Five nights a week, in one of more than
70 cities around the world, Josh Bindon
is a “sprinting thistle.” It’s his job to chase
fairies around Pixie Hollow on ice skates.
“I look like a green weed,” Bindon says,
“which is what I am in the show.
”
It may sound like an odd job, but if, like
Bindon, you’re an ice skater in the popular
traveling production of Disney on Ice, it’s
all in a day’s work.
A former competitive figure skater,
Bindon has been performing with Disney
on Ice since he was a teenager. In the latest
show, Worlds of Fantasy, Bindon performs
in the Tinker Bell scene dressed in an
elaborate green hand-painted costume.
“Tinker Bell is not terribly happy with
becoming a Tinker fairy,” Bindon says.
“She’s trying to capture the sprinting thistles,
a menacing weed which runs all over
Pixie Hollow. We come in and destroy
Tinker’s nook. It’s a big destruction number
with props flying everywhere and crazy
choreography. It’s a really cool high-energy
number.”
In addition to Tinker Bell, the twoyear-
long Worlds of Fantasy tour showcases
beloved Disney characters from classics
including The Lion King, The Little
Mermaid and Disney/Pixar’s Cars. In
January, the tour will come to the U.S.
Airways Center in Phoenix.
Performing with Disney on Ice has taken
Bindon, a Canadian native, all over the
world, including Japan, Europe and the
Americas.
“The fact that I get to travel and do what
I love to do for a living is incredible,” he
says. “It’s so much fun. It’s taken me to
places I never thought I’d get to go. And
I’ve done things I’ve never thought I’d be
able to do.”¦
AGE: 26
JOB DESCRIPTION: Dressed in elaborate costumes,
portraying several different characters, Bindon
performs ice-skating choreography for Disney
on Ice.
YEARS ON THE JOB: Nine. Bindon started with
Disney on Ice when he was just a teenager. “I
graduated high school and joined the show.”
TRAINING: As a competitive figure skater since
the age of 11, Bindon was hired by Disney
on Ice while in training for the nationals. “I
realized I was technically good enough to
be a good competitor, I just didn’t have the
competitor spirit. I had more of a performance
aspect to my skating.”
HOURS: Tours last nine to ten months.
OFF-TIME: When Bindon is not on tour he stays
off the ice. “I’ll go rollerblading and stuff like
that to keep myself in shape. Generally it’s my
time to give my feet a chance to rest.”
BEST PART: “I love performing. I love being with
the company. I love the traveling. I love the
interacting.”
WORST PART: “There really isn’t a bad part. It’s
wonderful. If I had to pick, I’d say being away
from family for so long.”
INJURIES: “It is live theater, that is the exciting
part about it. There are times when we fall
down or a stunt doesn’t go quite the way we
want. But we are highly trained professionals
and we get back up right away. You’ll never
even notice something has gone wrong.”
COSTUMES: There are over 1,000 different costume
pieces in the Disney on Ice show, and the
show’s choreography is adjusted around the
costumes. “We took six weeks when the first
show opened to adapt all the choreography
and all the skating to the costumes so that the
show looks smooth and flawless when it hits
that very first performance.”
FUTURE CAREER: Bindon plans on staying with
Disney on Ice, even after he hangs up his
skates, working in production or performance
directing. “I want to stay attached to the sport
of skating. It’s part of my life; it runs hrough
my blood. I don’t think I’ll be able to give it up
entirely, ever.”
PHOENIX PERFORMANCES: Worlds of Fantas will
be at U.S. Airways Center, 201 E. Jefferson St.,
Phoenix, from Jan. 13-18. For more information:
(800) 745-3000
