Today I went to see the Christmas ice dance show at my local ice rink, where I used to skate. They put on a new show every December and I have been to a few of them, but I think that the performance I watched today is the best one they have ever done. It is called Defying Gravity and it is an amalgamation of The Wizard of Oz, Wicked and Wicked for Good, all with a festive twist.
As soon as I walked into the rink I felt a wave of nostalgia wash over me. It was so nice to be back there again. It is a place that is very familiar to me, and it used to be a source of comfort and relaxation. I haven't skated in quite a while and today just served to remind me of how much I miss it. I miss the glide. I miss the whisper of the blades. I miss the smell of the ice as it welcomes you in. I miss all of it, so it was lovely to be back there again, watching some very talented young skaters bring an epic story to life on the ice.
The costumes were amazing - some were very similar to those in the films, especially Glinda's beautiful pink gowns! They were just stunning and it was clear that a lot of hard work had gone into making this performance as true to the original source material as possible, while still making it viable for skating. They had three different skaters dancing the lead roles of Glinda and Elphaba, I suppose because it might have been too much for one skater to be constantly on the ice, and this way more girls got a chance at skating these iconic characters.
The chorus line was made up of skaters of all ages, from the tiniest little tots to adults, all in bedazzling costumes, skating their hearts out for a full house. Some of the costumes had lights on them, others had LED butterfly wings that flashed in bright colours. It was a feast for the eyes! Ariana's voice belted across the rink as the skaters danced their numbers to the movie soundtracks and it was simply spectacular. I was grinning from ear to ear for the entire performance.
They mixed in pop music such as Kylie and Katy Perry and lots and lots of Christmas songs as the skaters wore festive red costumes with white faux fur trim, enjoying Christmas in the Emerald City. I think my favourite aspects of the show were the scenes recreated from the movies - We're Off To See The Wizard, What Is This Feeling, Popular, Dancing Through Life, Changed For Good, Girl In The Bubble and of course, Defying Gravity. I also liked the cheeky chair dance the Shiz schoolgirls did to the classic Pussycat Dolls song, Buttons, at their first sight of Prince Fiyero - that made me giggle because we've all been bowled over by a mad crush at a young age! It was a fun and flirty dance, aimed at getting Fiyero's attention.
It was a lovely show, with some very graceful performances. Many of the skaters are medal winners and champions, so you get to enjoy top class figure skating for a fraction of the usual ticket price. It would cost twice as much to see Disney on Ice, and probably even more for professional figure skating championship tickets, so a trip to the local ice rink is great value for money. And they work so hard on these shows all year long, adapting popular fairytales, movies and books into viable ice dance shows, creating choreography, rehearsing, making costumes and scenery etc, it would be such a shame to miss it.
I'm certainly very glad I went to see the show today. It was beautiful and full of fairytale magic. It was the perfect start to the festive season. Most ice rinks have some kind of event on over the Christmas period, so see what your own local rink has to offer this month. Who knows, you might even be inspired to take up ice skating as a new hobby in 2026.
I'm certainly considering dusting off my own pretty figure skates and legwarmers! But that will be later on next year, as I have new books to write first of all. In the meantime, I'm going to make a hot chocolate and watch one of my skating films - I think an Ice Princess and Ice Castles double bill might be on the cards tonight.
Happy skating!
Marie x