Just now, at Toronto's Sony Centre, a re-interpretation of the famous Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky ballet, Swan Lake, may be just the kind of family fare to which to take your kids, as well as yourself. As presented on ice by Russia's Imperial Ice Stars, this fairytale offers an enchanting moment for ballet and ice-skating fans alike, though you do not need to be either to enjoy the show. Sadly, though, The Imperial Ice Stars and their Swan Lake will be on view only until May 4, 2008.

The brainchild of Tony Mercer, an Englishman who now works mostly out of Moscow, this Swan Lake on ice has diverged a bit from the ballet as we are used to seeing it. Mercer returned to Tchaikovsky's original intent of the tale. The white swan princess, Odette, and the black swan princess, Odile, are performed by two different dance skaters. In the ballet, the two are danced by the same dancer, which sometimes confuses the audience. There is no confusion in this elaborately staged ice show.

It is performed by some of Russia's and the former USSR's leading skaters to a backdrop designed by Australian Eamon D'Arcy in excellent costumes by Russian designer Albina Gabueva. No doubt, this Swan Lake will make a lot of youngsters dream of some day either dancing or skating in this Tchaikovsky ballet with its unforgettable score. The combination of top-notch skating, ballet and acrobatics—there is even guywire flying—all add of to some dazzling moment that will stay in the mind, and will invite a desire for more such shows.

The set and costumes place the story in the very early 1900s, when the Romanoffs still ruled Russia and its vast satellite empire. It is the period in which Tchaikovsky lived himself, though he died in 1893. It is also a period far enough removed from our own world to allow the imagination to dwell on sorcerers, enchanted maidens who are swans by daylight and humans at night, of princes who can fall in love with such creatures, and in believing that love will triumph in the end.

For those who do not know the fairytale, it is all about a young prince, Siegfried, who has to choose a bride on his 21^st birthday from an array of young ladies. As befits a decent tale of this kind, he finds his love not in a ballroom, but on a lake surrounded by white swans. Odette has been condemned to a half-swan, half-human life by the sorcerer Count von Rothbart (Red Beard). This evil character, himself half bird, half human, lives at court as an advisor to Siegfried. There are many twists and turns to the story, but in the end, all will be well.

The skaters in this production achieve some breathtaking moves that equal any medal-winning skating at international competitions. Sometimes, because of the large number of skaters on the comparatively small ice surface of a theater, the skaters go beyond normal expectations as air-borne skates come just a little too close for comfort to another skater. The solo dancers take risks that one cannot help but applaud at times when silence would be preferable.

All of it is performed to Tchaikovsky's immortal score, arranged for this show by Tim A. Duncan in somewhat elongated format with a few modern touches to suit the needs of the ice version of the ballet. This arrangement was recorded by the Manchester Light Symphony Orchestra for this production so don't expect to see musicians sitting in the orchestra pit. One does not really mind, for in the end, what matters is that we are capture by the charming, traditional setting, the fitting costumes, and the up-lifting skating to the well-harmonized score. Bravo!

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