BLADES OF COLOUR

It may be hot and sunny in Thailand but fans of Princess Tiana and her Prince Naveen from the “Princess and the Frog” will have a chance to cool down starting from Friday as the ice-skating spectacular “Disney on Ice” arrives at Impact Arena, Muang Thong Thani.
This year, Mickey, Minnie and their best friends will take fans to join festivals and celebrations from all over the world under the theme “Let’s Celebrate”. Members of the audience, accompanied by more than 50 Disney characters from 16 stories, will experience the joy of celebrations through various parties, starting with Alice in Wonderland’s Very Merry Unbirthday Party, where Mickey, Minnie and pals try to throw a birthday bash but end up creating a mess. That’s followed by Jack Skellington’s scary Halloween Party with Disney villains.
The mood switches to a romantic Valentine’s Day Royal Ball where Minnie wonders whether Mickey’s the right guy for her. With the help from the Fairy Godmother and all the Disney princesses and princes, Minnie finally finds her Valentine. Then, the Disney characters travel to Hawaii to join Lilo and Stitch in a Hawaiian luau with the limbo, hula dancing and fire baton twirling.
The fun is not over as Mickey and Minnie find a teleportation device that can take them to anywhere in the world. Mickey chooses to be part of Carnival in Brazil while Minnie takes pleasure in wearing a traditional kimono dress for the Japanese Cherry Blossom celebration. Mickey tries to find his Minnie via teleportation but ends up teaming with Mulan and Shang in China in time for Chinese New Year in China.
Micky and Minnie eventually do find each other among the crowd at the Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans. This party also features Princess Tiana. The show concludes with the biggest celebration of everyone’s favourite holiday season - Christmas.
All the characters including those from “Toy Story” and “Toy Story 2” celebrate this happiest time of the year, which ends with a stunning Winter Wonderland finale.
“There are outstanding techniques in every scene and all the celebrations have fireworks or snow, which the audience loves,” says performance director Stuart McDonald. “Special UV lighting is used to highlight skaters who dress as brooms in a Very Merry UnBirthday party and we also have fire rising from the ice.”
The atmosphere of each celebration is enhanced by a large video projector that displays the vivid background of all the festivals. “Disney on Ice: this year is coming with almost 100 crewmembers and tons of equipment, as well as some 800 costumes and accessories. Each performer has an average of four costume changes and all of them are in vibrant colours stitched with colourful feathers and beads. The accessories include Alice’s birthday hat, pink Japanese Cherry Blossom fans, and giant brightly coloured feathered headpieces for the Brazilian carnival.
The skaters are, of course, able to move, jump and spin without limitation. Alvin Chau, who stars as General Shang, says the most difficult scene for me is the Chinese New Year celebration, as there is a huge Chinese dragon, running around the stage and skaters have to be careful not to over step each other’s lines. A skater since the age of six, Brandee Malto who portrays Princess Tiana, says the most challenging part of the performance is when everyone has to work cohesively as a team.
    FUN ON THE ICE
“Disney on Ice” performs at Impact Arena, Muang Thong Thani from Friday through March 27. Tickets costing from Bt500 to Bt1,300 along with VIP tickets at Bt1,500 and ringside boxes at Bt2,000 are on sale at Thai Ticket Major. Call (02) 262 3456 or visit www.ThaiTicketMajor.com.