Reviews & Press Clippings

Okay, so ice dancing might be right down there with Morris dancing (slightly above your Auntie Beryl’s dancing) in the artistic credibility stakes, but this is largely to do with the typical big theatre money-spinning attitude resulting of late in some unforgivably bizarre combinations (Toy Story On Ice? I’m holding out for Endgame On Ice, staged in grit bins - not much dancing, but an apposite existential chill). In itself, ice dancing is an interesting genre often misunderstood simply because people don’t know what to judge it on. Combining the technical demands of skating with the musical awareness of ballet and the emotional depth of acting, ice dancing is a hotbed of near-conflicting factors - to get it right theatrically takes time and a serious amount of talent.

Which is where director Tony Mercer and the Imperial Russian Ice Stars glide in. The Sleeping Beauty On Ice is their latest production, a carefully assembled adaptation of the old fairytale; lavish, atmospheric and cleverly enhanced to suit its gelid setting. Talking to ex-Salford Grammar boy Tony, you sense that real thought has gone into every detail. For example, although all of the music is by Tchaikovsky, not all of it is taken from the original ballet score.

Long obsessed with transferring sporting talent a la Torvill & Dean (“I remember going to watch them in the ‘80s - I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it”) to a theatre environment, in the early ‘90s Tony was employed as a production executive in charge of putting the rink for ice shows on stage - an impressive feat in itself, given that you’re dealing with around 14 tonnes of ice which must be frozen to form a perfect three-inch surface (or tempt ye the wrath of several irate ice dancers, armed with bladed boots…).

“I soon got incredibly involved in the way the skating was presented on stage,” he says. “Typical Virgo. So eventually the producer said, Okay, we really like your ideas - now shut up, and go and do them. So in 1994 I directed my first show, and I must have done something right because I was invited back and back.” 

Over the past ten years Tony has sought to re-invent the ice show, internationally touring such acclaimed pieces as The Phantom Of The Opera On Ice (“bloody hard to do, but a story written for ice”) and The Nutcracker On Ice. But there’s still no formula as such in the Mercer camp; no steadily acquired lowbrow cynicism - Sleeping Beauty was selected on its own merits and adapted in a very specific way.

“I love the story,” he explains. “I adore the music. It’s got a great title. More importantly, I thought it would look great on ice; that it would lend itself well to movement of skating.”

Tony’s modifications are notable. Take the evil fairy Carabosse who, omitted from the invite list for the new Princess’s christening, spitefully curses the baby (in a way I’m with her, it’s awful when you don’t get invited to a party). Something of a one-dimensional bit part in the traditional tale, Carabosse is given a grand goth-style opening in Mercer’s production, comprising an enchanted wood, a band of henchmen and a harness.

“I was sitting listening to Tchaikovsky and I found music which was akin to the Carabosse theme inside Sleeping Beauty. And I thought it would make a great opening. I wanted to push that dark side of the story. Carabosse doesn’t really have a home, it seems a bit silly almost when she reacts like that after not getting an invite, and I wanted her to have a place, I wanted people to see where she resided.”

Not that it’s just about vision. Tony has created his troupe, the Imperial Ice Stars, with fatherly care; nurturing and respecting the 23-strong team, many of them multi-medal winners (feature artist Mandy Woetzel, the sole non-Russian, is a World and European Champion) and always casting them wisely.

“Our show is not a typical show and it’s not everybody that can do it. Anyone who joins the company must be able to perform anything on a stage that you would normally find in an ice arena. These people are incredibly talented from a technical point of view, but they need to also present the drama. I could have an incredible Olympic skater who just can’t carry a character. The choreographer and myself spend a lot of time looking at the skaters to find who can go into each role.”   

Still, this remarkable team will always be sportspeople at heart, and although they might not openly scoff when a team-mate misses that three and a half axel at 45km an hour, their competitive energy is tangible. Says Mercer: “The Russian sports mentality is a fabulous mentality to work with because I’m driving them to go one step higher and they enjoy doing that as well. To me it’s the most exciting thing.”