The Australian Jewish News, Australia
by Lexi Landsman
Temperatures might be rising, but they're set to cool inside Sydney's Theatre Royal this month. Lexi Landsman speaks to Jewish ice-skating star Stanislav Voituk before he pirouettes on stage for the opening of Cinderella on Ice.
FOR most of us, ice makes us think of
being cold, slipping or the melting ice
caps. But for Russian-born Stanislav
Voituk, ice has always been a mysterious element filled with possibility.
Born in Norilsk, Voituk began ice-skating when he was eight years old, and quickly discovered that he had an uncanny ability on skates. "I started skating in my home town," Voituk tells me over the phone from Melbourne. "My English is not very good," he apologises, so his co-star acts as a translator for much of the interview. "In 1976, my parents left and went to Moscow and that's when I started ballet. At that moment in Russia, it was difficult to be Jewish. Lots of people were leaving from Russia to Israel."
Voituk is in Australia with the world famous Imperial Ice Stars for Cinderella on Ice, which concluded its Melbourne season last week and runs in Sydney from August 22 - September 14. It's his second time performing in Australia and he says that of all the countries he has toured, Australia "is the best in the world because it's very modern and the nature is really beautiful".
Staged at Sydney's Theatre Royal, artistic director Tony Mercer's interpretation of the classic tale tells the story of Cinderella with a twist: a humble chorus dancer is thrust into the spotlight as a prima ballerina and captivates the handsome lord mayor's son, the most eligible bachelor in town, with her graceful performance.
Voituk is starring as Lord Mayor and says that though he has performed some taxing numbers, the role is different not in its physical demands, but in its tone. "I've performed in lots of roles. This role is very serious, I prefer more funny roles." He's certainly no stranger to the spotlight. From the age of 18, he joined the Moscow State Ballet on Ice as a lead principal, where he performed for 15 years specialising as a feature artist.
He has since taken the stage in some of the most elaborate and dazzling ice shows in the world. In 1994, he joined the Russian Ice Stars and performed in Sleeping Beauty on Ice, Phantom of the Opera on Ice, Peter Pan on Ice and The Nutcracker on Ice. But still, at 49, he says he loves the rush of the applause from the audience after he performs a number.
For the past two years, he's been a performer of the Imperial Ice Stars, a company of professional Russian skaters, many of whom are previous world champions and Olympians. They have performed at many of the world's most prestigious venues, from Sadler's Wells in London's West End to the Esplanade Theatre in Singapore, and from Montreal's Place des Arts to Moscow's Red Square.
Cinderella on Ice is their third production. It was conceived and choreographed by Tony Mercer, widely regarded as the world's leading creator of theatre on ice, together with two of the world's most respected ice coaches - Evgeny Platov, dual Olympic gold medallist and four-time world champion, and Alexander Zhulin, Olympic silver and bronze medallist and world champion.