Just Writing Through: How you do Disney On Ice when you know a performer

Watching Disney on Ice is so much more fun when you know one of the principal performers.

My daughters’ ice house went as a group to see Disney On Ice present Follow Your Heart. Every year, Allstate Arena hosts a Basic Skills Night where groups of skaters from various local ice houses come together to be recognized and to enjoy the show. It never fails to be less than amazing. This year we filled over 100 seats with our group -- and we cheered pretty loudly when Crystal Ice House was called, because most of us knew Kyle, a Disney On Ice performer who grew up skating at our rink; his mother (and former Ice Capades professional herself) still coaches there.

Oh, and we had awesome seats ~ which was perfect for this photographer!

There were several featured shows in the program this year -- and so much athleticism and grace displayed in all of them, but scenes happen to be extra-special when your daughters' (yes, both had him as a coach at one point) one-time coach performs several of the roles.

'Coach Kyle' played a hockey player in “Inside Out,” Woody in "Toy Story," a fork in “Beauty and the Beast,” the Prince in “Cinderella” and Kristoff in “Frozen.”

Despite performing in so many numbers (he must have been exhausted!), this extremely talented young man came out for a meet-and-greet with our ice house group. I frequently work backstage for our local ice shows where he often comes back to perform alongside our skaters. Often, he is in the wings and chats with students, coaches and backstage parents like me. He is genuinely kind, respectful and encouraging. And, he always is willing to take pictures with all his adoring fans.

In addition to Kyle, there were, of course, other extremely talented skaters and some displayed extraordinary gravity-defying feats of aerial acrobatics high above the ice. It was magnificent (and a little terrifying)!

Both of my girls were enamored with Anna and Elsa, Ariel, Cinderella, Tianna, Belle and Rapunzel ~ it turned out to be a magical night for them: princesses and getting to see Kyle again!

Overall, though, it was a great show – beautiful costumes beautiful and vibrant scenery. We haven't seen the Dory movie yet and my girls haven't seen Toy story either, but those numbers also were fun to see on ice - and so colorful. I would flood your page with images, but I tried to set a picture limit for myself by sticking to images of Kyle or princesses (notice a theme here?)! If it comes to your area, I highly recommend it – it is a great show for parents and kids alike.