'Ice Dancing' at sea aboard Navigator of the Seas

**Ally** · 10-26-2006, 07:48 AM

Lights dim on the empty 40-by-60-foot ice arena. A minute later, as the lights come up, the rink has been transformed into a mystical fairyland with five white-tuxed skaters amid five huge white columns. The male skaters are soon joined by five beautifully attired women who whirl around the columns.

Again the lights dim, and when they return only the column in the center of the rink remains, the others having been raised to the rafters.

While 900 spectators gasp, a skater wrapped in a white linen cocoon becomes visible inside the column. The skater, Kayla Freeborn, a native of Swansea, is unwrapped and skates a dazzling solo that brings applause from the crowd.

Her number is set to music by Shakira. Afterward, she joins nine other performers dressed as caricatures of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec skating like ducks into the arena.

These numbers are just the beginning of a show called “Ice Dancing.” And it all takes place four times a week on the high seas - on Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas, to be exact, one of five megaships in the line’s Voyager class that offers the shows free to passengers sailing the Caribbean or the Mediterranean.

The skaters have excelled in international competitions and are among the most talented in the world, said the show’s associate producer, Sylvia Froescher.

The idea of doing an ice show on the high seas is credited to Royal Caribbean’s director of entertainment, Peter Compton, who came up with the concept in 1990.

Since nothing like this had ever been performed on a moving ship and was a costly endeavor, Compton had to convince his bosses it was feasible, according to Froescher.

The rinks were created in Finland, where the ships were built. And Willy Bietak Productions, which for years has produced family-oriented shows such as the “Ice Capades,” was hired to produce the shows.

Still it’s not an easy undertaking. “We’ve been able to anticipate problems the skaters might have and iron them out with the ship’s designers,” Froescher said. “For example, we had to make sure the surface of the ice would be perfectly level.”

A small Zamboni is used for the task. Eight tons of ice, four inches thick, make up the rink surface.

Only in very rough weather have performances had to be canceled, and that’s extremely rare.

For Freeborn, a perky blonde and only 19, it’s a dream opportunity. “I have the world’s greatest job,” she said, adding she earns $800 weekly and gets free room and board and the opportunity for time off in Caribbean ports.

For Royal Caribbean reservations, go to www.royalcaribbean.com