Behind-the-Scenes: Disney on Ice: Let's Celebrate
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Both the Mardi Gras and Halloween segments bring some new blades to the ice. Most notably Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen boogie out of New Orleans, while Jack Skellington sneaks away from Halloweentown to join the cast. This is not only the first time ice skating for Tiana and Naveen. When �Let�s Celebrate!� began its run on the east coast, Disney�s 49th animated feature film, The Princess and the Frog, was not yet finished, giving the creative team and the cast the first chance to introduce these much anticipated characters to the public.

Their first impression was their look, a task for Leuck, who found it fun but challenging, having not yet seen the movie.

�I had gotten animation stills and research images but they�re flat so I hadn�t really seen Tiana and Naveen moving,� she said. �I worked with the animation team from the film on getting movement ideas and I did see some clips from the movie but they weren�t� in color yet so that was sort of another challenge: to not see how the characters moved in color.�

Visiting the costume shops at the parks to see how they were creating the walk-around characters also proved beneficial. She took what she was given from the animation and theme park teams blended them together, waved her magic sketching pencil, and Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo! Tiana and Naveen were ready to be dressed in style. Yet, as is the way in such tales, another slight challenge presented itself.

�Our Tiana skater is absolutely beautiful but very tiny,� Leuck said. �She�s only five feet tall, so it was not only creating the costume but then making it in miniature!� she laughed.

Stuart had a similarly positive experience with their partners at Disney to aid in creating her choreography, finding them very accommodating.

�If we are going to present a product that hasn�t been released yet they want to make sure that it�s produced in the proper manner, so they helped us with footage and sneak previews, etcetera,� Stuart said. �We did our research with that and also to make sure we cast it brilliantly, and I think we accomplished all of that. And the music itself kind of tells you that she can be a little sassier, you know?�

And how did principal skater Tetona Jackson, that beautiful, tiny, brilliant skater, who formerly portrayed Taylor McKessie in High School Musical: The Ice Tour, feel about breathing first life into Tiana?

�To be honest with you, it was a little bit nerve-racking, just because I wanted to make sure I did it correctly,� Jackson said. �I wanted to portray her role as best as possible. So, I was a little bit nervous but I did have a lot of help from the choreographer and the director of our show.�

She was also able to view bits and pieces of the film to enable her to get a feel for who Tiana is and how she relates to Naveen. Despite the nerves, she was thrilled to skate a brand new Disney princess.

�It was actually cool to be able to portray her and get to show her off to the audience before anyone else!� she said.

Jackson, who grew up loving The Lion King and Pocahontas, (Simba stealing her heart as her favorite character), found a new kinship with her animated counterpart, Tiana.

�I think our personalities are a lot alike,� she said. �What I really love about her is that she�s very outgoing. She�s very strong and independent, which is so different from a lot of the other princesses. I also love the sass that she brings to the movie.� True to form, the sass that Tetona brings to the ice is equally compelling.

Tiana being the first African-American Disney princess brought additional excitement and intensity for Jackson.

�It was more pressure to me, on me, and it added a little bit more nerves - and it still does - because of the fact that she is a new character that now African-American kids can also look up to.� she said. �I just want to be the best role model that I can be to them.�

It�s not just the kids who are enamored with Tiana. Jackson was surprised at just how strong the reaction has been from parents, sharing their excitement to see an African-American princess.

�It�s very touching to me that I can bring something to the table and to their learning experience.� Jackson said.

Tiana and Naveen jazz it up in the Mardi Gras celebration, with a toe-tapping, spirited number that has the audience bopping along in their seats.

Spirits of another sort come out during the Halloween festivities, in the form of zombies and villains celebrating together, led by none other than the pumpkin king himself, Jack Skellington, from The Nightmare Before Christmas.

�This is the first time we�ve had Jack Skellington and we love him. We are so excited about Jack!� Stuart said.

Halloween was one of my favorite sections to choreograph owing in part to the Danny Elfman score from �The Nightmare Before Christmas.�

�Danny Elfman music is just so awesome,� Stuart said. ��This is Halloween�- so what are we going to do? Well, we�re gonna get some zombies and get all the Disney villains.�

Stuart�s choreography beguiles you as the zombies skate through the autumn fog with the jerky, discombobulated movements of the undead, while Jack Skellington�s lanky form alternates between caressing the ice with a mournful longing and leaping and spinning with the fervid excitement of a child visiting Disneyland for the first time. In due course, more diabolical visitors arrive, each claiming their frozen territories.

Robert Little�s spooky sets and Alex Reardon�s spine-tingling lighting complete the ideal Halloween atmosphere.

�It�s really cool,� Stuart added. �It�s like, if you�ve seen the commercials for the Halloweentime at Disneyland, all of those villains are in the Halloween section and it�s good, scary fun.�

A closer look at those villains reveals one of Leuck's wonderfully macabre little costume touches you probably won�t notice at first glance.

�I was looking at the design and all the fabrics and there really are no animal prints in a lot of Disney things because we�re dealing with animals,� Leuck said. �It started with Cruella DeVille, obviously, because she wears a fur coat but I thought, �How creepy would it be if all of these humanish villains actually had animal prints on them, because it�s so against our sweet little cartoon animals?� So I thought it just gave them another layer of �..evil.�

You had me at �Trick-Or Treat.�

�Captain Hook has a crocodile sword sheath that�s real leather,� she said. �Cruella has not only her fur jacket but I also gave her a zebra print base and then she has some leopard and Dalmatian spot over layers on that. She has a lot of print fabrics on her!�

Fitting for a villain whose main goal in life is to adorn herself with the offspring of Pongo and Perdita, no?

�The witch from Snow White has a small zebra or leopard print on her. Maleficent has snakeskin - being that she�s a dragon I tried to find something close to that. Jafar also has a lizard-like kind of fabric on him.� See if you can spot them (pun intended) in the show.

As a costume designer enhances the characters and their personalities through their clothing, part of a choreographer�s job is to define them through movement. According to Stuart a lot of it comes down to who they are and what they�re wearing.

�I�m going to go into Princessland because the fact that we have seven of the princesses means we have to create a different style for each.� Stuart said. �For instance, Jasmine, she�s a bolder princess. She wears a midriff and pants, so we�re able to do different style lifts where she�s splitting upside down and we can create her strength and her independence by doing a move like that.�