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Ice Theatre of New York City announces Skate Pop Up Concert at The Governors Island Ice Sculpture Show

Company:
Ice Theatre of New York

Ice Theatre of New York (ITNY) presents 2022 City Skate Pop Up Concerts on Saturday, February 26, 2022 at 1:30 pm at the Governor's Island Winter Village as part of Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC) and the Trust for Governors Island's first-ever Ice Sculpture Show. ITNY performers include Danil Berdnikov, Valerie Levine and Liz Yoshiko Schmidt. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit https://www.icetheatre.org/pop-up-winter-performances.html.

 

Arctic Memory

Performer: Valerie Levine

Choreographer: Jody Sperling

Music composed by Brooks Williams and Beo Morales

Costume by Mary Jo Mecca

This version of "Arctic Memory" is adapted from material Sperling developed during a 43-day polar science mission to the Arctic. While there, Sperling danced on sea ice and made the short film "Ice Floe," winner of a Creative Climate Award. The work draws inspiration from modern-dance pioneer Lo e Fuller. The costume is hand-painted with designs suggestive of Arctic pack ice.

 

When Atoms Embrace

Performer: Liz Yoshiko Schmidt

Choreographer: Lorna Brown 

Music by Arvo Part — "Spiegel im Spiegel"

Costume by Lorna Brown

"Lay me in a field of wild flowers, let the scent perfume the hours.

When The Atoms embrace and time changes pace, I find my magical powers."

 

Take Five

Performer: Danil Berdnikov

Choreographer: Eliot Halverson

Music: Dave Brubeck

 

*Program subject to change

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This season, ITNY will also be performing at The Rink at Rockefeller Center, The Rink at Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park, Wollman Rink in Central Park, Riverbank State Park, and Lefrak Center at Lakeside in Prospect Park.

In September 2021, the Trust for Governors Island and the City of New York announced that Governors Island would be open to the public year-round for the first time in history, with daily, year-round NYC Ferry service on the South Brooklyn Route in addition to Trust-operated ferries from the Battery Maritime Building at 10 South Street in Lower Manhattan. For NYC Ferry service schedules, visit ferry.nyc. For general Governors Island visitor information, and for a full list of ferry service options, visit govisland.org.

 

About the Performers

Danil Berdnikov is from the city of Samara in Russia. Danil was a part of junior national team and competed within Russia until he completed high school. Danil then decided to move to Moscow to continue his education and to join Stage Entertainment Russia for an opportunity to begin performing as an ice skater. Performing for an audience, Danil fell in love with skating in a new way, so he has continued to skate professionally for the past eight years. Over the course of his professional skating career Danil had a privilege of working for Willy Bietak Productions and Wheeler Productions in the US, Stageworks Worldwide Production in the UK, Holiday on Ice Productions and Dynamic Shows Entertainment in the EU, Stage Entertainment Russia. Ice skating has brought Danil many different opportunities, including the chance to travel the world and do what he truly loves. He is very grateful to his parents, coaches, choreographers, and fellow skaters who have supported him along the way, and he is very excited to fulfill another incredible dream of performing for Ice Theatre of New York, Inc.®

 

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 

 

Elizabeth (Liz) Yoshiko Schmidt has been skating with ITNY since 2017. Luscious edges, artistic dynamic movement, and traditional ice dancing inform her skating and professional career which began in 2013 at the age of 18, performing internationally in Germany and across the US. A Japanese/German American skater who hails from Chicago, IL, she recently moved from San Francisco, CA to New York City. A U.S. Figure Skating Double Gold medalist in Freestyle and Moves in the Field, and a Silver medalist in Ice Dancing, Liz received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2018, and has exhibited her work across the Bay Area.

 

About Ice Theatre of New York

Ice Theatre of New York (ITNY) exists to create and advance ice dance as (an ensemble) performing art form with its professional ice dance company. ITNY is also dedicated to providing education and to presenting public performances to people of all ages. We aim to inspire people to experience the balance, flow and flight of skating and to engage in a lifelong healthy activity. Founded in 1984 by Moira North, Ice Theatre of New York has changed the face of figure skating by creating works that integrate the sensibilities of contemporary dance, music and art challenging the perceptions and conventional definitions of figure skating. Through its performances in both traditional and site-specific venues, ITNY presents ice dance that opens one's eyes to seeing skating in unexpected ways. ITNY was the 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. For more information, visit 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.

 

About Governors Island

Governors Island is a 172-acre island in the heart of New York Harbor. Just minutes from Lower Manhattan and the Brooklyn waterfront by ferry, the Island is a popular year-round destination for New Yorkers and visitors from around the world. An award-winning park complements its dozens of historic buildings, year-round educational and cultural facilities, rich arts and culture program and 22-acre National Monument managed by the National Park Service. Looking ahead, the long-term vision for Governors Island focuses continuing to expand public access by enlivening the Island with transformative public art and culture, extraordinary recreational and open space, and research and education dedicated to addressing the global climate crisis. With unparalleled historic, natural and waterfront resources, Governors Island is a vibrant and constantly evolving public place and resource for all New Yorkers to enjoy. Learn more at govisland.org.