Detroit Skating Club Show report (Czisny, Abbott, Weaver & Poje, Best & Young) | Golden Skate

Detroit Skating Club Show report (Czisny, Abbott, Weaver & Poje, Best & Young)

Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Detroit Skating Club Show report (Czisny, Abbott, Weaver & Poje, Best & Young)

Was it a local club show or U.S. Nationals?

For $14 (plus $5 for a program and $1 for a bag of popcorn, free parking) you get not one, not two, but three (count ‘em, three) United States champions, plus other national stars and a cast of thousands.

OK, make that a cast of 200. Still…

I will start with Alissa. Picture the Alissa we all know and love, except that instead of battling her nerves at a do-or-die competition she is at home skating for her friends and family without a care in the world. Textbook jumps – two triple somethings and a double Axel; she could put on a clinic – then on to the bring-the-house-down moves in the field, spirals and spins. Like a Bridge over Troubled Waters, Alissa can ease your mind. :love:

Next special highlight: Weaver and Poje. :clap::clap: :clap: (OK, I guess it wasn’t U.S. Nationals after all.) I think this was last year’s exhibition number. Nothing was left out – it was like a competition dance with respect to content. Just gorgeous.

New Detroiter Jeremy Abbott received a warm welcome to the (erstwhile) Motor City. Popped a Lutz into a single (great entry edge, though!), but otherwise skated with flair and grace. He closed out the first half and in the grand finale the club gave him the honor of the last bow, even over Czisny.

The other featured performers were Best and Young. They also took part in some of the group numbers. The ensemble numbers were pretty cool, because all of a sudden their spotlight would go on (kudos to the light guy throughout!) and there was Andrea sailing through the air in a spectacular triple throw jump or double twist.

Trevor also did some solo work. In a very entertaining number he starts out as a hockey player, then does a soft shoe routine to Singin’ in the Rain, and then the music changes to Dueling Banjos and out comes Charlie White for the “dancing duel.” (Davis and White performed in the other shows, but not in the one I saw.) As an entertainer, Charlie is king of the hill, top of the heap, even solo.

Jonathan Cassar did and smooth and sophisticated solo number. In all there were 16 spotlight soloists and 12 younger stars who took solos with the group numbers. I won’t list them all, but I have to applaud the stunning Ameena Sheikh and the equally stunning Laura Lepzinski and her partner Ethan Burgess ( OK, Ethan was stunning, too. :) Joking aside, the DSC has a very strong representation of male akters of all ages. :rock: )

Something for everyone. Do you like Irish step-dancers? We’ve got three. Live singers? Here’s local diva Jen Read. In a featured spot for the Saturday matinee you can catch the inspiring performance by students from the Variety FAR Conservatory of Therapeudic and Performing Arts. This is a local program that employs creative arts as physical and developmental therapy.

This was the tenth anniversary of this particular show. In celebration they brought back all the club alumni from the last decade. They did a routine to “I really want this job” which segued into “One singular sensation” by the senior ensemble. Later they brought out all the current skaters who had been in every one of the ten shows, like one girl was in the first show when she was two and now she is a solo skater at twelve. :)

Over and above all the individual permances, I have to give top billing to the choreography, especially of the group numbers. The lead choreographer was Rachel Bauld Lee, with input from many others, including some of the skaters. (Honorable choreograpic mention: The little girls who performed to “Can’t Get Next to You” did a forward pinwheel to perfection!)

Fourteen bucks! Can you believe it? :rock: Still two more chances to catch the show, Saturday night and Sunday (if you are reading this you’ve already missed the 1 PM Saturday show. :) )
 
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penguin girl

Rinkside
Joined
Oct 5, 2007
what a great deal--I wish I lived in that area! Thanks for the report. I would have loved to see Allissa skating like that.
 

Sylvia

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 25, 2003
Thanks a lot for your report, Mathman! BTW, Abbott's exhibition number was his new one choreographed by Tom Dickson to Daniel Bedingfield's "You Gotta Get Through This."

Trevor also did some solo work. In a very entertaining number he starts out as a hockey player, then does a soft shoe routine to Singin’ in the Rain, and then the music changes to Dueling Banjos and out comes Charlie White for the “dancing duel.” (Davis and White performed in the other shows, but not in the one I saw.) As an entertainer, Charlie is king of the hill, top of the heap, even solo.
Someone posted this link to a home video of the fun number featuring Trevor Young solo and then his duet with Charlie White at FSU:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ey1IxUonQI
(Methinks Trevor Young must have been inspired by Braden Overett's hockey skate exhibition that I posted here not long ago that also started with "Singin' in the Rain." :laugh:)
 

HCOSurfer

Final Flight
Joined
Feb 25, 2007
MM you're so lucky you got to see Alissa skate to her full potential, I'd kill (not literally though) to see her skate live. Her exhibition this season was breathtaking. It's a shame I missed her skate it at worlds because I heard it was phenomenal there as well.
 
Joined
Jul 11, 2003
Thanks MM for the review. I'm not surprised how 'gorgeious' Weaver and Poje skated. I've been rooting for them for some time. I hope they do not become one of the pet 'underscored' couples in dance That Skate Dance does not take on worthy podium couples easily, imo.
 

demarinis5

Gold for the Winter Prince!
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 23, 2004
Thanks for your review. Glad you got to enjoy great skating at a reasonable
price.
 

Hsuhs

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 8, 2006
New Detroiter Jeremy Abbott received a warm welcome to the (erstwhile) Motor City. Popped a Lutz into a single (great entry edge, though!), but otherwise skated with flair and grace. He closed out the first half and in the grand finale the club gave him the honor of the last bow, even over Czisny.
Interesting read. Thank you.
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Here is an interview with Jeremy Abbott at the event (Jo-Ann Barnas of the Detroit Free Press).

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009906070556

Abbott recently received his two Grand Prix competitions for this fall (NHK Trophy in Japan and Skate Canada). He said he was initially disappointed he wasn't selected for Skate America because he has never competed in the event. But Abbott is well aware that he ended the season outranked: Evan Lysacek won the men's world title, and he was given the assignment.
 

Hsuhs

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 8, 2006
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Hsuhs said:
I can imagine he's disappointed. Jeremy is the reigning US champ after all.

It seems like there is plenty of disppointment in Skate America, starting with the generally weak fields overall.

But Abbott is well aware that he ended the season outranked: Evan Lysacek won the men's world title, and he was given the assignment.

I wonder if U.S. dance champions Davis and White are well aware that they ended the season outranked as well.

And the U.S. ladies champion was outranked by Sasha and TBA. (Although it was reported that Alissa preferred the two events she got over Skate America. Could be true, I suppose.)
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Faiella and Scali did not perform. Someone on FSU said they were still training in Italy.

Faiella and Scali usually do participate in most of the shows and charity events in the Detroit area. They are a big crowd favorite, as you can imagine. The last time I saw them was in a show to raise money for the medical expenses for a gravely ill little girl who was a member of one of the smaller local clubs.
 
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nylynnr

On the Ice
Joined
Apr 19, 2008
It seems like there is plenty of disppointment in Skate America, starting with the generally weak fields overall.)

Strange, I'm really looking forward to Skate America. Also, I'm not sure there is any unusual about the assignments. Although he could have changed his tune with Jo-ann, Jeremy stated prior to the GP selection that he wanted NHK, because of commitments involving Yuka. If he also wanted to do Skate America, that would have meant returning from Japan and heading straight up to Lake Placid. I'm inclined to think that given his (requested) assignment to NHK, he is better off not turning right around from Asia and competing a few days later in upstate New York.

Alissa, too, has been consistent is saying she wants to do Skate Canada. Of course Lake Placid is a lot closer to Canada than it is to Japan, but still, given her druthers she may not have wanted two in a row. She also wanted Russia, because she has studied the country (and language). Could be it all worked out and nothing unfair went on.
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Could be it all worked out and nothing unfair went on.

Probably so. I still wish they had invited Jeremy, Lysacek and Mroz to Skate America, along with Alissa, Rachael and Caroline and Davis & White, Belbin & Agosto and Chock & Zuerline.
 

~tapdancer

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 18, 2008
I wonder if U.S. dance champions Davis and White are well aware that they ended the season outranked as well.

I'm sure they are. IMO, they may have been outranked, but they weren't outskated! We'll see what the next season brings...
 

mskater93

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 22, 2005
Strange, I'm really looking forward to Skate America. Also, I'm not sure there is any unusual about the assignments. Although he could have changed his tune with Jo-ann, Jeremy stated prior to the GP selection that he wanted NHK, because of commitments involving Yuka. If he also wanted to do Skate America, that would have meant returning from Japan and heading straight up to Lake Placid. I'm inclined to think that given his (requested) assignment to NHK, he is better off not turning right around from Asia and competing a few days later in upstate New York.

Isn't there a new rule this year that says you can't compete in back to back GPs or did my mind make that one up??
 

nylynnr

On the Ice
Joined
Apr 19, 2008
Isn't there a new rule this year that says you can't compete in back to back GPs or did my mind make that one up??

There isn't a rule; it's done from time to time, witness Evan last season doing Skate America and Skate Canada. I don't think it's the preferred schedule, though, for many skaters, especially if they have to be in Asia one week and North America the next. The purpose of my post was that Jeremy and Alissa have specific reasons to be pleased with their GP assignments, and AFAIK they don't lament missing Skate America.
 

Hsuhs

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 8, 2006
The purpose of my post was that Jeremy and Alissa have specific reasons to be pleased with their GP assignments, and AFAIK they don't lament missing Skate America.

He said he was initially disappointed he wasn't selected for Skate America because he has never competed in the event.

It was probably Jeremy's last chance to be there as an eligible skater.
 
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