This month Kate and Theatre on Ice (TOI) Committee Chairman and judge, John Cole, speak at two PSA Theatre on Ice (TOI) webinars. The first of the two presentations (on April 9) is entitled, “Mastering the Choreographic Exercise (CE)” and the second (to be held on Monday, April 30) is entitled, “Enhancing Your TOI Performance: Tips for Choreography Analysis.”
Both webinars are delivered live, but are also recorded and available for coaches to view on-demand at any time.
Once again, Kate and Garrett Kling, have choreographed and produced this season’s “Choreographic Exercise” (CE) example video for U.S. Figure Skating’s Theatre on Ice (TOI) program.
(Each year, the U.S. Figure Skating Association provides info regarding the elements required for TOI competitions, including the CEs.)
The choreographic elements demonstrated for this 2017-2018 season are “adagio” and “diminution.” Watch now:
In addition to Garrett and Kate, AIT skaters who performed in the video are Caitlin Yankowskas, Victoria Craw, Brooke Frieling, and Julia Rapela.
This is the 4th year that Kate and Garrett have done this for USFSA, through their work with American Ice Theatre. View their TOI CE videos from earlier seasons: 2016-2017 | 2015-2016 | 2013-2014
Kate was honored to be invited to represent American Ice Theatre as a contemporary skating choreographer at the “Experiment on Ice” in Leeuwarden, Netherlands. This project brought 10 graphic, visual, and musical artists together with 10 choreographers and contemporary skaters to create pieces of work in 3 days that blend artistic outlets and create various forms of art in relation to skating.
The exploration process culminated in an outdoor performance at the Leeuwarden Christmas Market on Saturday, December 16th. Kate worked with 7 other artists ranging from actors to media artists to musicians to present a piece entitled, “Gesture.”
To learn more about this fascinating experiment, watch this Dutch news footage about the “Experiment on Ice,” starting at about 4:50:
Kate has earned her Master-level rating in Choreography from the Professional Skaters Association (PSA). This recognition represents the culmination of both online and oral exams over the course of 2.5 years as she advanced through the Registered, Certified, Senior, and now Master levels. To complete her Master rating, she had to create a 10-minute video reel of her work to defend in front of 3 examiners at the event in Chicago, IL:
This summer, Kate traveled the country widely for various coaching and choreography opportunities.
In June, she taught choreography, energy styles, and core body movement at a Grassroots2Champions (G2C) seminar in Atlanta, GA, alongside Nick Perna and Sheila Thelen.
Then in July, she again served as a yoga instructor and staff choreographer for the 120+ students at G2C Super Camp, which was held this year in Ft. Collins, CO. She also offered private lessons for choreography and was honored to work alongside Anna Matuszewski and Tommy Steenberg to create the Camp’s final production number.
Later in July, Kate returned to the Skating Club of Boston’s Summer Camp program to teach the 75 campers yoga classes, as well as offer a specialty class for on-ice movement. The Camp is located at the Babson Ice Arena and runs 2 weeks every summer.
Then in August, Kate traveled to Rochester, MN for a Movement Workshop. Working alongside Jamie Santee and the skaters at the Rochester Figure Skating Club, Kate taught an on- and off-ice Theatre on Ice (TOI) seminar focusing on energy and body movement and how that expresses emotion.
After that, working with Devon Dillon and Lisa Langley, Kate began teaching dance classes and doing choreography at the Gate City Figure Skating Club in Nashua, NH. She will be returning monthly to work with skaters from the NH area throughout the 2017-18 season.
This year, Kate choreographed for two teams competing in Indiana for the U.S. Figure Skating Theatre on Ice (TOI) Nationals. The Colonial Figure Skating Club’s team, “Broadway Blades,” entered the Intermediate division and North Shore Skating Club’s team, “Crystal Blades,” competed in the Open Division. Both teams performed their Choreographic Exercise (CE) and Free Skate programs.
Kate’s choreography was seen in Crystal Blades’ free skate, which used protective raincoats as a metaphor for exploring friendship and community, and their CE, which was set to the popular new film La La Land. She also choreographed Broadway Blades’ CE, looking at how technology and “screentime” in our society give rise to fantasy. Watch the Broadway Blades 2017 CE on YouTube:
Kate was so proud of both teams’ beautiful performances and hard work all season!
Thanks to generous sponsorship by the American Ice Theatre (AIT), Kate organized the first annual American Contemporary Skating Festival in Boston earlier this month. This unprecedented weekend event of learning, networking, and community-building was made possible through support from AIT founder Jodi Porter and co-director of AIT-Boston, John Mucko.
Attended by nearly 50 professional skaters, coaches, and choreographers from around the world, the two-day festival was devoted to exploring the art of skating both on- and off the ice through a lens of artistry, dance, and improvisation, rather than technical rules and traditional elements. The Festival’s motto, “Create, compose, communicate, collaborate, and connect” sums up its ethos.
The first day consisted of informal seminars where attendees could volunteer to present their philosophies on body movement and artistic skating and those interested in further exploration of a topic could share insights and facilitate conversations around it. The second day of the American Contemporary Skating Festival featured a showcase of several different choreographers’ pieces, displaying works-in-progress and exploring through performance the new insights gained from Day One’s learnings.
Kate was honored to be able to bring this inaugural Festival to life, providing an opportunity for the global artistic skating community to come together and share ideas, learn from each other, and improvise together in new ways. For more on #acsfest2017, see this blog post from a German attendee, and this blog’s links to watch video clips from the weekend. And save the date for an expanded American Contemporary Skating Festival next year: June 8-10, 2018.
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