Performer Biographies
ALIZAH ALLEN
Alizah, formerly an apprentice member of Ice Theatre of New York, competed in the '96 & '97 U.S. National Ladies Championships. After a long hiatus from the ice, she is proud to perform with Ice Theatre again. She will be receiving her Ed.M in Psychological Counseling from Teachers College, Columbia University this May. She especially wants to thank her husband, without his love and support she would not be skating and graduating simultaneously!
ELISA ANGELI
Elisa was born in Milan on December 25, 1979. After a successful career as a competitive ice dancer, she skated shows choreographed by Barbara Fusarpoli and others in Italy and Europe. Elisa began performing with Ice Theatre of New York in its 2005 season and accompanied Ice Theatre on tour in France in 2008 and 2009. She has been a valued company member through all of our seasons since 2005, both as a performer and a teacher. Aside from skating, Elisa is dancing for the Italian dance company, Magma Dance Company, a combination of African and contemporary dance; and has been studying aerial at the Trapeze School of New York. She is currently interested in combining skating with aerial and starred both as a skater and as an aerialist in "Cocktail on Ice" in Italy earlier this year.
ALI BLANK
Ali started her 26-year ice skating career in her hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. As a competitor, Ali is an internationally ranked skater in both singles and pairs, and is a triple USFS gold medalist. She turned professional at age 18 and travelled the world skating with Disney On Ice. In 2006, Ali starred in the Radio City Rockettes show in New York City as a pair skater. Ali has been coaching at Chelsea Piers for the past 8 years and also coaches at Figure Skating in Harlem, where she was awarded "Coach of the Year" in 2009. She graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology in 2005, majoring in Fashion Merchandising Management. Ali launched her own custom-designed, screen-printed line of apparel, www.ablankexpression.com, in 2006, and her line is being sold in boutiques around New York City. Ali is thrilled to be performing again with Ice Theatre of New York.
EVE CHALOM
Eve competed in ice dancing for many years on an international level, winning several medals at the United States National Championships. This is especially impressive considering that she wears two hearing aids. Upon retiring from skating, she received degrees in English and Philosophy from the University of Michigan, and then moved to New York to pursue modern dance. She is currently pursuing a master's degree in Dance Therapy at Pratt Institute, in addition to teaching skating and squeezing in dance/skating when she can. She is happy to be performing with Ice Theatre again.
ANGELA CHIANG
Angela is a USFS double gold medalist who, following her competitive career, began training and performing as an apprentice with Ice Theatre of New York during the Company’s 2002 Summer Residency in Jamestown. Angela is a 2007 New York University graduate, with a BA in Journalism and Metropolitan Studies. She skated for the New York Rangers (National Hockey League) as a Rangers City Skater and appeared in an episode of Nick at Nite's "Road Crew." Angela was thrilled to skate for Ice Theatre at this year’s Jimmy Fund event “An Evening With Champions” at Harvard University. As an instructor, Angela has had the pleasure of teaching the girls of Figure Skating in Harlem, and is now regularly teaching figure skating at Chelsea Piers.
MICHEAL DIONYSIOU
Michael is a USFS double gold medalist. A native of New York though he trained and lived in Tampa Bay, Florida - Michael has performed in several productions, including Advanced Entertainment Group; “World Rhythms on Ice” 2000-2004, Disney on Ice International Tour “Mickey’s & Minnie’s Magical Journey” 2004, and Holiday on Ice International Tours “Diamonds” and “Mystery” 2004-2010. As a cast member of “Mystery,” Michael had the pleasure to work with noted choreographer and Olympic Champion Robin Cousins. He was invited to participate as a soloist in “The International Skating Academy” by Holiday on Ice in The Netherlands in 2009. He also took part in the “2006 Dutch Olympic Team Ceremony Show” by Holiday on Ice. Currently, Michael is an instructor at Sky Rink Chelsea Piers and is enthused to be a part of Ice Theatre of New York.
MICHELE FORCHIONE
Michele was born in Ohio. She put on her first pair of skates before she was three years old. She was a Junior Ladies Freestyle skater and a Junior National competitor. Earlier this year, Michele was a part of ABC’s Ugly Betty as a skating double. This is Michele’s first year with Ice Theatre of New York and she is thrilled to be a part of this ensemble.
TYRRELL GENE Cockrum
Tyrrell started dancing at the age of three in his hometown of Wenatchee, Washington. Dancing, which was initially a form of therapy for his stroke-induced
paralysis, led him into figure skating. Tyrrell trained as an ice dancer and was a 5-time national competitor. He has continued his cross training with his studies and performances of jazz, ballet, modern and ballroom dancing. He has been with Ice Theatre of New York since 2001 and performed with the company in the 2008 and 2009 French tours. A valued performer both in our arena and stage performances, Tyrrell is also a respected teacher by company
members and skating students alike.
LINE HADDAD
Line is a World and Olympic pair skater and was the youngest athlete to
compete at the Olympics in 1992 at Albertville. She is a two-time
French National Champion, and a one-time Israeli National Champion. As
a dancer, she graduated from the Paris Conservatoire in ballet and most
recently performed with the modern dance company, Isabel Gotzkowsky And
Friends. After touring with Philippe Candeloro and the French team,
Line joined the Ice Theatre of New York in 2003 and was featured in
Dance Visions on Ice on NBC. Line is currently working as a consultant
and choreographer for the French Ice-skating Federation. She also
received her Master of Arts in translation and linguistics in Paris,
majoring in French, English, and Spanish.
MARNI HALASA
Marni is a USFS double gold medalist and staff professional at Chelsea Piers, has skated with Ice Theatre of New York for special events. Taking what she has learned from performing, Marni currently debuts her iconic rollerblading personality in parades and events all across New York City, as noted by the New York Daily News, New York Post, New York Times and National Enquirer. Other credits include a featured belly dancer for the sequel to the movie, “Sex in the City;” choreographing rollerblading dance scenes for the Disney movie, “Enchanted;" and performing on MTV and the Today Show, where Marni belly
danced on rollerblades and taught Al Roker how to shimmy.
DAVID LIU
David was born in Taiwan, immigrated to the United States at the age of six and began studying dance and figure skating at the age of eight. He auditioned for New York City Ballet's School of American Ballet (SAB) and was accepted on full scholarship, under the tutelage of Richard Rapp and Andre Kramerevsky. George Balanchine promoted him to the first "Special Class" at the SAB under the intensive training of the late Stanley Williams. After finishing his dance training at SAB, David pursued his skating career and competed at three Olympic Games for his native country, Taiwan. He teaches, choreographs and performs in both skating and dance. He has performed and given workshops and intensive classes in the United States, Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong and Finland. David has choreographed programs for skating luminaries such as Brian Boitano, Lu Chen, Midori Ito, Nicole Bobek, Rosalynn Summers, and for major television specials including Kurt Browning's Gotta Skate, Divas on Ice with Katarina Witt, PBS' An Evening with Champions, and NBC's Rockefeller Center Christmas Specials. In 2002, David received a commissioning grant from New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) through Ice Theatre for a collaborative work with choreographer JoAnna Mendl Shaw. In April, 2004, David was invited to China where he created the ice gala "Spherical." In June, 2004, the world premiere of David's latest dance choreography, Visual Reference, part of H.T. Chen's Ear to the Ground project was presented by the Mulberry Street Theatre in New York City. Liu has also choreographed for dance companies such as City Contemporary Dance Company, Hong Kong Ballet, and Singapore Dance Theatre. Francis Mason of WQRX Radio called David, "Nijinsky on ice." He has choreographed at least five works for and/or with Ice Theatre in the years he has been with the Company, some of which were showcased in “Dance Visions on Ice”.
KIMBERLY NAVARRO and Brent bommentre
Kim and Brent are two-time U.S. bronze medalists and bronze medal winners at the 2008 Four Continents Championships. After competing internationally with previous partners, Kim and
Brent came together as a team in May 2005. A Columbia graduate
originally from Santa Rosa, CA, Kim brought a stellar reputation as a
2002 U.S. Olympic Team Alternate and member of the renowned Ice Theatre
of New York. Brent, a resident of Horsham, PA, and part-time student at
Villanova, had acquired crucial experience representing the US at top
events such as Skate America and Cup of Russia. The dance team
currently trains under the guidance of coaches Robbie Kaine and Cheryl
Demkowski Snyder. Most recently, they represented the United States at the World Figure Skating Championships in Turin, Italy. They live in Ardmore and Aston, Pennsylvania, and train five to six hours on the ice, six days a week.
Kim and Brent first skated together with Ice
Theatre on the proscenium stage at Lehigh University in the spring of
2006.
RADMILA OLSHANSKY
Radmila started skating at the age of 5 in Kiev, Ukraine. She moved to Chicago, where she continued to skate and dance. She was a dance and psychology major at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. She has taught extensively for 10 years in Chicago, Champaign, and New York. She is currently working towards her MA in Dance Education at New York University. This is Radmila's first season with Ice Theatre of New York, and she is thrilled to embark on this wonderful journey.
JIRÍ PROCHÁZKA
Jiri was born on June 25, 1980, in Brno, in the Czech Republic. Jirí represented the Czech Republic in junior ice dancing from 1995 to 1998. He was a 3-time Czech national junior champion, placing 6th in Junior World Championship and in the World Youth Games. Jirí represented the Czech Republic in senior ice dancing from 1999 to 2005. He was a 5-time Czech National Senior Champion, was 1st in the Golden Spin of Zagreb 2004, and 2nd in Ondrej Nepela International Memorial 2002. He is currently a director of the Skating Academy in the Czech Republic. Jirí has been performing with Ice Theatre of New York since 2006, and participated in the 2008 and 2009 tours in France.
KEVIN SIDWELL
Kevin has competed nationally in many competitions in free, pairs, and dance. He competed in three World Synchronized Skating Cups (1996-98) for the nationally selected Great Britain senior team, and internationally and nationally with local Junior and Senior Synchronized teams. For the last 5 years Kevin has performed all over the world with Disney On Ice. He also performed lead roles in exhibition shows in London, Oxford, and Birmingham, England; and in a live Christmas television ice show in Frankfurt, Germany. He is a keen tennis player, a big soccer fan, and excited to be a part of the Ice Theatre of New York Ensemble.
WENDY WILKE
Wendy was inspired to skate with the Ice Theatre of New York by the unique and artful choreography that is crafted into each number, which creates a beautiful canvas on which to skate. She toured the world with Disney on Ice's "Beauty and the Beast", "Princess Classics," and "Russian Ballet on Ice". She has skated in films, television and commercials such as "Blades of Glory", "Days of our Lives", "Mercedes," and "AT&T". Some of her choreography credits include “GAP”, “ABC Sports” commercials, “Be Good Johnny Weir” promo, “Brian Setzer Orchestra” video, and “General Hospital”. Wendy was also the on-set acting coach for the long running TV series “7th Heaven”. As a dancer she performed in Disneyland musical theatre shows “Musical Moments of Disney,” “Anamazement” and “Winter Wonderland” at Disneyland and internationally. She also performed as a lead aerialist with “Hollywood Flying - Vangard” and “Aerial Showgirls”. Wendy is forever grateful to her parents for their hard work, time, and dedication that made the sport that she loves a reality.
GREG WITTROCK
Greg is an experimental ice theater artist who uses ice skating, self-made masks, and dance to explore, communicate and characterize the human condition in his one-of-a-kind ice show "Freezer Burn". He has performed at various venues throughout New York City including, Rockefeller Center, DKNY and H&M clothing stores, and appears in the documentary film "Dances of Ecstasy". Greg's masks, characters, and choreography work is featured in the rock video, "Down to the Sea", for U.K. recording artist Tim Booth.