About Who Are We...
In 1992, Black Ice was created as part of the Caribbean Students Association, C.S.A., and performed the dance form known as stepping. This creative movement has been a part of African-American Greek life since the 1960's but didn't become an international phenomenon until it hit main stream media in the early 90's. Stepping is deeply rooted in African ancestry and is known there as Gumboot dancing. In 1996, Renae Roberts the founder of the group, evolved Black Ice into a more competitive/professional team geared towards preserving this art form. The team also expanded and brought in members from outside of the university campus. Their routines never stay the same and they always add comedy to thier routines so that they can make the audience a part of their perfomance. It is their mission to further enlighten the community at large of this African artform so that it will be around for future generations. Why the name Black Ice? Well, it would be said that because they were a non-greek Canadian team, they would not know how to truely step. It is only after seeing a performance, especially during comeptitions, would people understand that Black Ice could step. Just like black ice on the road, its dangerous and will take you by surprise. Today, Black Ice is made up of 9 men and woman that range in age from 18 to 25. They currently teach workshops and perform at cultural festivals, corporate events and competitions around North America. Below are some recent key perfomances:March 2006Film Production, How She MoveToronto, OntarioAs the inspiration of the movie How She Move, Black Ice was given the opportunity to be a part of the film and demonstrate how Toronto youth use stepping as a way to express their creativity.January 2007Cirque De SoleilMontreal, QuebecBlack Ice was contracted to help the performers of Cirque De Soleil incorporate stepping. They wanted to find a way to include raw music in the show that would flow into their many other disciplines.March 2007BET Spring BlingPalm Springs, FloridaAmong the thousands of audition tapes from across America, Black Ice was one of 3 female teams invited to compete to the Spring Bling Step competition. They were vicotrious in this category but when they went up against a Male team in the final round they came up short. Overall it was a great experience and great exposure for the team and stepping in Canada. We aim to do it again in 2008. June 2007Fedex Corporate Annual Meeting Toronto, OntarioDelegates and sales employees came from all over North America for the Annual meeting. During this convention Black Ice was asked to be part of the celebration and help to motivate these workers to achieve their annual goals.July 2007Royal Conservatory of Music ConferenceToronto, OntarioBlack Ice was invited to teach a class as part of their annual conference. It was used to provide an alternate perpective on music composition.November 2007Grey Cup Half Time show Toronto, OntarioAs part of the 2007 Half-time festivities, black ice was invited to do a colaborative performance with a drumline. It was a great meld of beats and was the introdution to Lenny Kravitz's half-time performance for a sold out crowd of more than 50,000 people.February 2008MOD Much on Demand Dance CompetitionToronto, OntarioBlack Ice was chosen to compete in a 5 day live dance competition to find the top dance crew in Toronto and be crowned the Much On Demand Champion. In the first round, a voter internet pole gave Black Ice a definative win that advanced them to the final but In the end they took second place. This was a great acheivement because it was a step routine set to music and put them up against the best dance crews in Ontario.September 2008Bravo!Fact Dance PieceToronto, OntarioDIrector Raha Shirazi wanted to explore on film how the raw art of stepping can tell a story. With the backdrop of a 1940s theme, Black Ice protrayed the essense of the art of stepping; communication by sound alone. This 5 minute piece was filmed and showcased by the Bravo Network.February-May 2009Dance CompetitionsCalgary and New York StateBlack Ice takes their artform seriously and with a lot of practice, they entered 4 dance competitions in various areas of New York state and came in first of each of them. They were also flown out to Calgary to compete in a step competition there. It came down to a final step battle but Black Ice was still victorious.June-Sepember 2009Dusk Dances Park FestivalToronto, OntarioDusk Dances is an outdoor dance festival that brings an array of high quality contemporary and traditional dance to public parks. For first time, Black ice was invited to be a part of this long running and performed at 18 shows.
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