Tessa Virtue has spent most of her life honing her skills in control and precision. As an ice dancer, she mastered the art of finding balance on a blade, trusting her partner, and executing difficult moves with ease. With Scott Moir, she redefined ice dance by incorporating speed, precision, trust, and emotion, leading them to three Olympic gold medals, three world titles, and a revered place in Canadian sports history.
However, Virtue is now faced with a new challenge that goes against her athletic nature: she must learn to let go of control, embrace uncertainty, and perform solo. Her contemporary dance solo, choreographed by Alyssa Martin from the National Ballet of Canada, will debut at the Fall for Dance North Festival in Toronto on Oct. 15. This marks Virtue’s first major performance off the ice, returning to her original passion, dance.
Although Virtue is excited and honored to participate, she admits to feeling a mix of emotions. She describes the experience as both a return to her roots and a nerve-wracking endeavor, which she finds exhilarating and invigorating.
Dance has always held a special place in Virtue’s heart, providing comfort during times away from home due to skating commitments. Transitioning from ice dancing to stage performance has required a shift in her approach to movement. Virtue notes that while ice dancing focused on technical balance, stage performance involves playing with momentum and energy by tipping off balance and exploring recovery.
This transition has led Virtue to embrace a looser, riskier, and more vulnerable style, moving away from the controlled perfection of elite skating. She describes this shift as a cathartic experience for her nervous system, allowing her to embrace the raw emotions and messiness of dance.
For the first time in years, Virtue will be performing solo, having even considered a duet with Moir before realizing his busy schedule. Instead, she found a new partnership in the rehearsal room and the dance community, collaborating closely with Martin, who admires Virtue’s authentic and generous performance style.
Set to Céline Dion’s “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now,” the solo showcases Virtue’s power and emotional range, a choice that Martin believed would resonate well with Virtue’s performance style. The collaboration between Virtue and Martin symbolizes the artistic risks that the Fall for Dance North Festival aims to promote, bringing together artists with diverse backgrounds united by their love for dance.
As Virtue steps into unfamiliar territory, she hopes audiences will recognize her versatility beyond ice dancing and appreciate the emotional connection that dance brings. She encourages viewers to remain open to experiencing the performance without needing a deep understanding of dance vocabulary.
Looking ahead, Virtue remains open to new challenges and opportunities, emphasizing the importance of courage over confidence. Her solo will premiere at Fall for Dance North in Toronto on Oct. 15, marking a significant milestone in her artistic journey.