The Best Ice Performances of the Year
An ice show which is more in keeping with the traditional shows was Holiday Spectacular on Ice performed at Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, NJ. While not rising to the level of artistic sophistication and perfection found in an Ice Theatre of New York production, it fills the bill within the entertaining ice show genre very well. These skaters follow the more familiar format of a variety show on ice. Seasonal songs and comical skits, sing alongs and even a unicyclist-juggler on ice. There was even a dog show with trainer Hans Klose! The choreography was appropriate for the theme and complimented the music very well. Comprised of two acts, the singers performed both with and without the skating ensemble. The ice surface was placed on top of the stage and had cooling pipes underneath and a huge compressor outside. Highlights from the evening included a song and ice skating combination with Tiffany Clevette and soloist skater Dustin Brinsmade who did "Please Come Home for Christmas." More comical renditions of holiday songs were done by Christopher Yates who sang "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" dressed in farmer's overalls and a straw hat. Yates also led the audience in a lively chorus of "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas". The audience was kept involved and there were only a few missed jumps in the whole production. I was surprised at the accuracy in which they executed the ice skating moves as the surface was not even the entire size of the theatre stage. Given that fact alone, I think they did an excellent job.
What I would not recommend is spending your money on ice shows such as Katerina Witt's, (with or without her friends). An inside source told me that she and her family attended one of these productions at the Sovereign Bank Area in Trenton, NJ. I saw that the show advertised that children could bring their ice skates and actually skate with the famous performers during intermission. When I called Katerina's publicity agent to confirm this, she told me due to insurance reasons, that would not happen. However, they continued to advertise this as a perk to sell the higher priced seats right up until the night of the performance. I lost interest in attending or covering this event after hearing this. My inside source said that the show, which was videotaped for a later television broadcast was quite
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