About the Company

What we do

Ice Theatre of New York®'s mission is to celebrate and advance dance on ice as a performance art. Through its performances in both traditional and site specific venues, ITNY presents ice dance that helps to open ones eyes to seeing skating in new and unexpected ways. ITNY was the very first ice dance company to receive dance program funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

  • ITNY is dedicated to performing works of dancing on ice in a variety of venues. ITNY presents many free performances featuring the current repertory throughout New York City.

  • ITNY has created exclusive works by choreographers as varied as ballet great Edward Villella, modern dance choreographers Jacqulyn Buglisi, Elisa Monte & David Parsons, Performance Artist Ann Carlson and Emmy Award Winner "Chucky" Klapow. ITNY reset "After All" by Twyla Tharp created for John Curry for ITNY and Lar Lubovitch reset "Tilt-A-Whirl" on company performers.

  • ITNY trains the company skaters and guest skating artists in its weekly Master Edge Classes at Sky Rink, Chelsea Piers.

  • We continue to collaborate with choreographers from both the dance and skating worlds, while exploring creatively exciting relationships with artists from theatre, music and new media disciplines.

How we started

Moira North saw a need for a place where skating artists could create works that integrate the sensibilities of contemporary dance, music and art challenging the perceptions and conventional definitions of figure skating. The company was founded at the end of 1984 by Ms. North in collaboration with Belgian modern dance choreographer Marc Bogaerts, figure skating coach Cecily Morrow and artist Marjorie Kouns. Modeled as a dance company, ITNY has trained a professional ensemble of skaters and built a critically acclaimed repertory of performance pieces that have been presented both nationally and internationally.

The company's Founder/Artistic Director, Moira North and Executive Director, Jirina Ribbens have equally impressive backgrounds in choreography and management and a combined experience of over three decades in production, artistic direction, and public relations.

Since its inception Ice Theatre of New York® has changed the face of figure skating by creating over 125 pieces of repertory choreographed by ballet, modern dance, skating and contemporary choreographers.

In tribute, Olympic ice skating gold medalist Dick Button has lauded ITNY as “making a forceful and valued impact on the creative artistry of the fine art of skating” through championing bold, new choreography and uniquely expressive performances in association with top ballet and ice dance masters.

How we reach the community

ITNY is dedicated to making performances accessible to diverse audiences and presents many free performances featuring the current repertory throughout New York City. ITNY also reaches its public arts and education mission by:

  • commissioning new choreography, with pieces by recognized and promising ballet and ice skating artists;

  • offering free admission to public performances each year, including our City Skate Concert Series at area seasonal rinks;

  • holding Master Classes led by ITNY dancers for skating professionals and enthusiasts at our home rink, Sky Rink;

  • offering apprentice/training programs for aspiring young ice dance artists and providing performance opportunities for this Junior Ensemble;

  • conducting our New Works and Young Artists Series for NYC public school children, which introduces them to the fine art of gliding on ice and the sport of figure skating with both a performance and a skating clinic component;

  • presenting the Will Sears Award at our annual Fall Frolic in October to a skater who has shown exceptional daring and persistence in pursuit of their passion;

  • presenting our Annual Benefit Gala honoring someone who is accomplished in our Ice Dance world and has stayed connected beyond their own performances; someone who has given back to our 'icy" world and has been a role model for others to follow.

Ice Theatre of New York® believes that it is vital to reach out to the next generation of skaters and audiences through education, community outreach, and training programs. We are committed to continuing and expanding our joyful work with public school children with the aim of introducing America’s youth to the athleticism and artistry of skating and ice dance.

We are dedicated to promoting skating as a healthy recreational activity for people of all ages by educating the public about the tremendous benefits of coordination, balance, focus, and discipline that is required and gained from learning on a challenging surface of cold slippery ice.

To support ITNY click here.

With your help we continue to create dancing on ice for all to enjoy and we reach more public school children to introduce them to the joy of dancing on ice. 

Thank you!

Highlights of the upcoming 2023- 2024 Season

  • Our Master Edge Class  on the ice at Sky Rink Chelsea Piers will start in September 2023 Date TBD. This class is taught by Ensemble Director Elisa Angeli, and company members. Contact the office about participating and to be added to our class notification list.
  • Our City Skate Concert Series will feature "Pop-Up" and longer performances by the ITNY professional ensemble, special guest artists and youth apprentices at rinks around the city. Dates TBD.
  • ITNY will again participate in the annual Dick Button Festival of Artistic Skating now in Boston, MA on October 13 & 14, 2023. 
  • Our Fall Frolic Performance and Fundraiser will take place on Friday, October 27, 2023 at Sky Rink and the Sunset Terrace at Chelsea Piers. The show will take place in an "unplugged" format without theatrical lighting. Performers will include our professional ensemble, youth performing apprentices and guest skaters. We will present the Will Sears Award to Diversify Ice. The Will Sears Award is presented to an individual or group who has shown exceptional daring and persistence in pursuit of their passion or mission. For more information on this event click here.
  • In December we will present our annual Winter Holiday Skating Celebration and Tree Lighting at Denny Farrell Riverbank State Park, free for the community, on Saturday, December 9, 2023 at 4PM.
  • On December 2, 2023 we will perform a short concert with Johnny Weir in Nemacolin, PA 
  • Our New Works and Young Artist Series (NWYAS)for NYC public school students will again take place at Riverbank State Park, Sky Rink, Wollman Rink, and in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, as well as virtual. Dates TBD 2024. First, our talented  professionals and young apprentices performed for the students. ITNY teachers and performers then engaged the students in a free skating clinic. Students learn that ice skating is more than a competitive sport; they are introduced to the integration of athleticism and artistry necessary to create dancing on ice.

Highlights of the 2022- 2023 Season

  • Our Master Edge Class  on the ice at Sky Rink Chelsea Piers took place from September 2022 through June 2023. This class is taught by Ensemble Director Elisa Angeli, company members Sarah France and Danil Berdnikov and guest artist Beth Woronoff. Close to 150 unique skaters participated throughout the season. Contact the office about participating and to be added to our class notification list for when we start again in the fall. 
  • Our City Skate Concert Series featured "Pop-Up" and longer performances by the ITNY professional ensemble, special guest artists and youth apprentices from November 2021 through March 2023. We performed at Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park, Riverbank State Park, The Rink at Rockefeller Center, Wollman Rink, and LeFrak Center at Lakeside, Brooklyn.
  • ITNY participated in the inaugural Dick Button Festival of Artistic Skating in Lake Placid, NY on October 1 & 2, 2022. Sarah France conducted a choreography clinic and Danil Berdnikov, Sarah France, Valerie Levine and Liz Yoshiko Schmidt performed.
  • Our Fall Frolic Performance and Fundraiser took place on Thursday, October 27, 2022 at Sky Rink and the Sunset Terrace at Chelsea Piers. ITNY presented eleven pieces total, in an "unplugged" format without theatrical lighting. Performers included our professional ensemble, youth performing apprentices and guest skaters, World Junior Champions Oona and Gage Brown, and Olympian Donovan Carrillo. We presented the Will Sears Award to Mexican National Champion Donovan Carrillo and his Coach Gregorio Nunez. The Will Sears Award is presented to a skater who has shown exceptional daring and persistence in pursuit of their passion.
  • ITNY presented The Unseen, with Multidisciplinary Artist and Educator LaJuné McMillian. The Unseen is a real-time motion capture performance on ice showcasing, celebrating, and honoring Black figure skaters of the past and present. The new media event featured a live performance by Theron "TJ" James on synthetic ice at ONX Studio.
  • In December we presented our annual Winter Holiday Skating Celebration and Tree Lighting at Denny Farrell Riverbank State Park, free for the community, on Saturday, December 10, 2022 at 4PM.
  • ITNY provided a skating Santa, elves and the official ambassador of Rockefeller Center, "Roxy the Owl," at Rockefeller Center. Roxy was even invited to participate in Rockefeller Center's Tree Lighting Ceremony.
  • ITNY participated in the Tree Lighting Show at Bank of America Village at Bryant Park with Oona and Gage Brown. 
  • In December 2022 we performed with Johnny Weir in Nemacolin, PA , and in January 2023 we presented a performance of Of Water and Ice at the World University Games in Lake Placid, NY. 
  • Our annual Benefit Gala and Performance took place on May 8, 2023. The event took place at The Lighthouse, Chelsea Piers (following the performance at Sky Rink).
  • The Gala performance is part of our three-night Home Season at Sky Rink Chelsea Piers, which featured the ITNY Ensemble, youth performing apprentices and guest performers Oona and Gage Brown, Rohene Ward and Jason Brown joined us on Gala Night. The performances took place on Friday, May 5, Saturday May 6 and Monday May 8, 2022 (performances at 7PM on May 5&6 and 6:30PM on May 8th at Sky Rink, Chelsea Piers).
  • We held 12 in-person sessions of our educational outreach programming, New Works and Young Artist Series (NWYAS), for NYC public school students at Riverbank State Park, Sky Rink, Wollman Rink, and in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, as well as one virtual session with students from Staten Island and Queens. First, our talented  professionals and young apprentices performed for the students. ITNY teachers and performers then engaged the students in a free skating clinic. Students learn that ice skating is more than a competitive sport; they are introduced to the integration of athleticism and artistry necessary to create dancing on ice.

 

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