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DETROIT FREE PRESS H??l$ Friday, Oct. 17, '69 AT COBO ARENA 'Holiday on Ice'?╟÷A Colorful Caper Like a Dazzling Circus on Skates BY COLONS GEORGE Free Presa Music Writer Holiday on Ice, mm celebrating its 25tih anniversary, is currently making its annual visit to Detroit's Cobo Hall, vivacious and pleasiing as ever. It demands no brain drain but is as exciting as a circus which In some ways it resembles. One's first impression is of color. Acres of sequins, torifflld- ants, gold braids, feathers, and velvets of every hue most have been used for tine costumes of which there aire 'thousands. AI of ttftiem are displayed to best advantage under clever and expert lighting. Then there is the Choreography. Each of the big production numbers has to be carefully planned and plotted. Thus, while the big ice ballet company skims over the surface with such seeming ease, one must remember that every movement had to be thought out in advance. And ail of Khls is on toe, iruind you. Ronnie Robertson, a former Olympic chamipion, is announced as the star of the show and conMbutes a fantastic display of his aWdty on skates' In each act. BUT THEN EVERY member of the large cast must be a good skater. And amazing ice feats are ajcfcomipflished by all the sub-sitars of the show?╟÷ Grete Borgen, Marie Langenbein, Alice Quessy, Ray Balmer, Alfred Mendoza, John Ladue, Carol Johnson, Tommy Allen, Juanita Pencefly, Paul Andrew and Johnny LeecHi* As in any circus, there are animal acts. In one specialty, chimps do some remarkable p.-: refuses to accept any more skating tricks and begins to tire a bit as.to just what cos- tomes can they possibly think of for the next act, the whole things comes to a traditional, all-cast-on-stage end. Claudette Kenalty* Marie Leon, Carol Smitheran and Kathy Johnson, four of Holiday On Ice's chorv*. things on fee skates (and, insult on injury, I fall down merely looking at the things.) There Is a hilarious mule sketch in the second act, though at least the mules don't wear skates. The music plays constantly and perhaps well enough for the dancers but in the cavernous Convention Area it has to\ be amplified so loud that all semblance to reality is lost. Many more acts make utp ithlis lavish extravaganza. They can't all be mentioned, but the pace never flags. Just when the mind simpily