ATLANTA — There's a lot more that goes into a perfect figure skating performance than just the jumps, the spins and artistry.
Details like the music and the costumes play a big part of reaching gold.
In a sport of artistic design and detail, the time spent on perfection in a seamstress shop is about as important as the work on the ice.
"I never thought that it would go to the levels that is has gone to," Bobbie Acana said.
She'll spend dozens of hours on one costume - or dresses, as the skaters call it.
It starts with a vision shared in a computerized image - the perfect colors, texture and sparkle.
"It completes that, it's that finishing piece," Acana said of how a dress fits into a routine.
With a dab of glue and a steady hand holding tweezers, each sequin is placed one by one by one.
"The most I think I've put on a skating costume is probably around 200," Acana said.
And it's not simply a matter of putting them on in a way that looks visually appealing. Where the sequins go is also a calculation of how they'll affect the skaters' performance.
It depends on specific jumps and turns in choreography.
"Especially the pairs, because he's grabbing her or she's grabbing onto him so if there's stones in the way - some skaters don't want any stones where they're grabbing," Acana said.
A routine is about beauty and personality, but the dresses also require serious consideration - the judges even take them into account.
"They look at how it fits, they look at the colors, they look at how it moves, whether it fits the music," Acana said.
So as you watch figure skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics, remember seamstresses like Acana are never on the ice, but very much a part of the Olympic program.