A Look Back
The Lore of Ice Castle Int'l Training Center
In 1995, Carlo Fassi and Carol Probst enticed Phillip Mills to move from the Skating Club of Wilmington, Delaware leaving his long-standing position there as the Director of Figure Skating. The allure of working side-by-side with Carlo again, as they had for many years in Colorado Springs and Italy, and collaborating with so many elite coaches and skaters, was just too strong. Phillip and Michelle Mills moved their family to Lake Arrowhead, CA to begin what would become a long love affair – a choreographer’s dream. Along with coaching and choreographing for numerous high-level figure skaters, Phillip was the Artistic Director of Ice Castle. He created 39 stellar shows during his many magical years there.
Notable Skaters’
Jill Trenary
Jill Trenary is a three-time U.S. National Champion. This video is of her gold-winning performance choreographed by Phillip at the 1990 World Championships.
Wynne & Druar
Wynne & Druar were the 1990 National Dance Champions. You will find bonus video of the team’s U.S. Championship free skate with rare video footage of their training with Phillip Mills at the Air Force Academy.
Tomono Kazuki
Tomono Kazuki is a rising senior man in Japan. He has been working with Phillip for two seasons. This video is from his short program at the 2020 Four Continents international competition
Michelle Kwan
Michelle Kwan is a five-time World Champion, nine-time U.S. Champion, two-time Olympic medalist. This video is Michelle’s winning skate choreographed by Phillip for the 2000 Japan Open Championship.
Sasha Cohen
Sasha Cohen is an Olympic silver medalist, three-time World Championship medalist and a U.S. Champion. This award winning performance was choreographed for Sasha by Phillip and skated at the 2006 Marshall’s Showcase.
Ashley Wagner
Ashley Wagner is a highly decorated skater having won an Olympic medal, a World Championship silver medal, and the gold at two U.S. Championships. This video is of Ashley’s iconic Red Violin performance at the Grand Prix Final in 2012. Phillip created her short and long programs for the 2012 and 2013 seasons in which she won two consecutive National Championship titles.
Tatsuki Machida
Tatsuki Machida is a 2014 Silver Medalist at World Championships, Gold medalist at Skate America, Rostelecom Cup and Asian Trophy. Phillip choreographed both short and long programs for Tatsuki for the 2013 and 2014 seasons.
Max Aaron
Max Aaron is a U.S. National Champion. In 2016 he skated his first balletic program crafted to combine a newly emphasized artistic side of his skating along with his strong technical abilities. Max won the silver medal at this U.S. Championships.
Angela Wang
Angela was a top ten finisher at the 2018 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. She earned gold at the 2017 Bavarian Open and was an alternate for the 2018 Winter Olympics.