What's On in London
By Nick Smurthwaite
Along with everyone else in the UK, it was Torvill and Dean who first aroused Tony Mercer's interest in ice skating all those years ago. "What Chris Dean was doing with the choreography was so far ahead of its time," recalls the Salford-born artistic director of the Moscow-based Imperial Ice Stars. "I thought if I was able to apply Torvill and Dean's ideas to a coherent stage show, I'd be onto something pretty amazing."
Tony Mercer, then a humble production manager, graduated to directing ice shows in the early '90s, among them Phanotm of the Opera On Ice, Carmen On Ice and Cinderella On Ice. In 2004, with producer James Cundall, he set up The Imperial Ice Stars, consisting of 23 world class ice skating champions with an incredible 210 medals between them. All but one - the 1997 World Champion Mandy Woetzel from Germany - were born and bred in Russia. "When I was setting up the company in Moscow, 120 skaters turned up for auditions over four days and it was like 120 Torvill and Deans in their peak form, such as the ice skating talent in Russia." says Tony. "They start them off at three or four and anyone who shows any talent is worked on relentlessly."
Mandy Woetzel, who grew up in what was then East Germany, came under that kind of pressure, winning her first European medal in Birmingham in 1989. Like the others in the Imperial Ice Stars' current touring production of The Sleeping Beauty, Mandy has moved on from competition work, though mentality remains much the same. "You have to be equally good at each performance," says Mandy, who plays the title role of Prinncess Aurora. "It requires even more sustained effort than competitions because you are often giving two performances a day and you have to be equally good at each performance."
Tony Mercer says the entire cast is so steeped in competition mentality that they are all out there at every performance looking for the perfect six. "As far as the Russians are concerned, second place is nowhere." he confirms. Not a skater himself, Mercer works hand in hand with the former Olympic coach and choreographer Tatiana Tarasova. "I came to skating with no baggage and no preconceived ideas on what can and cannot be done. There are no rules like there are in competition. A lot of ice shows still operate within that tight structure, but I can set them new challenges and move the goalposts. My aim is to change the way ice skating is presented on stage."
By all accounts the Ice Stars are a cohesive and disciplined troupe with an underlying competitive sreak that gives their perofrmances a special edge. Ofetn working on tour within the confines of a proscenium arch, they have miraculously adapted thir skills to spaces you'd imagine far too small to accommodate their expansive art.
Triple flips, double axels, somersaults, back flips, triple toe loops, you name it, Tarasova's fast-moving choreography wotks it into action, all with precise technique and at breakneck speed, while Mercer's glitzy stye ensures that individual virtuosity doesn't eclipse the narrative flow. "I'm there to tell the story within the framework of the score," he explains. "I want the audience to feel they are being entertained while being taken on a journey. By the end of the evening I want everyone to be on the edge of their seat."