Let it show! A life on ice for Disney as skaters head to Birmingham

She won’t be heading to Selfridges, Harvey Nics or having dinner at Simpsons when the circus rolls into town. Nor will she be hitting The Mailbox, treating herself to something nice at New Street or feasting on the sights of the Second City’s excellent museums and art galleries.

Instead, international jet-setter and former Olympian Jackie Soames will be heading ‘home’ for a cup of tea and a catch-up with the relatives.

The Performance Director for Disney on Ice can’t wait to visit Birmingham for the biggest show of Easter weekend. For Jackie hails from nearby Nuneaton and after spending most of the year living out of a suitcase is looking forward to seeing people who she seldom gets to see.

Jackie is responsible for a gargantuan production that traverses the globe for eight months of the year. And Birmingham is a home-from-home, a place she’s oh-so familiar with and a city where she can relax.

“I’m on the road and tour with the group for most of the time. We travel for about eight months of the year, so it’s usually living out of suitcases. There is a little downtime and we might get summer work or have a break and get to see our friends and family.

“I’m from Nuneaton, so coming to Birmingham is a real treat. That was where I started.”

Indeed it was.

Jackie enjoyed a remarkable career after learning to skate at Solihull Ice Rink at the age of eight. While many youngsters might trip, fall and decide to pursue activities that have a lower chance of failure, Jackie took to it like a duck to water.

“I very soon realised I loved skating,” she said. She decided to make it her profession and began to compete regularly across the UK.

“After I left school, I moved to London so that I could start skating with a partner all the time. I progressed into the adult rankings and did European, World and Olympic competitions.

“When my professional career came to an end, my partner – who is also a skater – and I wanted to carry on, so we joined Disney on Ice.

“We started out with Feld, the company behind the Disney on Ice series, and did Wizard on Ice first. Those shows were great and we kept going in various productions for 10 years, until my partner retired.

“I wanted to remain involved because I loved the production side and management side of it. I’m very passionate about my job and eventually became production director. For me, it’s all about creating these remarkable experiences.”

Ah yes, remarkable experiences. Disney on Ice offers those in abundance. Forget Easter Egg hunts, safari parks and zoos. And forget football fixtures, rock concerts and headline shows by Brit-winners like Sam Smith. For when Easter arrives in the West Midlands, the biggest show in town will be Disney on Ice. Eight shows are planned at Birmingham’s Genting Arena as the magic of Disney is brought to life by some of the world’s best ice-skaters.

The latest show is called Worlds of Enchantment and fans can enter the dazzling world of Disney for non-stop fun with four of their favourite Disney stories.

There will be the high-speed stunts of Lightning McQueen, Mater and the crew of Disney/Pixar’s Cars, who will race across the ice like never before. Fans can dive into an adventure with Ariel in The Little Mermaid’s enchanted undersea kingdom. The toys are back in town as Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Jessie and the Toy Story gang escape from the rambunctious tots of Sunnyside Daycare in their most daring adventure ever. And fans can also enter the wintry world of Arendelle with sisters Anna and Elsa and pals Olaf and Kristoff from Disney’s Frozen, as they learn that true love comes from within. From wheels to waves, icy wonderlands to infinity and beyond, dozens of favourite Disney moments will come to life at Disney On Ice presents Worlds of Enchantment.

And Jackie is the one who is charged with making sure it all goes to plan; that there are no slips, trips, falls or blow-outs as a team of dozens moves into Birmingham for a series of sell-out shows.

Though fans are transported in a magical 100-minute performance, they do not get to see the remarkable amount of work that goes into creating Disney’s magic.

Each show takes more than a year to put together and Jackie is there from day one until the show hits the road.

“We start creating the shows about a year before they go into production and the team starts brainstorming all the ideas with set designers, choreographers, lighting experts and the crew.

“We do a ‘white model meeting’, where we look at what we expect the show to look like. And after we’ve made a lot of progress, we put together a six-week production rehearsal in Florida where we work out all the lighting, choreography, costuming and so forth.

“The team is truly remarkable and we work with some of the best designers in the world as far as costuming, lighting and set design are concerned. Our director is incredibly creative but it’s all about the team and people come out with truly wonderful ideas.”

As families regularly visit Disney on Ice shows, making a point to enjoy new productions when they return, it’s Jackie’s job to make sure that people can look forward to something different when they take their seat.

“We look to really push it and bring new experiences but with the same stories. For this tour, we’ve got Toy Story, The Little Mermaid, Cars and Frozen, which are all classics. We try to really bring them to life by being as creative as possible.”

This year’s big selling point is Cars, which no other company gets to perform in an ice-skating environment.

Jackie adds: “Cars is unique, nobody else does it. The cars are on the ice and we have amazing animatronics. It’s great for adults as well as kids. The dads whip out their phones even quicker than the children – they love it more than anyone.”

Keeping a show on the road is a huge undertaking as Jackie has to deliver a show that fans love and view as value for money, while also making sure that her team is fit and ready to perform.

“We really look after the dancers. We have access to gyms in most cities or we find gyms in the local area. So we’ll do a warm-up and a class every week and we do rehearsal before a show to keep everyone on their toes. Most of the performers come from a sporting and athletic background so they know what to eat. We’re not so strict that people become unhappy. Hey, you know, everybody likes a bit of pizza.

“The dancers are really competitive because most of the skaters are from an elite sporting background. It’s our job to work with a choreographer who will know what set she wants. Then we’ll start rehearsing with the ensemble. They’ll take separate ice time with each dancer and there’s great attention to detail so that we can bring out all of the tricks.”

Skating has become more and more popular in the UK in recent years, especially with shows such as Dancing on Ice which began in 2006. After taking a few years out, the show returned this year and the 10th series has proved so popular and generated such big ratings that an 11th series has already been commissioned for 2019.

The latest show was watched by more than 8.5 million people – achieving figures similar to 2009 levels – and has demonstrated how much us Brits enjoy it.

Jackie says the influence of TV has been profound. “Dancing on Ice has had a massive effect. But Disney on Ice is also popular in its own right and has been coming to the UK for years and years. All of the audiences know to expect a fantastic product. I’m in charge of this show and so the buck stops with me. But we all work so hard that we can be sure it’ll go alright on the night. The reaction around the world differs. People in Spain love spins. You can do a triple axle or something else really complicated but they always just prefer a spin. Here in the UK the audiences are very knowledgeable. They might have been brought up on Torvill and Dean or be fans of Dancing on Ice so they really know what they are looking for.”

It’s been many years since Jackie skated professionally, but she still gets the same enjoyment from putting Disney’s show on the road as she did during her competition years.

“There are hardly words to describe Olympics. We didn’t earn a medal but it was an amazing experience to be part of Lillehammer 1994, in Norway.”

That was the year that a relaxation of the amateurism rules led to several former stars returning, such as ice dancing 1984 Champions Great Britain’s Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, who took a bronze behind Russians Oksana Grishuk and Evgeny Platov, and Maya Usova and Alexander Zhulin.

Jackie lined up in the pair skating, where the Russians also took a double, with Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov winning ahead of Natalia Mishkutenok and Artur Dmitriev.

“We did a training session with Grinkov and Gordeeva, who won that year. I’ll never forget it. It was magical.”

In order for the show to hit the heights, Jackie depends on her skating team, including people like Eric Palin, who plays ‘Ken’ in Toy Story.

He wouldn’t swap his life, even though it involves constant travel and living out of a suitcase.

“It’s an intense week but it’s all worth it when you see the smiles on people’s faces. Rehearsals can run from two to eight hours a day for five to six days per week, when we’re putting the show together. There is so much time and effort in perfecting the performances.

“Figure skating is a craft that we’ve been perfecting in training for most of our life and Disney on Ice gives us an opportunity to use that craft. But it’s not just about skating, we have to perform and the performance aspect is very different.

“I’m one of the line captains, so I have to be a good performer as well as a good skater and I have to teach the steps for each show, as well as mentoring the newer skaters.”

Eric has been with Feld for seven years, during which times he’s been to about 34 countries. “I’m 27, so I’d say I’m pretty well travelled for my age. We enjoy travelling and visiting places like Birmingham and in some cities we get a few days off, so we can explore. I take full advantage and make sure I’m rested so that I can put my best foot forward every show. I make it a point to see the sights and appreciate the culture and immerse myself in it.”

Each Disney performance offers fans something new and Frozen was a particular highlight of recent years. It enjoyed a good response around the world, while The Little Mermaid was particularly popular in Spain.

“For this show, the Cars segment is a really popular part. We’re the only live show in the world with that and the special effects make it incredible. It’s not just for the enjoyment of toddlers, it’s also for the dads.”

While Eric’s responsibility is making sure the dancers are at their best and the audience has a good time, he also takes pride in his own performance. “When you get it right it’s a very special feeling. We put hours of rehearsal time into each character and spend extra time on the ice to make sure all of the tricks are polished. When you hit that final beat and everyone in the seats is filled with joy, it’s an amazing feeling. It’s great.”

• Disney on Ice Worlds of Enchantment is on at the Genting Arena from March 28 to April 1. Tickets cost from £21.05. Visit www.disneyonice.com