Doing it at home an extra thrill for skaters from SA
WHEN Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Jessie and the rest of the gang from Toy Story glide across the stage in the latest Disney on Ice show to hit South Africa, South Africans will be among them.
Quiesto Spieringshoek, of Ravensmead in Cape Town, will be among the toy soldiers, while siblings Abigail and Justin Pietersen are also part of the skilled ensemble cast.
Spieringshoek is excited about performing in South Africa.
“It’s really special to perform, especially at home. It’s so exhilarating,” he said.
The 27-year-old began skating at the age of 11 and was immediately hooked. “I was young and I was dumb so I tried an Axel and sort of managed it,” he said of the difficult jump.
“As my coach said: ‘If there is blood in skating, then you worry, otherwise you get up and do it again.’”
That wasn’t the case in 2009, when a career-threatening injury spun him into a month-long depression.
“I was doing a lift and my partner basically flattened me on the ice,” he said. The incident caused a lowerback injury that put him out of skating for six months.
Spieringshoek said he thought his career was over, but after the bout of depression he realised how much he missed the ice and worked his way back to show skating.
In 2011, his then skating partner sent in a video audition to Disney on Ice and both received call-backs.
“I took five seconds to think about it,” laughed Spieringshoek.
Since then, the two-time junior world champion has trained in London, coached in Canada and toured in Australia, Europe and North America with the company.
The Pietersen siblings, of Ottery in Cape Town, have been skating since they were four and five years old.
Abigail, 31, joined the international company in 2010, and Justin, 29, joined a year later.
They have travelled the world with the show, which features highlights from some of the most popular Disney movies.
The latest production, Worlds of Enchantment, opened in Johannesburg on Friday night and will move to Cape Town on July 6.
Although they mostly perform as solo skaters, the two admit sibling rivalry flares up “every now and then”.
Said Abigail: “Being on tour is a highlight for me. You’re always learning something every day and meeting different cultures.”
The two are excited about the Cape Town leg of the tour, when they will get to perform in front of their mom, Sherine Pietersen, for the first time.
“She’s seen our domestic competitions but nothing international or us in a production,” said Justin.
Being part of the “family” of the show’s cast was what he enjoyed most. “That is what drives me. We don’t work a day in our lives. We really love what we do,” he said.