The Ice (show)

The Ice (ザ・アイス) is an annual touring ice show in Japan held over the summer at the end of July and early August with a cast of national top skaters from Japan and around the world. The show includes a variety of group numbers, collaborations between top singles skaters, and dance battles.

History
Originally labeled a midsummer ice festival, The Ice debuted in Aichi in 2007, featuring Mao Asada and Mai Asada. In the early years, the show was sponsored by Olympus from 2007 to 2010. Lotte took over the title sponsorship from 2011. After the "Great East Japan Earthquake" in 2011, the shows in Osaka and Hachinoe in 2011, and the show in Nikko in 2012 were charity performances benefitting the recovery effort. In 2020 and 2021, the tour was canceled as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It resumed in 2022.

Concept
The Ice has a variety show format with group numbers, special collaborations between top skaters that don't usually team up, dance battles, and other game show elements. The 2022 and 2023 editions included duets featuring two-time world champion Shoma Uno and Olympic champion Nathan Chen set to music from The Mission by Ennio Morricone and "On the Nature of Daylight" by Max Richter respectively. The show introduced off-ice dance performances for the first time in 2023 with Kevin Aymoz, Daisuke Takahashi, Cha Jun-hwan and Ilia Malinin.

Attendance and accessibility
The tour attracts up to 30,000 spectators on an annual basis, and ticket prices ranged from 3,000 yen to 29,000 yen for the shows in Osaka in 2023 The shows have since 2007 been televised on local terrestrial channels and nationwide on satellite channels by Chukyo TV and Nippon Television. In 2023, The Ice stopped in Aichi, Nikko, Osaka and Morioka and all 12 shows were streamed live on four different subscription channels.

Cast
The skaters performing in The Ice since its inception in 2007 include:

Men's singles
🇨🇦 Jeffrey Buttle (2007–2017)

🇯🇵 Takahiko Kozuka (2007–2015, 2017)

Stéphane Lambiel (2007)

🇯🇵 Daisuke Takahashi (2007, 2016–2017)

🇺🇸 Evan Lysacek (2008–2009)

🇷🇺 Alexei Yagudin (2008)

🇯🇵 Takahito Mura (2009–2018)

🇺🇸 Adam Rippon (2009–2011, 2015–2016)

🇰🇿 Denis Ten (2009)

🇫🇷 Florent Amodio (2010–2011, 2016)

🇷🇺 Evgeni Plushenko (2010)

🇯🇵 Yuzuru Hanyu (2011–2012)

🇺🇸 Jeremy Abbott (2012–2015)

🇪🇸 Javier Fernández (2012–2013)

🇷🇺 Maxim Kovtun (2013–2015)

🇨🇦 Kevin Reynolds (2013)

🇨🇦 Patrick Chan (2014–2016)

🇺🇿 Misha Ge (2015)

🇯🇵 Nobunari Oda (2015–2018)

🇺🇸 Jason Brown (2016, 2022–2023)

🇯🇵 Shoma Uno (2016–2023)

🇷🇺 Dmitri Aliev (2018)

🇺🇸 Nathan Chen (2018–2019, 2022–2023)

🇨🇳 Boyang Jin (2018–2019)

🇯🇵 Kazuki Tomono (2018, 2021–2023)

🇷🇺 Sergei Voronov (2018)

🇺🇸 Tomoki Hiwatashi (2019)

🇷🇺 Mikhail Kolyada (2019)

🇫🇷 Romain Ponsart (2019)

🇺🇸 Vincent Zhou (2019, 2022)

🇯🇵 Yuma Kagiyama (2021)

🇯🇵 Sena Miyake (2021)

🇯🇵 Shun Sato (2021)

🇯🇵 Keiji Tanaka (2021)

🇯🇵 Sota Yamamoto (2021)

🇫🇷 Kevin Aymoz (2022–2023)

🇰🇷 Jun Hwan Cha (2022–2023)

🇮🇹 Daniel Grassl (2022)

🇺🇸 Ilia Malinin (2022–2023)

🇮🇹 Matteo Rizzo (2022)

🇨🇦 Keegan Messing (2023)

🇫🇷 Adam Siao Him Fa (2023)

Women's singles
🇯🇵 Miki Ando (2007–2009)

🇯🇵 Mai Asada (2007–2012, 2016–2017)

🇯🇵 Mao Asada (2007–2017)

🇺🇸 Mirai Nagasu (2007–2008, 2011–2013, 2016–2018)

🇯🇵 Aki Sawada (2007)

🇯🇵 Miki Sone (2007–2009)

🇯🇵 Nana Takeda (2007)

🇺🇸 Sasha Cohen (2008)

🇯🇵 Yukari Nakano (2008)

🇯🇵 Akiko Suzuki (2008–2010, 2015, 2017)

🇯🇵 Kanako Murakami (2009–2017)

🇯🇵 Rumi Suizu (2009)

Elene Gedevanishvili (2010)

🇨🇦 Joanie Rochette (2010–2011, 2015–2016)

🇺🇸 Alissa Czisny (2011)

🇷🇺 Alena Leonova (2012)

🇷🇺 Adelina Sotnikova (2012–2015, 2017)

🇺🇸 Gracie Gold (2013–2014)

🇯🇵 Satoko Miyahara (2013–2018, 2021–2022)

🇫🇷 Maé-Bérénice Méité (2014)

🇮🇹 Carolina Kostner (2015–2016)

🇺🇸 Ashley Wagner (2015)

🇺🇸 Mariah Bell (2018–2021)

🇨🇦 Gabrielle Daleman (2018)

🇯🇵 Marin Honda (2018–2022)

🇯🇵 Mai Mihara (2018, 2021–2023)

🇯🇵 Kaori Sakamoto (2018–2023)

🇷🇺 Alina Zagitova (2018–2019)

🇯🇵 Miyu Honda (2019)

🇯🇵 Rika Kihira (2019–2021)

🇯🇵 Wakaba Higuchi (2021)

🇯🇵 Rika Hongo (2021)

🇯🇵 Mana Kawabe (2021)

🇯🇵 Rino Matsuike (2021)

🇯🇵 Mako Yamashita (2021)

🇯🇵 Yuhana Yokoi (2021)

🇺🇸 Alysa Liu (2022)

🇧🇪 Loena Hendrickx (2023)

Pairs
🇺🇸 Kyoko Ina / John Zimmerman (2007)

🇨🇳 Shen Xue / Zhao Hongbo (2007, 2010)

🇨🇳 Zhang Dan / Zhang Hao (2008)

🇨🇳 Pang Qing / Tong Jian (2009, 2011, 2015, 2017)

🇯🇵 Narumi Takahashi / Mervin Tran (2011–2012)

🇯🇵 Narumi Takahashi / Ryuichi Kihara (2013–2014)

🇺🇸 Tarah Kayne / Daniel O'Shea (2016)

🇫🇷 Vanessa James / Morgan Cipres (2018)

🇯🇵 Riku Miura / Ryuichi Kihara (2022–2023)

Ice dance
🇬🇧 Sinead Kerr / John Kerr (2008–2011)

🇺🇸 Tanith Belbin White / Benjamin Agosto (2009)

🇺🇸 Meryl Davis / Charlie White (2011–2012, 2014)

🇺🇸 Maya Shibutani / Alex Shibutani (2012–2014)

🇨🇦 Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje (2013, 2015, 2017)

🇺🇸 Madison Hubbell / Zachary Donohue (2016)

🇫🇷 Gabriella Papadakis / Guillaume Cizeron (2018–2019, 2023)

🇯🇵 Misato Komatsubara / Tim Koleto (2019)

🇺🇸 Madison Chock / Evan Bates (2022–2023)

🇯🇵 Kana Muramoto / Daisuke Takahashi (2023)