Disney takes great care to keep the magic alive, ice skater Jamie Loper tells Viv Hardwick.

THERE’S more to celebrating 100 Years of Magic, the current Disney On Ice show, than meets the eye.

I’m allowed to talk to Jamie Loper about skating the role of Aladdin at the Metro Radio Arena Newcastle, for example, because he’s a “face”

(someone you can see), but no one is allowed to know who skates in the enclosed character world of Toy Story’s Buzz Lightyear or Woody.

“The policy company-wide is that characters must remain characters.

That’s how we keep the Disney magic intact,” says Jamie.

“Being a face character allows me to do a lot of skills that the others can’t do. It is far more difficult for the skaters wearing a character’s head and costume, which can be cumbersome,”

he says.

Loper, from Wilmington, Delaware, says performing Disney is addictive, “particularly after it’s given me the chance to go around the world several times”.

Now he’s focusing on staying fit enough to do justice to Aladdin, one of Disney’s best-known heroes, and playing Shang, the army leader, in the second-half Mulan segment.

Loper started out in the chorus 12 years ago and is a veteran of 14 touring seasons with Disney On Ice, which is produced by US-based Feld Entertainment.

“I’ve had some amazing roles, which come with time and persistence – and Aladdin is one of my favourite roles because he’s such a bubbly character,” he says. I think I look like Aladdin (from the animated film) and I happened to meet the needs the company required for the role. I’ve always got a good response from the audience and I feel very fortunate to have gained this part.”

He enjoys opening the show, dancing to the Aladdin movie track Never Had A Friend Like Me, and describes it as “a fun number with a lot of precision skating. We perform back flips and a couple of other skating manoeuvres”.

Aladdin is followed out on the ice by 65 Disney stars linked to films such as The Lion King, Pinnochio, Toy Story and Finding Nemo.

“The Mulan section is probably the most detailed story we tell throughout the production,” says Loper, who likes the dynamic between the lively Aladdin and the serious Shang.

“When you’re portraying the role of a character you don’t only have your own skating skills to worry about, but also convincing the crowd that you’re this character. It doesn’t matter whether it’s one person or a thousand people seeing the show for the first time, we like to rise to the challenge,” he adds.

His previous visit to Newcastle with Disney On Ice was performing in The Spirit of Pocahontas in 1998, which saw Loper take on the principal role of the warrior Kocoum.

“I really look forward to going back because I’ve become a huge football fan and it would be great to see Newcastle play now they’ve got back into the Premier League,” he says. “I remember that the Geordie accent is tricky at first and I was just guessing at what people were saying.” Now he feels “pretty well versed” in Geordie.

He likes the fact that the audience with ringside seats can come down and shake hands with their favourite Disney characters during the finale.

“That’s the kind of great interactive scene that you don’t get every time in entertainment,” says Loper.

■ Disney On Ice presents 100 Years of Magic, Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle. October 5 to 10. Tickets fron £12.50. Box office: 0844-493-6666 metroradioarena.co.uk or ticketmaster.co.uk/disneyonice