Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Hundreds of shoppers gathered at Seef Mall last weekend to catch the opening performance of Dancing on Ice, an all-singing, all-dancing, skating spectacle staring Joanie Charron. Before the show GulfWeekly's intrepid columnist Charlie Holding had the chance to sit down and talk with the pint-sized ice princess and get her thoughts on the kingdom and what people can expect from her second show tomorrow evening.
AT just 22-years-old, Joanie Charron has enjoyed great success with her eclectic performances which combine singing, dancing and figure skating on ice.
As a National Hockey League coach and talent scout, her father and manager, Michel, has played an integral part in her career.
He spotted potential in his daughter when she was just three-years-old, completely by chance during her brother's hockey practice.
According to Michel, Joanie's gift for entertaining came as quite a surprise. The men in the family grew up playing hockey and Joanie used to accompany them to practice. Michel told me that before a hockey game in Canada it's customary to sing the national anthem, so when her brother took to the ice, she used to follow him and sing the national anthem into a water bottle.
"That was when I first noticed she had a talent, I thought to myself 'wow, she's really good'," Michel proudly recalls.
Since then, Joanie has come a long way and her talent has taken her on a global journey of adventure. Having just returned from a tour of Mexico, the pint-sized ice princess has done her fair share of travelling and performing. She has previously toured in Europe and travelled all over her native Canada, twice mounting the stage of the prestigious Saint-Denis Theatre in Montreal.
She even put that early schoolgirl practice to the test in real life by performing her national anthem to 21,000 spectators at the Scotiabank Place Stadium in Ottawa during the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships ... this time using a microphone!
What makes Joanie special is that while some are great ice skaters, or dancers, or singers, she has combined her biggest passions and turned them into a unique art form.
"I've always loved singing, dancing and skating. I wanted to find a way to join them together and this show is the result of all the hard work," said Joanie.
Arriving in the Middle East has come as somewhat of a shock to the young French-Canadian, who is more used to seeing snow than sand.
She said: "This is my first time in the Middle East and I'm very excited because it's so different to what I'm used to. I went to the Bahrain Museum to get a feel for the country and its culture. It's amazing and interesting. I like to learn about the places I visit and Bahrain has many things for me to learn, there is such a rich and beautiful culture."
However, it doesn't take too much for Joanie to feel comfortable in a new place - simply a large slab of ice and some skates. She said: "Even here in the heat of Bahrain, when I step on the ice I feel more like myself and I feel like I'm home.
"I think I was born in the rink because my brother is a hockey player and my father is a coach. At one point my brother was playing for a team that my father was coaching and I was singing. It's a family business!"
The show, Jazz on Ice, has been running for more than a year and demand for it shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon, which Joanie couldn't be happier about.
"I love travelling with my father and my music, it's the most beautiful job in the world. I'm doing what I love the most."
