London 24
THE HAUNTING beauty of Swan Lake was given another dimension when it was performed on ice in Dartford by the Imperial Ice Stars on the UK leg of a World tour.
The multi-talented cast of figure skaters were back at the Orchard Theatre, last week with their latest production, Swan Lake on Ice, and once again they left almost every member of the audience in awe with their stunning performance.
Not only do the team leap, spin and twist their way back and forth across the glacial stage they also throw in the occasional back-flip, cartwheel and even pirouette just to really keep us on our toes. Swan Lake is one of the most beautiful ballets of all time and I was slightly apprehensive that the story would lose its magic when transported to the ice but far from it, this was one of the most enchanting performances of Tchaikovsky's work I have ever seen.
From the very first scene where an impromptu party springs to life in the palace courtyard there is a graceful energy that the skaters maintain until the final curtain. Their routines are packed full of jumps and turns that look even more impressive on the restricted stage than they would on a full-sized rink and, in the later scenes in particular, there are a series of complicated lifts.
We saw one of the petite female skaters lift her male counterpart upside down in what is commonly known as a gender-bender, we saw the dancers spun around with their chins just inches from the ice and we saw a male dancer skate around the stage with three of the delicate cygnets hanging from his muscular torso. And as if that is not enough the audience went dizzy watching the skaters lift their fellow dancers above their heads and whipping around at frantic speeds.
What makes The Imperial Ice Stars such an amazing troupe is their versatility. Ballet dancers were carried onto the ice and deftly set down to dance some of the more intricate routines and to show the over-bearing personalities of the black swans the two skaters take on the almost impossible task of skating on stilts.
The most memorable scene came as the first act drew to a close, the evil sorcerer Count von Rothbart grabs the Prince's ring from the neck of the Swan Princess, Odette. And as his fury spills over onto the stage a ring of fire burns through the ice - leaving us in doubt as to whether the second half will even be staged.
Swan Lake is the ballet that every little girl dreams of - elegant dancers in brilliant white tutu's all up on pointes. With this image in mind it would be difficult to see how the skaters could bring the same magic to their performance but with the freedom of the ice the dances are just as elegant and their sparkling white dresses are almost as beautiful as the starched elegant ballerina outfits.