These past months continue to be a trying time for our entire world. All of us at AIT wish you and your family health and safety as we enter into another wave of the pandemic across the globe. Mask up and stay well!
AIT has continued to stay busy during this uncertain time, adjusting to the virtual world by continuing to offer in-person masked & socially distanced seminars in our satellites.
One of the silver linings of this time has been connecting more with our global contemporary skating community. AIT is excited to announce partnerships with this community soon, but in the meantime, we urge you to support our friends over in Europe and sign yourself up for the 2020 Virtual UnFreeze Festival this upcoming Sunday where you can choose from different creative movement workshops to explore contemporary dance and how it can be applied to the ice.
AIT Executives, Garrett Kling & Kate McSwain, have attended in-person Unfreeze Festivals in the past and have learned so much from this amazing community! For more information on the Unfreeze Festival, check out their trailer from the 2018 Festival in Berlin.
AIT Announces BIPOC Contemporary / Artistic Skating Award at Color Your Ice: A BIPOC Virtual Event
The Figure Skating Diversity & Inclusion Alliance held their first ever virtual BIPOC event “Color Your Ice” on Sunday, November 8. AIT Faculty Joey Millet taught a movement class focusing on Six Ways of the Spine and Lauren J Williams did a yoga flow class. Shoutout to AIT Co-Exec Kate McSwain for assisting in administration for the event.
During the event, AIT and FSDIA announced the AIT Artistic/Contemporary Skating Award winner Princess Airia David who skates at the Brampton Hill Skating Academy in Brampton, Ontario. Princess will receive a complimentary registration and flight to the 2021 CORE Camp in Pleasant Prairie, WI. Congratulations Princess Airia! We can’t wait to see you next summer.
American Ice Theatre’s Online Shop is Ready for the Holidays
At our AIT Shop, you can get fully outfitted with a variety of items including hoodies, short and long sleeve shirts, baseball caps, tote bags, backpacks, and face masks. Check back soon for details about Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals!
Virtual Adult Weekend Skateaway
Although we were disappointed that the first ever live Adult Weekend Skateaway in Austin, TX had to be cancelled due to COVID-19, we had a great time gathering together with the adult skating community from across the United States for a full virtual weekend of dance, yoga, conditioning, creative movement – and even an end-of-day happy hour!
A big thank you to our presenters Yebin Mok, Tashe Smith (Toshfit), Chiquita Limer, Elin Schran, Lauren J. Williams, Kate McSwain, and Garrett Kling for their skill, expertise and passion during the Skateaway weekend.
Mark your calendars and cross your fingers for Fall 2021 for the in-person Adult Weekend Skateaway in Austin, TX !
AIT MSP UPDATE
The American Ice Theatre MSP Performance Ensemble is planning a series of outdoor performances around the Twin Cities this winter season. Check out the group of skaters in their promo video here.
AIT MSP includes Director Garrett Kling, Assistant Director Joey Millet, and the company skaters Aili Arnovich, Seebie Baga, Shannon Brakke, Christine Brennan, Susanna Butler, Kate Charbonneau Shurts, Claire K Godfrey, Izzi Gorowsky, Steven Grant, Haley Jostes, Lea Kalisch, Courtney Kuhn, Elise Little, Tara Lorenz, Ciara Pinckney, Maria Starr, and Tess Trejo.
The company originally planned to schedule their first outdoor performance on December 19, but with ice rinks shut down until mid-December, they are postponing their season to hopefully resume in January with scheduled performances. More updates to come!
AIT MSP held two social distance seminars over the past few months. The fall seminar on Friday, October 16 at the Inver Grove Heights Community Center featured professional figure skater Maria Starr, who taught a contemporary combo and led skaters through an edge class. The summer seminar, held at the St. Louis Park Recreation Center on Sunday, August 16 was led by Kling and Millet bringing participants through the Six Ways of the Spine curriculum and a contemporary ice combo.
AIT Boston Update
AIT Boston fall social distance seminar in October explored aesthetic movement with clear lines and shapes versus organic movement with raw expression. Guest AIT-Certified Choreographer, Devon Dillon Liebke, taught a combo to Demi Lovato’s new song, “Still Have Me.” Masks and social distancing can’t keep us from exploring improvisation and learning contemporary choreography with each other at a safe distance!
We are looking forward to the AIT Boston Social Distance Winter Seminar in January 2021 – check out our AIT Calendar for dates.
AIT NYC Update
Chiquita Limer, AIT NYC Director, traveled to the Blue Ridge Figure Skating Club in Pittson, PA on Sunday, October 25 and led participants through contemporary skating, Six Ways of the Spine, improvisation technique, choreography and mind-body-spirit connectivity. For most of the skaters, it was their first time exploring contemporary skating! We are looking forward to more seminars with the BRFSC.
AIT Offers Monthly Virtual Classes & Seminars
Throughout the pandemic, AIT has continued to hold monthly virtual classes on the second Sunday of the month with each satellites being represented by one of our four satellite companies. In addition, on the last Sunday of the month Lauren Williams teaches a yoga flow class. These classes are always at 1:00 PM Eastern / 12:00 PM Central and are 45 minutes long.
You can join us on Zoom at 537-086-7812 (password AIT) or catch the class on IG Live. A suggested donation of $10 is appreciated for each class.
AIT partnered with the Coyotes Figure Skating Club for a virtual class series September 12 – October 3. AIT Faculty included Chiquita Limer (contemporary dance), Carey Tinkelenberg (mindfulness), Lauren Williams (yoga), Cordero Zuckerman (hip-hop dance) and Garrett Kling & Kate McSwain (improv techniques).
Young Artists Showcase 2020 is a Wrap!
Congratulations to the 2020 Young Artists Showcase Champion, Giulia Isceri! Giulia, 24-years-old from Zurich, Switzerland came from behind to win the competition with 306.5 stars narrowly surpassing runner-up Adriene Ott, 28-years-old from the United States who received a total of 302.5 stars. As the winner of #YAS2020, Giulia will receive a variety of mentorship and choreographic opportunities with AIT In the coming year including presenting choreography at AIT’s American Contemporary Skating Festival In the summer of 2021 and complimentary enrollment in AIT’s Master Choreography Techniques course.
The 2021 Young Artists Showcase Application will go live Tuesday, December 1. Check out more information on YAS here and be sure to catch up on the all the action from the 2020 YAS Season.
CORE Camp Goes Virtual in 2020
Virtual #CORECamp2020 took place July 23-25 with three jam-packed days of classes with world-class instructors, counselors and participants from 16 states and 4 countries schweiz-libido.com.
Thank you to our faculty: Chiquita Limer (Limer Isolation Technique), Lauren J. Williams (Yoga), & Anna Matuszewski (Hip Hop), John Mucko & Molly Olson Poniatowski (Storytelling & Theatrics in Movement), Drew Meekins (Contemporary Dance), Da’Rius Malone (Modern Dance), Angela Como (Ballet for Figure Skaters), Carey Tinkelenberg (Mindfulness), and Garrett Kling & Kate McSwain (Improv Techniques).
Special shout out to our counselors Isaac Lindy, Rachel Williamson, Emily Murdach, Toby Evett, Gillian Robidas, Abigail Berkowitz, Jacqueline Benson, & Joey Millet, and all our campers for a memorable day! Can’t wait to see you all next year in person for our 2021 Camp planned for the tentative dates of July 15-18 at RecPlex Arena in Pleasant Prairie WI.
Katie Luburich Receives the Key to Creativity Award
AIT is proud to announce the 2020 Key to Creativity Award winner: Katie Luburich!
Katie is Co-Director of CORE Camp, Learn to Skate Events Coordinator, and Figure Skating Instructor at RecPlex Ice Arena in Pleasant Prairie, WI. Her passion, positivity, and incredible organizational skills were vital in launching our first ever CORE Camp last summer. We look forward to continuing our work with Katie and are so grateful for her partnership.
The Key to Creativity Award is given to a coach, performer, director, or MCT graduate who supports American Ice Theatre’s vision by working to empower and nurture artistic skating and provide opportunities for education, performance, and/or outreach through AIT’s curriculum and resources. This award was originally created by AIT Director of Grassroots Development, John Mucko.
AIT Testimonials
AIT is launching a new Testimonial Series and our first comes from AIT MSP Assistant Director Joey Millet. Learn about how Joey got connected with AIT and how he’s continued to grow his love for skating, teaching and performing within the organization.
If you’re interested in sharing your American Ice Theatre story, experience, or inspiring moment – please do not hesitate to contact us directly or send a video to info@americanicetheatre.org. We want to hear from you!