Le Patin Libre

Threshold

Friday August 3rd 7:00 pm
Saturday August 4th 11:00 am
Saturday August 4th 7:00pm, and is followed by an Open Skate Party!
Location: MV Ice Arena

Tickets:
$25 Adult
$15 Seniors, Students and Military
$5 Children under 12
Behind the Counter and Membership discounts apply

A contemporary reimagining of ice skating shows, Le Patin Libre hits the ice once again with a sparkling new show, Threshold. “Le Patin Libre will blow your mind” (The Guardian, 2015).

Le Patin Libre, whose members are all highly trained skaters, caused a sensation in 2014 with Vertical Influences, a revolutionary display of contemporary dance on ice. “We take full advantage of what makes skating a unique and legitimate medium: the glide”, explains Alexandre Hamel. “Our Glide has become the choreography of that special vertigo created by immobile bodies magically whizzing through space”

Carved by the 5 founding artists and the dramaturg Ruth Little, Threshold occupies the liminal space between contrasting states of being. What’s happening on the line between before and after? Responding to the extreme environment of the ice rink, Threshold takes its audience from the everyday into an otherworldly place in which bodies and emotions are transformed. As Glide allows infinite options between fast-forward, slow-motion and rewind, Le Patin Libre explores an impossible but significant no man’s land where life and death literally dance together on the edge of a blade.

ABOUT THE COMPANY

Le Patin Libre was founded in 2005, by Alexandre Hamel, then a retiring professional figure skater and fine arts university student. The first performances were modestly offered on frozen ponds, during the traditional winter carnivals organized by most cities and villages in the Canadian province of Québec.After 10 years of work, the performance group grew into a mature company creating what many now describe as contemporary dance on ice. Support from many of the most respected dance institutions in the world (Dance Umbrella festival in London, Sadler's Wells in London, Théâtre de la Ville de Paris, Canada's National Art Centre, etc) enabled Le Patin Libre to develop its unique style based on the amazing choreographic possibilities of glide. Glide allows the human body to move through space while being liberated from walking, running, crawling and other natural gestures.  It's an impressive “magic” creating a very unique vertigo for onlookers and performers alike. Le Patin Libre is very involved in its local community, in Montreal. The artists generously organize many activities transforming ice rinks into vibrant community centres opened to all and able to joyfully gather sport fans, general audiences and artistic audiences. They carry this positive community implication abroad, with the help of their artistic presenters.

Funded in part by the Expeditions program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional support from the six New England state arts agencies.