Frozen stage gives old fairy tale a new edge
Skating troupe’s stellar skills part of magical extravaganza of Sleeping Beauty on ice
You know the fairy tale. You’ve likely seen the Disney movie; maybe the classic Tchaikovsky ballet, too. Now prepare for a Sleeping Beauty like no other as the world-travelled Imperial Ice Stars return to Toronto, bringing a new twist to the tale of a bewitched princess to a frozen Sony Centre stage.
Sleeping Beauty on Ice is a highspeed, death-defying extravaganza of virtuoso skating, dazzling costumes, digitally generated scenery, sword fights, fire and flying effects, and enough else to keep family audiences on the edge of their seats.
As Tony Mercer, Imperial Ice Stars’ artistic director, likes to put it: “I’ll sell you a ticket, but you’ll only be using 25 per cent of it.”
Moscow-based Mercer co-founded the company with British theatrical producer James Cundall and Russian businessman and former skater Vladislav Olenin in 2004, but his history with The Sleeping Beauty goes back much further.
Mercer was born in Salford, England; “Coronation Street country,” as he proudly points out, with a linger- ing North Country accent as confirmation.
His parents hoped he’d become a lawyer. Mercer dreamed of becoming a professional soccer player. A severely broken leg in his late teens scuttled that ambition, but he had a fallback. In high school, Mercer was enthusiastically involved in theatre. He even fancied himself an actor, until a teacher tactfully suggested his talents would be better employed offstage.
So, Mercer moved to the production side, working with touring stars such as Dionne Warwick, the Supremes and even managing the popular British family singing ensemble the Dooleys.
Mercer had no skating background but, in the age of British ice-dance stars Torvill and Dean, was drawn to figure skating. He was watching one of their arena shows in Edinburgh when it occurred to him there had to be a better way to do it.
“I remember the arena was very cold and the space so vast there were times it was hard to see them,” says Mercer. “‘Wouldn’t this be so much nicer in a more intimate theatrical setting?’ I thought to myself.”
In 1993, Mercer teamed with a troupe of Russian champion skaters for his first venture into “theatre-onice.” It was a skated version of The Sleeping Beauty. But, as Mercer is eager to point out, the new production he’s bringing to Toronto is notably different.
“In those early versions, I basically took the ballet and copied it for icedance,” he explains. “When we decided on a new production for our 10th anniversary, James Cundall said, ‘Do it how you really want to do it.’ And I did.”
By downplaying the fairy-tale aspect, Mercer says his goal is to give the story more immediacy and realism for today’s audiences. Instead of the typical medieval setting, his design team settled on late Tsarist Russia. Although there is a benevolent Princess Lilac, the traditional story’s evil fairy, Carabosse, becomes a man. Instead of casting a spell over Princess Aurora, Carabosse spikes her party drink. If no antidote to the toxin is found within 24 hours, she will die.
Olga Sharutenko, who starred as Odette when Imperial Ice Stars made its 2008 Toronto debut with Swan Lake on Ice, returns as Princess Aurora, partnered by Egor Chudin. Like all their bladed colleagues, who range in age from 17 to their late 30s, Sharutenko and Chudin are multiple competitive figure-skating medal winners. What draws them to Mercer’s brand of skating entertainment, apart from the salary and globetrotting, is the expressive freedom it offers — even if it is contained within a rink only a fraction of the size they grew up on.
“In competition there are so many rules, you tend to learn what your coach says,” explains Sharutenko. “Here we are free and have the chance to create something for ourselves. We love pushing the envelope and even as we tour we’re always looking to bring something new to the show.”
Mercer says the fact he was never a skater is actually an advantage. “Because I don’t know what they can’t do, it allows me to push the limits.”
And, according to Cundall, his team of skaters is always up for a challenge.
“There’s always a bit of ‘anything you can do, I can do better,’ ” Cundall says. “We never have to worry about a slack performance. They’re always giving 100 per cent, every show.” Sleeping Beauty on Ice is at the Sony Centre, 1 Front St. E., Friday and Saturday; sonycentre.ca or imperialicestars.com.
“Here we are free and have the chance to create something for ourselves.” OLGA SHARUTENKO STARRING AS PRINCESS AURORA