Ice stars spin into action

Picture / Brett Phibbs

Performers from the Imperial Ice Stars troupe rehearse a scene before opening Swan Lake on Ice at the Civic Theatre last night.

The show's Russian cast had to cope with a gruelling training regime to prepare for their world tour, rehearsing nine hours a day, six days a week, for eight weeks.

The ice rink, made up of about 14 tonnes of ice, took more than 140 hours to construct and will take 30 hours to dismantle. The show runs in Auckland until August 6 before heading to Australia.