Press Releases
Downtown Ice Press Release
November 5th, 2005
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dance on Ice closes Dance Week
in San Jose
April 4, 2004
American Ice Theatre (AIT), led by Artistic Director and
choreographer Jodi Porter, is an ensemble of nationally
recognized and accomplished figure skaters from around
the Bay Area. AIT will be presenting a new work at "Dance
on Ice" entitled "Sunset Tango", that includes dancers
from Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley. Guest starring in
"Sunset Tango" will be 2001 World Champion and Olympian
Maurizio Margaglio (Currently skating a professional career
with partner Barbara Fusar-Poli in Italy) and former star of
"Tap Dogs", dancer Anthony Lo Cascio. "By incorporating
performing artists, I hope to blur the lines between art
and sport," says Porter." These are true cultural athletes."
Marina Klimova, three time Olympic Medallist and World
Champion (with partner Sergei Ponomarenko) is a special
guest choreographer collaborating on a section for ice-dancers.
Performing Artists for "Dance on Ice 2004" will include American
Ice Theatre, Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley, SDT Bay Area Dance,
as well as skating ensembles from Logitech Ice Center-San Jose,
Fremont, and Redwood City. "We hope to make this an inclusive
event that broadens both the skating and dance communities."
The festival is free for participants and spectators as well.
AIT performers include: Allison Best, Gin Lily Chang, Kristina
Feliciano, Michael Kass, Bilal Kheir, Lisa Menestrina, Alicia
Piscatelli, Jodi Porter, Jennifer Pruett, and Julia Stoller.
"Dance on Ice 2004" is co-presented by Logitech Ice as a part
of Bay Area Celebrates National Dance Week. The event is
scheduled May 2, 2004, 10:30am-12:45pm at Logitech Ice Center,
10th Street in San Jose, California. For additional information
call Jodi Porter 650.714.4263 or e-mail
Jodi Porter
Event Sanctioned by the USFSA, hosted by the Peninsula Figure
Skating Club.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
San Jose Stealth "Spy Girls"
New Dance Team named
January 7, 2004
Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley ballet dancers Erin Duffy, Jennifer
Fitzgerald, Tiffany Glenn, Erena Ishii, Ali Meijer, and Dalia Rawson will
help kick off the season home opener for the San Jose Stealth, a new
professional Lacrosse Team. "The Spy Girls" dance team will provide pre-game
and intermission entertainment for the club. Director Jodi Porter, who also
serves as Associate Director for Ballet San Jose School, had this to say.
"This is a way for our performers to incorporate dance into sporting events
as a way of attracting new audiences and expanding people's awareness of
ballet as entertainment AND as athletics. You can't believe how strong
these women are and how well they move...they are true 'cultural athletes'!
They bring a discipline and a dynamic element to sports that is fresh and
powerful." The Spy Girls will make their debut on Saturday, January 10th at HP
Pavilion, 7:30pm.
Porter (herself a choreographer and a former professional skater) also leads
American Ice Theatre (AIT), which includes local professional and
competitive skaters Allison Best, Gin Lily Chang, Kristina Feliciano, Billy
Kier, Nicholas Roby, and Julia Stoller. The company, which combines ice
skating and dance, will perform a preview of Ballet San Jose's upcoming
romantic comedy, Coppélia for San Jose Shark's "Family Night" (Sharks vs.
Minnesota) on Saturday, January 24th at HP Pavilion, 7:30pm. Skaters are
trained in ballet in the studio before beginning to work on the ice. Porter
aims to integrate the technical elements of dance while making it fun and
entertaining for both the skaters and the crowd.
American Ice Theatre also gives an "Encore Performance" at Downtown Ice, the
outdoor ice rink located next to the Marriott Hotel on Market Street on
Sunday, January 18th at 5:30pm. AIT will perform their celebration of
Ballet San Jose's Coppélia and several other pieces including
Illumination and Celebrate, a fun send-off for the outdoor ice rink
which is scheduled to close on January 20th.
The performance is free to the public.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Downtown Ice 2003 Opens with a Performance by American Ice Theatre
October 30, 2003
American Ice Theatre, a new ice ballet company based in San Jose, is set to
open Downtown Ice 2003 on Thursday, November 20, 2003.
American Ice Theatre (AIT), led by Artistic Director and choreographer Jodi Porter,
is an ensemble of nationally recognized figure skaters from around the Bay Area.
Choreographer for the Opening of the Exhibition of Champions at the
XIX Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake and holding a degree in Modern Dance from
the University of Utah, Ms. Porter's vision is to transform the worlds of skating
and dance by merging the two art forms together.
AIT's skaters are required to attend modern dance class, given by Ms. Porter.
The performance pieces are set and rehearsed in the studio for many hours long
before the company takes to the ice. "The result is a new art form unique to
both dance and ice skating, and American Ice Theatre hopes to be a pioneer,
setting the stage for 'ice ballet', for lack of a better term" says Ms. Porter.
As part of the Downtown Ice 2003 Grand Opening, AIT will perform a Holiday Medley
including a new work from Ms. Porter entitled Illumination, for at trio set to
Pie Jesu. As well, AIT will perform a tribute to Dennis Nahat's The Nutcracker.
Mr. Nahat is the Artistic Director of Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley.
Performers will include Ms. Porter as well as former national competitor Kristina
Feliciano, Allison Best and Nicholas Roby. The cast will be joined by Ballet San
Jose's Mouse King for pictures with the kids. A special treat for the whole family!
Downtown Ice 2003 is presented by Knight Ridder and produced by the San Jose Downtown
Association, and opens Thursday, November 20, 2003 at 6PM, and is located on the
corner of Market and Viola Streets. (Adjacent to San Jose McEnery Convention Center.)
For more information visit http://www.sjdowntown.com,
call Jodi Porter 650.714.4263 or e-mail
jporter@americanicetheatre.org.
Photos available upon request.
-AIT-
