Having wowed audiences all over the world, Disney On Ice will celebrate “100 Years of Magic” when Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and their friends from Disney’s Mulan, The Lion King and Pinocchio, and Disney/Pixar’s Finding Nemo, The Incredibles and Toy Story, bring the on-ice spectacular to London this winter.
Disney on Ice Celebrates 100 Years of Magic is a one-of-a-kind skating spectacular, produced by Feld Entertainment, which features more than 60 unforgettable Disney stars that span the decades, a sing-along score of award-winning Disney music, stunning choreography, elaborate sets and beautiful costumes.
With Mickey and Minnie leading the fun, the show includes breathtaking skating numbers, devised by an award-winning choreographer who created the skating segment for the Opening Ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics.
Complementing the fabulous skate sequences are countless memorable Disney musical classics, such as “A Whole New World”, “Beauty and the Beast” and “Can You Feel the Love Tonight”, which bring everyone’s favourite memories of Disney to life on ice.
Outfitting this cast was a huge challenge for the show’s costume designer with dazzling designs ranging from Mickey’s Marching Band, to the “It’s a Small World” dolls, to the stars of Mulan and Finding Nemo. Bright colours and minimal structure in the Finding Nemo costumes allow the characters to move freely and to mimic the natural movement of creatures in water, while a red sequined evening gown worn by Minnie is the star of the show!
The design team, who have worked on numerous Broadway productions, have bought a magical, theatrical feel to the on-ice experience. Skaters weave around and bring to life the “It’s a Small World” sequence, amidst sparkling floats that turn into a radiant light parade and, if that’s not enough, a blanket of snow and an avalanche fall as Mulan battles the Huns. Another highlight is when a giant present is opened to reveal Buzz Lightyear, as he is first introduced to everyone’s favorite toy cowboy, Woody and his pal Jessie.
Disney On Ice Celebrates 100 Years of Magic features 23 male performers and 24 female performers in the production, representing 10 different nationalities, but only has a full time crew of 5 people who travel with the show. They employ a huge number of part time helpers at each venue which allows the full set to be created in just 10 – 14 hours. (Amazingly, it only takes 3 – 4 hours to deconstruct the eight ton set and get it ready to move to the next venue)
An incredible 1,300 yards of fabric have been used to make the 160 different costumes that appear in the show and 102 different colours of paint used on the scenery and props, which all come together to create a two hour festival that features all the very best that Disney has to offer, and gives the young ones a chance to look back over a breathtaking 100 years of Disney magic.
Disney On Ice celebrates 100 Years of Magic is appearing at The O2 Arena, London on 24th December 2014, from 26th to 29th December 2014 (Charity performance on Dec 30th – by invitation only) and then on 3rd and 4th January 2015. (See www.theo2.co.uk for show times and prices)
