Skimming The White Fantastic
Sydney Morning Herald
Friday May 14, 2004
It is flounce, finesse and fear in equal measure. The Sleeping Beauty on Ice, which premieres at the Lyric Theatre at Star City next Tuesday, presented its cast of 22 Olympic, world and European championship skaters yesterday in a dangerous blur of puffy sleeves, padded headbands and tightly swathed bottoms. And that was just the men.
Twirling and hurling each other across a rink three times smaller than their practice arena at the Russian Olympic training facility in Novogorsk, the men and women of the grandly named Imperial Russian Ice Skaters executed daring manoeuvres in a sea of white ruched boots, fluttering skirts and elaborate silver brocade.
But the show's director, Tony Mercer, who has already brought the world Phantom of the Opera on Ice, Barnum on Ice, Cinderella on Ice, Carmen on Ice and Peter Pan on Ice, stressed the true perils of this frozen fantasy. ``People don't realise it's an extremely dangerous performance," said Mercer.
``The skaters move at 35 miles [56 kilometres] an hour and they're often carrying someone above their head. It's a huge, intricate risk and there's absolutely no room for mistakes."
One of the show's stars, the world champion skater Olga Sharutenko , said skaters had flown off the front of the stage in the past.
The company enlists a full-time doctor while on tour, ready to assist the ex-champion skaters as they adapt to each theatrical setting.
Meanwhile, the rink is kept hard and smooth by Vladimir Morozov , the company's ``ice doctor", who spent Tuesday night hosing water across four tonnes of crushed ice and 15 kilometres of pipe work filled with antifreeze and water to create the 7.5-centimetre-thick stage surface.
© 2004 Sydney Morning Herald