OASIS SAND ARTISTS CREATE MAGIC

When Pam and I attended the "Frozen in Time" ice show aboard Oasis of the Seas, we expected to see fabulous ice skating and topnotch production (right, on both counts).  What we didn't expect was to be mesmerized by two artists from the Ukraine who told a story in sand.

The show is based on the fairy tales of Hans Christian Anderson, and features magnificent skating and choreography. At one point in the show, the lights are darkened, and two people walk to a lighted box. Those two people are Aleksandra Vodnytska and Sergii Scherbinin.

As the audience watched on monitors, the couple started telling Anderson's "Ole Lukejo," -- the Sandman -- through the medium of, appropriately enough, sand. As the sand was sprinkled on a lighted shadow box surface, their hands and fingers flew through it, creating faces, umbrellas, and clocks in delightfully unexpected ways.

Given the number of "oohs" and "aahs" we heard (including ours), the audience was enthralled.

Sergii, Pam and Aleksandra
(Photo: Gerry)

Afterwards, we spoke to both Aleksandra and Sergii, both accomplished designers and artists, about their craft and the show.

As you might expect, creating those magical minutes onstage requires hundreds of hours of practice. "It starts with pencil sketches," said Aleksandra, "and from there step-by-step with the sand and the music." They told us there are probably less than a dozen people in the world who perform "sand art" professionally.

You can learn about them at their website, www.vodnytska.com, and at their blog, where you can view the "Ole Lukejo" performance via a YouTube video.

Bravo Aleksandra and Sergii! Cruising Squared is giving you a standing ovation.

-- Gerry and Pam, for Cruising Squared