Athletic feats are icing on holiday skate show

`Holiday Festival on Real Ice'Through Jan. 11Drury Lane Theatre2500 W. 95th St., Evergreen ParkTickets, $19-$41. (708) 422-0404Recommended

"Holiday Festival on Real Ice," now swirling around thefreshly glazed stage of Drury Lane South, recalls '70s-era Vegasvariety shows. But thrilling athletic feats and a contagiouslycharismatic cast make this ice extravaganza more than a kitschyexercise in nostalgia.

Featuring championship skaters, a versatile ensemble and vocalimpressionist Eddie Cash, the spectacle aims to entertain wildly withroutines devoted to Elvis, country music, Broadway, disco, Cirque duSoleil and, of course, Christmas.The performers' polished technique, sweeping artistry and cleanlines attest to their adaptability in a tiny arena where the skatersare only a few inches away from the audience.Their blades kick up ice into the first few rows, while pairsperform death-defying tosses almost right above the viewers' heads.Produced by John R. Lazzara and Richard Porter, "HolidayFestival on Real Ice" recalls (especially in its less-inspiredChristmas medley section) old-fashioned TV talent shows.Christian Conte, a U.S. Figure Skating gold medalist, dazzledwith an action-packed, lip-synched solo to "One for My Baby."Negotiating a treacherously shallow space, he executed a perfectseries of air-bound spread eagles, double axels and cyclone spinsbefore finishing with a back flip that stopped just short of anaudience member's lap.Offering a soft (and occasionally sassy) contrasting style,gold medalist Dawn Latona moved from a willowy, floating angel in"Memory" to a stylish cabaret high-kicker in "New York, New York."Successfully extending one leg over the back of her head whilespinning, Latona combined daring and elegance.The showiest act on the bill belongs to international goldmedalist adagio skaters Ron and Mandy Green. The husband-and-wifedaredevils thrilled the crowd with one-handed/no-handed lifts andspins, with Ron frequently catapulting Mandy into freewheelingsee-saw air turns.At one point, in a tribute to the late Princess Diana, set toElton John's remake of "Candle in the Wind," the double-jointed Mandyperformed multiple contortions in midair. They never threw away amove - both are as smoothly inventive as they are gasp-inducing.Lucia Mauro is a free-lance writer and critic.