Staff
MOIRA NORTH - Founder/Artistic Director
Moira was designated one of the 25 Most Influential Names in Figure Skating by International Figure Skating Magazine in 1998 and 2003 for being a driving force in the development of figure skating as a performing art. She and partner Patrick Dean skated Ice Theatre's first work, a collaboration with dance choreographer Marc Bogaerts, which won them first place in the 1984 Professional Championships in Jaca, Spain. In her subsequent work as Artistic Director of Ice Theatre, Moira has continued to integrate the work of dance and performance artists into the repertory of ice choreography and classes. Moira's artistic credits include teaching actress Ileana Douglas to skate for her role in the film To Die For; teaching and choreographing a skating scene in the film The Preacher's Wife with Whitney Houston and Denzel Washington; choreographing five productions of Montreal Fashions on Ice for the Quebec Delegation at Rockefeller Plaza; and choreographing the opening ceremonies for both the National Hockey League All-Stars Game and World Cup Hockey. She also served as creative consultant for Arts & Entertainment's Winter Solstice on Ice, a television special aired during the 1999 holiday season.
JIRINA RIBBENS - Executive Director
Jirina Ribbens joined the Ice Theatre of New York
staff in December 2004, after serving on the Board since the founding
of the company. Over the past 20 years Ribbens has worked in a variety
of positions in the entertainment and sports industries, including as
Olympic sports consultant and producer for seven Olympic Winter Games
and two Summer Games. In 2002 she was Honored with the 2002 Sports Emmy
for Outstanding Live Sports Special as Associate Producer with NBC for
the Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games. During her career at Candid
Productions (later SFX Sports/Clear Channel Entertainment) she produced
and managed televised events worldwide with two-time Olympic Figure
Skating Champion Dick Button. Ribbens holds a Master of Arts Degree in
Foreign Languages from the State University of Antwerp, Belgium and a
coaching certification in figure skating and artistic roller skating
from the Coaches Training Academy in Cologne, Germany. She is fluent in
seven languages. Jirina is happily married to Christopher Archer and they reside in Harlem.