Sonja Hilmer: Pushing the boundaries for creativity within sports

Sonja Hilmer, age 25, is among some of the top ladies in U.S. figure skating. Training primarily in Colorado Springs, Colorado, at the World Arena, she is surrounded daily by some of the top athletes in the world. Sonja began her skating journey at age 2 after seeing pictures of skating in a muppets book. From there, Sonja's skating career skyrocketed. Sonja has competed in 5 U.S National Championships and medaled at various nationwide and international competitions. 

What sets Sonja apart from her competitors is her creative process and how she portrays herself on the ice. Unlike most skaters, Sonja choreographs and makes all her skating costumes from scratch. While most skaters typically hire other people to choreograph and make dresses, Sonja does it herself. During an interview with the "This Week in Skating" podcast, Sonja shared her creative process and the steps she takes from a simple sketch to a full program with music and costume. Sonja shares that her love of designing and creating costumes started long before she made them herself. She said she would get much of her inspiration from listening to music and then creating dresses based on the music.

Another interesting thing about Sonja is that she has a skating move named after her. The "Hilmer" is a combination jump (meaning two sequential jumps happening one right after the other) that combines a triple jump rotating one direction and then, without switching feet, another jump in the opposite direction. This was a revolutionary combination because 99% of skaters only jump their dominant way, typically counter-clockwise. Very few individuals rotate in the opposite direction. In fact, Sonja is not only able to jump both ways but also spin both ways. Adding this extra element further sets Sonja apart from her competitors and makes her even. It's more fun to watch. 

To tie this all back into the class and the main points we've been learning about, Sonja embodies what it means to be an expert in her own domain and how she sets herself apart from other experts within her domain. Any skater can have a pretty outfit or a creative program. Still, Sonja takes it a step further and shows her creative expertise by taking the reins and saying, "This is my style; this is how I'm going to do it," which is really inspiring to watch. Sonja might not have all the big jumps that the other competitors do. Still, she has a certain aura that excites you to watch her and see what she creates every season. Every day, people push boundaries within sports; it's how it has stayed relevant for many years. Sonja is one of those people who push boundaries in fields, which is often overlooked in skating. From Sonja's creativity, I hope the younger generation of upcoming skaters see how important it is to work on their creativity and not just on jumps or spins. After all, skating is a sport of beauty. 

Here are links to some of my favorite programs from Sonja and the interview where she talks about her creative process:

-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72kV89TmWlQ

-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsE69BRpYNs

-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVMHmlcM6aE&t=2571s