by Wishing on a Star Diva
For those of you who have ever attended a Disney on Ice performance, I’m sure you’ve wondered what it would be like to be a performer. The music, the lighting, the stunts… it’s enough to make this northern California girl strap on some ice skates and move to South Dakota. Okay. Maybe not. But still… it is very inspiring, and finding out what it would be like to be one of these amazingly talented performers and perform in one of these equally amazing shows has often crossed my mind.
If you find yourself in the same boat, than I have some good news for you! Tips from the Disney Divas & Devos was blessed with the unique opportunity to interview Jono Partridge, the professional ice skater playing the role of Kristoff in Disney On Ice presents Frozen Presented by Stonyfield YoKids Organic Yogurt.
Now before we begin with the interview, let’s take a quick moment to get to know a little bit about Mr. Partridge. Jono is a 27 year old native to England who joined Feld Entertainment back in 2014. A lover of all things involving sports, cars, and an adrenaline rush, as well as supporting causes that help fight cancer, diabetes, and bring awareness to autism, and even enjoying snacking on carrots, we think that Jono is the perfect, loveable guy to play the role of Kristoff!
So why not sit back, relax, and enjoy the interview as we get to live vicariously through Jono’s perspective as he answers some of our questions about being involved with the show, all while sharing some of his best Disney tips with you!
1.) What is your favorite part of your show?
My favourite part of the show is when Olaf comes out into the show for the first time, it always shocks me how excited everyone gets when they see him!
2.) Who is your favorite character in the show?
Olaf is always a funny snowman making many silly jokes, but my favourite character has to be my best pal Sven, he’s a goofy reindeer with his tongue always sticking out, we always have so much fun playing around during the show and then when it’s all over I feed him some carrots for doing such a good job out there before putting him to bed for the night.
3.) Do you have any other favorite Disney characters and/or movies?
I love the characters in Toy Story, Mr Potato head always makes me laugh, and I’ve always loved the Lion King movie!
4.) How long have you been ice skating?
I have been skating for 17 years.
5.) What do you recommend for other ice skaters who hope to perform with Disney on Ice?
Work really hard when training at your local rink and then it’s so important to enjoy performing when being in Disney on Ice, you can instantly tell when someone enjoys what they do or if they enjoy performing when they skate so bring along a bucket load of character when trying out!
6.) What is your best tip for guests attending the show?
Warm up your voice to sing/cheer and warm up your hands to clap and hopefully we’ll do the rest for you.
7.) Have you ever been to any of the Disney parks?
I have been to Disney World in Orlando and Euro Disney in Paris.
8.) What is your favorite Disney park attraction/show/character meet and greet, etc.?
I was fascinated by the Fantasmic! show in Disney World, so much Disney magic and so many cool effects!
9.) What are your best Disney parks tips for readers?
Drink lots of water, wear comfortable clothes/shoes and prepare to be exhausted by the end of the day, but totally worth it!
10.) Have you ever been in any other Disney on Ice shows?
Disney on Ice presents Frozen is my first show with the company.
11.) How long do you stay on tour?
We’ve been touring with the show since September 2014 with some short breaks here and there and I hope to continue on for many more shows!
12.) What is your most memorable part of the show either onstage or behind the scenes?
My most memorable part of the show is always when I land my last backflip in the final part of the show, first of all because it means I’ve survived and secondly, because the audience always gives me a great reaction when it happens.
13.) Who do you think will most enjoy this show?
I think there are things in the show that everyone can enjoy, but Frozen fans will especially enjoy the show as we try to stick closely to the movie.
14.) Since Frozen is typically categorized as a “girl” thing, what parts of the show do you think boys will enjoy the most?
There are some cool stunts in the show and lots of fireworks! Kristoff, Sven and even an appearance by Buzz and Woody bring a lot of boy charm to the show to rival all the princesses we have too.
15.) What inspires you to skate professionally?
I’ve always loved performing, even when I would compete. I would always go in the with the goal of putting on a great show that hopefully the audience will appreciate so this was a great opportunity to put that love of performing into good use.
16.) How do you show your DisneySide outside of the show?
Just like Kristoff and Sven, I love eating carrots, just like Prince Hans, I like to dress up smartly and just like Olaf, I like to walk around with a smile.
17.) Did you grow up attending other Disney on Ice shows?
I vaguely remember seeing a Disney on Ice show when I was a young boy and as I was beginning to contemplate on trying out for Disney on Ice I went and saw some of their more recent shows also.
18.) If you could portray any other Disney character, who would it be?
I think Peter Pan would be a perfect fit. I’ve always wanted to be able to fly, I love doing cool stunts and not to mention, we share the same hair color!
19.) What is your favorite city on the tour so far?
I’ve enjoyed touring throughout all of America so to choose one city is hard, so I’m going to cheat and say that my top 3 have been New York, Chicago and Nashville.
20.) Is there anything else you would like our readers to know about the show or being involved with Disney On Ice presents Frozen Presented by Stonyfield YoKids Organic Yogurt?
Tickets are available at Disneyonice.com or at your local box office, our show can be fun for all the family and come along ready to make as much noise as possible, all of our princes and princesses love to hear how loud you can get!
I hope you have enjoyed our interview with Jono Partridge! (And if you haven’t done so yet, make sure you click on the video clip to see Jono and the rest of the Frozen cast show off some of the show’s highlights.) Want to know more about the show itself? Make sure to check back for our February 11th review of the Frozen performance in Sacramento at the Sleep Train Ampitheater! And if you’re wanting to buy your own tickets for any of the Disney on Ice shows or see what shows are coming to your area, learn how to audition for upcoming shows, or even want to just get a code for a FREE Disney Virtual book, make sure to check out Disney on Ice’s page here!
Disney Diva Disclaimer: The images and video used in this article belong to Feld Entertainment, and are being used with their permission in order to help promote their show. We are grateful for this unique opportunity Feld Entertainment has provided us in getting to interview Jono Partridge and supply the images and video for this article.
