Be dazzled by some of the city's most talented skaters! Ice Theatre of New York brings breathtaking ice choreography performed by their young skating apprentices and professional ensemble members to The Rink. We invite you to the rink deck watch this lunchtime performance.
Ice Theatre of New York'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 ones eyes to seeing skating in new and unexpected ways.
Today's performance features pieces performed by Valerie Levine ("Arctic Memory"), Sarah Baetge ("Love", choreographed for ITNY by Lorna Brown) and Emmanuel Savary ("Lion King", choreographed by Emmanuel Savary).
Valerie Levine has collaborated on ITNY events for the past two decades and has been roller-skating as well as dancing tap, jazz, and ballet since the age of four. She started training in figure skating at 11, going to compete and test until graduating high school, when she pursued her Bachelor's degree at Fashion Institute of Technology. At 19, she earned her gold level in Senior Ladies Moves and pre-golds in ice dance before skating professionally. While earning her BS in Product Management Textiles from FIT, she minored in dance and trained at Broadway Dance Center in many dance styles, leading to an off-ice career as a professional belly dancer, ballroom dancer, and samba dancer. She currently teaches and performs these styles worldwide, while managing her own entertainment company.
Sarah Baetge is an Asian American artist from Los Angeles, who has 19 years of experience in competitive figure skating. She has performed for ITNY several times, as a performing apprentice, including performances in Billingham, UK for the tribute show “The Creative Spirit of John Curry.” Sarah's skating showcases a blend of strength and fluidity, symbolizing the duality of life—wild and tame. Her movements on ice serve as a canvas for deeper human connections, fostering empathy, understanding, and the power of healing through the medium of skating. Sarah joinied the ITNY Ensemble in 2024.
Emmanuel Savary won the US Junior Championships in 2009 and was the National Silver medalist at the novice level. In 2020, Emmanuel and Starr Andrews were the only two African Americans to take part in the U.S. Championships. Emmanuel is also a student at the University of Delaware, studying aerospace engineering. He is part of an acapella singing group and enjoys dancing. Emmanuel is the brother of Joel Savary, the founder of Diversify Ice (2023 Will Sears Honoree), and enjoys being a mentor to other minority skaters through Diversify Ice.