Entertainment
Ice Theatre of New York Presents Edge Class
Ice Theatre of New York (ITNY) presents Edge Class on Wednesdays at 1:30pm, January 12, 2022 through March 23, 2022 at Sky Rink, Chelsea Piers, NY. The 11 consecutive sessions are $165 and drop-in classes are $20. To register, please click here.
Taught by ITNY Ensemble Director, Elisa Angeli, the Edge Class allows adult figure skaters to hone their skating skills in a 50-minute session set to music, followed by an additional 15 minutes of free skating. Skaters must be proficient in their forward and backward skating with speed, able to do forward outside/inside three turns, and forward inside mohawks. Classes begin with simple exercises, then moves on to more complex patterns and ensemble skating – “birding” – exercises. Class will be taught by our Ensemble Director, Elisa Angeli or guest ITNY teacher.
Please note that if you are looking for an instructional class, you may want to take ITNY’s Tuesday Adult Edge class by our performer, Sarah France, at City Ice Pavilion. Click here for more information.
Developed by Olympic Champion John Curry as a daily class for his skating company, the format is now used to teach the Ice Theatre Ensemble and guest skaters. The classes’ on-ice format is similar to that of a dance class with a large group lesson being taught to music. Participants perform a sequence of steps ranging from basic to advanced difficulty. Sequences are then performed in small groups to develop spatial sensitivity among skaters and to facilitate flow on open freestyle sessions. The basic material may be incorporated into skaters’ daily warm-up routines while more advanced sequences may be modified for use in programming.
Mastery of the edges is the key to skating. The skater of the future will be the one who combines the athleticism of the triple/quadruple jump with the artistry that comes only through the mastery of the edges. Jumps and flying spins are energetic developments of edges and turns that are performed on the surface of the ice. Balance on these basic edges and turns not only facilitate athleticism but also are inseparable from artistry.
In the ITNY edge classes, skaters gain a repertory of exercises designed to develop skills necessary for accomplishing the athletic elements of skating. These exercises help create the freedom of ice movement essential to style. The classes focus in-depth on these basics:• Grounded knee bend (Plié)• Dynamic placement of the free leg• Twisting and the use of the arms to shape space• Full use of the eyes for balance and styleThrough full and proper use of the body, skaters come in contact with their basic strengths and ultimately discover their own unique ice personalities.
In accordance with Key to NYC rules, everyone twelve years old and older are required to show identification and proof of vaccination upon entry to Sky Rink and remain masked in all common areas, including on the ice.Sign up ahead of time with this link: Chelsea Piers VaccineVerification. Latest update from Sky Rink is that everyone has to be masked in the common areas and on the ice.
Elisa Angeli (Ensemble Director) is an Italian ice dancer with recognition from the Italian Federation for Ice Skating, who studied Ballet with Ludmilla Vlassova (Bolshoi) and Giovanna Franzosi in Milan, and with Christine Wright at the Gibney Dance Center. She also studied Modern and Contemporary Dance at the Open Dance Center, New York, and at the Music, Art and Shows School, Milan. She studied Aerial Silks at the Streb Lab and at the Trapeze School in New York. Elisa had several years of contortion and extreme flexibility classes with J. Noan and O. Karmansky. Her expertise as a circus arts specialist allows Elisa to bring a unique element of excitement when skating as a principal performer and aerialist with ITNY. In 2009, Elisa participated with Ice Theatre of New York ® at the Premiere of “Wintuk” by Cirque du Soleil at Madison Square Garden. In Italy, she was an aerialist with the tour “Italian Champions on Ice,” with Ghiaccio Spettacolo, and performed in Munich with Spotlight Productions. Elisa has been with ITNY since 2008, and was on ITNY’s 2008 tour in France. In 2015 she became ITNY’s Ensemble Director. Elisa also works with Cirque-tacular Entertainment as an aerialist (since 2014), with which she performed in the show “The Art of Circus” in September 2016.
Guest teachers
Sarah France originally comes from Pittsburgh, PA, but now resides in New York City. Since 1998 Sarah has been an ice dance coach and choreographer working with Regional, Sectional, National and International competitors across all skating disciplines at Shattuck St. Mary’s in Minnesota and she currently is a faculty-member-at-large. Before taking the ice, Sarah started her love of movement studying ballet and eventually transitioned to performing professionally in modern dance and several other disciplines as well as skating and teaching. Sarah is a five-time US Open Professional Figure Skating Championships competitor, US Figure Skating triple gold medalist, and national ice dance competitor. She is honored and excited to be performing with ITNY, having followed Ice Theatre of New York® since she was inspired by it as a young skater herself. Sarah debuted with ITNY in the spring of 2019. Sarah is currently the Director of Skating at City Ice Pavilion in Long Island City.
Elizabeth (Liz) Schmidt is a Japanese/German American skater from Chicago, IL. She recently moved from San Francisco, CA to New York City. She is a U.S. Figure Skating Double Gold medalist in Freestyle and Moves in the Field, and a Silver medalist in Ice Dancing. Luscious edges, artistic dynamic movement, and traditional ice dancing informs her skating and professional career which began in 2013 at the age of 18, performing internationally in Germany and across the US. She received her Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Painting from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2018, and she has exhibited work across the Bay Area. Liz has been skating with ITNY since 2017.
This program is supported, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. ITNY is also supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council, and NYC Council Member Mark Levine and by Dance/NYC’S Coronavirus Dance Relief Fund.
Ice Theatre of New YorkFounded by Moira North, ITNY’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 one’s eyes to seeing skating in new and unexpected ways. ITNY was the very 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. www.icetheatre.org
The 2023 67th Drama Desk Awards, honoring artistic excellence on Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway, will take place on June 6 at Sardi’s Restaurant. Today the winners were announced.
Outstanding Play: “Leopoldstadt,” by Tom Stoppard
Outstanding Musical: “Some Like it Hot”
Outstanding Revival of a Play: “The Piano Lesson”
Outstanding Revival of a Musical: “Parade”
Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play: Jessica Chastain, “A Doll’s House” and Sean Hayes, “Good Night, Oscar”
Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical: Annaleigh Ashford, “Sweeney Todd”
and J. Harrison Ghee, “Some Like it Hot”
Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play: Miriam Silverman, “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window,” Brooklyn Academy of Music and Brandon Uranowitz, “Leopoldstadt”
Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical: Kevin Del Aguila, “Some Like it Hot” and Alex Newell, “Shucked”
Outstanding Direction of a Play: Max Webster, “Life of Pi”
Outstanding Direction of a Musical: Thomas Kail, “Sweeney Todd”
Outstanding Choreography: Casey Nicholaw, “Some Like it Hot”
Outstanding Music: Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally, “Shucked”
Outstanding Lyrics: Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman, “Some Like it Hot”
Outstanding Book of a Musical: Matthew López and Amber Ruffin, “Some Like it Hot”
Outstanding Orchestrations: Charlie Rosen and Bryan Carter, “Some Like it Hot”
Outstanding Music in a Play: Suzan-Lori Parks, “Plays for the Plague Year,” The Public Theater
Outstanding Scenic Design of a Play: Tim Hatley, “Life of Pi”
Outstanding Scenic Design of a Musical: Beowulf Boritt, “New York, New York”
Outstanding Costume Design of a Play: Emilio Sosa, “Ain’t No Mo’”
Outstanding Costume Design of a Musical: Gregg Barnes, “Some Like it Hot”
Outstanding Lighting Design of a Play: Natasha Chivers and Willie Williams (video), “Prima Facie”
Outstanding Lighting Design of a Musical: Natasha Katz, “Sweeney Todd”
Outstanding Projection and Video Design: Andrzej Goulding, “Life of Pi”
Outstanding Sound Design of a Play: Ben & Max Ringham, “A Doll’s House”
Outstanding Sound Design of a Musical: Scott Lehrer and Alex Neumann, “Into the Woods”
Outstanding Wig and Hair: Mia M. Neal, “Ain’t No Mo’”
Outstanding Solo Performance: Jodie Comer, “Prima Facie”
Unique Theatrical Experience: “Peter Pan Goes Wrong”
Outstanding Fight Choreography: B.H. Barry, “Camelot”
Outstanding Adaptation: “A Doll’s House,” by Amy Herzog
Outstanding Puppetry: Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell, “Life of Pi”
Shows with multiple wins
Some Like It Hot: 8
Life of Pi: 4
A Doll’s House: 3
Sweeney Todd: 3
Ain’t No Mo’: 2
Leopoldstadt: 2
Prima Facie: 2
Shucked: 2
Special Awards
Harold Prince Lifetime Achievement Award
Stephen McKinley Henderson has been bringing in-depth, gripping portrayals of memorable characters to the stage for over four decades. With his return to Broadway this season as Pops in “Between Riverside and Crazy,” which the Drama Desk previously nominated in 2015, this year’s Harold Prince Lifetime Achievement Award marks Henderson’s role in this powerful production as a celebration of his brilliant career.
Ensemble Award
The cast of Soho Rep’s “Public Obscenities” – Tashnuva Anan, Abrar Haque, Golam Sarwar Harun, Gargi Mukherjee, NaFis, Jakeem Dante Powell, and Debashis Roy Chowdhury – embodied the transnational world of Shayok Misha Chowdhury’s bilingual play with memorable authenticity, remarkable specificity, and extraordinary warmth.
Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award
From his standout performance in american (tele)visions, to writing and performing the autobiographical “Dark Disabled Stories,” Ryan J. Haddad’s work this season has expanded on and interrogated what the idea of “accessibility” really means. Whether riding a shopping cart like a throne, or relating his experiences on a “gay, pink bus,” Haddad shared with audiences an unabashed queer fabulosity that was both unforgettable and deeply human.
On Sunday look for a brand new charcuterie of Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford in Sweeney Todd.. I loved the new production, and it’s two leads.
G.H. Harding
FAMILY’S A BITCH-THE END OF SUCCESSION — Sunday’s finale of Succession (HBO) was a mixed bag. I’ll be honest: At first I thought the finale was totally underwhelming, but after some additional thought and reading some other excellent reviews, I’ve come to the point where I now believe it was, pure and simple, how it had to end.
Joss Stone
None more so than Joss Stone on “I Put A Spell On You.” What a voice. I’m amazed she’s not bigger; very Janis Joplin.
Gary Clark
Also, Gary Clark delivered a blistering, amazing performance on Stevie Wonder’s “Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers.” No question that he’s the next guitar-wizard. Here they both are: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvO2_noxaXQ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO2BLAXveVo …
The Flash
I watched all 9 seasons of the CW’s The Flash and the first 5 were pretty terrific. The remaining ones got poorer and poorer as the original cast disappeared one by one. Grant Gustin, The Flash, was there the whole time, but their finale last week was terribly confusing – save for a song by Tony Award winner Jesse L. Martin (for Rent) – a key member of the original cast. The last two seasons had a myriad of costumed villains, some from the comic, some not, but just wildly messed up. The CW was sold to Nexstar last year and big changes are in their future. Sad … and, CNN is reporting that Universal Music is close to snapping up the rights to the Queen-catalog for $1 billion-plus. Good for them.
Queen
Disney had it previously, but Queen’s music is more popular than ever before. It’s a real shame Freddie is not her to share in it. If you wondered the record for the biggest previously was for Bruce Springsteen’s catalog at $500 million.
We love the nightlife!
Frederick Anderson Resort 2024 Fashion Show Featuring Natasha Bedingfield at Nebula in New York, NY on May 24, 2023. (Photo by David Warren /Sipa USA)
The thrill of old-school New York City energy came out swinging in a glorious way last week during Frederick Anderson’s 2024 Resort collection presentation.
Frederick Anderson Resort 2024 Fashion Show Featuring Natasha Bedingfield at Nebula in New York, NY on May 24, 2023 with Nicole Miller and Mayor Eric Adams. (Photo by David Warren /Sipa USA)
On May 24, pop sensation Natasha Bedingfield opened up the beautiful runway at the fantastic hotspot Nebula in Midtown Manhattan. Wearing a bold crochet dress by the designer, the music matched her luxurious look and set the tone for an electric night.
Frederick Anderson and Natasha Bedingfield at Frederick Anderson Resort 2024 Fashion Show Featuring Natasha Bedingfield at Nebula in New York, NY on May 24, 2023. (Photo by David Warren /SipaUSA)
The 33-look collection was seen by a chic and notable group of uptown clients and downtown personalities including Mayor Eric Adams, Nebula owner Richie Romero, Nicole Miller, Peter Som, Young Paris, Consuelo Vanderbilt Costin and Janna Bullock amongst well-heeled crowd.
Photos by David Warren
It was not so many moons ago that online payments on major eCommerce were either by debit or credit card. Plenty of people had a PayPal account, but this was primarily used for peer-to-peer transactions or to buy goods won at auction on eBay. Card transactions needed the user to undergo an additional verification step to prove they were the cardholder, but it was all a relatively unsophisticated system.
PayPal had been created as a stand-alone company at the dawn of the dotcom boom and had been a wholly owned subsidiary of eBay in 2002. However, in 2015 eBay spun off PayPal, and while the companies retained close working ties, both companies were free to find new partners.
For eBay, this meant they could offer customers the chance to complete purchases using new digital payment providers. As a result, PayPal became an option at major online checkouts, from high street stores to travel agents and online casinos. People liked using PayPal as it was quick, easy, and secure; their email address was all they needed to remember.
While PayPal might have been the original fintech company, by the time eBay sold it, there were other operators in the space. For example, Apple launched its digital wallet, ApplePay, in 2014. At the time, for most people, it was just an app that came with the latest phone, but most people carried on using their plastic cards. Google first introduced a digital payment service in 2013 and their Google Wallet in 2018. The Google Pay app, which is now installed on millions of Android phones, was introduced in 2020.
Increasing numbers of people now use fintech solutions when making online payments. Fintech comes in many guises but essentially refers to the use of technology to change our relationship with financial products and services. For example, Starling is an internet-based bank that is accessed via an app on mobile phones. While Internet banking had been around for a considerable time when it launched, the process was slow and cumbersome and required users to verify their identity through a card reader. Starling’s app enabled customers to make payments directly without needing a reader and notified them of all transactions in and out of their accounts. The central banks now offer a similar service through their apps, and we accept this as standard.
With all the advances in internet banking, eWallets, and digital payments, having access to a bank account is not even a requirement anymore in order to make online payments. This is where a service like Boku comes into its own.
Boku is a mobile processing system that allows customers to buy digital goods and services without a bank account. The services are charged to their mobile phone bill; no credit card or bank account is needed. It is a convenient and popular payment method for online content, including games and entertainment. There are even an increasing number of online casinos that accept Boku, like NetBet and MrQ. Players just need their mobile number to use the service and do not need to download a specific app or anything.
Another enormous revolution in how we pay online is the growth in Buy Now Pay Later services. Klarna was the name that brought this way of paying to our attention. However, there are multiple operators now in this market, including PayPal Pay in 4 and ApplePay Later. In 2022 more than seventeen million people had used BNPL services. It is particularly popular with 18–34-year-olds, where sixteen percent of this age group uses this payment method.
The use of BNPL in the UK and worldwide in general is on the increase, as can be seen when comparing year-on-year figures. For example, the figure from 2022 was almost double 2021’s eight million people.
The same goes for the use of fintech apps. Fintech app installation was up two percent in 2022, and payment and banking apps account for more than ninety percent of those installs. If these numbers are any indication of the future of fintech, we should brace ourselves for even more groundbreaking innovation and changes to how we pay online.
Photo by Andre Taissin on Unsplash
And The Winners of The 2023 Drama Desk Awards Are ………
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