After four years, Holiday On Ice has returned in the Netherlands tonight March 23rd, with a new show, (directed by Christopher Dean) that is sure to stun audiences young and old. BELIEVE is a modern take on the classic: Romeo and Juliet. Take note: whatever you do, try to obtain a seat near the stage. It’s an unexplainable rush to feel the energy of the ice skaters up close.

While reviewing the show in Düsseldorf earlier this year it was clear how much professional ice skaters have in common with professional dancers. Both in ways of life (training, long hours of rehearsal, touring etc.) and the actual sport itself. The athleticism, precision and sway is very similar. After all, some call it -Ice dancing- for a reason.

BELIEVE is sure to entertain audiences, not in the least because it features a stunning Pole Dancer from France. Mademoiselle Vanessa has a scene in the show one will not soon forget. Very unusual, because at no point is she wearing any skates. She rides solo. Or rather, glides solo. An extraordinary sight that will have people on the edge of their seats!

I represent the sadness of Juliet, the water, her tears.

“I started dancing when I was 18. I became a Caberet and Television dancer. I started pole dancing seven years ago. First competitions and shows. Now, I’m here. I auditioned for this show when I saw the call on social media. I get to do an amazing act with a water curtain, it’s pretty special and unexpected.  This is my second tour with Holiday on Ice and I really enjoyed it. It’s a new dimension, a big gift. The cast is from all around the world. It’s familiar to us, the (social) differences in Romeo and Juliet, it’s what we live(d), together. The story of Romeo and Juliet can occur for real and there actually is a love story between the main characters, who are a couple off stage. The experience from our real lives is what makes our characters more believable. Drawing from your own emotions. In my pole dancing act I’m very free to tell the story that I want.” -Vanessa Biel (France)

Here at Step X Step, music is sacred. A documentary on the long and unique history of Holiday on Ice ( a staggering 73 years of it), teaches us that the show had a live orchestra accompanying it at a certain period. For a show that features World Champions and the very best skating talent on the planet, the sound should lift the artist up and vice versa. So that in return, the viewer falls in love and worships the display as a whole. BELIEVE, (as shown in the press preview), depends on the skills of the skaters without live-music or original compositions and falls short on creativity. It relies somewhat unsuccessfully on old POP hits.  It proves that a true hit is hard to improve or build upon, even if it done by someone as talented as mister Stephen Emmer.

The absolute icing on the cake with this particular show is a scene with intricate suits that light up in different colors and patterns. Very smooth illusions! Reminiscent of ILUMINATE. A concept SXSTV witnessed live in 2012 during a Red Bull BC One event featuring guest star Timor Steffens. This patented technology created in 2009 is the so called brainchild of a woman named  Miral Kotb, whose true passions in life are dance and software engineering. Similar to Wrecking Crew Orchestra, both acts have been taking the world by storm ever since their debut. Like it or not: A “bite” is what this spectacular segment in BELIEVE would be labeled in the streets. In show business, the illuminated suits are better described as entertainment. A great invention. A phenomenon with infinite possibilities.

Holiday on Ice was founded in Ohio (USA) in 1943, has worldwide welcomed about 328 million viewers total and counting. Most people, will remember going to a show at one point in their youth and all the excitement that went with it.

Currently, in a state where technology has sky-rocketed and consequently created a society where people seem to be harder and harder to impress when it comes to being entertained, this ice-skating show is certainly giving other Entertainment productions around the globe a run for their money.

Still need more ?

Make sure to follow www.holidayonice.nl for tickets and tourdates.

Thank you to Infinity PR.