It was magic.
The best skaters turned the ice into a stage to do tricks on ice at a speed that was breathtaking.
It was the first time that an international figure skating competition had been held in New Zealand and the audience was riveted by the superb skills seen on the ice.
New Zealand team leader Heather McDonald, of Auckland, said it was the best thing that has ever happened for our kids.
"It was mind-blowing seeing such skills on ice."
The majestic artistry of the skaters is a tribute to the work of Dunedin Ice Stadium manager Neil Gamble and his team that turned the old Dunedin Stadium into an ice arena.
The president of the New Zealand Ice Skating Association, Sandra Williamson Ledley, said the standard and maintenance of the ice in Dunedin has impressed all the international judges.
The senior women's event provided the highlight with Akiko Suzuki (Japan), who is ranked 19th in the world, the star.
Suzuki (24) won the gold medal with a total score of 159.10 from fellow Japanese skater Mari Suzuki (17) 137.21, Na Young Kim (Korea) 119.84 and Allie Rout (New Zealand) 108.84.
Suzuki scored 59.33 points on the short programme on Saturday and added 99.77 points in the free skating yesterday.
A feature of Suzuki's performance was her speed and flow on the ice.
The highlight was a triple double double.
In layman's terms this means one turn of three revolutions that was followed by two turns of two revolutions.
It was all done in quick succession, in the blink of an eye.
She followed this up with a high level spiral sequence that is a level four element and is one of the most difficult sequences to perform.
Mari Suzuki, who finished 26th at this year's world junior championships in Bulgaria, displayed a lot of promise but her score was lowered by a fall.
The competition ended on a high note when Kensuke Nakaniwa (Japan) convincingly won the senior men's gold medal with a score of 189.58 points from Min Seok Seo (Korea) 103.55, Andrew Dodds (Australia) 87.31 and Dunedin's Grant Howie 79.77.
Nakaniwa (27), a fulltime skater from Fukuoka, scored 62.67 points on the short programme and added 126.91 points in the free skating.
He was spinning in the air when he did a triple axel followed by a double toe loop which is one of the hardest elements to perform in figure skating.
The junior men's title was won by Min Seok Kim (Korea) with 153.14 points from Ryuichi Kihara (Japan) 134.60 and Cameron Hems (New Zealand) 90.88 points.
Kim (16), from Seoul, first competed internationally two years ago and is aiming for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia.
The junior women's gold medal was won by Hyeon Jeong Kim (Korea) with 106.12 points from Jamie Nobbs (Australia) 103.09 and Chantelle Kerry (Australia) 91.41 and Sam Waugh (New Zealand) 76.50.
Kim (16), from Seoul, has been competing internationally for the last two years but this was the first time she had won an international event.
The novice men's title was won by Dong Won Lee (Korea) with 138.08 points and So Youn Park (Korea) won the novice women's gold medal with 107.43 points from Madelaine Parker (New Zealand) 80.11 points.
