Holiday On Ice returns to The Brighton Centre in January 2016 with its new show PASSION. Amy Moore interviews principal skater Lloyd Jones ahead of the show’s first UK performance

Celebrating 70 years and enjoyed by more than 328-million people, Holiday On Ice is returning to the UK with new show, PASSION.

The show is scheduled to run from January 5 to January 10 at The Brighton Centre, Brighton and follows the true-life stories of the cast members.

Professional skater Lloyd Jones is accompanied by international principal skaters Sasha (Russia), MacKenzie Crawford (Canada), Annette Dytrt (Germany), Pernelle Carron (France) and Michael Solonoski (America).

The performance schedule is made up of 10 shows throughout the week. The talented creative team consists of Creative Director Bart Doerfler, Choreographer Jamie Isley, Costume Designer Cynthia Nordstrom, Musical Composer Stephen Emmer, Lightning Set and Video Designer Luc Peumans and Sound Designer Jeroen ten Brinke.

Henrik-Jan Rinner, CEO of Holiday on Ice, commented: “For 71 years, Holiday On Ice has presented spectacular productions, showcasing the talents of the best skaters from all around the world. When Bart Doerfler, the Creative Director, presented his first ideas for our new show to me, I was thrilled and excited. With PASSION we show you, our audience, what it takes to become a medal-winning ice skater and ultimately a Holiday On Ice performer; from the first slippery steps on the ice to the countless hours of training, the competitions, the setbacks, the smiles and tears and ultimately, the triumphs.

“I am incredibly excited about bringing PASSION to the UK and especially to The Brighton Centre where the show has been adored by its audiences for over 30 years.”

Groups receive reduced ticket prices. Tickets are available from www.brightoncentre.co.uk or by calling the box office on 0844 847 1538.

#GTW TALKS TO LLOYD JONES

Holiday On Ice will be introducing a new show called PASSION in January 2016. What’s it all about?

It’s basically the story of what it takes to become a skater. It goes through the different phases, from when you’re practising to when you did your first show; the difficult times when people tell you you’re not good enough, to celebrating the times when you’ve got that job you wanted or the good result you’re after.

Each number has a different idea. You have the ‘glamour’ section of the show and there’s the ‘inspiration’ section of the show – they’re all themes linked with what it takes to become a skater.

Do you have a solo routine in PASSION?

Yes, although my section involves skating in a couple, depicting how sometimes there can be romance and sometimes there can be fights.

What’s your favourite sequence within PASSION?

I like the fight number, because it has a lot of big adagio lifts and really gets the audience riled up and excited.

How long have you been touring with Holiday On Ice?

I did a seven-month contract with them, from November 2014 through to May 2015. This will be my second tour with Holiday On Ice.

What do you like most about performing with Holiday On Ice?

I love performing on the ice in general. What I love most about being part of Holiday On Ice is that there is a fantastic cast of skaters, and we all get on really well. We all enjoy going out there and delivering good standard performances to the audience. We finish a lot of the shows with standing ovations. It’s just a very enjoyable and positive experience.

How do you prepare for a show?

For my partner and I, it’s practising the lifts again and again to make sure that the timing is good and strong; checking the lines with the video and making sure they look aesthetically pleasing, and then we’ve got to work on a bit of endurance training to make sure we’re fit enough to get through the numbers. We train about three hours a day, five days a week in preparation for the show.

What’s the process of putting the show together?

The show itself is already built, so when we turn up in rehearsals, some of us already know the show. It’s then about teaching the people that don’t know the show, the show, repeating it again and again, and cleaning up little pieces here and there, and making any changes necessary. As soon as we start, we’ll work hard for two weeks, with rehearsals from 0800hrs to 1900hrs or 2000hrs, six days a week.

What inspired you to become involved in ice-skating?

I was an amateur skater before joining Holiday On Ice. I’ve skated all my life, and I carried on my amateur career after competing in the Olympics. After retiring, I still wanted to perform, but without the stress of performing to a specific set of rules. As a professional skater, I have much more freedom.

You’ve done a lot of training around the world in competitive skating – have you implemented any interesting techniques into your routine?

It’s an accumulation of all your experiences as a skater. Some of the more impressive looking lifts that I learnt in my competition days, I’ve put them in the show, and all the skills I’ve used as a skater, they’re engrained in my fundamental skating skills. Since finishing in the amateur world, I’ve learnt a lot of adagio lifts when you grab the girl’s ankle and swing her around. I’ve learnt a lot of new tricks for the show.

Were you familiar with Holiday On Ice before you auditioned?

I used to go every year with my family to watch Holiday On Ice. It used to come around once a year at the Cardiff International Arena [Motorpoint Arena Cardiff]. I must have seen about 10 years worth of shows before I moved away.

What’s your favourite Holiday On Ice show?

One that seems to stand out in my mind from when I was a kid is a show called EXOTIVA. To be honest, it’s been a long time since I’ve sat back and watched them.

Holiday On Ice has a bit of everything. They have acrobatic tricks; they have the nice costumes, the lights, the music and a bit of humour if that’s what people are looking for. Holiday On Ice really appeals to a mass market, with lots of different aspects to the show.

PASSION opened on December 10, 2015 and is scheduled to run in Europe until March 20, 2016. In addition, BELIEVE premiered in Germany on November 26, 2015 and is scheduled to tour in Europe until May 22, 2016. For more information on both shows visit www.holidayonice.com.