High School Musical was a break-out movie success and so it seems is its ice-bound counterpart, writes Joanna Hunkin
KEY POINTS:
It's a simple enough, if slightly obscure, idea. Take one hugely successful film franchise, condense the two stories into a 75-minute show, and then, just for fun, stick it on ice.
The result? One of the most popular entertainment spectacles in recent history, that has seen three troupes of professional skaters continuously tour the world for the past nine months, selling out arenas wherever they go.
High School Musical: The Ice Tour opens at Auckland's Vector Arena on May 29, when the arena floor will be converted into an ice rink for five nights. Performance director, former Olympian ice skater Jackie Soames explains how.
"We bring our own ice. We have an ice department who lay panels on the floor of the venue and tip water all over it. Then they plug it in and it freezes. he size changes every week, depending on the venue. The ice can be anything from 90-feet long to 120-feet long."
With a cast of 34 professional skaters, dancing to a pre-recorded soundtrack, the show is based on the original two films' choreography, but with added flair.
"We worked with Chucky Klapow, who is the choreographer of the movies, and we learned all the dance steps off the ice first," says Soames. "Then we transferred the steps on to the ice. It created an extra dynamic because we have a lot more movement on the ice ... Some of the steps have been adapted and look even better on the ice."
With a full stage and set, including a working elevator, scenes are split across the rink to tell the story. We have three scenes going on at the same time. On the deck, there's one scene, on the upstage part of the ice there's another scene and on the downstage part of the ice, there's another. It flicks through the scenes with lights."
Beginning the tour in South America last September, the troupe has performed in Europe and Australia. Ticket demand in England was so strong, they are planning a return after the Asian leg of their tour, which follows on from New Zealand.
"I didn't realise how big High School Musical was as an entity," says Soames. "I knew lots of kids loved it but going out there and seeing packed houses every single day is amazing."
LOWDOWN
What: High School Musical: The Ice Tour
Where and when: Vector Arena, May 29-Jun 2
