The brightest stars of today's European and world figure skating, multiple champions, participants and prize-winners of the Winter Olympics, will soon gather in Klaipėda. On December 9, they will hold an exclusive winter show "Ice Melodies" at the "Švyturys" arena, skating to live world hits. Show director Jurga Klimaitė-Riebling reveals the behind-the-scenes preparations.
Jurga, the show you direct "Ice Melodies", which you will show in several major arenas in the country, will start in Klaipėda. Why?
Let's consider this a gift to the city and a sign of success for us - after all, last year the premiere of "Ice Melodies" also took place in Klaipėda and it was a great success! (Smiles.) We received only good, the most beautiful comments.
And I remember the excitement of the start: I stood tense as a string – waiting for the first reactions of the audience. And the arena was fantastic – they supported me warmly, applauded from the heart, gasped at the beauty, admired the skill and laughed during the comedy performances. When I felt that everything was working and the audience was openly enjoying the spectacle – I relaxed.
And you can't fool the audience: you can promise before the show that you'll pull the Moon from the sky and hang it in the arena, but if you don't do it, people will be disappointed.
I always take promises very seriously, but now I can honestly tell the people of Klaipėda that it is really worth seeing the ice show "Ice Melodies", which will be different from the one we showed last year, but again - intriguing, passionate, hypnotizing and, of course, of the highest quality, because we have A-level stars and the bar has already been raised very high.
It must not be easy to come to an agreement with figure skating masters of this level? Are they curious to discover Lithuania, where many have never been before?
I know someone who can't wait to return to Lithuania - it's the Italian couple Lucrezia Beccari and Matteo Guarise.
They won the European Championship gold in Kaunas in 2024 and still talk about how warm, helpful, and kind people live in Lithuania. I also remember other Italian champions from last year who pleasantly surprised me with their rich knowledge of Lithuania.
When we were traveling on the tour bus, all the show participants were constantly asking all sorts of questions: how deep is the Nemunas River, does it freeze in winter, how many people live in Klaipėda, and whether the city decorates a Christmas tree.
They were very happy to see it, and took pictures of the Klaipėda Christmas tree from all angles. We walked through the Old Town at night after the show - no one was in a hurry to go to the hotel, because those magical streets simply enchanted everyone.
When negotiating with athletes about performing at "Ledo Melodiojes", our serious card is very influential - the show's choreographer, Aidas Reklys, who has become the Lithuanian champion 8 times.
He spent many years in the United States, coaching athletes who are now world-class figure skating stars. This happened last year: superstar Jason Brown, whom Aidas trained in Chicago as a boy, came to Lithuania.
When it came to his arrival, Aidas' name was a decisive factor. I watched their meeting, which took place in Vilnius after many years. It was a fireworks display of the most beautiful emotions. Later, we sat in a restaurant near the Town Hall Square, Jason ate cold borscht and potato pancakes, which he praised very much.
The two of them talked about how, just a few steps away across the field, A. Reklys had watched the very Olympics where Jason won bronze a decade ago. The world is smaller than it seems to us…
Both J. Brown and the other athletes fell in love with Lithuania last year and highly praised the work and creative ideas of the show organizers. Each of them would like to return and participate in such an event again.
Despite having numerous offers to perform in major ice shows in Japan, Canada, and Austria, they would choose Lithuania without hesitation.
Rumors travel fast: as soon as we finished touring last year, word of "Ice Melodies" was already spreading across Europe and far beyond.
Since athletes know each other well when participating in top-level competitions, conversations about their experiences in Lithuania also take place off the ice at the championships. When the choreographer interviewed the artist
The aforementioned J. Brown captivated Lithuanian arenas with his charisma and impressive splits above the ice. Will we see anything similar this year?
Speaking of solo performances, we are very much looking forward to Lukas Britschgi – he is one of the brightest stars in world figure skating today.
Lukas is a five-time Swiss figure skating champion, this year's European champion, a multiple participant in the Winter Olympics and world championships. A. Reklys himself will not leave anyone indifferent, his fiery somersaults have become his calling card, and he is determined to continue to delight us.
It is also fantastic news that Canadian, two-time Olympic champion and multiple world championship medalist Eric Radford will participate in this show, he will perform with German champion Vanessa Bauer.
An extraordinary opportunity to see French multiple champion, Olympic, World and European champion Yanick Bonheur live together with German multiple champion, World and European champion Annette Dytrt. They are determined to leave everyone speechless.
The Lithuanian figure skating school student and French junior champion Milana Možeiko, multiple Hungarian ice dancing champions, European and world championship participants Danijil Szemko and Mariia Ignateva, and multiple Polish champion and Winter Olympic Games participant Ekaterina Kurakova will perform on the ice.
In addition, we will also see the stars of the Lithuanian stage: figure skating performances will take place to the sound of the most popular music hits, and they will be performed live by Jeronimas Milius, Linas Adomaitis, and Monika Marija, who can transform into anyone she wants - Adele, Celine Dion, and Beyonce.
When A. Dytrt, who was dancing in a pair with a Frenchman, heard that she would be able to do it to the emotionally powerful song "Je Suis Malade", which is performed so beautifully by Monika Marija, she almost cried with joy.
This time we will hear L.Adomaitis performing his greatest hits, as well as works by Elvis Presley and Stevie Wonder. Jeronimas is excellent at singing the Queen repertoire, but the program will not only include this: we will also be able to remember one of the most beautiful musicals, Moulin Rouge!, and many other wonderful works.
The live music group includes the fantastic Lithuanian guitarist Tomas Varnagiris and the cellist Liudvikas Silickas, who has performed on foreign stages. The show will be impressive with special effects, lasers, projections...
So, this evening will definitely help you feel the most beautiful winter miracle with all your heart, especially since the stage will be graced by a wonderful host duo - Eglė Kernagytė-Dambrauskė and Audrius Giržadas.
Do you have to put on your own skates when directing this show?
In fact, I'm one of those who would rather not try skating. (Laughs.) Although, of course, in my childhood, all winters were spent on ice. In the courtyard of an apartment building in Vilnius, my children and I used to ice skate ourselves. The boys would play hockey, and we girls would do pirouettes and imagine that one day we would have arenas. In a sense, this dream has materialized. By the way, I still have my childhood skates.
It was the most memorable Christmas when I found those white beauties under the tree. Now they are completely broken, but they evoke the warmest sentiments. And I always watch figure skating on TV.
It's one thing to watch on TV, it's another to see world-class professionals, the elite of this sport, in person: the speed they develop, how they carve ice with their blades, how they precisely perform technically complex tricks. You see even more. What remains behind the scenes?
This show genre has its own specifics. For example, we can't use any confetti, because any piece of foil lying on the ice can be very dangerous for an athlete coming at such tremendous speed.
You don't even need paper - any thread can be disastrous. The lighting can't be too dark if the skater has planned a complicated lift of his partner. The fire burns perfectly on the ice, but the flammable liquid must be spilled at a certain time. But these are nuances. The main thing is that the rule always holds true: the bigger the star, the simpler the person.
It's even a little strange that athletes of this level don't require separate rooms or fancy meals. They live on ice, train insanely seriously, get very nervous before their performances, but afterwards they are wonderful, warm, sociable people.
By the way, they train on the ice the same way we do in the gym – wearing short-sleeved T-shirts. I wanted to dress each of them, maybe even put on gloves. But the same Jason, when I shouted motherly: “Get dressed, you’ll freeze!”, just laughed: “Stop it, I’m from Toronto – I’m not cold.”
And what kind of people are Klaipėda residents? You got to know our city yourself, directing or organizing events here, of which there was certainly no shortage: you stood at the console during the concert marking the 100th anniversary of the annexation of Klaipėda region to Lithuania, you worked at the final of the national Eurovision selection at the Švyturys arena. In addition, this year, for the first time, Klaipėda residents could enjoy the fun Oktoberfest Klaipėda celebration – you were its director…
I often say that if I didn’t live in Vilnius, where I was born, or in Germany, where my family’s home is, I would choose Klaipėda. I love this city with all my heart, it has a unique aura. In the summers, we rent an apartment in Klaipėda’s Old Town and spend our holidays here. I like the “Sea Festival”, its hustle and bustle, its life.
There are great restaurants in Klaipėda, and the people here have a specific seaside gene – they are not afraid to take risks, have an enviable inner peace and confidence, and at the same time – relaxed, cheerful and – as Oktoberfest Klaipėda showed – this city knows how to celebrate culturally! I am very happy to be back, and with such a wonderful show!
Breathtaking performances by European, world and Olympic figure skating stars, unique special effects solutions and magical music - just the show "Ice Melodies" on December 9th at the Klaipėda "Švyturys" arena.