Ice Theatre Of New York To Host Edge Classes Wednesdays, September Through December

Ice Theatre of New York will present Edge Classes on Wednesdays at 1:30pm, September 14, 2022 through December 21, 2022 at Sky Rink, Chelsea Piers, NYC. Skaters can drop in for one session, or attend all fifteen. Single sessions are $20 each, a ten-class subscription is $150, and a fifteen-class subscription is $200. To register, please visit: https://www.icetheatre.org/tickets.html.

Taught by ITNY Ensemble Director, Elisa Angeli, the Edge Class allows adult figure skaters to hone their skating skills in a 60-minute session set to music, followed by an additional 20 minutes of free skating. Skaters must be proficient in their forward and backward skating with speed, able to do forward outside/inside three turns, and forward inside mohawks. Classes begin with simple exercises, then moves on to more complex patterns and ensemble skating - "birding" - exercises. Class will be taught by our Ensemble Director, Elisa Angeli or a guest ITNY teacher.

Developed by Olympic Champion John Curry as a daily class for his skating company, the format is now used to teach the Ice Theatre Ensemble, competitive, test, and recreational skaters. The classes' on-ice format is similar to that of a dance class with a syllabus of exercises is taught to a variety of music choices. Participants practice a sequence of steps ranging from basic to more advanced difficulties. Sequences are then performed in small groups to develop spatial sensitivity and to facilitate ensemble choreography. The basic material may be incorporated into skaters' daily warm-up routines while more advanced sequences may be modified for use in programming.

Mastery of the edges is the key to skating. The skater of the future will be the one who combines the athleticism of the triple/quadruple jump with the artistry that comes only through the mastery of the edges. Jumps and flying spins are energetic developments of edges and turns that are performed on the surface of the ice. Balance on these basic edges and turns not only facilitate athleticism but also are inseparable from artistry.

In the ITNY edge classes, skaters gain a repertory of exercises designed to develop skills necessary for accomplishing the athletic elements of skating. These exercises help create the freedom of ice movement essential to style. The classes focus in-depth on these basics:

• Grounded knee bend (Plié)

• Dynamic placement of the free leg

• Twisting and the use of the arms to shape space

• Full use of the eyes and head for balance and style

Through full and proper use of the body, skaters come in contact with their basic strengths and ultimately discover their own unique ice personalities.

Elisa Angeli (Ensemble Director) is an Italian ice dancer with recognition from the Italian Federation for Ice Skating, who studied Ballet with Ludmilla Vlassova (Bolshoi) and Giovanna Franzosi in Milan, and with Christine Wright at the Gibney Dance Center. She also studied Modern and Contemporary Dance at the Open Dance Center, New York, and at the Music, Art and Shows School, Milan. She studied Aerial Silks at the Streb Lab and at the Trapeze School in New York. Elisa had several years of contortion and extreme flexibility classes with J. Noan and O. Karmansky. Her expertise as a circus arts specialist allows Elisa to bring a unique element of excitement when skating as a principal performer and aerialist with ITNY. In 2009, Elisa participated with Ice Theatre of New York at the Premiere of "Wintuk" by Cirque du Soleil at Madison Square Garden. In Italy, she was an aerialist with the tour "Italian Champions on Ice," with Ghiaccio Spettacolo, and performed in Munich with Spotlight Productions. Elisa has been with ITNY since 2008, and was on ITNY's 2008 tour in France. In 2015 she became ITNY's Ensemble Director. Elisa also works with Cirque-tacular Entertainment as an aerialist (since 2014), with which she performed in the show "The Art of Circus" in September 2016.

About the 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 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.