An illusionary fairytale land was created on ice by a Russian troupe. Taisia Sakharova spoke to Kritika Dua on blending acting with figure-skating
The Red queen, a mad tyrant who rules the Wonderland, came figure skating her way on ice as she adorned a crown, a heart painted on each cheek and a red velvety costume. In the bid to end her reign of terror, Alice along with white rabbit, the Mad Hatter, the she rabbit and two gobbly men decided to fight the queen. The tempo builds up with the powerful music and the narration was the cherry on cake while the performers mesmerised the audience with their powerful expressions.
Alice is seen fighting with the queen using a sword and her troupe combating with the palace guards. The fight sequence is beautifully depicted through dance movements to keep the tone light and playful while still conveying the meaning.
The troupe, Ice Vision has come all the way from St Petersburg, Russia, comprising of more than 25 actors who are professional figure skaters. With a blend of video projection and the narration in the background, the performers took us through tale of Alice and her adventures in Wonderland. The show involved beautiful musical scores created by Alexey Galinsky and an aerial act by Alice which showed her flying. The script was written by Tatyana Bogatyryova and it was choreographed by Maria Baranova.
The show began at Kingdom of dream’s Nautanki Mahal with a dash of winter snow. The ice stage, especially created for this show using synthetic ice was decked up with cubes having heart, club, diamond and spade from play cards.
With their faces painted white, the actors performed some awe-inspiring acrobatics on figure skates. It had all the lovable characters White Rabbit, Cheshire cat, the Mad Hatter, fish, frog and Red Queen et al. The artists were wearing costumes of rabbit, cat, frog, fish, flowers, mushrooms, caterpillar while figure skating gracefully.
Alice lands in Wonderland where the White Rabbit acts as her guide. Cheshire Cat who can disappear and reappear, sometimes leaving a huge grin behind represents the time between adulthood and childhood, revealing the fact that although one follows certain rules, yet they are bound to change once you have become comfortable with them.
She then moves on and comes meets the Mad Hatter and the Red queen. The Mad Hatter is the leader of a perpetual tea time while Red queen is the mad tyrant who rules Wonderland. The queen represents an elderly person who has become apprehensive of her surroundings. like any other fairy tale, this one too ends with Alice fighting against the evil queen, marking an end to her reign of terror.
Taisia Sakharova, Manager of Ice Vision said that they try and adapt the shows for each performance with regard to the country they are performing in. “The audience can also witness Hindi translation of the show next week onwards where children can use headphones.”
“Figure skating is a popular sport in Russia — a part of their culture. Olympic medalist Irina Slutskaya and other Olympic stars are also a part of the troupe. The professional figure skaters know the techniques, which way to move while acting is an additional talent on the basis of which they were shortlisted. The combination of both is rare.”
Talking about the challenges of performing in a foreign land, Sakharova said, “In India it was difficult to find singers and actors for dubbing but we did manage it at the end. However, we do dubbing for each country, we adapted Korean language for our performance in South Korea which was rather difficult. The performers have to learn the scripts and put in their best efforts.” They have taken theatre on ice to Europe and Middle East as well.
On changes in the script of the original fairytale, “Alice in Wonderland comprises specific details. Though it was difficult to stage, we did retain the essence. It’s crucial to remember that nothing is clear in this world and we can have different interpretations. This was our take on the fairytale.” The story is loved by kids as they understand it and live in a fantasy land themselves. Thus, they are as inquisitive like Alice.
Sergey Ryabov, a professional figure skater essayed the role of the Mad Hatter. Ryabov started learning the sport at the tender age of seven. “It was a tedious process of rehearsal which lasted for two months. I enjoyed performing for the Indian audience and the stage was perfect. India is like another world for me but the vibes are positive. And the food is spicy for my tastebuds.”
Ekaterina Bocharova who essayed Alice is one of the most talented skater. Bocharova took us through the rehearsal process, “I rehearsed for six months, losing on sleep due to rehearsals and performing with other actors several times to achieve finesse. However, it’s crucial to have a deep understanding of the character and practice the choreography.” Jana Udaltsova who essayed the role of Red Queen added that one has to work with the technical team to get the special effects right. The 20-year-old has read the lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. “It’s a crazy and extraordinary book. I fell in love with it and formed a close connection with Alice as she’s unpredictable and wants to make the world a better place.” Udaltsova enjoyed playing the role of the Red queen as it’s a strong character, a queen who screams at times but is proud of herself. “I adore her. Though she loses the fight, she still remains on top of the world.”
On audience response the team said, “It was great to see the reactions on their faces. And we received a warm welcome from the Indian audience.”