ICE - The show from Russia

Ice was an amazing display of Russian beauty and talent and placed an exciting new twist on traditional ice skating shows. The show, at the Rivera, presents an eclectic blend of skaters who put on an electrifying and entertaining ice skating show. The skaters first appear in traditional Russian garb - black furry coats and hats - but soon reveal beautiful, sexy and unique costumes, and that's when the fun begins. Performing to a wide range of music and amid various stage settings, the performers make the most of the space, gliding effortlessly across the ice on stage and around an ice catwalk stretching around the first few rows of seats.

Among several acts was a compelling and dreamy kite sequence involves a man and woman dressed in white among all-white surroundings, where the kites eventually transform into wings, resulting in a stunning finish.

Musicians also take to the the ice, adding live music to show. Skating violinists lead the group into a Russian-style hoe-down, encouraging the audience to clap along. The music featured is as diverse as the skaters themselves. Everything from classical, R&B, techno and rock provide the musical backdrop for the sequences.

Set to Janis Joplin's soulful rendition of "Summertime," a limber female gyrates with a body full of hula hoops, and a mini light show adds to Pink Floyd's "Us & Them" while two skaters embrace one another in a sensual number.

Characters spring from the ensemble of one number to be the focal point of the next with beautiful grace and fluidity: A skating violinist (Oleg Danolov) who emerges from a comic trio, a young man (Alexy Polivanov) who does handstands on braced arm stilts is taunted by a trio of temptresses, one of whom (Elena Shpagina) later steps out for a hoop-twirling routine.

Budgets are relative, and "Ice" wouldn't seem as modest if not for Cirque's $100 million-plus productions. The 52-by-44-foot ice surface reaches into the former backstage area. A 100-foot half-circle of icy track extends into the showroom, wrapping a section of audience seating. The Riviera's vintage showroom seemed to have been outfitted with new sound and video projection equipment. All in all we thought it was a pretty good show, seeing we got two normally priced tickets of $89.00/ea for only $6.95. What a Deal!