Today in Las Vegas Magazine

From Russia, With Love

It came with much fanfare and a load of expectations. Ice – The Show From Russia debuted in The Riviera Hotel in early 2007, replacing the 20-year old favorite, Splash. From the onset it had the talents of Sergey Ryshkoff and Debra Brown, providing the backbone, core and concept of the show and adding much of each of their experience and background to the show’s production values.

Sergey Ryshkoff is the creator, founder and President of the Moscow Ice Circus. A performer himself, he graduated from the State circus and variety school in 1969. In the years that followed, Ryshkoff worked as an artist in almost all circus genres (acrobat, horse rider, etc.). While performing in the state circus on ice company, he introduced new types of acts to the ice programs – springboard and ice acrobatics – and was part of the leading ice circus troupe for close to 20 years. He got his break in December 1991, when he founded the Moscow Ice Circus, the first, independent and privately-owned circus company. Since then, the troupe has been on-tour throughout Russia, as well as internationally, in Japan, South Korea, the United States, Ireland, United Kingdom, France, Argentina, Canada, Brazil, Spain, Malaysia, China, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Australia, Germany and Dubai; even performing in Atlanta, Georgia during the 1996 Olympic Games.

Also no stranger to the performing arts and big-name production shows, is choreographer Debra Brown. A gymnast herself, she is most known for her work on several Cirque du Soleil shows like Ouidam, Alegria, Saltimbanco, Nouvelle Experience, Cirque Reinvente, La Nouba and of course, current Vegas shows, O and Mystere. In 2002, she received an Emmy for the choreography performed by Cirque du Soleil at the Oscar awards ceremony. She has also done work in the films Catwoman and Van Helsing; as well as choreographed for such artists as Madonna, Celine Dion and Aerosmith.

Ice – The Show From Russia is based on the works and previous productions of Sergey Ryshkoff and aided by the Emmy award-winning team headed by choreographer Debra Brown. It’s been compared to a Cirque show, due to the presence of acrobats, gymnasts, aerlialists, glittering costumes, exciting choreography, breathtaking stunts and the like, though the novelty lies in the fact that everything is done on ice skates. Everything. There’s the favorite, lyrical piece – a pas de deux with skaters mirroring the movement of kites. There are clowns who perform tricks, who are also musicians in their own right. There are aerialists, hoop spinners, acrobats, musicians – making the show essentially similar to the variety shows of old, except all the performers are on ice skates.

What may be the most impressive about this show is that it could very well be ‘the little show that could’ in comparison with Cirque du Soleil. It doesn’t have the mega-budget that Cirque shows are known for, nor does it have the purpose-built, million-dollar theater, “stars” performing and all that hoopla – instead, what it does have is 42 of Russia’s most disciplined performers converging on a 2,800 square foot ice stage. There’s a new circus in town, and it looks like they’re here to stay.

-Rachel M. Sugay