2014
Olympics
Sochi,
Russia
A Dynamic Shows
Production
By: Tamara
Sharp
If you have not already heard the news,
Russia has won the opportunity to host the 2014 Winter Olympic
Games. It will be held in the city of Sochi, Russia. To
celebrate this joyous event Russia's Vladimir President Putin
requested there be an ice skating performance held for his
countrymen and the many world leaders attending the World
Economic Forum held on June 9th of this year.
Krasnov Design, a Russian producer hired
Igor Lyutikov, the founder of Dynamic Shows to create the
event. Igor was the event organizer for the skaters and
choreographed the cast of 85. The ice surface was built on the
Baltic Sea by using what resembled giant fish tanks and
placing them in the water. Then the water was frozen on top of
the tanks to create the stage and it was built in just one
week. Image performing an ice show on the Baltic
Sea!
The cast was made up entirely of Russian
skaters. The star of the show was Evgeni Plushenko. The cast
included three well known skating teams; Alexander Smirnov and
Yko Kawaguchi, Maxim Trankov and Maria Muhortova and,
Gergei Slavnov and Ulia Obertas. Russia's number one synchro
team 'Paradise' was brought in from St. Petersburg.
Forty-eight of the skaters were children of all ages from
'Aleko Childrens' Ice Theatre' in Moscow. This Ice Theatre is
a very unique training center that teaches youths how to
become performing and not competitive skaters. Also, from
Moscow came eight members of 'On Vernadskogo's Circus on Ice'.
The rehearsals for the show were
extremely difficult because half of them were held in St.
Petersburg and the other half were in Moscow. The three adagio
teams did a trio routine without ever having a practice
together. In fact, there was not a single time when the show
was run with a full cast together until the actual
performance!
Igor said, "He did
not get any sleep for a about month because he was flying back
and forth constantly to teach and organize everyone's
choreography and all of their costumes for the show." He did
not even have anyone assisting him in choreography, as this
business was completely new for him in Russia and already
established ice show companies had desperately wanted this
contract.
There was not a
skater on the ice that performance that did not have some
nerves. If the thought of performing for their entire country
and their President was not enough, the world was also
watching. Due to the fact that the show was performed during
the Economic Forum it was broadcast in 34 countries. If you
were watching CNN or BBC see that day you may have caught some
of it.
The show was a great success even though
it started ten minutes late leaving President Putin to
entertain his visiting dignitaries during the unforeseen
delay. President Putin came onto the ice at the end of the
performance to greet the press and take photographs. It was
noted that he was very proud of the skaters and for his
country. |