See the founders of the first black-owned Ice Skating Academy in Detroit

As the first and only Black-owned figure skating academy in the city of Detroit, The Dream Detroit Skating Academy was recently established by figure skaters Angela Blocker-Loyd and Candice Tamakloe.

Additionally, it is the sole Black-owned figure skating club in Michigan at the moment.

Blocker-Loyd and Tamakloe were both talented Detroit-based African Americans.

When Blocker-Loyd was nine years old and just beginning to practice figure skating, they first met.

She was one of the youngest skaters at the Berkley Ice Arena and Recreation at the time, and Tamakloe, who was 14 at the time, regarded her like a younger sibling.

Growing up, their skating careers thrived but the lack of representation and opportunity for Detroit youth in the figure skating industry was still noticeable.

It was what urged them to start a change.

“There has never been a skater at the national or international level to come out of the city of Detroit,” Tamakloe told Detroit Free Press.

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“We want to bring that quality back into the city.” That’s when they opened the academy that aims to provide affordable lessons to low-income youths.

Together with another figure skater Crystal Stewart, they offer both group and private figure skating lessons to youth ages 4 and up for beginners to competitive performances