This April, Public Energy Performing Arts will be transforming the Peterborough Memorial Centre into a performing arts theatre where 15 virtuoso skaters will take to the rink in a combination of ice skating and dance.
As the last stop on a North American tour, Montréal contemporary ice skating company Le Patin Libre will present its acclaimed and unique performance of Murmuration at the arena on Tuesday, April 8 at 7:30 p.m.
“It impressed us right from the beginning because they’ve paid a lot of attention to the presentation of the work and really honoured the artistic goals,” says Bill Kimball, Public Energy’s outgoing executive director, about first experiencing the show.
“They’ve put in a lot of effort to turn the rink into a theatre, starting in complete darkness with a dramatic beginning and, from there, building with really good lighting effects and exciting choreography throughout the duration of the show.”
Le Patin Libre — “The Free Skate” in English — was first founded in 2005 by former high-level competitive figure skaters who came together to turn their athleticism into a form of artistic expression. Co-founder and artistic director Alexandre Hamel is a championship figure skater with experience in traditional ice-skating shows like Disney on Ice, but he has long since ditched the sparkling outfits and Prince Charming costumes.
“We were still passionate about skating and felt that we had a special talent and special skills and wanted to use them, but we were tired of the usual formats and the usual aesthetics of it all,” Hamel says. “These skaters just wanted to be themselves and be more free, but to rejoice in using their skating virtuosity.”
For their latest work, which was four years in the making, the professional company brings together 15 virtuoso skaters from seven different countries including France, Poland, Switzerland, Czech Republic, and beyond.
VIDEO: “Murmuration” by Le Patin Libre
Murmuration is named for the breathtaking natural phenomenon in which large flocks of birds, typically starlings, fly together in a coordinated, fluid, and dynamic pattern. Instead of a single bird leading the flock, each bird reacts only to its nearest neighbours, creating a chain reaction that results in perfectly synchronized movements. Thee swirling and shifting formations appear almost like a living cloud in the sky.
“Those formations are not geometrical, but they are harmonized by a beautiful order,” Hamel explains. “The shapes the birds create in the sky are liquid and magic and we felt, as creators, we could do that because we’re fluid like the birds.”
“Over four years, we found tons of ways to organize big groups of skaters in a way I’ve never seen before. It’s not the pinwheel and the straight lines that we see in synchronized skating and ice shows — it’s something much more organic.”
While Murmuration uses some of the spins and jumps audiences are used to seeing in figure skating competitions, Hamel says the show is more focused on the “choreography of extreme speed” that produces “power and grace.”
“To some people, it’s reminiscent of playing hockey because we looked at hockey players, admiring the purity of their body lines and the aesthetic of the human body and perfect effort which happens in hockey and speed skating,” he says. “It’s a powerful image to talk about togetherness and, at some point, how that that togetherness can be destroyed or turned into conflict, and then how it can be found again. Starting from birds, we end up talking about big things.”
“You can’t believe how quickly they can move back and forth without running into each other,” adds Kimball. “But then there are other times in the show that there’s only one solo skater doing something fabulous, so it really has a lot of dynamics to it.”
Along with lighting design that is reminiscent of theatre and ballet, Kimball says the sound is “another extraordinary part of the experience.”
“They have a great musical track, but a lot of the times, it’s silent and all you hear are the blades on the ice,” he says. “The whole effect is quite magical.”
Murmuration will mark the first time in over 31 seasons that Public Energy Performing Arts has used the Peterborough Memorial Centre to stage a full-length production.
The only other time it was used was for a 10-minute short from Indigenous women’s art collective O’Kaadenigan Wiingashk, prior to the Canada’s Mann Cup lacrosse championship game in 2011. The excerpt was part of the Ode’min Giizis Festival, which Public Energy co-hosted.
The capacity of the Peterborough Memorial Centre makes it the largest-ever venue for a Public Energy show, and Kimball hopes Murmuration will appeal to a wide audience, with patrons of the performing arts, families who attend figure skating shows and competitions, and maybe even some hockey fans filling the stands.
“The hope is that audiences will see that these artists are incredible athletes,” says Kimball. “The rise of circus arts in the last few years has fuelled this kind of performance as well, and audiences are getting more open to thinking about performing arts as a very multi-disciplinary kind of experience.”
As well as being the final production of Public Energy’s 31st season, Murmuration will mark the final production before Kimball retires from Public Energy, which he founded as Peterborough New Dance back in 1994. Kate Alton has been hired as Public Energy’s new programming director, joining managing director Eva Fisher to lead the performing arts organization after Kimball’s departure.
“My goal has always been to give Peterborough a window on the exciting world of contemporary dance, theatre, and performance,” says Kimball, reflecting on his time with Public Energy. “I think we’ve managed to do that and have had a positive effect on audiences, as well as the many local artists who have been inspired and learned from the visiting artists and companies who have come here.”
To ensure Murmuration is accessible and affordable to everyone, tickets are being sold on a sliding scale from $10 to $50 plus fees, with a suggested price of $30 plus fees.
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased in person at the Peterborough Memorial Centre’s box office at 151 Lansdowne St. W. from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday, by phone at 705-743-3561, or online at tickets.memorialcentre.ca.
Prior to presenting its season finale with Murmuration on April 8, Public Energy will also be presenting new works by Indigenous performing artists Heryka Miranda and Norma Araiza on February 28 and March 1 at Nozhem First Peoples Performance Space, followed by the one-woman show Blind Dates by Dora Award nominated performer Vivian Chong on March 20 at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre.
kawarthaNOW is proud to be a long-time media sponsor of Public Energy Performing Arts.
