Disney on Ice "Let's Dance!"
Little Caesars Arena
Detroit
Feb. 13-16, 2025
Disney on Ice’s “Let’s Dance!” figure skating show made its way to Detroit's Little Caesars Arena over the weekend with a grand marvel that brought the Disney magic to the ice.
The show, which debuted in August in Orlando, featured performances from five of Disney’s animated films, including “Wish,” “Frozen 2,” “The Lion King,” “The Little Mermaid” and “Moana.” Each story was told in a mini format with three to five songs per movie and short pre-recorded dialogue in between. Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Donald, brought the “dance” aspect to the show, serving as “DJs” and encouraging audience members to sing and dance along.
In pure Disney style, the show was over the top, two hours of music, lights, color and circus feats, paired with figure skating Disney characters. The set-up featured a large dome/sun-like screen on one end, which served as the entry and exit point for the skaters and changed images depending on the scene. On the other end, two circular platforms with ramps covered the corners, offering characters opportunities to interact under spotlights closer to the audience. Above, the Jumbotron projected lyrics for the sing-along components of the show and brought an array of aerial silks and hoops for performers to hang from. A moving platform carrying the “DJ stand” traveled around the ice, giving audiences throughout the arena opportunities to engage with the fab four.
Add in sway poles, floating boats, and the occasional fog, pyrotechnics and other effects, and you’ve got quite the spectacle.
For my Millennial heart, “The Lion King” and “The Little Mermaid” were the highlights of the show, taking me back to the glory days of the Disney Renaissance during my childhood. “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” and “Kiss the Girl” were lovely romantic duets with beautiful lifts. The aerial silks and hoop work featured in these segments (plus others) added another layer of interest to the performance, especially impressive given the figure skaters went through just a two-month aerial boot camp to learn the skills. “Circle of Life,” which closed “The Lion King” segment, was my favorite, filling the ice with skating giraffes, zebras, flamingoes and monkeys in front of a giant digital sunrise.
Just skating in some of those costumes was an impressive feat. The giraffes, flamingoes and zebras from “Circle of Life” featured tails or floating hind legs and extended necks and heads that skaters held up and puppeteered with an attached stick. Characters like Olaf the snowman from “Frozen 2” or Timon the meerkat and Rafiki the mandrill monkey from “The Lion King” skated through larger-than-life head pieces. The performer playing Pumbaa from “The Lion King” skated on all fours in a giant warthog costume and the “Frozen 2” Sven costume appeared to have the performer skating in the front legs while dragging the entire rest of the reindeer behind him. I can only assume the costumes limited their vision and mobility, but the skaters navigated the ice and the many moving pieces around them with skill, all while maintaining the essence of the beloved characters they portrayed.
While each segment featured the big hits, there were a couple of song choices I found questionable in the context of a high-octane, joyful show. “The Lion King” included “Be Prepared,” Scar the lion’s rallying cry to his army of hyenas before they go and kill his brother Mufasa, the king. It’s dark, it’s scary, and the projection – albeit brief – of Mufasa falling to his death, brought back the low-key trauma of experiencing one of the saddest points of film history, at least for kids. Sure enough, I looked over to find my 4-year-old niece terrified, burying herself in her mother’s arms. While I understand the song is important for telling the story, we all basically know what happens, and it brought down the vibe of an otherwise positive energy show.
Another questionable choice was “Les Poissons” in “The Little Mermaid” segment. It’s the scene where Sebastien the crab accidentally finds himself in the palace kitchen, running away from Chef Louis who is trying to make him part of dinner. Having a character swing a giant cleaver around trying to kill another character didn’t sit well with me for a kids show, although the skater performing Chef Louis had some fantastic jumps.
As an adult, I enjoyed the experience, but there’s something about these hyper-commercial events that makes me feel like I’m in the Capitol in the “The Hunger Games.” The show, however, is obviously geared at entertaining children, and from the looks of the princess gown-clad, light-up wand-waving kids around me, they succeeded.
