Skater enjoys playing Elsa in Disney ice show

Ice skater Dora Vikar calls the character she portrays “a strong female, a good role model.”

For “Disney on Ice Presents Worlds of Enchantment,” Vikar is Elsa from the Disney film “Frozen.”

“Elsa is a favorite with the audience, especially, the young girls,” Vikar said.

The ice show opens with a performance at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Columbus Civic Center.

There are shows at 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday.

Besides Frozen, the show features characters from “Cars,” “The Little Mermaid,” and “Toy Story.”

The show is put on by Feld Entertainment, and Vikar has been skating in its shows for 16 years.

It seems it is something she was born to do.

Her mother and aunt skated for “Holiday On Ice.”

Later, her mother and grandmother became ice skating coaches. Vikar began skating when she was 3 years old and began competition when she was 6.

“They never pushed me into skating. They didn’t have to,” Vikar said of her family.

The skater was born and raised in Hungary and returns there during the little time off she gets.

She quit competitive skating when she was 18, realizing she was never going to the Olympics.

Vikar said she likes what she does now more than she ever did competing. There are fewer tough tricks to perform, and there is less stress.

“Most of all, I love the acting,” she said

She has played numerous roles through the years, including Jessie from Toy Story. Her first big role was the Blue Fairy from “Pinocchio.”

Vikar never thought she would be with the show this long.

She auditioned in London, England.

“I thought I would give it a try and do it for a year or two,” said Vikar, who studied English in college.

Besides this country, the show has taken her to places such as South America, Europe, Australia, Japan and Canada.

“It can be traveling for months with everything you have in two suitcases, but I love visiting different places,” she said.

An acquaintance from Columbus sent her an email telling her which restaurants to try.

She described her performance style as athletic, energetic and balletic.

Vikar said her goal is “to give 100 percent all the time and do the character justice on the ice.”

Asked what she wants the audience to get from her performance, Vikar said, “to forget their worries for two hours, and for kids to just laugh and be enchanted.”

This story was originally published April 26, 2017 at 5:29 PM with the headline "Skater enjoys playing Elsa in Disney ice show."