Portraits of Women (POW) is a 22 minute ballet for 7 female ice skaters/dancers all over the age of 30.  The work shows singular empowered women and women working together as a community.  Each woman is unique in her movements and shows strength either through tenderness, leadership, maternal caring or as defender of her tribe.  In the extremely tradition bound Figure Skating world we are discarding all of the relied upon rules in favor of our own explorations.

POW’s complex movement vocabulary, created during structured improvisations allows the magic of the right brain to freely move and pursue movement ideas that spring up in the moment.  “David offers suggestions through words or movement and I am the conduit.  We record these sessions and then study the footage, curating what we find interesting.  Often, it a movement that a traditional figure skater would not notice, at other times it is a translation of a contemporary dance movement, recognizable but not the same.  We discuss how these choices impact the overall work, where are we heading with this series of choices.  Music is also a strong dictator of direction, at times changing music out as the work comes into focus.”

https://youtu.be/ipVNQz-ZK8Ehttps://youtu.be/N-Y2hP7zGQA