A ‘magical’ fairytale on ice

Posted on 18 August, 2022

Imagine if all your favourite fairytale characters—from Cinderella to Peter Pan—came together on stage for one show.

Throw in world-class professional champion ice skaters, special effects, circus acrobats and an award-winning soundtrack, and you have Fairytales on Ice.

With all that’s involved in the show, it’s hardly surprising it has consistently sold out in both the United States and Australia. If you struggled to get your hands on tickets, we have good news: one extra show has been added on Sunday 9 October at the Canberra Theatre Centre.

The cast features world-renowned ice skaters, including two-time bronze medallist Jordan Dodds, who plays Prince Charming. Jordan believes the show has been so popular due to its winning formula: “Broadway mixed with ice-skating.”

“It’s such an interactive show and we get to have so much fun with the audience,” Jordan says.

“We have so many fairytale experiences and there’s live singing, special effects, magical illusions, beautiful costumes, acrobatics and choreography.”

Though the ice in the show is technically synthetic, that doesn’t stop the many thrilling jumps, spins and pair lifts bound to get hearts racing. Jordan says the “Broadway” aspect of the show is a very different atmosphere from the world of competitive ice skating, but he has been enjoying the change so far.

“I had just finished up my competitive career this year, but was looking for the performance aspect, so when the casting call came I thought it was perfect,” Jordan says.

“There’s no better feeling being out on the ice, and to perform for a big audience as well.”

Growing up on the Gold Coast, Jordan started ice skating from a young age.

“I first started ice skating because my two older brothers were too, and I wanted to beat them,” he laughs.

“I eventually loved it and wanted to do it all myself, and got to compete for Australia overseas.”

Along with winning two bronze medals at the Australian Figure Skating Championships, Jordan was the 2011 Australian Junior National Champion and also competed pairs skating from 2007-2015 with Eliza Smyth, where he was a three-time Australian Junior National Champion.

Though he can’t reveal too much about the storyline of Fairytales on Ice, Jordan does promise “all your favourite characters” including Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Rapunzel and Little Red Riding Hood.

“We take these characters, put a twist on it, and put it on ice,” he says.

“It’s just such a good show for young children and adults alike, because everyone’s heard of these characters and loves them so much.”