BY KAREN BOSSICK

Ice Dance International is returning to Sun Valley on the heels of an atistically beautiful Olympic Games.

The 2022 Olympic Champion Gabriella Papadakis will headline the Sun Valley show, which will start at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 10, at Sun Valley’s Indoor Ice Rink.

She will be joined by two-time U.S. Champion Alissa Czisny, skating artist Rohene Ward and 2026 Four continents Bronze Medalists Oona and Gage Brown in a company of 10 world-class skaters.

Gabriella Papadakis in “Babylon.”

The 90-minute show titled “The Seasons,” will take audiences on a journey through four acts. “Spring Awakening” and “After the Rain” were created in Sun Valley, as were “Take Five” and Trey McIntyre’s “Blade of Sunshine.”

“The Seasons isn’t just a show—it’s a pulse, a spark, a reminder that when blades meet music and movement meets heart, the ice itself begins to sing. This is a rare chance to witness the possibilities of performance on ice,” said IDI Artistic Director Douglas Webster.

Figure skating has gained momentum following the Olympic Games, which featured dazzling performances by ice dancers and an exciting victory of athleticism and artistry by American Gold Medalist Alysa Liu.

“Freed from rules and scores, skaters glide, fly, and soar! ‘The Seasons’ is a breathtaking evening of art and athletics,” said two-time Olympic figure skater and IDI Board Member JoJo Starbuck of Tuesday’s performance.

Alissa Czisny, Gabriella Papadakis, Kseniya Ponomaryova and Rohene Ward stretch across the ice.

“The Seasons” showcases repertory by world-renowned choreographers Trey McIntyre who founded the Trey McIntyre Project in Boise and has choreographed for American Ballet Theatre and Hubbard Street Dance.

Other choreographers include Benoit Richaud, the 2024 ISU Choreographer of the Year; Garret Smith, who has choreographed for the New York City Ballet and the Bolshoi Ballet; Rohene Ward, four-time Professional Skaters of America Choreographer of the Year; Jeremy Abbott, four-time U.S. Champion, and Douglas Webster, the IDI founder, producer and artistic director.

Webster founded IDL in 2014 with Edward and Linda Villella and the late Debbie Gordon and Dick Button. The idea: To create a high-caliber show combining artistry with athleticism. IDL’s board includes Dorothy Hamill and Bronze Medalist Scott Allen.

IDL staged three residencies in Sun Valley in its formative years and had planned for a fourth, which was short-circuited by the COVID pandemic. It filmed a two-part special for Public TV in Sun Valley.  

Rohene Ward performs with Alissa Czisny.

“We focus on the presentation of arms, what’s beautiful and pure. Everything has meaning,” said Webster. “We craft each piece from beginning to end to take audiences on a journey. And we hope they come away from the experience moved by the beauty and moved by the flow. We are not trying to win medals. We’re trying to make people feel and see the beauty of ice skating.”

The Sun Valley show is part of a three-week tour across the country with stops in 14 U.S. cities.

The Sun Valley performance is dedicated to the memory of Marilyn Kasputys, a beloved member of the Sun Valley skating community for many years. Her daughter Joy Prudek, a former figure skater who serves on IDI’s board, noted that her mother’s 90th birthday would have been the day after IDI’s performance.

“My mother loved Sun Valley and was endlessly inspired by the artistry of ice dance. Honoring her here, through something she found so beautiful, feels incredibly meaningful,” said Prudek.

Alissa Czisny stretches out.

Tickets to Tuesday’s show are $32.22, available at https://www.simpletix.com/e/the-seasons-sun-valley-idaho-tickets-252289. VIP tickets with prime seating and a post-show meet and greet with the castcost $63.12.

And an opportunity to skate with the company in a community edge class from 5 to 5:45 p.m. costs $42.52. It’s open to all ages; skaters should know how to skate forwards and backwards and perform cross overs and turns through forward and backward 3s.

THE 2026 IDI COMPANY:

Gage Brown: 2026 Four Continents Bronze Medalist, Junior World Champion

Oona Brown: 2026 Four Continents Bronze Medalist, Junior World Champion

Alissa Czisny: Grand Prix Final Champion, 2-time United States Champion

Tim Koleto: 2022 Olympic Silver Medalist, 5-time Japanese Champion

Jean-Simon Légaré: Canadian International Team

Gabriella Papadakis: 2022 Olympic Champion, 2018 Olympic Silver Medalist, 5-time World Champion

Kseniya Ponomaryova: U.S. Open Champion

Emmanuel Savary: United States International team member

Angela Wang: United States International team member

Rohene Ward: US Open Champion, Puerto Rican Champion, Choreographer for Jason Brown and WorldChampion Kaori Sakamoto