SUE SKINNER The glitz, glamour and sensational skating left audiences calling for more. And tonight the Russian Ice Stars are set to make a triumphant return to King's Lynn Corn Exchange with a new show, Snow White on Ice.

SUE SKINNER

The glitz, glamour and sensational skating left audiences calling for more. And tonight the Russian Ice Stars are set to make a triumphant return to King's Lynn Corn Exchange with a new show, Snow White on Ice.

Their debut visit a year ago with Cinderella on Ice was the biggest and most ambitious production ever staged at the venue, involving the conversion of the front of the auditorium into an ice rink.

“It was excellent - people just wanted to know when they were coming back,” said Corn Exchange marketing manager, Suzanne Hopp.

“They were so amazed by the transformation with the ice rink and the quality of the dancers. The feedback was nothing but excellent and this year has sold fantastically as well.”

The two shows have proved so popular that the Russian Ice Stars are already booked to appear in Lynn again next year with Peter Pan on Ice.

The Snow White cast includes nearly 30 skaters, including Sydney 2000 Olympic gold medal gymnast Ioulia Barsoukova. The original classical music score is by Italian composer Silvio Amato, who choreographed the opening ceremony at the Winter Olympics in Turin.

Preparing for the run of seven performances involves a massive logistical exercise which started on Tuesday morning with the arrival of two large trucks loaded with costumes, set, lighting and sound equipment, together with five technicians.

Construction of the rink began with piecing together the base and sides, made of reinforced plywood and waterproof timber. A 15m by 15m industrial pool liner casing was fitted inside, creating a large but shallow swimming pool. Next some 15km of pipework was laid inside the tray and connected to chiller units outside the theatre. These filled the pipes with an anti-freeze mixture, which was then chilled ready for four tonnes of crushed ice to be spread over the top. Water was sprayed on the rink every 15 minutes throughout Tuesday night, until the ice was between seven and eight centimetres thick.

By this afternoon, it was ready for Olga Pershankova, who stars as Snow White, and her fellow cast members Ekaterina Bokiy Mintals as Gras and Sergei Smirnov as Fua to try out their latest venue.

t A limited number of tickets for Snow White on Ice are still available. Performances end on Sunday, March 26. Contact the box office - 01553 764864.