Across
the nation, young and old alike are chEARing with delight as this year’s Disney on Ice “Rockin Ever After”
featuring Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy skates into a venue near them. Adventurous moments from Disney•Pixar’s
BRAVE and Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Tangled and Beauty
and the Beast are featured along with comical Disney characters performing
their unique talents for Mickey and the gang.
Last
week I was able to sit down and talk to one of the talented young performers,
Antonia Mitchell, who is living out one of her childhood dreams of skating as
part of a professional company. Antonia
performs as a, “family friendly rock star,” who skates side-by-side with Mickey
and friends during the show. There isn’t
a memory that doesn’t involve dancing or skating for this vibrant 22 year old
from Sonoma County. Antonia started
dancing at the ripe old age of 2. Fate would intervene for her when her class
took a field trip to the legendary Snoopy’s Home Ice, the ice arena of Charles
Schultz, located in Santa Rosa, CA.
Antonia was a natural when it came to gliding across the ice and her
parents immediately put her into lessons. Throughout the years, Antonia grew
not only as a skater but also as an accomplished dancer, as well as a
competitive tennis player and swimmer.
To
talk to Antonia is like being in the room with a bright burst of sunlight. Her
enthusiasm for life and everything about it is not only apparent, but totally
contagious. Antonia first auditioned for
Disney on Ice, along with her sister several years ago and although both were
invited to join the cast, after considerable thought, both girls declined the
initial offer in order to pursue college and other avenues in their lives .
Luckily, both young women were given an open ended invitation to join the
company at any time. Antonia joined the prestigious The Alonzo King LINES
Ballet BFA program at Dominican University of California but after a year of
following what she thought was to be her life, she knew in her heart that her future lay
elsewhere. Fate once again would step in when a best friend, who had been
touring with Disney on Ice, called to let her know there was an opening in the
company. Antonia called the program the director to let them know she was now
ready and the rest, as they say, is history.
Antonia
is now living out one of her childhood dreams of skating right along side all
of your favorite Disney characters and traveling all over the world. Antonia
excitedly shared with me that one of the best parts of joining this show is the
people she has been able to meet along the way. Even with the language
barriers, she shared the idea that skating is a universal language and while,
some of the skaters in the show are not fluent in English, they are able to
understand each other through their passion for ice-skating. She dreams of one
day being able to skate one of the principle roles in the show and you can feel
the joy when she exclaims “This is where I am meant to be and this point in my
life right now.” When asked if she could
pick any Disney movie to bring to the ice, our young skater did not hesitate
when she exclaimed she would love to bring back some of the classic Disney
movies such as Pocahontas and Mulan.
Where does our young skater see herself down the road in the years to
come? When she is finally ready to hang
up her skates, Antonia dreams of attending the Culinary Institute Napa and
becoming a professional chef. But for
now, you can see the vibrant Antonia Mitchell along side the rest of the
talented cast of Disney on Ice “Rockin Ever
After” as they skate into a town near you. Want to know when they will be in a venue near you? Check out
the latest schedule below. To discover more about Disney On Ice, log on
to www.disneyonice.com, or visit Disney on Ice on Facebook and YouTube.
Rockin' Ever After will
play at the following venues this tour season:
Sacramento, California, Sleep Train Arena
Feb 12 - Feb 17
San Jose, California, SAP Center
Feb 19 - Feb 23
Oakland, California, ORACLE Arena
Feb 26 - Mar 02
Salt Lake City, Utah, EnergySolutions Arena
Mar 05 - Mar 09
Fort Myers, Florida, Germain Arena
Mar 14 - Mar 16
Sunrise, Florida, BB&T Center
Mar 20 - Mar 23
Miami, Florida, AmericanAirlines Arena
Mar 26 - Mar 30
Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville
Veterans Memorial Arena
Apr 03 - Apr 06
Lexington, Kentucky, Rupp Arena
Apr 10 - Apr 13
Columbia, South Carolina, Colonial Life
Arena
Apr 17 - Apr 20
Pensacola, Florida, Pensacola Bay
Center
Apr 24 - Apr 26
Bossier City, Louisiana, CenturyLink Center
May 01 - May 04
Little Rock, Arkansas, Verizon Arena
May 07 - May 11
Evansville, Indiana, Ford Center
May 15 - May 18
Cedar Park, Texas, Cedar Park Center
May 21 - May 25
Gayle is a Disney Gal that loves churros for breakfast, still gets
giddy with delight at the first sight of the “Disneyland next exit sign”, loves
the overwhelming emotions and memories that come with each and every return to
the Happiest Place on Earth and dreams of one day being the Captain of the
Jungle Boat. To learn more about Gayle, click here
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