CULTURE

Holiday on Ice extravaganza

“Holiday on Ice is the definition of complete entertainment. It is a powerful show that has been traveling all over the world for the past 60 years and has touched the lives of millions of people.» This is how Robin Cousins, former dancer and current choreographer of Holiday on Ice, described the ice-skating group, the best known in the world. Holiday on Ice is currently performing its latest production «In Concert» in Athens at the Allou Fun Park in Rendi. Shows run until Monday. «In Concert,» which celebrates the group’s 60th anniversary, is a festive show for both adults and children, with 60 dancers, a live orchestra, striking costumes and visual effects. «I created ‘In Concert’ together with Willy Bietak, the artistic director,» said Cousins in an interview with Kathimerini. «We wanted to introduce something completely new to ice skating, so we gave music the leading part in our show. The skaters join forces with the musicians and the show becomes highly energetic. The combination of ice skating and rock music adds a particularly dynamic dimension to the performance. ‘In Concert’ consists of various kinds of music from different civilizations and it is meant to be a journey around the world through music.» The group’s plans for the future include, among other things, the continuation of its current performances, which have proved extremely popular so far. «Holiday on Ice is now touring around the world with three different shows, 250 skaters in all. We are planning to create two more shows until 2005 and we also want to tour places like Asia, North America and Australia where our shows were very successful a long time ago. Another thing we want to do is create smaller, rather seasonal shows, for families and children,» said Cousins. «Our shows will always include traditional elements, like luxurious costumes, dynamism, cheerful music and choreographies based on the famous ‘wheel’ [in which the skaters form a huge, mobile line across the entire rink], but combined with striking acrobatics and modern theatrical elements.» The music ranges from African traditional to the mysterious deserts in Central Asia and from the busy avenues of North American big cities to explosive Cuba. It includes the music of Maurice Ravel and Carl Orff, Peter Gabriel, the Gypsy Kings and Quincy Jones. Highlights include «Bodyrock,» where two rollerbladers perform dangerous acrobatics to Moby’s music; Alex Mederic, former champion of the French National Ice Skating team, skating to Sting’s «Desert Rose,» while Jens Jensen, hanging 5 meters above the ice, holding a huge cube, is very striking. For ticket information call 210.729.7277, or go to www.holidayonice.gr.

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