dB Magazine, Australia
by Mark Liebelt
The Imperial Ice Stars last graced the Festival Theatre stage in July 2004 with the superb production of 'Sleeping Beauty On Ice' (the world tour running for some 82 weeks), which saw some of the best ice-dancers and figure skaters in the world, including former Olympians and world champions, captivate the audience. Tonight they returned with the classic 1870's Russian ballet 'Swan Lake On Ice'.
The leads tonight were, without exception, absolutely captivating, both in their skating prowess and stage presence. Vadim Yarkov skated with regal authority as Prince Siegfried, while the sublime Olga Sharutenko carried the torment of Odette exquisitely. Benno's raffish, Jack The Lad attitude as portrayed by Alexei Minin was a great foil to the Prince. Anton Klykov's athletic, sinister yet somewhat bolshie Rothbart was able to convey all that is wrong with arranged marriages. Olena Pyatash, as the beautiful yet mislead Odile, had the audience ooh and aah when she had a couple of falls in Scene 9. However, she won the audience back when she appeared in Act 2, nailing the performance hands down, the mishaps forgotten.
But let us not forget the supporting troupe of 21 who provided glamour, speed, spectacle in all they did, especially the Black Swans on stilts. These two performers did all the major moves that the rest of the cast did, but on metre plus high stilts. And let me assure you they didn't slow down either!
Swan Lake contained a lot more "wow" moves compared to Sleeping Beauty. The two female leads being carried by The Prince was simply breathtaking, in addition to the somersaults, the point work (homage to the original ballet), skaters flying (mechanically) across the stage, leaping, twisting and pirouetting all happening in a 15m x 15m rink. The intimacy of the venerable Festival Theatre was evident as one could to hear the sounds of the skates swooshing across the ice.
The pre-recorded score of Tchaikovsky lacked some dynamics, with minimal bottom end and more than one of my party found the violin a bit over the top.
The sets, made in Adelaide and Melbourne, were highly detailed with a genuine fountain in The Palace Courtyard, and the Enchanted Lake and Forest, conveying when the lighting changed colour, either a sinister eerie place or one of potential joy.
The role of Odette was interpreted very well, given that it would be difficult to try and convey a role that is half human half bird. The throwing into the audience of feathers signifying the curse was broken was probably the only visual way to convey this.
Allegedly the original ballet was some 4 hours long. That the production and direction team were able to condense this to 2 hours and still portray the story (in conjunction with the glossy programme) is laudable.
That the audience appreciated the skills, precision and glamour (110 costumes) of the performance and indeed at the finale was not for negotiation.
Adele's highlight was the ring of fire around Rothbart that closed Act 1. Nicole's highlight was also the ring of fire, and all the flying skaters, whereas both Lisa and myself thought the whole show was outstanding!