Ice Theatre of New York City's Skate Pop Up Concerts (FREE)
Company:
Ice Theatre of New York
Ice Theatre of New York (ITNY) presents 2022 City Skate Pop Up Concerts on Tuesday, February 8 and Thursday, February 10, 2022 at 12:40 pm, in a series that continues through February 17, 2022 at 12:40pm, at The Rink at Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park. ITNY performers on the February 8 & 10 performances include ITNY Ensemble members, Mauro Bruni, Theron James, and Valerie Levine, and Young Performing Apprentice Aleksandr (Sasha) Fegan. The events are free and open to the public. For more information, visit https://www.icetheatre.org/pop-up-winter-performances.html.
Valerie Levine will perform Arctic Memory, by award-winning dancer/choreographer Jody Sperling, is an environmentally conscious creation. Arctic Memory had its genesis in a 43-day polar science mission north of the Arctic Circle in which Ms. Sperling was the first, and to date only choreographer-in-residence aboard a US Coast Guard icebreaker. ITNY Artistic Director, Moira North, commissioned Jody to take this choreography onto the ice with ice dancer Valerie Levine. Valerie wears a cape hand-painted with the image of fissures in Arctic sea ice, the dancer's movements suggesting a time-lapse series of floes moving and melting. Music composed by Brooks Williams & Beo Morales. Having brought the legacy of pioneering dancer Loie Fuller into the 21st century, she currently focuses on using visual-kinetic narratives to connect choreography and climate science.
Mauro Bruni will perform Afternoon of a Faun, a piece he choreographed that was inspired by Vaslav Nijisky, Rudolph Nureyev, and John Curry. Mauro received the Groundbreaker Award when Faun was first performed at the 2016 US Professional Championships. Since then, Faun has been showcased by ITNY, Moins5 in France, and at numerous other international venues. Mauro reinvented Faun in 2019 for the Billingham International Folklore Festival of World Dance, performing alongside fellow professional and Holiday on Ice star performer, Yebin Mok. Faun is performed here in its original version.
Arctic Memory
Choreographer: Jody Sperling
Performer: Valerie Levine
Music: Brooks Williams & Beo Morales
Afternoon of a Faun
Performer/choreographer: Mauro Bruni
Music: Claude Debussy
Costumes: Mauro Bruni
Inspired by Vaslav Nijisky, Rudolph Nureyev, and John Curry
Right Place Wrong Time
In honor of Black History Month
Performer/choreographer: Theron James
Costumes: Theron James
This season, ITNY will also be performing at The Rink at Rockefeller Center, Riverbank State Park, and Lefrak Center at Lakeside in Prospect Park.
*Program subject to change.
About the Performers
Mauro Bruni, MBA, BFA. A leader in the professional figure skating community, Mauro is a longtime ice performer, coach, choreographer, and show director. He has taught students in the USA, Mexico, Britain, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, France, and Austria. Credits include: Ice Theatre of London creator and founder. House of Mauro creator and founder. Navesink Country Club Artistic Director. Lead performer in numerous ice skating productions globally: most notably, Holiday on Ice star performer between 2007-2018. Show director and choreographer for productions in Europe, North America, and international waters. Head Choreographer at the Trelleborgskonståkningsklubb in Trelleborg, Sweden 2016-17. US Professional Championships Groundbreaker award winner. Moins5 choreography award winner in Monéteau, France. ProSkaters Virtual Skateoff champion. AIT certified choreographer. PSA Rated free skating coach and choreographer. Previous national and international competitor for the USA 1995-2005. Mauro first performed with ITNY in 2014. @maurojbruni
Theron James (TJ) made his ITNY debut in the 2019 City Skate Concert Series with over 10 years international coaching experience under his belt. Having competed on the national level, TJ joined his first touring ice show in 2009, and has appeared in multiple professional companies including those of Holiday On Ice, Disney On Ice, and Royal Caribbean. A Middletown, CT, native now a NYC artist, Theron – nicknamed TJ - began figure skating at age 12 after his mom won a raffle at his brother's middle school auction for lessons at the local ice arena.
Valerie Levine has been dancing tap, jazz and ballet since she was 4 years of age and started roller-skating at that time. After begging her parents for figure skating lessons, she started training at 11. She auditioned for Disney On Ice during high school and was accepted but decided to get her bachelor's degree in college first. She went on to get her Senior Ladies Moves and Pre-golds in ice dance by 19 and skated as an ice girl for the NHL teams the New York Rangers and the New York Islanders during those years. She furthered her dance knowledge while in college getting her bachelor's degree in Product Management Textiles from the Fashion Institute of Technology. She minored in dance and trained at the Broadway Dance Center in many dance styles, which led her to her current career as a professional belly dancer, ballroom dancer, Brazilian samba dancer, fire performer and the like. Valerie has collaborated on ITNY events for the past decade. You can find out more about Valerie Levine on her website: Valerinadance.com
Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park is popularly known as NYC's only free admission ice skating rink. Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park is open daily through March 6, 2022 and in addition to The Rink, the annual winter event features fun, outdoor activities including delicious food and drink offerings at The Lodge by Prime Video, the Curling Café, Cozy Igloos by Prime Video and Bumper Cars on Ice. For more information, go to WinterVillage.org.
About Ice Theatre of New York
Founded by Moira North, ITNY'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 one's 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. www.icetheatre.org City Skate Pop-Up Concerts are supported, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature. ITNY is also supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council, and NYC Council Member Mark Levine and by Dance/NYC'S Coronavirus Dance Relief Fund. Additionally, ITNY receives funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies, Lisa McGraw Figure Skating Foundation, the Will Sears Foundation, and its generous private patrons.
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