The Palm Beach Post

September 12, 1990

Section: “On Stage”

Writer: John Eldridge

Soviet folklore, U.S. flash

Moscow on Ice mixes old, new in stylish show

 

Since 1957, the Moscow State Ballet on Ice has thrilled audiences in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe .

Glasnost has thawed relations between Mother Russia and the U.S.A. , and now the company is poised to begin an extensive American tour with a two- night stand in West Palm Beach Auditorium today and Saturday.

Most of the gorgeous folkloric numbers and the breathtaking acrobatic and athletic feats translate well to just about any location.

The company performers are trained not only in ice skating, but also in Bolshoi School ballet techinique . Unfortunately, that style can have the impact of a dull thud on Western eyes.

Soviet authorities were frankly eager to go for a big commercial success. So they hired a specialist to tailor the show for American tastes.

Los Angeles- based choreographer Jennifer Nairn -Smith, Australian-born dancer and veteran of the New York City Ballet, several Bob Fosse Broadway musicals and rock music videos, was up to the challenge.

“I don’t know anything about being on ice,” Nairn - Smith said. “The only thing I know about ice is ice cubes, frankly. All I know is movement. Anything that breathes, I can move, and in any fashion.”

Off to Moscow she went to review the show.

 

Cut here, snip there

  

First she trimmed some of the costumes to show more flesh.

“They’re much more conservative than Americans,” Nairn -Smith said. Then she cut some of the classical numbers. The contemporary Russian ballet Spartacus was a big hit in Vladivostok , but it probably wouldn’t create sparks in Peoria .

Nairn -Smith had other ideas.

“I simply put in music that was the heartthrob of American music,” said Nairn -Smith. New York , New York by Sinatra. From Dirty Dancing , She’s Like the Wind . Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation , Stars and Stripes Forever for the finale. We have huge American and Russian flags. There’s always a standing ovation.” She was very careful to preserve the big folkloric numbers with their exciting acrobatics and museum quality costumes, and effective contemporary numbers, including the space fantasy title C osmos Since Nairn -Smith didn’t know how to skate, she created and rehearsed her dance numbers with the company in a studio. Then Olympics ice skating choreographer Igor Shapovalov , responsible for so many Soviet medalists over the years, took the troupe onto the ice where he’d add his own touches. “When you see it, you can recognize current moves I put in, integrated with ice technique,” Nairn -Smith said  Sheer physical strength is another aspect of the show’s performers. Under the tutelage of world champion Irina Rodnina , the company stars executive spins and leaps familiar to Americans from television sports.

One of the most notable medal winning skaters is 1980 world champion Sergey Shakhrai . Others in the troupe have been perennial medalists in Soviet competitions: Tatiana Voytyuk , Sergey Zaitsev , Vladimir Bogolyubov , Andray Tarasyan and Lumila Bakanina .

The show should evaporate some preconceived American notions about Soviet people, Nairn -Smith said.

“The girls are cute and sexy and pretty, not fat old peasants with 100 medals on their left side,” she said. “And sexy, handsome, hunky men. When I was in Moscow I said, ‘Oh, my God, this is a wonderful place’”