"Disney on Ice" is a family affair for Minnesota's high-flying Santee clan
ST. PAUL, Minn. — After almost a decade of "Disney on Ice" performances, a Minnesota native is eagerly anticipating his first show at the Xcel Energy Center.
Ryan Santee is lacing up his skates to bring the "Magic of Disney" to the ice in world-class routines. In "Mickey's Search Party," he portrays Kristoff, the rugged iceman from "Frozen."
"Kristoff is someone from the movie that I've always really connected with. Getting to bring that to the ice and show of the very athletic and masculine skating is something that is really important to me," Ryan Santee said.
He gets to take part in high-flying acrobatics and unexpected stunts.
"I do jump off of a trampoline over an ice block at one point," Ryan Santee said. "We also have some extreme freestyle skaters that are out there that skate off of ramps and land on ramps on the ice which I'm sure many people have not seen before. Honestly, it's incredible."
The show features eight stories from newer Disney hits like "Frozen" and "Coco," to classics like "Beauty and the Beast," "Aladdin" and "Toy Story."
"Disney on Ice" is a family affair for Santee. He and his younger sisters are following in their parents' professional skates. Their mother Jamie-Lynn and father Jimmie spent over a decade starring in the shows.
"I performed from 1984 to 1995," Jimmie Santee said.
His son was born in the middle of a tour in 1994.
"Hurriedly went to the building, packed out all my stuff, and handed my car keys off to one of the other skaters and jumped on the plane and I got there about 9 o'clock, he was born at 1:04 in the morning, so it was good," Jimmie Santee said.
Ryan Santee never got to see mom and dad in "Disney on Ice" in person, but thankfully there are old VHS tapes.
"It serves as an inspiration. There's a lot of stuff that he does that I do. One of his signature tricks I would say is a cantilever, which I also do in my number, so it's kind of cool to pay homage to him," said Ryan Santee.
This weekend's performances also serve as a prideful homecoming for the Santees.
"We've been to hockey games in the Xcel [Energy Center] and watched national championships and all sorts of different things there, so now to be able to perform on the ice, I think for him is really pretty cool," Jimmie Santee said.
"To be able to bring these amazing characters to life on the ice in places like Minnesota, which we're not all that close to Disneyland/Disney World. To bring that to your hometown is always something that I've loved," Ryan Santee said.
He is also working toward a degree in 3D animation. He hopes to one day work on a Disney animated feature.
"Disney on Ice: Mickey's Search Party" is at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul for eight shows Thursday through Sunday. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster.com or at Xcel's box office.