What: Sleeping Beauty on Ice Where: The Civic, to June 28 Reviewer: Janet McAllister
The athletic villains steal this Imperial Ice Stars storybook show from the start. You can detect the baddies by their black netting and heavy metal head scarves, and by the dry ice preceding their every arrival.
The "witch",complete with Craig David-esque beard, is played as a mad magician alchemist by Yahor Maistrou, relishing his overlord status. Also charismatic is his henchwoman Maria Mukhortova, who sneeringly bares her teeth while whizzing around on Maistrou's shoulders.
The bad guys get all the fun of exciting lifts, often in complicated patterns of threes, fours, even fives - a variety of dynamic configurations compared to pair-obsessed ballet. In contrast, at the christening, Aurora's sisters (standing in for fairy godmothers) do some pastel Sunday afternoon tea dance twirls.
Early in the second half, genuine thrills more than make up for awkward landings on one or two jumps in other scenes. Literal fire on ice gives way to wires on ice - fast-spinning aerial work. This would be impressive even if there weren't skate blades threatening to cut silks and skin. The Olympics roster urgently needs to include flying ice skating.
Meanwhile, the talented oldest sister, Princess Lilac (Alina Saprykina), swaps her skates for pointe shoes and four swains keep her off the ice in a continual series of beautiful lifts.
The fast-spinning male cast members seem a little underused and the comic relief is a bit thin but the pre-Revolution Tsarist styling is pretty as is a forest backdrop of roses coloured pink, crimson and deep wine.
Alina Saprykina as Lillac Fairy, far left leads the other fairies at the media call for Sleeping Beauty On Ice at the Civic Theatre. 24 June 2015.Photo / Jason Oxenham.
Confusingly, the palace is overgrown with thorns even though the programme tells us the Prince only has 24 thriller-worthy hours in which to rescue Princess Aurora. The moment when the Prince meets the titular snoozer is rather anti-climatic, perhaps because he's been having so much fun dancing beautifully with her oldest sister.
Or perhaps because there's no kiss; instead there's a clinical administering of antidote. But no matter: the finale involves a lot of spectacular skill. Fun.
