Text by
Mireille Geurts
Photos © Kata
Stars on Ice in Antwerp. It was the first time such an
event took place in Belgium. For SOI, it was a trial run to
see if the European public would be interested in this type
of skating event. The answer to this would appear to be a
resounding yes. The arena was almost sold out and before both
shows there even was a traffic jam on the highway near the
Sportpaleis, the venue for the show.
Inside the arena, the audience thoroughly enjoyed the show,
although it was somewhat noticeable that, because for many
people it was their first time to attend this kind of events,
they didn’t seem to be sure when to clap or stand up.
Some show images:
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©
Rhiannon |
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Even
though there were only two performances, the planning of this
event started way back. Responsibility for organising the
shows was given to IMG-Brussels and it has to be said that
they did a terrific job. In an earlier interview during the
summer, Byron Allen, the producer of SOI in the United States,
Has given an interview about how he saw the future for SOI
in Europe and how these shows tied in with that vision. Read
that interview here..
A
lot of effort was put into promoting the shows and in September
an official press conference was held, with journalists from
Belgium and the Netherlands in attendance.
Interest
in the shows was not just confined to these two countries
and tickets were sold to people from the UK, Germany, and
the US etc.
A few days before the show the skaters arrived in Belgium.
Attending the practice, it was really interesting to see how
they put a show like this together.
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It wasn’t completely from scratch; the skaters already had practised the programmes previously. During the practise sessions, there were usually 3-4 skaters on the ice simultaneously, while every program of each individual skater was run through.It was sometimes hard to see whose program it was because all skaters on the ice were practising moves and jumps. Some skaters were very into their programs, while others were obviously just going through the motions. Nobody was in costume.
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Besides the skaters and some of their family and friends, the only other people around were from the SOI production team, some of who were still in the process of building the ice and the set. At one point we were even afraid to get stapled to the floor. The atmosphere was very relaxed and friendly. |
We were told that the skaters were free to choose what programs they wanted to skate during the show. Of course this was talked over with the choreographer on scene, Renee Rocca, so it would all fit in and they could plan a good balance in the show. All skaters seemed to be doing a more “serious” and a lesser serious (fun) program
After the first break to resurface the ice, the cast started practising the opening and closing group numbers. They put a remarkable amount of time into this, practising in detail. After a while I had heard the music so many times that I could have started humming it in my sleep. |
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During this run-through, there were some guys (Steven Cousins, Viktor Kraatz, Ilia Kulik and Kevin van der Perren) who weren’t paying attention all the time and were talking and goofing around and having lots of fun, just like the bad boys at the back of the class. In the end, however, they all knew what to do. It just shows what a great, relaxed atmosphere there was.
The closing number seemed to take less time than the opening. The music used was 'We are family'. The first part of the program included only the ladies. The men had to wait a while before they were included in the practise. They just sat around and waited, talking and laughing.
The second break to resurface the ice was hilarious. The resurfacing machine was so small that the man on top almost looked bigger than the machine itself. He took his job very seriously. Some parts of the ice were resurfaced 3 times and the skaters thought that it was very funny. They joked around, pointing at spots where he had come by only twice….
 © Rhiannon |
After
this, most skaters left the arena. Only Steven, Viktor
and Katarina Witt stayed behind to practise their program,
“Hotter than Blue”. Katarina gets thrown around
a lot, and let’s just say that it takes a lot of
practise to get that done right! Luckily they were all
having a good time! |
Some more remarks heard that day were:
“Everything happens tomorrow!”
“I am already tired (after 2 minutes of practice)”
“We do need lights!”
“That’s
an attractive position…”
“There
can never be enough coffee!” (Or was that at Sunday-morning
practise?)
| “What is usually held in here? A circus? The building looks that way!” |  |
At Sunday morning practise, Kevin landed his quad on that
small ice surface!
The
shows were on Saturday and Sunday. They were organised very
well, although both shows started late. However that was very
convenient for the people who where stuck in the traffic jam.
Maybe that was taken into account?
Some people complained that they weren’t allowed to
go outside during the intermission (you couldn’t get
back in then) and that there wasn’t a smoke-free area
(actually you could smoke everywhere, in the waiting room
and the smokers couldn’t go outside, hence there wasn’t
a smoke-free area).
All
of these things were minor and the show went well. All skaters
performed superbly and the audience loved the whole package.
Ofcourse the cast of skaters offered was thoroughly impressive.
Kevin van der Perren, in some reports called the ‘local
boy’ enjoyed his performance at the show very much and
was warmly greated by the audience. Since figure skating is
not very popular in belgium, having one of their own countrymen
in the show made it more interesting for the general audience.
A lot of fans of Kevin were also present.
The show was presented by Sabine Appelmans. She has been a top-class tennis player, ranking in the top 20 of the world. She now works for VRT, a Belgian Channel. She is extremely populair in Belgium and thus seems to be a good choice for this, to make the show more appealing to the public present in the arena and watching at home. Yes at home, because the show would get aired. |
 © www.igs.net |
At RTBF (French speaking channel in Belgium) presented by Sara Falotico, the newly crowned Belgian ladies champion; and Canvas, the second channel of VRT (the Flamish speaking channel).
Like mentioned before, the atmosphere during the shows was very good. On Sunday there were some more experienced figure skating fans around, which was noticeable because they were screaming very loudly and offered the skaters some flowers or stuffed animals after their programs.
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This was picked up by the skaters, they payed attention to that, which gave a bit extra to the all around mood of the show and the audience.Ilia Kulik was even so nice to go to the girls when the light was still on, so that they could take a picture with him at the same time. It is very hard to believe that only 3-4 girls can make so much noise… |
Also between Saturday and Sunday they changed the finale a bit, making it longer and thus created more time for the audience to thank the skaters, which was a good idea.
The
show has attracted approximately 9000 visitors a day.
The sponsor (Proximus) seems very happy about this. IMG
received a lot of e-mails from visitors and fans, telling
them how they enjoyed the show. Quote from the executive
producer Byron Allen: “We all had a great time in
Belgium and were pleased with the response from the people
of Antwerp. |
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This
was a great show, with an amazing cast and very efficiently
organised. Our thanks goes to SOI for this greatly organised
event and especially to Cindy Vincent of IMG-Brussels and
all the effort she has put into this.
We would all be very happy if Stars on Ice returns to Europe
next year!
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© Rhiannon |
*** Previously published by Europe on Ice
