Monique Coleman brought some serious ice energy to Day 3 of The Art of Performance. She marked the occasion on Instagram with a short, punchy caption and an ice skate emoji. Her High School Musical fans hit full nostalgia mode fast.
“Soarin’ through Day 3 @theartofperformance,” she wrote on Instagram, adding a heart and a wink. She rounded it out with the hashtags #hsm, #breakingfree, and #blackgirlsskate.
Disney Channel fans from the mid-2000s will recognize every one of those hashtags. Coleman played Taylor McKessie in the original High School Musical trilogy. The first film, back in 2006, turned a Disney Channel original into a genuine cultural milestone. Taylor was the sharp, fiercely loyal best friend. She grounded every scene she appeared in, and Coleman made her matter.
“Breaking Free” is the go-to song from the HSM franchise. It’s the soaring duet between Troy and Gabriella. That duet hits, and the whole movie feels like something real. Coleman tagging it at a performance event is a playful, knowing callback. It doesn’t need explaining.
The hashtag carrying the most weight here might be #blackgirlsskate. The movement celebrates Black women and girls in ice skating. It’s a sport with a long history of limited diversity at its highest levels. By including it, Coleman connects a fun, breezy day at an arts event to something culturally meaningful. The movement has worked to raise visibility for Black skaters through social media and community programs. Tagging it says something, even in a casual post.
The Art of Performance is a multi-day event gathering artists and performers across disciplines. Coleman’s Day 3 appearance suggests she’s been an engaged part of the lineup from early on, not just stopping in for a quick moment.
She’s stayed one of the most recognizable faces from the original HSM cast. Coleman has appeared on Dancing with the Stars and has been involved in youth empowerment and advocacy over the years. She tends to show up where entertainment meets community work. The Art of Performance fits that profile well.
The High School Musical franchise has never fully faded. It keeps reaching new viewers on streaming and even spawned the Disney+ series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. Coleman has remained a warm presence in that world, connected to the franchise without being defined entirely by it.
Taylor McKessie was always the planner, the one with the grades and the strategy. The image of Coleman at a performance festival, tipping a wink to “Breaking Free” with a skate emoji, has a genuinely sweet full-circle feel. Taylor might have stood at the rink and mapped out the physics. Coleman? She went straight for the ice.
Day 3 of The Art of Performance looked like a lot of fun. The caption says it all.
