With the return of Disney on Ice in Hamilton, this cast member from Brantford comes full circle

For Disney on Ice cast member Sarah Nolan, performing this week at Hamilton's FirstOntario Centre is a full-circle moment, 12 years after she first auditioned for the show at the same venue.

The tradition to bring Disney On Ice to the city's downtown is back until Sunday after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"It's where it all started," Nolan told CBC Hamilton earlier this week before opening night Thursday. 

Since that initial audition, the Brantford resident has been touring the world with the family-friendly production, which marked 40 years of performances in 2021 and has visited 68 countries since it first began in the United States. 

But Nolan hasn't been back to perform in Hamilton since she joined the cast. 

"My grandpa's coming to the show on Thursday, and he hasn't seen me skate in seven years. My parents are coming to the show, my sister, a couple of my cousins. So being able to be back and perform for them, oh my god, I'm getting emotional just thinking about it."

As an ensemble cast member, Nolan plays a variety of roles when she's on her skates, ranging from a green toy soldier in the Toy Story numbers to a seashell during "Under the Sea" performance. 

Her favourite role, however, is that of a napkin during the "Be Our Guest" song. 

"It's completely different than anything you're gonna see on any other Disney On Ice show because we skate for like a third of the number, and then all of a sudden, we're up in the air for the rest of the number. It's pretty cool to hear, the first time we all go up, the whole crowd going 'wow!'"

Nolan is now hoping to get more people interested in skating for Disney On Ice, saying it's the "best career a young skater can have." 

"There's something super special about making a connection, especially with kids… and you give them a wave, and they wave back, it kind of breaks that barrier."

Nolan and her husband, who is the show's production stage manager, had plans to leave tour life and settle down before the pandemic cancelled their last tour.

"My husband and I weren't necessarily supposed to do this tour. We were going to get off the road [before the pandemic hit], so as soon as I saw that we're coming to Hamilton, I couldn't believe it."

After a nine-month forced break, Nolan decided she wasn't ready to leave the tour just yet.