Arts & Entertainment
Traveling with M-I-C-K-E-Y
Former competitive figure skater found home with Disney on Ice
Joshua Flores as Mowgli from ‘The Jungle Book’ in Disney on Ice, which opens at the Patriot Center next week. (Photo courtesy Disney on Ice)
When he was 10 years old, Joshua Flores laced up a pair of ice skates for the first time and knew skating was something he wanted to do for a long time.
“I always loved the music that came with figure skating as well as the movement and gracefulness,” he says. “I loved to jump and spin. I remember being little and pretending to skate with my socks on, on the living room floor when I first saw figure skating on TV.”
Almost two decades later, the out and proud young man continues to live his dream as part of the Disney on Ice tour.
“I competed in figure skating until I was 18 and then when it was over, I wanted to find something that would still let me do what I loved,” he says. “My coach suggested I send in a videotape to Disney on Ice and see what happens, and I filmed me doing all my tricks and a week later they called me.”
That was 10 years ago, and Flores has traveled the globe as he skates in productions all over the world. It’s more than the Rockford, Ill., resident ever imagined.
“I’ve been to Japan, Australia, Europe, South America … it’s hard to keep track of all the places I have been,” he says. “The traveling is awesome because I get to experience cultures around the world, and I’m a huge food person. I love tasting food from everywhere.”
Currently, Flores skates as “The Jungle Book’s” Mowgli in a Disney on Ice production entitled, “Let’s Celebrate!” but he’s also seen time playing John Darling from “Peter Pan,” a turtle in “Finding Nemo” and a student in “High School Musical.”
“At first, it was difficult to get used to skating with a mask or in costume, but you get used to it and learn more about your skills,” he says. “I love the rush of adrenaline when I skate out and see a huge audience screaming with smiles and laughter. I always like performing to a crowd.”
The best thing that’s come from being with Disney on Ice, he says, it that he met his boyfriend (Nicholas Kelly, also a skater in the show) five years ago and they’ve been able to travel the world together.
“We work together and are around each other 24/7 because of our jobs, and we learn so much about each other, nothing can really break us apart,” Flores says. “Touring the world together is amazing and I am very lucky, definitely.”
Being gay has never been a problem for Flores in his dealings with Disney or the other skaters. There are a number of ice skaters working for the company who are part of the LGBT community.
“We have a huge, diverse group with people from around the world so everyone gets used to each other, and I’ve never experienced any problems on tour,” he says. “We’re one big happy family.”
Flores calls Lady Gaga one of his role models because she is a constant reminder to him that you can be completely different in so many ways. “You should love yourself for who you are and enjoy and love life,” he says.
“Let’s Celebrate,” which plays the Patriot Center from Oct. 23-27 and the Baltimore Arena from Oct. 30-Nov. 3, features 50 Disney characters paying tribute to different holidays around the world.
“It’s kind of like walking into Disneyland and seeing all the characters on the ice right at the opening of the show,” Flores says. “We have a Tea Party with the Mad Hatter, Mickey and Minnie are there of course, and we all help to clean up the party with Fantasia Mickey. It’s so much fun.”
Flores is on the road 10-11 months each year, and while he misses his family, they understand that he’s doing something he loves.
When he finally does hang up the skates, Flores hopes to stay with the company and explore the wardrobe- and character development-side of productions.
“There are people who have been here almost 20 years, and I’m going to stick with it until my body gives out — to the very last piece of the music,” he says.
Tickets for Disney on Ice range from $20-$75 and can be purchased at all Ticketmaster outlets via charge by phone at 1-800-745-3000; via ticketmaster.com; and at the Patriot Center box office.
WorldPride 2025 concluded with the WorldPride Street Festival and Closing Concert held along Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. on Sunday, June 8. Performers on the main stage included Doechii, Khalid, Courtney Act, Parker Matthews, 2AM Ricky, Suzie Toot, MkX and Brooke Eden.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
The 2025 WorldPride Parade was held in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, June 7. Laverne Cox and Renée Rapp were the grand marshals.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key and Robert Rapanut)
Theater
A hilarious ‘Twelfth Night’ at Folger full of ‘elegant kink’
Nonbinary actor Alyssa Keegan stars as Duke Orsino
‘Twelfth Night’
Through June 22
Folger Theatre
201 East Capitol St., S.E.
$20-$84
Folger.edu
Nonbinary actor Alyssa Keegan (they/them)loves tapping into the multitudes within.
Currently Keegan plays the melancholic Duke Orsino in Folger Theatre’s production of Shakespeare’s romantic comedy “Twelfth Night.” Director Mei Ann Teo describes the production as “sexy, hilarious, and devastating” and full of “elegant kink.”
Washington-based, Keegan enjoys a busy and celebrated career. Her vast biography includes Come From Away at Ford’s Theatre; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Helen Hayes Award, Best Actress) and Paula Vogel’s How I Learned to Drive, both at Round House Theatre; Diana Son’s Stop Kiss directedby Holly Twyford for No Rules Theatre Company; and Contractions at Studio Theatre, to name just a few.
In addition to acting, Keegan works as a polyamory and ethical non-monogamy life and relationship coach, an area of interest that grew out of personal exploration. For them, coaching seems to work hand in hand with acting.
WASHINGTON BLADE: You’re playing the lovesick Orsino in Twelfth Night. How did that come about?
ALYSSA KEEGAN: The director was looking to cast a group of actors with diverse identities; throughout auditions, there were no constraints regarding anyone’s assigned sex at birth. It was really a free for all.
BLADE: What’s your approach to the fetching, cod-piece clad nobleman?
KEEGAN: Offstage I identify as completely nonbinary; I love riding in this neutral middle space. But I also love cosplay. The ability to do that in the play gives me permission to dive completely into maleness.
So, when I made that decision to play Orsino as a bio male, suddenly the part really cracked open for me. I began looking for clues about his thoughts and opinions about things like his past relationships and his decision not to date older women.
Underneath his mask of bravura and sexuality, and his firmness of feelings, he’s quite lonely and has never really felt loved. It makes sense to me why his love for Olivia is so misguided and why he might fall in love with the Cesario/Viola character.
BLADE: As an actor, do you ever risk taking on the feelings of your characters?
KEEGAN: Prior to my mental health education, yes, and that could be toxic for me. I’ve since learned that the nervous system can’t tell the difference between real emotional distress and a that of a fully embodied character.
So, I created and share the Empowered Performer Project. [a holistic approach to performance that emphasizes the mental and emotional well-being of performing artists]. It utilizes somatic tools that help enormously when stepping into a character.
BLADE: Has changing the way you work affected your performances?
KEEGAN: I think I’m much better now. I used to have nearly debilitating stage fright. I’d spend all day dreading going onstage. I thought that was just part of the job. Now, I’ve learned to talk to my body. Prior to a performance, I can now spend my offstage time calmly gardening, working with my mental health clients, or playing with my kid. I’m just present in my life in a different way.
BLADE: Is Orsino your first time playing a male role?
KEEGAN: No. In fact, the very first time I played a male role was at the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Va. I played Hipolito in Thomas Middleton’s The Revenger’s Tragedy.
As Hipolito, I felt utterly male in the moment, so much so that I had audience members see me later after the show and they were surprised that I was female. They thought I was a young guy in the role. There’s something very powerful in that.
BLADE: Do you have a favorite part? Male or female?
KEEGAN: That’s tough but I think it’s Maggie the Cat. I played the hyper-female Maggie in Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at Round House. In the first act she didn’t stop talking for 51 minutes opposite Gregory Wooddell as Brick who barely had to speak. That lift was probably the heaviest I’ve ever been asked to do in acting.
BLADE: What about Folger’s Twelfth Night might be especially appealing to queer audiences?
KEEGAN: First and foremost is presentation. 99% of the cast identify as queer in some way.
The approach to Shakespeare’s text is one of the most bold and playful that I have ever seen. It’s unabashedly queer. The actors are here to celebrate and be loud and colorful and to advocate. It’s a powerful production, especially to do so close to the Capitol building, and that’s not lost on any of us.
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A hilarious ‘Twelfth Night’ at Folger full of ‘elegant kink’
