‘The Nutcracker on Ice’ with the Imperial Ice Stars live at Royal Albert Hall in December 2015. Photo: Courtesy of NMACC
The concept of having a theatrical performance on ice skates is intriguing; the production of the famous story from the 1800s by E.T.A. Thompson had been made into a ballet production with the most beautiful music from Tchaikovsky, immortalising the tale from a long-ago Christmas. It is a wondrous story where a child’s toys come to life and enact a tale.
The Nutcracker has been a classic on the dance (ballet) stage. In this Mumbai production of Nutcracker on Ice, the story unfolds theatrically on ice and is performed by highly skilled skaters at the Grand Theatre, Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC).
We wondered about the task of transporting such a large production to India, the problems with creating and maintaining an ice surface for the duration of the show and other logistics involved. To get some answers to these and to find out what Mumbai audiences should anticipate from the show, Rolling Stone India spoke with director and choreographer Tony Mercer whose troupe, the Imperial Ice Stars, are due to perform Nutcracker On Ice. Excerpts:
Sunil Sampat, Rolling Stone India: Mr. Mercer, we are very pleased about your bringing this production to Mumbai.
Tony Mercer: It is a privilege for us to be going to Mumbai and perform at the NMACC.
We understand that your inspiration for having performances on ice came from your watching the winter Olympics at Sarajevo in 1984. How did this happen?
Absolutely! I watched the incredible achievements of Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean which got them the gold medal. I fell in love with the theatricality involved in their feat.
I got excited with the idea of creating theatre on ice. That’s where this journey began.
What were you doing prior to 1984?
I was involved with theater in various roles. For example, I did the lighting for the stage shows of well-known musicians such as Jack Jones, Johnny Mathis, Kool & The Gang and others.
I was constantly involved with one aspect or another of professional theater.
The Nutcracker is a famous and popular ballet production. What is involved in translating it from the ballet format to the performance on ice?
My idea is not to re-create ballet but rather to merge the story with ice skating skills. The great music, The Nutcracker Suite by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, is layered and lyrical and is my inspiration.
My choreography is based on this. Actually, I visualize actions and moves for what I hear.
And how do you merge these concepts?
I create the choreography first and then bring in the theatre aspect.
You must need some high-caliber skaters. How do you source them?
I watch a lot of competitive skating. I have also come across some fine coaches. Ice dance is a genre of its own. For my production, I have to layer this with theatricality. When I find a skating champion, I advise them to forget about the medals they have won and think theater!
How many performers do you have? I suppose there are also understudies.
We have a cast of 50 to 60; of course, we have understudies. In fact, we need to rotate performers in our schedule.
I must say, we have long-term skaters working with us. One has been working for the past 17 years and we also have one star who has been with us since we started in 2004. We have skaters of the highest caliber.
We are wondering about the logistics of creating an ice surface wherever you perform. What does this involve, since stage sizes and shapes and ambient conditions must vary considerably?
Yes, the variations are there and we have to work around them.
We have performed in 31 countries and faced many challenges. In one place, the outside temperature was 48 degrees. Mumbai will be between 31 and 33 degrees. So we adjust.
Our ice has to be maintained between -7 and -8 degrees C.
We have to factor in ambient temperature, size of the audience and how much heat they generate, how well insulated the auditorium might be etc.
How do you achieve this feat of precision?
We have a professional team at work on this. They use chillers and functioning machines for ice making and temperature control.
Are you bringing a live orchestra?
We are not. We need to use the space of the orchestra pit for our ice platform. There is no space for an orchestra.
However the music has been recorded by a 65-piece orchestra and this is what we will be using.
What should our Mumbai audiences expect from Nutcracker On Ice?
This is essentially a Christmas story and has been liked by audiences wherever we have performed. The score from Tchaikovsky is the central part of the production. Your audiences might especially enjoy “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.”
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