HOT ICE, ETERNITY
Blackpool Ice Drome
4th July to 7th Sept 2024
“30 world champion and Olympic skaters head to Blackpool this summer to skate in the famous Hot Ice Show.
This year’s production, Eternity, combines sport and theatre and showcases the best in class talent with high-tech special effects, nail-biting stunts and mesmerising hand-made costumes by the in house team at Stageworks Worldwide
Amanda Thompson OBE, CEO of Pleasure Beach Resort said: “Eternity promises to leave our guests on the edge of their seats. We’re setting the ice on fire (quite literally) as our hand-picked talented skaters create a fusion of sport and passion to put on a cutting edge show that is truly like no other. It’s not one to be missed!”
Review by Richard Lambert, 5 Stars
Wow, wow and wow again!
There truly is no show on our planet quite like Amanda Thompson’s HOT ICE.
Meshing theatricality, stunning costumes (11,000 rhinestones!!!!), drama, emotive new musical compositions, a huge cast of 30 skaters, video, lights, flying, special effects into this fantastically spectacular show! The atmosphere just electric!
Having reviewed STARLIGHT EXPRESS in London a week ago where the young cast on roller skates can barely manage to balance on less than 2 feet to then arrive and experience HOT ICE. Like chalk and cheese. Starlight Express tickets selling for £180. And haven’t we seen enough gender-swapped characters already? Tickets here start at £10, top price £28. Forget Starlight – for the price of one ticket, bring your entire family to Blackpool for a holiday! And see this spectacular show! And these HOT ICE skaters can skate, like really skate! Breathtaking, exhilirating, exciting skating with power, grace, skill and emotion – everything going into the performance.
The boys are all athletes, super-fast, popping off double and tripe rotation jumps, so sure-footed, cocky and rightly so! Nailing their jumps and our imaginations. Love it! The girls are so beautiful – elegant, costumes that float and flow, feather head dresses, everyone’s dream! It might be old-fashioned concepts but isn’t it just wonderful to see such a spectacle.
Amanda Thompson has been putting HOT ICE together for decades and it shows. She is a genius at producing – the emotional journey throughout that ebbs and flows perfectly. The mis-direction segue scenes to cover the costume changes. The use of audience and ice-side entrances and exits. The flying acts and the bath tub, human flag and drummer enhancements, the artistic polish on top of the gruelling tough sport of ice skating – all controlled by an experienced director.
The choreography covers many genres and successfully integrates the essentials – the intersections, the wheel, the block steps while introducing a nod to street dance whacking. All lots of fun. The 1st half being very original numbers. Possibly the Bolero has been over-done to death by T&D and presents less excitement than the other numbers but the 2nd half also has some “show-off” sections that highlight the terrific chemistry between the male skaters – and that is always going to be a huge crowd-pleaser.
Denis Cheprasov and Lukasz Kedzierski have to be mentioned for their stand-out performance and it’s brilliant to see that some of our British skaters have made the grade to perform here – Nadia Craggs, Amelia Smith, Eleanor Hayes, Francesca Guerin and James Horrocks. Making the transition from amateur competitive figure skater to a professional ice skating performer artist is a huge leap! Huge congratulations to them and thanks for being such an inspiration to all competitive ice skaters in the UK!
Ice Skating has undergone so much change since it’s heyday – the new IJS rules introduced to satisfy the Olympics Committee have reduced the artistic value causing most competitive ice skating programs to pursue the elements with the unfortunate result their programs can all look the same. Dancing on Ice has dumbed-down the expectations of the general public, and touring showcases of world-class skaters lack the theatrical element. This has left HOT ICE as the most unique and stunning ice show in the World! There really is no other ice show at this level!
I’ll be back to enjoy the experience of this show again this season!
Further information:
About Hot Ice:
Pleasure Beach Resort Arena is the world’s first purpose built ice arena and is home to the famous Hot Ice.
Director and Producer Amanda Thompson OBE hand picks the best skaters from across the globe – most of which are world and Olympic champions.
Hot Ice combines sport and theatre and showcases the best in class talent with high-tech special effects, nail biting stunts and mesmerising hand-made costumes by the in house team at Stageworks Worldwide.
Tickets are currently on sale and can be booked through the website: https://bookings.blackpoolpleasurebeach.com/shows/date/hot-ice
About Pleasure Beach Resort:
Forget what you think you know.
Exhilarating rides and attractions, world-class shows and entertainment, and two award-winning hotels might not immediately come to mind when people think of Pleasure Beach Resort. But they should.
As a theme park founded in 1896, many people have fond memories of its proud heritage. And while that history is an important chapter, it isn’t the whole story. Over the years Pleasure Beach has continually evolved into a resort destination that boasts some of the most exciting and revolutionary attractions in the UK.
Pleasure Beach Resort is home to Northern Europe’s Most Luxurious Hotel, Boulevard; the towering 235ft Big One; the Best Water Ride in the World, Valhalla; and the world-famous Hot Ice Show… to name but a few.
Thrillseekers can get an adrenaline-fuelled fix by experiencing the same G-Force as a Formula 1 car on ICON, while families can solve mysteries with PAW Patrol Pups Skye, Marshall and Chase, and dance with SpongeBob, Patrick and Squidward at the UK’s only Nickelodeon Land.
There’s so much more to experience.
Pleasure Beach Resort is currently open for the 2024 season. Find out more and book tickets at: www.pleasurebeachresort.com
About Richard Lambert
Richard was a professional ice skater with Magic Kingdom on Ice (USA Tour), and toured with Disney on Ice (7.5 years).
He was also a NISA UK Figure Skating Judge for Singles, Pairs, Synchro, Dance and Technical Controller (Singles)
and ISU trained International Data Input and Video Replay Operator.