Entertainment

AFRO Exclusive: Disney on Ice Enchants with Black Skater as Line Captain

THE AFRO — For three years, professional ice skater Chelsea Ridley has been dazzling audiences with performances.

Published

7 years ago

February 24, 2019

By Micha Green

For three years, professional ice skater Chelsea Ridley has been dazzling audiences with performances through Feld Entertainment, and this year she is not only shining on ice as a member of the ensemble, but keeping her fellow cast mates in formation as ladies line captain for Disney On Ice “Worlds of Enchantment.”

“I’m an ensemble kid, which means you can see me anywhere. You just got to keep your eyes open, because you never know when you can see me. But I’m also the ladies line captain, so I’m the person that’s in charge of making sure the numbers get taught, and they’re nice and clean, spick and span and beautiful for every night’s performance,” Ridley told the AFRO.

The 25-year-old skater did not simply stumble into the sport and is now getting to tour with the renowned show. Ridley has been putting in work on the ice since she was 4 years old, however the sport was not always her first love or career choice.

“I would not say it was love at first sight, because I did not love it,” she said. Yet, Ridley’s Caribbean parents forced her to keep up with skating and decades years later she’s a pro.

“I think that’s a good message for the kids out there, that sometimes you just have to be resilient, because you never know what could happen. Just don’t give up too fast. By the end of the session, I really found my love for it, and here we are 21 years later and I’m still loving it everyday,” Ridley told the AFRO.

Now Ridley loves skating, finding a liberating property on the ice.

“I love that you can express yourself in anyway that you want,” she said. “I think that skating is the closest you can get to flying without actually leaving the ground. You can go and just feel so free.”

Having skated competitively for years, Ridley said she particularly finds joy in being able to perform for audiences regularly.

“I’ve always just really loved performing and I think that’s what’s gravitated me towards being part of Disney and going where I can go with that performance aspect,” Ridley said. “I just love being able to perform and put smiles on people’s faces, everyday.”

With this being her third year with Feld Entertainment, the producers of Disney On Ice, Ridley is somewhat of a vet when it comes to these shows, having even starred as Princess Tiana from the “Princess and the Frog,” with another Disney on Ice production. However she said that audiences who see this “Worlds of Enchantment” are in store for a treat.

Unfortunately for D.C. readers, the show was only in the District for a short time (Feb. 14- Feb. 18) at the Capital One Arena, however, this reporter can confirm after seeing the show on Valentine’s Day, it’s a colorful and entrancing trip for all ages if able to catch “Worlds of Enchantment” in another city.

“It’s a really fun show. I’ll just say that sometimes the shows can be a little more princess-based, but this show is really different because we have a lot of different stories that are told, which is really fun for audiences of all ages, boys, girls, kids of all ages. It’s so fun,” Ridley said.

“Worlds of Enchantment” is particularly special because it features four different Disney films told on ice.

“We have ‘Toy Story,’ we have ‘The Little Mermaid,’ we have Disney Pixar’s ‘Cars and we even have ‘Frozen,’” she said. “Fun fact: We are the only Disney show that has Disney Pixar’s ‘Cars,’ so you got to make sure you see those cars, because they are great on ice.”

Beyond the joy she brings to Disney audiences, Ridley also inspires the next generation of skaters. As one of the few people of color in Disney On Ice, and as a Black skater in a sport that is still developing in terms of diversity, Ridley takes her job as a coach seriously.

“I teach a lot of African American skaters at home, and I always try to let them know and teach them that, ‘You need to be yourself, and just really do you and don’t let anyone ever tell you no, because you know yourself the best and what you’re capable of, and you need to go out and do what you want to do because it makes you happy.’ And I think that’s the biggest thing that I’ve learned throughout my career,” Ridley told the AFRO.

The 25-year-old also has one last piece of advice for those that want to follow in her footsteps: “Push the envelope always.”

This article originally appeared in The Afro.

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Oakland Post: Week of July 1 – 7, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of July 1 – 7, 2026

Published

3 days ago

July 5, 2026

Oakland Post

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Arts and Culture

Prescott Circus Theatre Presents Free Summer Performance Series

Now in its 41st year, the Prescott Circus Theatre is a nationally recognized performing arts education program for Oakland youth. The circus offers safe environments that challenge Oakland youth, through circus arts training, to develop the skills and confidence to thrive on stage, in school, and in life.

Published

2 weeks ago

June 26, 2026

Oakland Post

Prescott Circus showcase pathways pyramid. Photo courtesy of Prescott Circus.

By Post Staff

The Prescott Circus, Oakland’s longest-running youth circus, is returning this summer with its free shows. Join the Prescott Circus’s young stars as they share their joys and talents through stilt-dancing, tumbling, juggling, and more.

At the heart of this one-hour show, which demonstrates teamwork, pride, and joy, are Oakland Unified School District students ages 8 – 17 from more than 10 different schools

This is accomplished through no-cost school and community programs for more than 300 Oakland youth each year. Performing company members from Prescott, where the program began, perform and make appearances at as many as 40 Bay Area events each year.

The summer program is funded in part by Oakland Fund for Children and Youth, California Arts Council, Port of Oakland, and the West Davis & Bergard Foundation.

Performances will be held Tuesday, July 14, 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. (ASL interpreted) and Wednesday, July 15, 11 a.m., at the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts, 1428 Alice St., Oakland. For free reservations go to

https://PrescottCircusSummerShows.eventbrite.com

For group reservations for camps, childcare centers, senior centers, go to www.prescottcircus.org

A community show will be held Saturday, July 18, 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., at DeFremery Park,1651 Adeline St., Oakland.

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50 Years Later, ‘Wake Up Everybody!’ Still Resonates During Black Music

The words of the song, “Wake Up Everybody,” debuted by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes in 1975, still resonate today as those words are just as relevant more than a half century later.

Published

2 weeks ago

June 26, 2026

Oakland Post

iStockphoto.

By Hazel Trice Edney, Special to The Post

Hazel Trice Edney

“Wake up, everybody, No more sleepin’ in bed

No more backward thinkin’. Time for thinkin’ ahead

The world has changed so very much from what it used to be.

There is so much hatred, war, and poverty.

“The world won’t get no better If we just let it be.

Naw, naw, naw, naw, naw, naw, naw.

The world won’t get no better. We gotta change it, yeah– just you and me.”

The words of the song, “Wake Up Everybody,” debuted by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes in 1975, still resonate today as those words are just as relevant more than a half century later.

In a rare, nearly somber moment, the group’s celebrated lead singer, Teddy Pendergrass, introduced the song on Soul Train, the weekly dance and live performance TV show that aired roughly between 1971 and 2006. Pendergrass told the attentive live audience and thousands watching by television that Wake Up Everybody, the title tune of their most recent album, was intended to inspire people to take action with a goal to change America for the better.

“I’m sure that you will all agree that there are things that need to be done in this country today,” he said. “So, what I’d like for you to do is listen very carefully to see what you can do to lend a hand.”

The song’s appeal worked.

“I played that song over and over and over again because it was a constant warning to keep ourselves prepared for the society that we were living in,” says A. Peter Bailey, then a 37-year-old former aide to Malcolm X.

When “Wake Up Everybody” hit the airwaves, Bailey was working as an associate editor of Ebony Magazine. “It was a call to be aware of what we were dealing with in the country that we lived in, the world we lived in, the neighborhood we lived in, the cities that we lived in,” Bailey said in an interview with the Trice Edney News Wire.

He concluded that during Black Music Month 2026, such songs should be recalled and celebrated as a key to changes for the good across America; especially because such songs successfully encouraged people to deal with the issues that might otherwise denigrate the promises of America, including the promise that “All men are created equal,”as stated in the Declaration of Independence.

“The rhythms and blues expressed our joys, our sorrows and our fears,” Bailey recalls. “It was those songs and the singing of those songs by our people that attracted us to the campaigns for justice.”

With his life inspired by that song and others, Bailey, now 88, went on to establish and teach a Black Press class at Virginia Commonwealth University. Also, he has since written three books, including a memoir, “Witnessing Brother Malcolm X, the Master Teacher,” in which he expounded upon successful principles of social justice, some of which are reflected in “Wake Up Everybody.”

Long before the term “woke” became associated with campaigns for justice, Pendergrass led the song that reverberated across America and still holds deep meaning.

The ‘wake up’ call exhorts teachers to ‘teach a new way,’ doctors to heal elders, and builders to ‘build a new land… we can do it if we all lend a hand.”

The song concludes:

“The world won’t get no better if we just let it be. Naw, naw, naw, naw, naw, naw, naw. The world won’t get no better. We gotta change it, yeah – just you and me.”

Hazel Trice Edney wrote this story as part of a four-part series powered by AARP in commemoration of Black Music Month, June 2026.