Ice Skating
Watch an awe-inspiring figure skating session in far-flung Finland
Find out what happened when Finnish figure skater Emmi Peltonen ventured to the Arctic Circle to perform a special routine in the frozen wilderness of her homeland.
Emmi Peltonen is a prodigious figure skater who's won the national championships in her home nation of Finland on three occasions, but her latest project sees her showcasing her talents in a whole new light.
The Arctic Ice Dance film shows Peltonen performing a special choreography in Nuorgam, Finland, where a circle was ploughed out of the ice to create the perfect stage for her to show off her figure-skating skills.
"It's always been one of my dreams to skate at a location like this, on natural ice with just light and nature around me," says Peltonen of the project, which was filmed in February of this year. "This place has a magical feeling to it and I was so happy when I saw The Northern Lights for the first time in my life during filming."
Check out the video in the player above and continue reading to learn more about how The Arctic Ice Dance film became "a dream come true" for Peltonen and the various people who made it.
The film saw Emmi Peltonen bring figure skating to the great outdoors
© Kai Kuusisto
The director
Figure skating is usually filmed from a distance with a stationary camera, but for this piece Finnish director Kim Koponen brought in elements from dance and music videos, moving the camera in unison with Peltonen's performance. The film moves from day to night, with a drone fitted with lights illuminating the night scenes, mimicking the Northern Lights that were dancing in the sky during filming.
The composer
Totte Rautiainen is a Helsinki-based music producer who composed a special piece for the The Arctic Ice Dance film that creates an especially cool atmosphere to complement Peltonen's skating.
"The main idea was to put a twist on the classical music that's usually combined with figure skating," says Peltonen. "I had no expectations before I heard the first version of the song, but the strings mixed with the beats fits this project perfectly."
Check out a selection of behind-the-scenes images from the filming of The Arctic Ice Dance below:
Emmi Peltonen had to shoot in challenging conditions
© Kai Kuusisto
The newly carved Arctic ice provided a bumpy ride
© Kai Kuusisto
The Arctic Ice Dance was filmed during the depths of the Finnish winter
© Kai Kuusisto
"This project has really been a dream come true," says Peltonen
© Kai Kuusisto
The choreography
Competitive figure skating usually takes place under controlled conditions indoors and requires precision and technical perfection. For this video however Peltonen was tasked with coming up with something much more creative in very challenging conditions.
"Skating on natural ice, in the harsh conditions, was something completely opposite to my daily practice and competitions," says Peltonen, who had to perform on bumpy ice amid intense winds and at temperatures down to –20ºC. "The production team were able to create a great natural ice surface in the end and it was a great experience to see that you actually can perform on natural ice as well as indoors."
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