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Holiday On Ice is coming to Norfolk for the first
time in its 59-year history, where it will be performing its new
show In Concert.
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The Review
OK - let's get the grumble out of the way first, writes Martin
Barber.
The show didn't go up until some 45 minutes late due to the
traffic problems - the organisers hadn't got it right. Then
again, these guys are experts at creating an ice show, not
traffic control.
So, was it any good? Well, yes - but I
have to say I wasn't thrilled with excitement and I left wanting
just a little bit more.
Don't get me wrong, it's a good show with
a fantastic live band, stunning costumes and a competent cast
of skaters.
There are some great set pieces. An imaginative
use of giant puppetry from the carnivals of Brazil, a fantastic
'tiller girl' style treatment to the jazz classic Birdland
and Cousins has re-choreographed the Bolero into a stunning
crescendo of matadorial elegance.
I thought the first half of the show was
just a bit lacking in, well, it's ability to dazzle - but
it does pick up after the interval as we're taken on a whirlwind
tour of music and costumes from the Middle East.
It's slick, it's polished, it's an vibrant
assault on the senses of music and colour - but at the end
of the night I guess I just felt a little short-changed.
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The story of Holiday On Ice
The first Holiday On Ice production to feature
live musicians alongside the show’s international cast of top-class
figure skaters, the show also includes a
team of champion rollerbladers and an aerial acrobatic display.
The choreography is by figure-skating gold medallist
Robin Cousins and is set to an array of live music that includes
the work of Sting, the Gipsy Kings, Peter Gabriel, Moby and Ladysmith
Black Mambazo.
Ravel’s Bolero, a traditional ice dance favourite,
will also be included in the show, appearing in the production for
the first time since 1971.
"I’ve seen the version of Bolero that appears
in In Concert and I thought it was wonderful," said Jayne Torvill.
"I loved the way it evolved organically, building
up from a solo skater and finishing with the full company.
"The first time Christopher Dean and I saw
one of their interpretations was when Robin Cousins was actually
in the show and it came to Nottingham. They had a very different
interpretation from ours."
Music and movement choreographed by Robin Cousins |
In Concert takes the audience on a whirlwind tour
of the world and its music.
Transporting us in a flash to every exotic corner
of the globe, the ice spectacular celebrates the contrasting musical
traditions of different races and cultures through the ages.
From tribal Africa to the mysterious deserts of
the Middle East, from the street life of the urban USA to the heat
and passion of South America.
Holiday On Ice can be seen at the Norfolk Showground
until Sunday 16 March, 2003.
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