Stunning Ice Spectacular Birmingham Evening Mail A standing ovation followed by a spellbound audience leaving the theatre on a collective high tells its own story. This show is as good as it gets and surely one of the finest ever seen during the Hippodrome's glorious history. If you like either ballet, skating or Tchaikovsky, you will adore The Sleeping Beauty on Ice. If you love all three, she will quite possibly blow your mind. The show opens with an impressively dense mist of dry ice enveloping the entire stage and the dozen front rows. Watch the disbelieving audience wafting it on, followed by a mixture of nervous laughter and psychosomatic coughing. Then hear the gasps of amazement when the brilliant actions zooms into view at the start of an orchestral treat for the ears and a dancing spectacular for the eyes. The sets are as magical and wonderfully lit as the costumes are magnificent. And, as with The Snowman at the Rep last month, Sleeping Beauty on Ice is a silent production - Bill Kerr's occassional bursts of explanatory narration aside. Led by German-born World and European champion Mandy Woetzel as Princess Aurora, the two hour show passes in a colourful flash. It boasts 23 Olympic, world, European and national championship skaters who have between them more than 210 medals in competition - while choreographer Tatiana Tarasova has previously coached figure skaters to 41 gold medals. At first, her Imperial Ice Stars all seem to be skating in the equivalent of a goldfish bowl. But by the end of this extraordinary extravaganza, you'll feel like you've toured an entire universe. The show runs twice a day until Saturday, February 12 (no Friday matinee), with prices ranging from 10 - 32.50. Phone 0870 730 1234. |
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