Frozen Cirque

It's been 20 years since Cirque du Soleil introduced its reputation-crowning production O. That spectacle, still running at Las Vegas' Bellagio, augmented the company's earth- and air-bound traditions with a new performance medium: water. Now, within a month of Adam Rippon gliding into the fantasies of many a gay man, drama queens delighting at the arrival of Disney's Frozen on Broadway, and Alison Janney winning the gold as Tanya Harding's own Mama (F)Rose, Cirque du Soleil returns to the Bay Area with what seems like an inevitable next iteration of its trademark stagecraft: Crystal: A Breakthrough Ice Experience.

The touring show, which opened at the SAP Center in San Jose last night and runs through the weekend, has demanded the development of new skill sets by veteran Cirque performers - who have added skating to their acrobatic repertoires - and by athletes drawn not only from figure skating, but from speed skating and extreme winter sports like Ice Cross Downhill.

Like the competitive synchronized swimmers who suddenly had new career opportunities opened up to them by O, Crystal offers ice athletes a chance to extend their skating careers if they are willing to take on new challenges.