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Disney On Ice skater wants kids to Dream Big
By GUY D’ASTOLFO
YOUNGSTOWN
Alexe Gilles has the role of Elsa, from the animated Disney film “Frozen,” in the Disney On Ice Dream Big show.
It’s a role she loves – although her younger self might have thought differently.
“I always wanted to be Cinderella or Belle [from ‘Beauty and the Beast’] when I was growing up,” said Gilles, calling from a tour stop in Sioux Falls, S.D. “But I have never been a pairs skater. The role of Elsa came up, and it’s a role where I can skate on big ice in a really nice dress, and I said, ‘I’m sold!’”
Disney On Ice, which has become a December tradition in Youngstown, returns this week for seven shows at Covelli Centre, beginning Thursday and running through Sunday.
Gilles is a Colorado native who has been ice skating since she was 2.
She has been with Disney On Ice for four years, and enjoys her leading role in the Dream Big show. “I get to travel and inspire people through my skating and how I interpret the character,” she said.
Dream Big itself is an inspirational show, Gilles pointed out, because of the classic characters in it.
“It’s a strong female-leading show,” she said, “and it’s about dreaming big. Each character has goals they want to reach, and it’s about how they react to new life situations to better themselves.”
Tinker Bell introduces the Dream Big show and is the narrator who links together the scenes.
It moves through several characters’s stories: Ariel from “The Little Mermaid,” Rapunzel, Cinderella and Belle, the “Frozen” characters, Jasmine (“Aladdin”), Snow White, Aurora (“Sleeping Beauty”) and Tiana (“The Princess and the Frog”).
That’s a lot of princesses, but Gilles said little boys love the show, too ... but maybe for the special effects.
“There are flying acrobats, and Aladdin jumps from the top of a tower and there’s also a fire-breathing dragon,” she said.
As always, Disney On Ice includes beautiful costumes and set pieces, accentuated with lighting and music.
It gets an extra visual boost by the speed and beauty of skaters on the grand stage that is the ice rink.
“It’s hard for people to understand how we make it look so easy, and that ‘How are they doing that?’ brings the show to that next level,” said Gilles.
“Plus, ice is always a little more magical around Christmas time. It’s a feel-good kind of thing.”