New Cirque du Soleil show takes to the ice at Brandt Centre

While ice might not excite people in Regina mid-way through February, a new spectacular show from Cirque du Soleil will be taking over the Brandt Centre.

The show – Crystal – features dozens of acrobats and skaters for a beautiful spectacle on ice.

Publicist Julie Desmarais said the story will follow Crystal in a world she has created but doesn’t feel like she belongs anywhere.

“She meets different characters that guide her through this story and that helps her find who she is and she finds herself.”

She said the performers in the show have put in months of work,  exploration and research into finding out how the show would work on ice.

The show features 18 skaters that come from competitive backgrounds and 20 acrobats.

“(The acrobats) had to learn how to skate and our skaters had to learn how to do acrobatics as well.”

One of those performers is Amber van Wijk. Van Wijk was a gymnast by trade before being scouted by Cirque du Soleil at 15 years old.

Now at 23, she’s playing Crystal’s mom in the performance.

“I came to this contract without knowing how to skate at all so I started at the very first level of skating,” van Wijk said. “Being on the ice every day, you get so much more comfortable so quick that it develops naturally.”

She said having world-class skating talent around her also made the learning process easier.

van Wijk said the biggest obstacle facing her is the cold because it’s a very unnatural environment for gymnasts.

“Our goal is to keep our body warm at all times because as soon as you cool down that’s when you risk getting injuries.”

The show will run until Feb. 10.

Tickets for the show are still available online.