The world ’ s leading ice director Tony Mercer spoke with the Blacktown Independent on the eve of the departure of his Swan Lake on Ice production as it sets sail for Sydney , to perform exclusively at the Coliseum Rooty Hill in January .

by Maryann Callaghan

“ I adore what I do and you ’ re in for a real treat ,” Tony Mercer promised from the European base of his upcoming production of Swan Lake on Ice .

“ It ’ s a theatrical treat . You will be shocked and amazed when watching it for the first time . You may buy the whole seat , but I want to keep you on the very edge of that seat !”

Combining the beauty of dance , elite athleticism , gymnastics and figure skating prowess within the confines of a 14m-by- 14m ice stage , Tony looks set to have local audiences in total awe .

The Imperial Ice Stars , comprising 23 Olympic , world , European and national championship skaters , will take to a frozen stage to perform Tony ’ s reimagined version of the classic love story .

Adopting Tchaikovsky ’ s story line interpretation , Tony took two years to develop this production which will mark the tour ’ s 21 st anniversary .

“ I use a separate Odette and Odile as two characters , they ’ re not the same performer and I ’ ve reimagined the Prince in a different way in this interpretation ,” the Manchester-born director said .

“ You ’ ll laugh , smile and enjoy the

beauty and , I promise you ’ ll cry when we get to the trio dance .”

Theatre is about adapting as audiences continue to change . Traditionally Swan Lake is performed as a ballet , however at the Coliseum in January , audiences will experience ice dancing combined with an innovative light show .

“ I mixed up the disciplines inside my production – it has figure skating moments , moments of beauty , moments of gymnastics , moments of theatre , we even explored harness flying ,” Tony said .

The petite 14m-by-14m ice stage [ rinks are usually 40m by 20m ] hasn ’ t reduced the scope of the presentation in any way .

“ Stage size doesn ’ t limit me with trio dancers or single dancers ,” Tony explained .

“ It ’ s adaptation of technique , with throw axels , axels , back flips , figure skating , big jumps , lifts and technical stationery techniques .

“ There is no rule book with my performers , we don ’ t follow competition skating principles , we create the theatrical show first , rehearse it , then put it on ice and make it work .”

The ‘ ice rink on stage ’ idea was developed 30 years ago , according to Tony , who has since added animated scenery and production lighting to enhance the theatrical experience .

Over the years he ’ s experimented with live projection , LED screens and adding backdrops to recreate and reimagine his productions which are set on an ice stage with temperatures up to minus 15deg .

The Imperial Ice Stars idea was created on Karekare beach , New Zealand … “ when James [ Cundall ] convinced me to invest in them along with ICA – the Sydney based production company he had with David Atkins ”.

“ James said create your own company , create your own style , and I did .”

“ I was a huge fan of Torvill and Dean . I saw them perform Bolero at the Edinburgh arena , and as an ex-lighting designer I was so disappointed with the facility they had to perform in , just a sports ice rink .

“ Bolero turned competitive figure skating [ dance pairs ] into a theatre performance , it wasn ’ t just sport and athleticism .

It is pioneering to be in Western

Sydney , it is very different to touring internationally due to the logistics with ice rinks , refrigeration , the costs are phenomenal .

While Imperial Ice Stars is a multinational company , Tony said its “ literally Australian ” with original set designs by Gavin Swift , with local sets , rinks and staging created in Sydney .

“ We ’ ve not been here since 2018 and we ’ re excited to be back .”

Swan Lake on Ice , performed by Imperial Ice Stars , has toured 31 countries and been seen by 18 million people . Tony has also produced and toured Nutcracker On Ice , Cinderella On Ice , Sleeping Beauty On Ice and Peter Pan On Ice among his many credits .

“ You can bring anyone between five and 105-years-old to this production . It ’ s a performance with beautiful music , scenery and choreography ,” Tony said .

Tickets for the shows , commencing 8 January 2025 , are available through the Sydney Coliseum Theatre , Rooty Hill .