Stars On Ice Review | Page 3 | Golden Skate

Stars On Ice Review

Joined
Jan 30, 2004
I cannot wait until March 13th to see the show in Philadelphia.
I don't know how anyone can say that SOI is boring or a "dude" (dud)!!! Even the one year, Gold I think it was called, when it wasn't great, it was still enjoyable. There is nothing more exciting than the lights going down, glimpsing the shine of the skates under the curtain where the skaters enter and then the sound of the blades on the ice. I've been attending since 1995 and have not been disappointed yet. There are years I like the music better or a certain program better, but I am NEVER EVER bored. As long as the show is coming to Philadelphia, I'll be there.
It is sad to see that not even the lower bowl of the arena fills now-a-days compared to the place being sold- or nearly-sold-out.
I consider myself very lucky to live close to a city that still gets Stars On Ice AND Champions on Ice and the occassional competition or special show (Country On Ice, Kristi Yamaguchi's Salute to American Music, Scott Hamilton & Friends).
It is different now that the original core skaters are no longer with the show, but different does not equal "worse" or "less". It's skating, it's ice stars, it's fantastic!
 

R.D.

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Ice level seats are great! You'll have a great time. And to answer a question you asked earlier in this thread, you can take a camera to the event but just make sure your flash is off and you don't have one of those huge lenses because they might not let you in if your lens is too big. Ice seats sometimes have issues with the lighting too so just know that you might have to adjust your settings from time to time with the lights and I think you'll get some great shots. :agree:

I was thinking of getting an SLR, but I'm not sure it will be before the show. I figure my Canon SD550 won't quite cut it (I already tried shooting an indoor basketball game with adequate lighting and STILL had a tough time getting good shots, let alone the dark ice arena)...may as well sit back and enjoy the show, and hope ABC will do its telecast in High Definition to keep an "archive"...(wishful thinking, I know...)
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
RD - I'm not familiar with your particular canon, but most point and shoots have a heck of a time when it can't use flash

but flash does not work in a sports setting unless you're right in the face of the athlete anyway as the flash's light drops off before it hits the action, which makes what you really want in the shot incredibly dark.

With ice shows you have the problem of the bright ice against teh dark of the arena... your point and shoot tries to compensate...

I'm not good with point and shoots as I like to do all the fiddling with exposure myself. Hence my use of SLRs (and DSLRs) I highly recommend getting one - if you're going to use the manual stuff (I rarely even use auto focus) just because they're about the same when it comes to the automatic stuff. :)

kwanfan1212 gets decent shots with her point and shoot but she has what is called 'burst mode' (right? that's what it's called?) and my canon powershot didn't have one (But I have one of the oldest models so it didn't have all the bells and whistles most point and shoots have now)
 

R.D.

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
I know flash won't work. I've used cameras fairly extensively so I'm familiar with most settings, although far from an expert.

I've had the SD550 for almost a couple of years so I've basically thrown most situations at it and I know I'd be just wasting my time if I tried to get decent shots at the show with it. The aperture decreases dramatically as I zoom in; I found that out the hard way during that basketball game (those shots were turning out super dark).

The only reason to take it would be if I were going backstage and meeting the skaters, but that obviously is not happening, so I think I will just leave it at home (unless I get an SLR).

ETA: I do like some control over my shots (i.e. shutter priority) but I'm not crazy about tweaking every single thing- it gets complicated quickly and I'd rather just count on the camera choosing the optimum setting.
 
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Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
in show skating that's a bit hard as most cameras seem to have a problem with the ice and how to set the camera...

in film situations I was always told to push the film to get the best quality... :)

ice is tricky even for the spectators :)
 

Ice Princess

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 19, 2003
Country
United-States
I'm excited!!!! I'm going with some girls from work! I haven't been to Stars On Ice for quite a few years. The one I went to, was with Ekaterina Gordeeva in about 1996 & this one is going to have Ilia Kulik! My sister went to Champions On Ice in 2002 with a friend and gave me a tshirt and program. :thumbsup::biggrin::love::clap:
 

heyang

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
I find that the best opportunity to take pictures with a point and shoot is when you get lucky enough to have the skater's opening or closing pose right in front of you. I've also gotten some nice group shots.

As for on ice, I actually prefer about row 5 at center ice. With on-ice you sometimes can't see the far corner on the side you're sitting on. However, you can't get much closer other than and actual meet and greet. Also, the SOI skaters do shake hands with audience members just before their final bows.
 

show 42

Arm Chair Skate Fan
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
What a great review.....Thanks. Now I have to see if they're coming to the Fresno area this year. 42
 

heyang

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
really? don't you have to be in the very front row for that, though?


You have to be in on ice seats for the opportunity to shake hands with one of the stars and that's not a guarantee either. The one year I bought on ice, I was at the very end seat and I think Kurt stopped about 4 or 5 people before the end of the row.

I also recall sitting 3rd row and watching Jamie speaking with on ice members. It was pretty obvious that the ladies were congratulating her on her engagement to David at the time.
 

R.D.

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
You have to be in on ice seats for the opportunity to shake hands with one of the stars and that's not a guarantee either. The one year I bought on ice, I was at the very end seat and I think Kurt stopped about 4 or 5 people before the end of the row.

I also recall sitting 3rd row and watching Jamie speaking with on ice members. It was pretty obvious that the ladies were congratulating her on her engagement to David at the time.

so does just one member come in and shake hands with random people? or the whole cast comes in? I'm confused...
 

heyang

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
RD,

The whole cast skates the finale, which is a group #. At the end of the number, they are typically standing around the edge of the rink and begin to shake hands with people in the on-ice seats closest to where each is standing. Then at a certain note, they jump back on the ice for the final bow and skate backstage. Lights come up and it's time to go home.

So, it's possible that one skater might shake your hand, but it's doubtful that 2 or more will.
 

iluvtodd

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 5, 2004
Country
United-States
Don't count on it, but have a great time, no matter what. We've had on ice seats, and usually we get to shake hands with at least one skater. If we're lucky, with two. If we're sitting a few rows back, I tend to run down to the boards towards the end of the finale to catch a handshake, and it has worked! Of course I only do that if I'm not going to have to make a bunch of people stand up in our row (sitting near the aisle has its advantages ;)).
 
Joined
Jan 30, 2004
3 times in on-ice seats, 5 skaters hands' shaken!
And the one year we WERE way on the end of the long side of the ice. That was our first year with on-ice seats.

A short word about on-ice seats....FANTASTIC to experience it at least once, YES. Disadvantages: Yes, some....you can't see the whole ice super well (but that can be said of some of the regular stadium seats too) and you definitely can't see any special lighting effects on the ice. But, even though last and this year, we're not doing on-ice, we will again sometime as long as SOI keeps coming to Philly.

Back to that first year we had on-ice seats(2004). It couldn't have worked out better. We were on the far end where we easily could've been missed for the handshakes, but we WEREN'T missed. My husband has a huge crush on Jamie Sale. Who should come our way for the handshakes BUT Jamie Sale and Kristi Yamaguchi!!! My husband was like a giddy teenager! It was SO worth paying extra for those seats just to see his reaction to Jamie's handshake. I couldn't think of anything to say quickly to Jamie and Kristi so I just said "thank you so much"....Jamie looked me right in the eye and said "oh no, thank YOU".
The other handshakes, though cool, weren't as special. The following year('05) we shook Elena and Anton's hands...they weren't personable about it. Neither was Alexei Yagudin the following year. But still, we've shaken 5 Oly Gold skaters' hands!

*sigh* my only regret is I haven't shaken Kurt's hand....Now that I've shaken my favorite Philadelphia Phillies' players hand, shaking Kurt's would then make MY life complete!
 

Ladskater

~ Figure Skating Is My Passion ~
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
I thought Sasha is joining the Canadian Stars On Ice Tour. At least that is what I heard.
 
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