Behind-the-Scenes: Disney on Ice: Let's Celebrate
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Conversely, Cinderella would never do those kinds of moves. �She�s shy and demure and sweet and she would always stay upright,� Stuart said. �So even though there�s a little place where she might flip over, or she�ll lift in the air, it�s always done with elegance and not athleticism.�
The fierce intrepidity of Jasmine, Mulan and Tiana, the dropping of Belle�s barriers, the coyness of Snow White and Cinderella, the girlish charm of Ariel, not to mention the personalities of all their princes, all are beautifully interpreted by Stuart and sublimely related by the skaters.
�Mulan has that gorgeous ballad, Reflections, that we�re using and the Mulan lifts are specifically designed for her look as well as her background.� Stuart said. �Her lifts are completely different than any of them, which we really love because we can incorporate Chang and his strength as well.�
Choreographing for the Fab Five and some of our other favorite characters has its own distinct set of challenges. Costume weight dictates that the movements cannot be too hard on the body. And then there�s the factor of shoe size.
�They have big feet!� Stuart says. �When you�ve got tiny blades and big feet it�s kind of like walking with clown shoes on. You don�t walk normally when you have clown shoes on. So you have to have your feet a little wider apart and you can�t lean so hard on the edge. If your body leans too far it hits the side of the shoe and you flip off your edge, so you have to be careful with that.�
Still, she has ample praise for her skaters, who, altogether put in 240 hours of rehearsal.
�Those kids are so good now,� she said. �Minnie and Mickey and Donald and Daisy and Goofy - they�re so experienced at it. They love being in the ice show.�
The looks of the characters skating together must also vary enough by sight so as not to confuse the audience. Though it is one of her favorite movies, along with Cinderella and The Little Mermaid, Leuck did not get to costume the title character of Sleeping Beauty for �Let�s Celebrate!�
�No, Aurora was not with us, much to my chagrin.� Leuck said. �She is my favorite princess.�
As other Aurora fans may wonder, were she in the show, would Leuck have put her in pink, blue, or purple?
�I would have gone pink,� she said. �Except I put Ariel in her pink dress. Then I would have had to change Ariel to her sea foam dress, and then it would have been a big mess.� she laughed.
Fair enough, as it is nice to have Ariel in her pink, which you don�t get to see all that often.
�No, and I love that scene in the movie. It was used in the Broadway production and it was sort of the only idea I had for her,� she said. I hadn�t even thought about the sea foam dress, which I think is more of a promo kind of thing. I don�t know if that was actually in the movie or not.�
I couldn�t remember, so I checked, and sure enough, it is not. The closest it comes is the sea foam trim on her wedding dress.
Valentine�s Day is also the very first time in the show we get to see Tiana and Naveen, and the audience response is generally electric.
�It varies from city to city,� Jackson said, �but for the most part I think it�s because she�s so new the people are very into her and as soon as I step foot on the ice it�s like they just go crazy. It�s a lot of fun to hear the crowd reaction when I get on the ice and I�m getting ready to start the number. What�s really cool is when I come out there�s a crowd reaction and then two seconds later Naveen comes out and there�s another crowd reaction! It just pumps you up.�
The crowd is certainly pumped up right along with them as the first act culminates in another modern number from Enchanted, with all the princes and princesses coming together, assuring Minnie �That�s How You Know�.
Act II opens with a �Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride� that sets the ice ablaze with summer fun. Literally. The ice is on fire. That�s uh �.normal, right?
�No,� Stuart laughed, �it�s normal but - it scares me every time - it sure is exciting!
This is her second time working with fire on ice, but the first with a whole cast of skaters on the ice, including Lilo, Stitch, Nani and David.
�We have to strategically place the fire and make sure that everybody�s safe, yet make it effective so that the audience will enjoy it and not be frightened of it.� she said.
Whatever accelerant they use burns off completely, causing no hindrance to the skaters.
�It burns for about, I want to say 20, 30 seconds maybe,� she said. �And then it�s gone and you don�t even know it.�
That�s the last Disney tune we hear for a while, as we embark on an around the world trip, visiting different cultural celebrations with the aid of a malfunctioning Digital Global Destinator. Even so, the creative team has still managed to retain the Disney feel throughout.
�The director, Patti Vincent and producer, Nicole Feld, they work together on trying to create a revolving door type of feel.� Stuart said.