Holiday On Ice: Passion

Brighton Centre, King’s Road, Tuesday, January 5, to Sunday, January 10

THE passion professional ice dancers have for their craft is at the centre of Holiday On Ice’s 2016 tour.

And for Cardiff-born Lloyd Jones this Brighton residency will have a particular resonance – as it will be the first time the former Olympian has skated professionally in the UK.

“I’ve performed in Japan, the US, Canada and Russia, all these different countries in Europe but never performed the show here,” he says.

“I’m very excited – a lot of friends are coming to see me!”

Jones competed for the UK at a junior level as an ice dancer, before moving to France and teaming up with Pernelle Carron to compete in international competitions under the Tricolor.

The pair came 15th in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

“I had been living in France for five years and went to university there,” he says. “Pernelle was French so it would have been very complicated in that situation to represent the UK.”

It was competing in the Winter Olympics which encouraged Jones to seek a new career away from competitive skating.

“My goal was to compete in the Winter Olympics and I was plugging away with that goal in mind,” he says. “Once I had reached that goal and performed there I knew I wanted to try something else.

“The Olympics was an experience I will never forget – it was everything I ever dreamed it would be.”

He is enjoying the contrast that performing as a professional ice dancer in Holiday On Ice is bringing.

“When you’re in competitive skating you’re working to go out there and rack up points in the judging system,” he says.

“Here the goal is to go out there and do everything so the audience has a good time. I’m not worried about scoring points and the technical content – if it looks good we can put it into the performance.”

As well as appearing in some of the ensemble scenes, Jones and his new partner, Paula Soma, also have a pair of spots where they can show off their skills as a partnership.

Soma and Jones have choreographed the two solo spots themselves under the auspices of the tour director Bart Doefler and choreographer Jamie Isley.

“We had our own little touches in there,” says Jones. “They offered somebody to bounce ideas off.

“The solo spots are part of the show – they explain what people when they are skating together go through, from falling in love to fighting and arguing.”

He admits it was hard finding a new partner having worked with Carron for so long. Soma had joined the Holiday On Ice cast last year and proved to be a good fit.

A big part of Passion is the stories of the dancers.

Jones had his own share of disappointment and struggles when he was training as an ice dancer – not least an accident at the age of 13 which put a stop to his competing in free skating categories.

“I had a knee injury which meant I couldn’t continue to do the jumps in free skating,” he says. “They were taking a toll on my body, so I had to change my style.

“Even when I was doing free skating I was doing ice dancing too.

“Watching the show people can hear about our stories. It gives them an idea of what we have been through. Each individual has their own story. They have been working towards this their whole lives – it’s not like they turned up the first day never having done it before.”

He is enjoying the experience of being on the road with the Holiday On Ice cast.

“It’s like a family,” he says. “You get to know people very well when you spend every day with them. Even on our days off performing you’re sat in a bus with them travelling to the next city.

“People share what they have learned with each other. We can do lifts and visually impressive things which aren’t permitted in competition.

“I’m seeing now there is so much more to ice dancing than competition – I’m always learning something new. It’s a great way of improving yourself.”

With such a packed schedule of performances it can be exhausting – but he finds the audience soon lifts him up again.

“Once you get in front of an audience you want to deliver a good performance,” he says. “For me I find it impossible not to give 100% when I’m in front of an audience – I enjoy it so much.”

Starts Tues 8pm, Wed-Fri 2pm, Fri 7.30pm, Sat/Sun 1pm and 4pm, Sat 7pm, tickets from £25/£22. Call 08448 471515.