Stars on Ice Australia Christmas Gala shows which took place in Novena Square. He performed in the show as a soloist as well as pairs. The show ran from 24 November until 23 December.

2013

Celebrities on Ice

Performing alongside TV personality

Chico Slimani Yousseph "Chico" Slimani (born 1971) is a Welsh singer who rose to prominence in the United Kingdom after reaching the quarter-finals of the 2005 series of the talent show ''The X Factor''. In 2006, he had a number one hit on the British cha ...

, England Rugby legend Kyran Bracken, West End star

Ray Quinn Raymond Arthur Quinn (born 25 August 1988) is an English actor, singer, and dancer. He is best known for his role as Anthony Murray in '' Brookside'' from 2000 to 2003. He achieved more public recognition when he auditioned for the third serie ...

and the world-famous Russian Ice Stars, Ratushniak starred in the show Celebrities on Ice in January 2013. Held at Peterborough Arena from 25 to 27 January, the show was hosted by celebrity

Christopher Biggins Christopher Biggins (born 16 December 1948) is an English actor and television personality. He became widely known for his roles in television series such as ''Porridge'', '' Poldark'' and '' I, Claudius'' in the 1970s. He later became known for ...

. The show subsequently embarked on a UK nationwide arena tour from April until June 2013 where he performed alongside Dancing on Ice celebrities

Beth Tweddle Elizabeth Kimberly Tweddle (born 1 April 1985) is a retired English Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast. Renowned for her uneven bar and floor routines, she was the first female gymnast from Great Britain to win a medal at the Rhythmic Gymnas ...

, Matthew Lapinskas and Gareth Thomas and professional skaters Daniel Whiston,

and Jenna Nicole Smith.

Stars on Ice Australia

Ratushniak ended the year with a return to Singapore to perform once again at the Velocity Christmas shows held in Novena Square. The show, produced by Stars on Ice Australia, ran from 26 November to 22 December and featured a mix of popular music and classic Christmas songs performed by a cast of three professional skaters.

2014

Skate in the City

Taking place at Broadgate Ice Rink and hosted by Southend Airport, Ratushniak performed alongside English rugby player and

star Kyran Bracken, X factor contestant Chico, Eastenders and

contestant

Matt Lapinskas Matthew William Lapinskas (born 27 February 1989) is an English actor, known for portraying the role of Anthony Moon in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' from 2011 to 2012. He was a contestant in the eighth series of ''Dancing on Ice'', finishi ...

, and the Russian Ice Stars in a one-off outdoor event, Skate in the City.

Val-Bélair Gala Show

Ratushniak was reunited with pro skating partner Isabelle Gauthier on 5 April to perform at the Val-Bélair Gala Show in Quebec. The pair skated their Seasons of Love and Moves Like Jagger routines at the show; the first they had paired up for since March 2013.

Filmography

TV production

Other interests

As well as being a professional ice skater, Ratushniak is also a qualified

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

and licensed property developer. Ratushniak was elected mayor of the northern town of La Ronge, Saskatchewan in November 2020, making him the first openly gay mayor in La Ronge's history. He resigned his position in July 2022 to pursue a career as a commercial pilot.

References

External links

Riverlight Talent IncColin Ratushniak backflip
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ratushniak, Colin 1985 births Canadian gay politicians Canadian gay sportsmen LGBTQ figure skaters LGBTQ mayors of places in Canada Living people Canadian male single skaters Sportspeople from Manitoba 21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people 21st-century mayors of places in Saskatchewan 21st-century Canadian sportsmen