Ice Theatre of New York 2019 Gala

By Terri Milner Tarquini | Photos cour

Out of humble beginnings can grow beautiful things.

When a group of “very interested professional skaters” began practicing at what was then one rink at Sky Rink in New York in the middle of the night, no one really knew where it would lead 35 years later. “We would meet at midnight or one in the morning and skate until 4 or 5 a.m.,” said Moira North, founder and artistic director of Ice Theatre of New York. “It was very grassroots; no one got paid. We used to joke that no one would recognize each other in the light of day.” What they did recognize was that there might be something… well, more.

North’s vision took the shape of creating a space where skating artists could integrate contemporary dance, music and art, and break with the conventional definitions of figure skating and launch movement on ice to the next level.

“We were all just very dedicated and excited by the idea of skating as a dance form,” North said. “For me, knowing I wasn’t a top competitor, it was finding my own voice in the sport I loved. But there were a number of top skaters who had passionate ideas and things they wanted to do on the ice that the competitive world didn’t really allow.”

Gary Beacom

In May 1988, audiences turned out to see Olympic and World champion John Curry, known for combining a variety of dance influences into his programs, as well as creative Canadian ice artist Gary Beacom. Beacom performed two programs—a 22-minute solo to original music, “Between Steel and Ice” and a piece to the sound of birds called, “Alberta Biography”—that captured the attention of the New York Times dance critic, Anna Kisselgoff, receiving a rave review and eventually afforded ITNY the funding to start daytime rehearsals.

Formed as a dance company, ITNY is a non-profit organization that has trained a professional ensemble of skaters and built a critically acclaimed repertory of over 80 performance pieces choreographed by ballet, modern dance, skating, and contemporary artists. ITNY performs both nationally and internationally.

“We have put ice on the stage,” North said, “and we want to continue developing in all directions so more people can learn about what is possible on ice.”

North and executive director Jirina Ribbens are driven by a shared desire to expand the skating horizons and bring skating in all its possible forms to audiences, the next generation of skaters and future choreographers.

Ice Theatre of New York Ensemble in "Horizons" choreographed by Douglas Webster.

Offering free admission to more than 10 public performances a year, ITNY is ground zero for training aspiring ice dance artists and conducting master classes with dancers for skating professionals and enthusiasts. The organization also holds educational programs focusing on ice dance and figure skating for children in the New York City area, capturing the students’ creative minds by presenting them with skating through a different lens.

“Our outreach program is so special,” North said. “To watch these public school kids be exposed to a performance and then get out on the ice and skate themselves. It really is very special.”

At the October gala, ITNY honored Frank Carroll with the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Hughes family with the Ice Angel award.

“We haven’t honored a lot of coaches, but, with Frank retiring, it was the obvious choice,” North said. “He has touched so many lives in skating.”

“The Hughes family is the family I want to be born into in my next life,” North laughed. “The family is involved in hockey, figure skating, outreach, and charities. They have a deep appreciation for all forms of skating.”

ITNY has the distinction as the first ice dance company to receive dance program funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Lucinda Ruh in "The Prayer" choregraphed by Robin Cousins

With so much success in the past, the goal is to continue to collaborate with choreographers from both the dance and skating worlds while exploring the outer boundaries of on-ice creativity with artists from theatre, music, installation and new media disciplines, including the MIT media lab in its Opera of the Future program, which explores concepts and techniques to expand the future of music in all its forms.

“We want to share the joy of skating while both challenging and entertaining people,” North said. “Exploring the beauty and virtuosity of all forms of skating —in ways we haven’t even thought of exploring yet—is so exciting. There’s absolutely nowhere this poetic ice exploration can’t go.”

ITNY ICE ANGEL AWARD

John and Amy Hughes

Hughes Family

By Terri Milner Tarquini

They say the apple doesn’t fall from the tree. This might be especially true for the Hughes family. Make that all of the apples. Starting with dad John Hughes, who captained the powerhouse Cornell team that went 29 and 0, laying claim to the 1970 NCAA Championship and a record still unbroken nearly 50 years later, all six Hughes children have skated, and most of the grandchildren.

“My husband spent every, single day of his life on the ice,” mom Amy Hughes said. “Then, not too long after our oldest, Rebecca, was born, I was in a rink every day.”

The family moved to Great Neck, New York, in 1981—and they immediately put down roots that grew deep at the local rink, with John playing hockey and five-year-old Rebecca (Hughes child number one) in group skating classes.

“At least one member of our family has either figure skated, played hockey or taught skating in Great Neck every season since then,” Rebecca wrote in the ITNY program, including all three of her own children.

And all six Hughes children, ages 42 to 28, were in attendance with their parents at the Ice Theatre of New York’s annual gala when they were awarded the Ice Angel Award for their ongoing contributions to figure skating and hockey. Amy Hughes made sure of that.

“I was totally blown away when I got the call that they wanted to honor us with the award, but I immediately called each kid—this kind of thing is a family decision,” Amy said. “Everybody was on board right away with no hesitation. So, the next thing I said was, ‘Here’s the date, put it on your calendars.’”

2019 Gala honorees and skaters

It’s a good guess that the Hughes passel of skating children have been used to following Amy’s directives for a long time.

“We didn’t just bring one or two kids anywhere we went—we brought everyone, everywhere,” Amy said. “It was ‘C’mon, c’mon! Everyone in! Let’s go!”

Picture it: Eight people in a Suburban loaded up with skates and everything else.

“There was never a time that there weren’t multiple pairs of skates in my car,” Amy said. “We just stacked up those smelly hockey bags and shoved everyone in.”

The family pursuit paid off in obvious ways: Most notably, Sarah Hughes (number four) is the 2002 Olympic champion and the 2001 world bronze medalist and Emily Hughes (number five) is the 2007 U.S. national silver medalist and an Olympic competitor.

However, skating is also what the family points to as having provided a solid groundwork for their lives outside the rink.

“I felt very honored that Moira and Jirina wanted to honor the whole family,” said Emily Hughes, of ITNY founder and artistic director Moira North and executive director Jirina Ribbons. “Olympian or not, the foundation skating instilled in us has been huge in how we approach everything.”

As if their immediate family wasn’t big enough, the Hughes’ built an even larger one through the skating community, key players in helping to get them through one of the hardest times in their lives: when Amy Hughes was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer in 1997.

“I was in the hospital for six weeks and the skating community came out in force and were so wonderful,” Amy said, understandably emotional. “It takes a village and there were so many people there for us—and we got to see so many of them at the ITNY gala. It was just overwhelming.”

Skating is also what the family points to as providing a platform for charities and organizations they are committed to, including Figure Skating in Harlem, an organization that provides free ice skating lessons and academic tutoring for children in the Harlem community in New York City, as well as being supporters since the inception of Skate for Hope, which raises as much as $70,000 annually for breast cancer research.

The family has a special love, however, for Ice Theatre of New York. And how do you show support if you’re a Hughes?

Well, you skate, of course.

“Ice Theatre of New York is a charity that… has been closely intertwined with our family’s skating journey since the first show Sarah performed with them in 1993,” Rebecca wrote in the ITNY program. “Sarah was eight years old and (skated) two numbers each in six shows.”

Brothers David and Matt (number two and three, respectively), couldn’t keep themselves off the ice and, by the fourth show, they had joined the acrobats on the ice because their skates were in mom’s trunk, of course. Emily began skating in ITNY shows soon after, when she was five years old, and Taylor (number six) came aboard later.

“Nobody wanted to be left out and people would always ask, ‘How many of you are there?’” Amy said. “Being able to skate in front of that big of a crowd, it had a direct effect on the joy my kids always found on the ice and at competitions and games. Ice Theatre of New York fostered all of that.”

The Hughes family sees the good that ITNY does as two-pronged.

First, there’s the community outreach.

“They let the schools come see the shows for no charge and provide them figure skates and hockey skates and get them out on the ice,” Amy said. “These are kids who live where, often, there are no ice rinks around. It is all so inclusive. Moira and Jirina have done an unbelievable job keeping it going and growing it so it can reach so many more people. They are so passionate and positive. We’re all so grateful to be honored by an organization that brings so much help and joy.”

Then, there’s what ITNY means to skating.

“Skating isn’t just a once-everyfour-years thing—it’s an all-the-time art,” Amy said. “It’s not just jumps and spins; there are so many facets to the sport. Ice Theatre of New York is about the artistry of skating and having fun on the ice. They are always thinking of new things that are amazing.”

For the family, the gala event was like a true homecoming that packed an emotional wallop of a walk down memory lane.

“We were all so overcome with gratitude seeing all of the people we have been friends with for so long who have supported us through all kinds of shows and competitions and two Olympics,” Amy said. “I can’t give you enough adjectives for how it all felt.”

“There were so many people there who have been a part of our journey,” she said. “And that journey is still going.”