Learning How To Dance on Ice

At the Kiwanis Ice Arena in Saugerties, NY, seven young men and women, dressed in grey and black sweats, are moving slowly across the ice in a tight amoeba-like cluster, while swooping abstract music plays on the loudspeakers. Their movements are simple — one turns within the grouping, then another. But their skates are all perilously close together, and it’s clear they must work in close harmony with each other or else the whole group will end up in a heap on the ice.

Later, they pair up and improvise, experimenting with weight transfers, support and flow. Two women create a floating bridge — their heads could be resting on opposite riverbanks, their hips arching up to create the span.

The dancers are being directed by David Liu, a dancer and choreographer with the Ice Theatre of New York, which is completing a three-week residency in Saugerties this weekend. A three-time Olympian skater and graduate of the School of American Ballet, Liu teaches, choreographs and performs in both the skating and dance worlds.

"These first three days are just to gather material," Liu tells me. "Some of these dancers haven’t improvised before. Many of them are soloists and haven’t worked with others so they’re learning to listen, share weight, give weight, be true to their movement. After tonight we’ll start figuring out how to tie it together."

"The nature of skating is that you have that constant motion," he said. "You’re always operating on curves, which shifts your body alignments. On land, you have more control — shifting directions forward to back is easier without the momentum on ice. I love a warm studio, feeling your feet on the floor and pointing your toes so easily. But on ice you have the freedom of motion and that arc."

Moira North founded the company, the first-ever nonprofit ice dance troupe, in 1984 after a notable career as a competitor and performer. She’s succeeded in establishing ice dance as a serious art form, in part by attracting grants to support leading modern dance choreographers such as Ann Carlson, Jacqulyn Buglisi, Alisa Monte and David Dorfman. They aren’t always comfortable creating for ice, North says. She often provides a "translator" to help them adapt their ideas to the unique opportunities and restrictions of performing on ice.

In addition to the usual obstacles for dance companies, such as ever-dwindling funding, North points out that there aren’t many stages large enough to accommodate skaters, and fewer still that can be covered with ice. This means that a serious art form often has to be viewed on a rink with hockey stripes and championship banners.

The work straddles the worlds of traditional figure skating and the art-house stage. Some pieces seem like they would be perfectly at home at, say, Jacob’s Pillow; others are full of the spins, triple-jumps, and tight spangly outfits more usually seen in Olympic competitions.

The works being created in Saugerties will be shown in an open rehearsal on Sunday, April 15, from 2 to 4 p.m., at the Kiwanis Rink in Saugerties, along with a performance of a Peter Martins piece originally choreographed for ice-dancing pioneer John Curry and JoJoStarbuck, "Tango-Tango."

Liu will also perform "El Duende," choreographed by the late Carlos Orta, one of Jose Limon’s leading dancers. The audience is invited to bring their own skates and join in an open skate with company members following the show.

Is it sport or is it art? Liu asks the question differently: "Does it move you in any way? Take you to another place? Make you feel something? Make you think? It’s not always about pretty movement."