Swan Lake on Ice
by JILL SYKES for the Sydney Morning Herald

The leading performers were breathtaking, with far more to do than their classical ballet equivalents. As Prince Siegfried, Vadim Yarkov is a tireless partner and an exciting solo performer. Andrei Penkine, playing his friend Benno, supplies the humour of ballet's jester role as well as dazzling dance.

Unlike most ballet versions today, the roles of Odette and Odile are divided, with a twist at the end. Olga Sharutenko and Olena Pyatash are lean, athletic and graceful in their contrasting characterisations. Odette has a very interesting battle with the evil Rothbart - brilliantly portrayed, physically and mentally by Anton Klykov - in which male and female are equally empowered in hand-to-hand fight choreography.

published: June 9, 2006

Swans on skates
by DONALD HUTERA for the Times
published: October 7, 2006

“Too often ice shows tend to take the elements, put a costume on them and think that is enough to create a character,” Mercer says. “For me this doesn’t work. As a skater you might have that medal in your pocket, but you have got to go out there and make the audience believe that you are that fictional person — that Olga Sharutenko is Odette for this particular evening, and that Vadim Yarkov understands the intricacies of the challenge that playing Siegfried places upon him. Only after they accomplish that can we try to push what they do as figure skaters.”