Sixty years since its creation, Holiday On Ice has finally made it to Bristol, courtesy of the show’s choreographer and well-loved Bristol-born Olympic Champion ice-skater Robin Cousins, MBE. 

The theatre on the Downs is the size of a football pitch and took almost 2 weeks to put together.  It contains an Olympic size ice rink measuring a total of 5016 square metres and can seat 3000 people.  It’s quite a sight to behold as you arrive and an outer tent guides you through to the main arena, tempting you with smells of hotdogs and sugary sweets along the way.

They introduce the show by telling you that Holiday On Ice hopes to welcome its 300 millionth visitor this season, and a quick flick through the press information shows that the show, in it’s 59^th season, is currently touring through Europe and has been in the UK for 25 years!  Eek, I remember going to see it in Brighton with my family when I was 8 years-old.

Holiday On Ice In Concert is made up of 60 international skaters.  An 8-piece band kicked the night off with some tribal beats, starting the show with the roots of African music.  As the drums build; the vocalist joined in and took us into a fast, energetic, rhythmic dance, which then slowed down and faded into the song Homeless, the choreography of which represents the feelings of a man separated from his African homeland. 

The theme for In Concert is the exploration of ‘world-music’ from a historical and cultural point of view, which has led to the unprecedented involvement of musicians and singers. 

There is an impressive scope of music and pieces specially arranged for the show.  Interpretations of songs by world-famous musicians such as Sting, John Lee Hooker, the Gipsy Kings and Moby make it easy to tap along and get into the mood of it all.  The styles of music include blues, jazz, fusion, flamenco and classical and are interpreted with some amazing routines and costumes. 

It was really impressive and a feast for the eyes. At times there was so much to look at I found my head spinning a bit.   But it’s not as if there is a plot to the show, it’s more a journey around the world experiencing different musical influences and styles of dancing, which in turns holds appeal for the whole family.  A look round the auditorium revealed all ages, from young children (why do they always need the toilet every five minutes?) to senior citizens (why do they always suck sweets so loudly?).  And plenty in between. 

The choreographed routines really were great, more so when the whole troop (what do you call a collection of ice-skaters?) were out together en masse, cleverly separating and joining in lines – from Irish dancing, salsa, latin, rock, tap, and plenty that I wouldn’t be able to identify – it was all very impressive.

There were some notable performances from the principles such as Axel Mederic, who undertook some amazing emotive solos and Samantha Marchanct, a talented soloist whose tiny size did nothing to detract from her incredible presence on the ice. 

Two other pairs of skaters worth mentioning are Sebastien Desnoyers and Douglas Peel-Yates, rollerbladers from the US and UK respectively who come out on stage with a half-pipe and do some pretty cool tricks.  This was good as it broke up the more traditional performances with a bit of modern and the kids seemed to enjoy it.  (So did I, took me back to my teens and hanging out around South coast skate-parks watching guys like Sebastien and Douglas showing off!). 

Melanie Lambert and Fred Palascak were the Torvill and Dean of the show.  Apparently (according to my programme) they turned professional in 1997 and have participated extensively in the US Championships.  They pulled off some complicated technical moves and showy dance routines.  It was obvious what amazing strength, not to mention trust in each other, they must have as Fred carried Melanie round the rink, upside down, over his head (with one hand!!) and hanging from his neck with her feet. 

 I had a theory about a giant Velcro glove (him) and matching costume (her) but this was put to rest after he managed to lift and hold her in quite in a few different positions…ooo-er, I’m sure I wasn’t the only lady in the audience speculating about the prowess of the nubile young skaters. 

Robin Cousins, bless him, came on stage before the second half, and said how delighted he was to bring the show to Bristol and presented a cheque to St. Peters Hospice.  All in a good cause. 

To conclude, it’s feel-good fun for all the family.

Get along, I think you’ll enjoy it.

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