TOI Nationals – Virginia Ice Theatre

Support VIT Today!

November 14, 2022November 14, 2022webmaster

Our skaters need your support! Please help us send our teams to the 2023 National Theatre on Ice competition in Fraser, Michigan. Teams from all over the US will compete for a National medal…something our Adaptive Team is quite familiar with as back-to-back defending National Champions. Your support is needed to send us on our way as we strive towards the coveted three-peat, something that is almost unheard of in competitive figure skating.

Any amount would be appreciated and goes towards helping our skaters reach their goal of being on the podium at Nationals. You can make a difference by donating today to Virginia Ice Theatre. VIT is an inclusive program that invites skaters of all levels of skill. We provide need-based scholarships for skaters ensuring that any child that has a passion for the sport has an opportunity to participate.

This season VIT is sending four teams to Nationals, a Senior, Open, Preliminary, and the aforementioned Adaptive team. With over 50 skaters this season, our incredible Team went through rigorous auditions and was selected based on both skating and performance ability. The team practices together every Saturday and skaters train individually on and off the ice 3-5 days per week to improve their skating skills and physical strength.

Preparing for a challenging event this big takes time and money to cover ice time, team registration, competition entry fees, and travel fees (including flights, hotels, rental cars, and prop transportation). Your contributions will prove to each skater that you can achieve your dreams when you work hard. At such an impressionable age, these skaters will feel encouraged by your support. By investing in them, you are not only investing in our community but inspiring them to do the same…as our future leaders, our future performers, our future coaches, teachers, and choreographers.

The skaters (and the parents!) have been through so much and have worked so hard to get to this point and we cannot make it to Nationals without the generosity of our supporters! All donations are tax-deductible and go directly to the Team.

See VIT on the Ice

There are very few opportunities in figure skating to really work with other skaters and create a sense of camaraderie. Figure skating itself is an individually based sport, but the Theatre on Ice team brings numerous figure skaters together to create an entirely new art form (and sport) on the ice. The team is able to tell a story much like an entire cast of a play or a large dance group. So if you haven’t seen Virginia Ice Theatre perform yet, please be sure to check us out on Instagram (follow @vaicetheatre) and Facebook (follow @Virginiaicetheatre) or catch some videos on YouTube–you are truly in for a treat!

Get excited for Theatre on Ice Nationals! (Understanding TOI Judging)

May 13, 2022May 13, 2022vaicetheatre

Theatre On Ice (TOI) is a form of competitive figure skating that is popular in Europe, where it is known as Ballet on Ice. It combines the grace of figure skating with the excitement of theater and dance. Teams consist of between eight and 30 skaters. Solo skating is discouraged but is permitted in limited amounts if it enhances the overall telling of the program’s story. The programs are judged by U.S. Figure Skating judges and are evaluated using a Component Judging System (CJS) that rewards originality, costuming, artistry and musicality.

TOI Free Skate Programs are judged on five components:

Skating Skills: Quality of gliding; Quality of edges; Use of jumps, spins, steps and turns, lifts, etc.

Choreographic Composition: Use of various choreographic processes and gestures; Treatment of space

Quality of Groups: Formations and ensembles and their relation to each other; Balance and Cohesion

Theatricality: Acting; Scenery and/or Props (if used); Costumes

Creation of a Universe: Emotion and Feeling; Originality/Creativity; Intensity and Impact

Get excited for Theatre on Ice Nationals! (What’s a CE?)

May 11, 2022vaicetheatre

Virginia Ice Theatre is gearing up for the 2022 National Theatre On Ice competition, taking place in Wichita, Kansas.

As part of the competition, each team will have a Free Program, and the adult, intermediate and preliminary teams also have a Choreographic Exercise (the “short” program). Here’s a little more about the CE:

The Choreographic Exercise consists of three required “axes,” all of which must be included in the program.

Theme: The theme is the purpose of the program. It is the unifying concept and can tell a story (narrative) or be abstract. It should have meaning and support the Choreographic Process and Gesture. For this season, the theme is “Contemporary.”

Choreographic Process: A set of movements which are performed by individuals, small groups and the whole team. For this season, the choreographic process is “Flocking.”

Gesture/Body Movement: The gesture is the type of body movements the skaters are to perform individually and in groups. For this season, the gesture is “Acceleration.”