Robin Cousins Interview

Robin Cousins Interview

With the dark nights now setting in, a chill in the air and no doubt inefficient attempts to deal with snow on the horizon we're pleased to see Spinningfields ice skating rink is back!

Spinningfields ice skating rink will be making
an appearance again this festive season.

With former Olympic Gold medallist, European Champion and now Dancing on Ice judge, Robin Cousins behind the new rink, Gossip was honoured to speak to the man himself about skating, performing and life on the ice.

 

This is your first year in charge of the pop-up ice rink in Manchester, after so many years being involved in the sport do you think Mancunians are ready to embrace skating?

 

Manchester has always had a strong ice skating fraternity. I used to come up here to the old Altrincham rink and when we do the Dancing on Ice tour it is always packed out.

 

Previously the rink has worked well at Spinningfields and this year we have a new set-up, and I hope we will give the people something they need.

 

It's difficult at this time of year to get people interested in Christmas, especially with the unseasonal weather we have just had. But the thing with an outdoor ice rink is people love to skate no matter what the weather.

 

The pop-up rink at Spinningfields seems to be the perfect example of offering something for everyone, was this your initial aim?

 

Absolutely and it's also the old cliché, that it's something everyone can do at the same time, which you don't find anymore.

 

Pop-up rinks work well over the winter season because they are as much for families as they are for serious skaters and competitors who go to the indoor arenas. Then of course you have the ancillaries, of the mulled wine and hot chocolate.

"If you feel yourself going to fall, go with it
and above all fall elegantly".

Many people who will visit the rink may have never skated before, do you have any tips for them?
Don't assume it is going to be slippy and try not to be governed by what other people are doing. You see them just skating and try to keep up, but I have always said that the idea is to maintain your own control and make the blades do what you want them to do, rather than the other way around.

 

Don't be embarrassed because you can't go fast or very far, and use the barriers if you need to. Also the most important thing is, if you feel yourself going to fall, go with it and above all fall elegantly. But don't try to stop it, as that is when accidents happen.

 

Dancing on ice has been a massive success, do you still enjoy the show after all these years?

 

Last year was the best show we have had, with the biggest numbers since year one and we are now in our seventh year.

 

The producers were great in finding a group of celebrities who fit all the ingredients, we didn't necessarily have one or two who were entertaining, they were all entertaining. We didn't have one or two capable of winning, we had three or four. So they were people who the audience at home cared about.

 

Do you ever find yourself swayed by a certain celebrity because of who they are, rather than the way they skate?

 

All I care about is that they perform on a Sunday and entertain me and the audience. Sometimes I don't even know who they are, I don't watch the soaps or read the newspapers, and I don't care about their days jobs. I just care that they get on the ice on the Sunday and deliver a performance, good, bad, or indifferent.

 

Obviously sometimes it's nice to be entertained for all the wrong reasons and I guarantee in the new series we will have somebody who will do that again.

 

Any inside knowledge on who that could be?

 

I don't even know who they are yet! They are still casting and I don't meet them until January. The coaches start working with them in November, and that is when ITV will make the big announcement.

 

Whoever it is though, seven years in anyone who is going to put themselves in the firing line will have to commit to doing over 100 hours before the TV show starts and they will have to be prepared to give up their family and friends. It is a commitment beyond a commitment.

 

Have you seen an increased popularity in the sport, since Dancing on Ice began?
Dancing on Ice has put a lot of kids into ice rinks and it has given the temporary ice rinks a huge boost.

 

It is down to the ice rinks who are very busy between Christmas and April, to then keep it working, and to make people want to bring their kids back so they want to do it more than once or twice a year.

"A lot of our ice rinks are wet, damp and neglected

You sound very passionate about this, does more work or money need to be put into our nations ice rinks?

 

Unfortunately, and I have no problem saying this, a lot of our ice rinks are wet, damp and neglected. By getting the clubs sorted, the management need to make it so the rinks are somewhere that you don't mind going.

 

Yes it is an expensive thing to maintain but your image and environment is very important, and you have to think about how your clients are going to feel. It's one thing to get the kids excited with a load of skate classes, but you also want somewhere the parents can sit and talk and that is clean.

 

It would be rude not to ask you about your amazing career. Competing at the highest level, being an Olympic Gold medallist, European Champion, World Medallist, and British National Champion, did you always know this was what you wanted to do in life?

 

I always knew my life would revolve around skating or performing, and I was a performer first and a competitor second.

 

As a child I wanted to be Gene Kelly, and it was about the dancing and singing, so to have been able to combine them all is great. Also as a choreographer and director I have ticked all the boxes, and really to have this life, I am blessed with it. But I think the most important thing with anybody is to have people around you, who will tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear.

 

Robin's ice rink can be found at Hardman Square, Spinningfields, and will run from the 18th November - 3rd January.

 

Written by Ad Yare