Meet the Australian skater living the Disney on Ice dream

Jessinta Martin is not only one of the lucky ones, she's one of the most skilled: you don't get a job as a skater in the Disney on Ice troupe unless you are the real deal.

Martin will be in the cast as Disney on Ice - Road Trip Adventures comes to Newcastle for 10 shows on July 11-14 at Newcastle Entertainment Centre.

The show is in Wollongong this week, followed by Brisbane and Melbourne before arriving in Newcastle.

As the Disney script says: "Road Trip Adventures sees exciting twists and turns as Mickey Mouse and his Disney friends embark on a wild ride to Disney destinations. Travel with Moana to the sun-soaked Motunui, set off on a safari to the Pride Lands with Simba, discover a whole new world as you're swept up in Aladdin's princely parade, and play at a larger-than-life carnival with Woody and Forky."

"This will be my ninth season,' Martin says. "I still love it so much. It's my absolute favourite thing. I love my job so much.

"My little kid inside me loves the Disney aspect. It keeps us young and fit. You make lifelong friends.

"I love to see all the kids' faces light up out there when I'm on the ice.

"You get to skate and travel, which is really cool."

Martin began skating at the age of five in her hometown of Seaford, in suburban Adelaide. "I saw it on TV and it looked like fun, so I wanted to try it out," she says.

She skated for the Noarlunga figure skating club, working with coach Teresa Sinclair.

More than two decades later, she's still skating.

Martin was state champion in South Australia for 11 years. She also skated at a national level and represented Australia in single and synchronised skating. She was a 2006 silver medallist at the Australian national championships.

Martin is also a qualified teacher, completing her studies at Flinders University.

As a child, her Disney on Ice favourite was Cruella de Ville in 101 Dalmatians, followed closely by The Little Mermaid. Of course, Disney on Ice has covered those characters, and many more.

"I remember seeing a Disney on Ice show when I first started skating and deciding right then and there, I wanted to be one of those skaters when I grew up," Martin says.

She joined Feld Entertainment, which operates Disney on Ice, in 2015.

Once in the cast, skaters become immersed as they rehearse their characters and enhance their understanding of them.

Martin spends more than 60 minutes of the total 100-minute Disney show on the ice, as part of the ensemble. Her main solo character is Bo Peep in the Toy Story 4 segment.

"She's a strong independent woman who takes charge," Martin says of the character. "I really love that about her."

The skaters are not recognisable as themselves on the ice with make-up, wigs and costumes designed to portray them as characters, rather than individual stars. Yet, there are super fans of Disney who seek them out after shows.

Martin says she is independent (like the Bo Peep character).

"You develop a confidence travelling by yourself," she says. "Although you have a second family of cast and crew.

"I joined not knowing anyone."

The lifestyle and work is anything but boring. Martin has extended her professional skills as well. The show is progressive, in the sense it has aerial aspects as well, which Martin also does.

"I have been training in aerial hoop (Lyra) for a year and a half and love it," she says.

"There is a lot of movement and skating, plus aerial acts in the show, including me. So it's not just lower body, but you have to build your upper body to be able to fly in the air."

Adelaide is still home for Martin, and she loves to spend her three-month down-time between show contracts there. But world travel is the best part of the job. With Disney, Martin has performed in the US, Canada, Mexico, Japan, China, Philippines, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand.

"I love travelling," she says. "I love Japan. I love Canada. I've never been to Europe. I've been to the United States, and South-East Asia, and I loved that as well."

Of course, the work and the travel go hand in hand.

"Everyone knows Disney," Martin says of reaction to the show. "All the cheering, clapping, waving, is pretty amazing. In Indonesia the crowd sang every song.

"Australia does that, too. We were in Australia in 2022 and the crowds were amazing."

After eight years, Martin's content with her lifestyle of travel and skating.

How long will she stay with Disney?

"As long as my body stays nice and healthy," she says. "I love it so much, I'm definitely not ready to give it up yet. I want to make it to Europe ... that will be next season."