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The Imperial Ice Stars: Cinderella With A Twist
The World - Renowned Ice Ballet Troupe Comes Down Under
aussieSKATES: Figure Skating Downunder, Winter 2008
Returning to Australia with a refreshing take on the timeless fairy tale, Tony Mercer’s skating company is dazzling local audiences both young and young at heart.
Following their triumphant 2006 tour of Swan Lake, Tony Mercer brings his troupe of international champion skaters back to Australia with Cinderella on Ice. Performing the big tricks skating fans will recognise and love, a cast of 23 weave intricate patterns, meanwhile skating on a tiny piece of ice measuring only 15 x 15 metres.
Unlike the Imperial Ice Stars’ previous shows which exclusively used the music of Sergei Tchaichovsky, Cinderella on Ice is skated to a lush and moving original score composed by Tim Duncan. (A music CD and DVD of the show will be made available from the company’s website very soon.)
As time is a recurrant theme, setting the tone, a giant clock projected on the stage curtain opens the show.
Taking somewhat artistic licence with the story, in this production Cinderella’s father is a watchmaker. She is a dancer, and her school is run by the wicked stepmother (with two prima donna ballerina daughters in tow.) When the prince, portrayed here as the town mayor’s son, makes a spontaneous visit to the class, this is the impetus for he and Cinderella to meet, then slowly fall in love.
Another fascinating touch is making the fairy godmother a gypsy. Complete with a magic crystal ball, she predicts Cinderella’s fate.
Setting them apart from traditional ice show stars, the skaters in Cinderella on Ice are also gifted actors.
Cast in the title role, special mention must be made to Olga Sharutenko. Having played Clara in The Nutcracker and Odeile in Swan Lake, Sharutenko gives Cinderella both realistic sincerity and heartfelt depth.
Andrei Penkine, fresh from his comic turn as Beno in Swan Lake, has romantic charm to spare as the prince. He can also fling off difficult double axel jumps with confident ease.
As the wicked stepmother, Olena Pyatash (who was Swan Lake’s spell-binding Odette) commands the space with an intimidating vanity, perfectly done.
Cinderella’s father, Vadim Yarkov, skates with dramatic anguish and frustration, torn between both daughter and his new wife.
Strong ensemble work includes six pair teams decked in gold to represent the ticking clock. Also, the sequence where various townswomen try on the golden slipper (or in this instance, a skating boot), demonstrates their mastery of true one-foot skating.
One final star is the staging. Breathtaking in its dream-like and (apparently) seamless simplicity, the overal design is topped with a rich art deco flair.
Cinderella on Ice is currently touring major capital cities.
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