Lycian creates rink for Russian skaters

SUGAR LOAF-Personal sacrifice and determination were behind the scenes when more than 1,100 attended "Nutcracker on Ice" by the St. Petersburg State Ice Ballet at the Lycian Centre for the Performing Arts. When the Kings Theatre Company was informed that its originally scheduled performance of the Moscow Circus on Ice was being cancelled, organizers scrambled to secure the St. Petersburg State Ice Ballet for two performances in early December. But two weeks before the scheduled performances, the Kings Theatre Company was informed that the ice company would not be available to create a rink for the show. After unsuccessful attempts to contract another company to build the rink, the Lycian Centre took the job upon itself. The Centre's technical crew laid down yards of plastic sheeting and insulation and installed more than 18,000 feet, or 3.5 miles, of plastic tubing across the stage floor. After the tubing was in place, more than 360 gallons of glycol anti-freeze was pumped through the system and then filled with water. Refrigeration equipment was used to freeze the water during a 24-hour layering process to create a 1 1/2-inch-thick covering of ice.