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This was my first trip to a Holiday on Ice show - and indeed any live
skating - since those magical nights at Wembley. Back in the 80s, I
seem to remember Disney characters and even a giant Snoopy skating
around. Nowadays things have changed.
There are just a couple of fun
costume characters - Chinese dragons, each created like pantomime
horses by two skaters - but it's a more arty and serious show than I
remember seeing as a kid. There's a theme running through the night
('Spirit - a Voyage from East to West') and a blend of cultures
reflected in the costumes, music and routines.
After an impressive opening number
with nearly 30 skaters on the ice at once, the first half's Eastern
theme gets under way. There are the Chinese dragons, warriors with
heavy fighting sticks and delicate kites that weave and spin above
them. It's often set in mysterious landscapes created by smoke
machines and some nifty scenery changes.
Each routine clearly has a meaning
behind it. Some of the metaphors were a bit lost on me, and an
audience who were perhaps more interested in seeing great skating
and a great spectacle than getting any deeper message from the
night.
The spectacle is there for sure: we
get skaters with long capes flowing behind them, skaters who become
huge flowers and others as the nymph-like creatures that flit around
them. We are also treated to winged monsters that take to the air,
thanks to some impressive wire work: now that's something I don't
remember from the 80s.
After the interval it's time to go
West, with 50 minutes of Native American routines (complete with
pounding drums), urban hip hop and Vegas glamour. Things get
interactive for a while too, with a few dads dragged out from the
front row for a quick dance with girls in skimpy costumes - off the
ice of course, but fun for everyone.
Everything looked wonderful and
there was no doubt about the talent before us. But for some reason
the Peterborough crowd seemed a bit subdued, with applause for the
most part being polite rather than ecstatic.
Looking around the audience, there
were many more pensioners than children, so maybe the response will
be a bit more noisy and enthusiastic at this weekend's performances
- three on Saturday and two on Sunday.
There were some big rounds of
applause, predictably when the skaters threw in some especially
impressive or dangerous moves. But the dazzling stuff was
interspersed with routines that were beautiful but not always as
dazzling as they might have been.
But these are just minor gripes and
overall it was a treat to see people who make something so difficult
look so effortless. Thanks to Robin Cousins at the helm as Artistic
Director and an international cast including former Olympic
competitors, there's no doubting the quality of skating from start
to finish.
If you want to see some real skaters
who are at the top of their game then this is the place to be.
Forget about the celebrities stumbling around on ITV and see how it
should be done. Whether you get into the themes behind the routines
or not, you'll be glad you were there to see it.
February 2010 -
Peterborough UK Community Website
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