THE SNOW QUEEN ICE BALLET
The Snow Queen ice ballet is based on Danish Hans Christian Andersen’s (1805–1875) classic fairytale by the same name, and the new production brings together figure skaters, synchronized skaters, dancers, hockey players and professionals from many other performing arts in a never-before-seen way. This Finnish ice ballet is a globally noteworthy premiere.
A tale about the everlasting power of friendship, the story of The Snow Queen draws on a distinctly Finnish mysticism to tell the story of Kai, a young boy enchanted by the mysterious powers of the Snow Queen. Faced with the capture of her dearest friend, Gerda sets out on a journey in which the greatest obstacle is finally revealed to be within.
Where do our meanest impulses come from? Is the Raven friend or foe? Is it reasonable for a reindeer to dance like that? In the universe of the Snow Queen, the answers to these and many other questions unfold in unexpected and enchanted ways.
The Story
It begins with an unhappy Hobgoblin.
High up in the sky and tormented constantly by the bright hearts of the humans below, the Hobgoblin set to work on a wicked mirror meant to change everything. Infused with every bad intention, whoever looked in the glass of this mirror would only see the worst reflected back; what was beautiful became ugly, what was kind became suspicious and what was love became a dark and lonely rage.
Before it could be hung in the night sky, the enormous mirror fell and shattered to a million pieces into the earth below. This was witnessed by the Twin Wizards of the North, two mystical beings who knew the severity of the situation. With enough power to even turn the seasons against each other, the tiny shards of the mirror are supposedly with us still…
The Twin Wizards cast a spell on the Hobgoblin that night. He was transformed into a lonely Raven and sent back into the world to learn his lesson.
1000 years later, we encounter young Kai and Gerda. The closest of friends since birth, their idyllic days are radically interrupted when an invisible force, a shard of the Hobgoblin’s mirror, gets in Kai’s eye. Suddenly restless and mean, Kai is overcome by a tantrum that summons the Snow Queen. Beautiful and bewitching, the Snow Queen takes a special interest in Kai and lures him to her ice palace in the far North.
Faced with the capture of her dearest friend, Gerda sets out on a precarious journey into the unknown that will test her every expectation of what she is capable of. Unsure of the strange compass that charts her course, a jumpy ermine, an endearing but klutzy reindeer and a mysterious raven become her unlikely companions as she ventures north. It is through them that Gerda comes to realise that asking for help from others is not a weakness, but a strength.
While Gerda learns to stand her ground in a band of sparkle-obsessed Robbers deep in the forest, the Snow Queen’s spell upon Kai begins to wear off and he catches a glimpse of not only the Snow Queen’s true nature, but also one strangely powerful trick he has in this vast kingdom of ice. Threatened, The Snow Queen imprisons Kai by paralyzing him.
The Twin Wizards of the North know all that has been and all that will be. When Gerda seeks their advice, they leave her with a riddle that only she, with the help of her friends, can solve.
All forces collide in an unforgettable battle in the Snow Queen’s palace where Kai’s fate lays in the balance and friendship remains the ultimate superpower. As one season gives way to the next, it is not only the Hobgoblin who comes to understand what it really means to have a human heart.
