Sleeping Beauty On Ice - The Imperial Ice Stars, Mayflower Theatre, Wednesday 13th March 2013
There is something about watching skating and ice dancing that sets your heart racing and transports you to another world in equal measure. Forget everything you've seen on the telly - it just doesn't come anywhere close to witnessing it in a real-life performance like this.
Reading through the notes of who's taking part, you realise just how high the bar is set; drawn mainly from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, we're talking about junior World Champions, and skaters that we would have seen on the telly in the European Championships and Winter Olympics. Just 25 of them, but they have amassed over 200 competition medals between them. They hardly put a foot wrong all night. They are of such a high calibre that they demand thought and attention; it's no wonder at all that the rink takes the best part of 34 hours to be prepared and ready ahead of rehearsal.
Right from the off, the skaters (especially Carabosse - pictured) set their mark as to how close they would come to the very front of the rink without falling over the front with their momentum. Make one mistake, and it would be an awfully long drop into the front row of the stalls. But their skills are such that instead you are left open-mouthed at the scale of their ability to enchant and enthral.
The theatre had thoughtfully provided us with seats in the dress circle, and it certainly helped with the enjoyment of the show; watching from an elevated position certainly helped with that enjoyment process.
Sleeping Beauty is a story of hope, heartache, romance, anger, and of good overcoming evil all rolled into one. In their portrayal, the skaters glided, they jumped, they embraced, they danced with fire - and with the help of technology they even flew through the air. The beautiful music of Tchaikovsky resonated through the theatre. It was almost too easy!
The choreography was stunning, the lighting and backdrops fantastic, the costumes were amazing and the energy and elegance outstanding. The costumes have been created especially for the company by Moscow's Stanislavsky Theatre. I loved the dark and sinister portrayal of Carabosse - and the beautiful elegance of Princess Aurora, danced by Olga Sharutenko - recently in 'Dancing On Ice' - but who has also been with the Imperial Ice Stars since 2004.
I had never seen anything like this before - but I have to say that the dance interpretation of the 'Garland Waltz' at the end of Act 1 was quite simply one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen in a theatre.
5 stars ***** (continues at the Mayflower until Saturday 16th March and on tour throughout the UK until June)
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