Coming up: The 2006 Proximus Stars on Ice in Antwerp
Photos © Absolute Skating
As soon as the skaters took the final bow after the 2005
shows, the main sponsors, Proximus, decided the shows would
return a year later. Held at the Sportpaleis in Antwerp, Belgium,
the event has become increasingly successful since the debut
in 2003. Over 18.000 people attended last year, a success
largely contributed to a first class cast and an efficient
organization.
Skating legend Brian Orser pulled a heavy load in putting
the skating part together and he was thrilled to come to Antwerp.
“I’ve been to Germany and Holland before,
but this is my first time in Belgium!”
It was the first time for a lot of people, but not for the
Absolute Skating crew. Photos and coverage from the shows
have been brought to you since the first shows back in 2003.
The cast has consisted of top skaters every year, as the International
Management Group (IMG) is working hard to offer the European
audience the best of the best in skating.
Ellen Dupont
of the Brussels office was the Project Coordinator for
the 2004 and 2005 shows. |
But even a pro like Ellen learned a few things
along the way, and although it wasn’t funny at the time
she can laugh about it today.
“Yes, the first year I was working very late and
people got tired and irritated. The skaters were cranky because
they didn’t get their practice schedules until 3 am,
we slipped them under the door to their hotel rooms, the choreographer
was down because the cast kept changing to the last minute,
and many of us only got a few hours of sleep. And then there
was the trouble with the Zamboni... The second year everything
went smoother, the concept was more finished, things were
more prepared, the schedules came out on time, the skaters
thought we were more calm as little details were worked out
in advance. There was less hassle all around!”
Since last fall Ellen has moved on to new organizing challenges,
but skating is now in her blood.
|
“I’m looking forward to learning about skating.
I have seen shows like ‘Disney on Ice’ and ‘Holiday
on Ice’, but the Proximus Stars on Ice was the first
real gala show. Last year it was fascinating! It’s really
amazing what people can do on skates, jumping and all. The
women's skating was gentle and beautiful, but my favourites
were the men, especially Ilia Kulik, he had such power and
aggression in his skating; it was intense, real passion to
music. And the opening with all the skaters on the ice, together
with the music and the lights, it was fantastic! I only watched
it on DVD and I kept wondering if it was possible that it
could be even better live.”
Dries will be in for a treat this fall as the best skating
indeed is experienced live. And he’s confident he’ll
enjoy all the planning.
“The best part about organizing events is the excitement
before, to put everything together and make it work and then
the feeling of ‘phew-it's-over’ satisfaction afterwards,
when it all came together and became a success.”
And Dries assures us the IMG will do everything in their power
to bring about the best show with the best Olympic skaters
to blow the audience away.
|
Katia Gordeeva
agreed. |
Luckily we have since learned that she will keep skating.
Choreographer Brian Orser was very happy to have her in the
cast.
“I have worked with Ilia and Katia before, so I
could rely on them to pick up the steps quickly. Some of the
new kids... well, it was new to them but I could see they
enjoyed doing it. They were happy and pretty keen to learn
and I’m usually pretty patient with new ones, I want
them to enjoy it and not feel awkward. And I keep everything
fairly simple, I keep a general style. And in Antwerp I had
some of the best skaters in the world so I was confident everyone
would pick up the steps. For me, I had never really watched
Kevin (van der Perren) skate, only on TV from Skate America
and I thought ‘he’s pretty good’, and then
I saw him live and he’s sensational, he should fare
very well this year!”
Kevin thought the practices sessions were efficient and enjoyed
working with Brian. Maurizio had worked with him before.
“It was in Canada and it was very nice to see him
again, it’s a privilege to work with such a skater.
The group numbers came together easily which means the choreographer
was doing a good job explaining what we should do.”
The 2005 US pair champions 2005, Katie
Orscher and Garrett Lucash were in Antwerp for
the first time, and an enthusiastic Garrett related
the experience: |
The Absolute Skating crew is positive this years show will be equally successful as in the past and we will of course tell you all about it. Follow this great event from planning to show time with updates, reports, interviews and lots of photos. And don’t miss the chance to win VIP-tickets to the show and other prizes, all coming up on Absolute Skating.
Saturday 18th of November 2006 at 7.30 pm
Sunday 19th of November 2006 at 3.00 pm
Visit the Proximus Stars on Ice website:
www.proximusstarsonice.be
Ticket information: (tickets are on sale now, but check the
Absolute Skating message board for more details before ordering)
Price: € 15, € 23, € 30 (depending on the selected
seating)
Reservations via Tele Ticket Service:
Belgium: 070 345 345
The Netherlands: 0900 45 000 45
Other Countries: +32 34 0000 34
Or via website www.teleticketservice.com
Next up:
"The new hope of Belgium – Ruben Blommaert"