On a steel grey winter morning, the ice at Sky Rink was silent.A Zamboni driver took his leave, having finished the job of smoothing the frozen indoor surface with a fresh coat of water. From the highest row in the bleachers, the only movement in sight came through the windows, where steam pipes busily gasped and puffed city heat into the air over Manhattan’s Hudson River. It was strangely peaceful.But the rented spaces at Chelsea Piers – a 28-acre sports and entertainment complex holding court from 17th to 23rd streets never stay empty for long. The Ice Theatre of New York (ITNY) figure skating company soon arrived to rehearse for the new 2016 season. Experimenting with unconventional choreography and provocative themes, the company is known for challenging pre-conceptions of figure skating. On that front, this season is shaping up for a breakthrough.The Rehearsal As if on cue, a wall clock struck 11:30am and the sound of violins began to fill the space. Before I could place the song - a somber string version of Coldplay’s “Fix You” - the first pair of white skates hit the ice, followed closely by a second.Two young blonde women, Jessica and ‘Susha’ for short (her Russian name is Ksenia) skated to the center of the rink, and began marking choreography. Both arms up. Twirl. Both arms down. Lunge. One arabesque. Another. They began to move through space in tandem, curling parallel ribbons into the ice.With each new exhale, they seemed to drop deeper into each other’s rhythms. It was like watching birds in flight. One graceful being, mirroring another in mid-air – with the entire trip based on mutual, innate trust.As any figure skater will tell you, trusting your partner is a given. And at this particular juncture, it is crucial. These skaters are less than two weeks away from their next performance, kicking off the 2016 City Skate Concert Series at Rockefeller Center.“I’m excited to skate at Rock Center. Getting back into performing makes me realize I really do love skating,” said Ksenia Makarova, a 23-year old who stopped competitive skating after suffering a broken hip. Makarova was a 2009 Russian national champion, and placed 10th in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.Her ITNY peers clearly share her passion, but express it very differently. At last week’s rehearsal, for instance, two male skaters practiced their solos with a sense of athleticism, aggression, and sensuality.“Ah, God, I'm so off today!” cried Michael Paul Dionysiou, after two rounds of his self-choreographed solo, which is set to an American Idol version of “Feeling Good” by Adam Lambert.Muscling his way into it, he round kicked, axel jumped and hydro-bladed to the rock refrain, balancing the bursts with silky backbends and languorous lunges. He tested himself, pushed himself, and ultimately lost himself in the music. But if he missed his mark, he started over.Everyone in rehearsal (five of the theatre company’s 10 members) was affected by Dionysiou’s fiery energy. Suddenly practicing started to look a lot more like performing. Dan Donigan, for one, was not going to be upstaged. A skater by day and drag queen by night, Donigan is also known as “MILK” and has become a fixture in NYC nightlife. Executed with long lean limbs, his lyrical choreography can be measured in equal parts by angst and longing. The rink, for him, is clearly another stage.“I love the freedom of letting go to interpret the music. It’s artistic and experimental – and collaborative. We’re not so focused on elements. We’re creating an image of what we feel with the music,” said Dionysiou during a post-rehearsal interview. Born and raised in the North Bronx, hip-hop and street-style jazz dance have inspired his skating style since he began practicing at the age of 12.From all walks of life, these skaters are compelled by the art of figure skating. For Jessica Huot, the Skating Director at Chelsea Piers, it’s about telling a story.“I fell in love with performance as a kid playing Clara in the Nutcracker. Each part of the music dictates where you are in the story. With ice dancing, the question is - what will the audience relate to? What story are you telling? I try to bring something new to the piece every time,” said Huot, who hails from Massachusetts. Evidently, Huot shone in her first audition, and company founder Moira North immediately invited her to join ITNY. The Performance The Ice Theatre of New York’s stated mission is “to elevate dance on ice as performance art.” Founded in 1984 by Moira North, the nonprofit company incorporates contemporary dance and unorthodox music into figure skating.“I’m always looking outside the dance world for ideas on how to create more of a social significance beyond being beautiful,” said Moira North, sitting in her Chelsea Piers office. Wearing a black beret, flamboyant scarf, and thick-rimmed black spectacles, you could fairly assume she’s an eccentric artist. But she’s also a savvy businesswoman, who’s kept this shop running for 30 years, renting New York rinks for $400 per hour. “Ice time is expensive,” she adds, eyes rolling.A former figure skater herself, North convinced others to believe in her cause. ITNY is the first figure skating 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.They’ve given her inches, so naturally she wants to run miles. North’s future goals for the company, as she told Culture+Travel last week, are ambitious: “Outside the box ideas come from outside the rink. I hope to find more venues for performance. I’m thinking ice at the Whitney [Museum], or an installation at the Kitchen arts center. Or, we can put ice onstage - the Gagosian Gallery is what I’m thinking.”Meanwhile, while her plans take shape, we await the Rockefeller Center Concert Series on January 27th, where the only performance to expect is the unexpected.Follow us on Twitter @Cultravel
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