PEORIA — One of the Green Army soldiers from “Toy Story 3” that will swarm into the Peoria Civic Center arena this weekend as part of Disney On Ice: Worlds of Enchantment is Leocadia Lellig, a 19-year-old champion skater from Reading, Pa.
Leo, as she’s called, also plays a seahorse during the “The Little Mermaid” sequence at the Disney show that will offer six performances Friday, Sept. 27 through Sunday, Sept. 29 at the Peoria Civic Center where tickets start as low as $15.
She calls it a dream job, traveling from city to city with the 40 other skaters in the show on a schedule running from September through May. “We’ll be in Lincoln, Neb. after Peoria but we’re going all over with dates in New Mexico and California planned,” said Lellig in a telephone interview.
On ice since she was four, Lellig was a competitive skater for eight years, capping her career with two weeks of performances at an indoor ski park in Brazil two years ago.
In her second year on the “Disney on Ice” tour, she hopes to skate her way to the top. “I’d like to work my way up to have a principal role with ‘Disney on Ice. I also look forward to going overseas,'” she said.
As one of the longest-running ice shows around in the world, “Disney on Ice” is a globe-trotting sensation. “It started in the 1980s. But there’s always something new. It’s been revamped many times over the years,” said Lellig, one of the some 100 individuals that fill four buses as the show makes its way across the country while 10 semi-trailers are required to transport the lights, fixtures and props used in each production (that takes 12 1/2 hours to set up each time).
A ballet enthusiast, Lellig enjoys life on the road. “We usually have Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday off to explore the cities we visit,” she said.
How can you recognize Lellig, who’s among the Disney skaters who like to eat chocolate before a performance? Simple. She’ll be the one wearing a pair of her mom’s diamond earrings. “I’ve done that at every competition or show I’ve performed in,” she said.
ExplorePeoria.com fans can get a $5 off select tickets for the Friday, September 27th 7 pm show, the Saturday, September 28th 7 pm show and the Sunday, September 29th 5 pm by using the code WORLDS5 at Ticketmaster.com Valid through September 29, 2019 on price levels P4 & P5 0nly.