Costumes crucial for Disney on Ice
The first rule of costuming: Pay attention to the comfort of the performers. “When you design costumes for people and they fit right and do all the things they need to do, it adds a layer to their reality,” said Ken Mooney, the costume designer behind “Dare to Dream.”
The latest skating spectacle from Disney on Ice arrives Friday at Orlando’s Amway Center. (Shows run through Sunday. Performance times vary. Tickets, $17-$155, available at ticketmaster.com.)
Mooney, 56, has worked on Broadway productions of “Wicked” and “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.” This is the New York resident’s third year as part of the Disney on Ice team, but his first time producing the majority of the show’s outfits.
“Dream” combines elements from “Moana,” “Frozen” and other classic Disney stories to focus on the courage of the characters. For Mooney, letting these skaters showcase their bravery means balancing beauty with mobility. “If they go into a spin … there can’t be too much weight on that skirt because it will throw them off balance,” he said. “We embellish for everything for the ice. … That little rhinestone adds some weight. It all has to be taken into account.”
From a design perspective, the fitness of the performers is both a blessing and a curse. “These are athletes,” said Mooney. “These are people who have trained very hard for competition purposes. And the kinds of clothes they wear in competition are very different than a Beast costume.”
Compounding this challenge is the stringent standard that come with a company as iconic as Disney. “When a child leaves the ice and goes to see another Belle somewhere else, it has to look as though they’re seeing the same person,” said Mooney.
But the New Hampshire native is confident that the audience will find his creations up to their standards. “There might be critics that are adults. The great thing about children is they don’t have that discerning eye,” said Mooney. “They are so excited to see those princesses and they know what the key things are they are looking for. Cinderella’s always blue. Belle is always yellow.”
Translating animation to the world of figure skating provided plenty of room for creativity, such as adapting Tamatoa the giant crab from “Moana” for the stage. In order to make him appear “larger than life, we introduced a chorus of skaters with him,” said Mooney. “I created a whole world of dancers who don’t exist in the movie. That becomes its own challenge at that point because … there’s nothing to replicate.”
For the veteran designer, overcoming all of the challenges and obstacles to create a spectacular show is a feat worthy of Disney magic. “You put that dress on or that perfect print suit, you have given them something that transcends a set of clothes.”