Divas Become Beauties

The annual "Divas On Ice" show that airs on Jaunuary 3rd has changed it's name to the much more cumbersome "Katarina Witt & Friends, Real Beauty On Ice." The show will now include men (four of them) which, if you ask me, kind of flys in the face of the words "Divas" or "Beauties"...although I will admit that Alexei Urmanov is prettier than alot of women I know. For a look at the whole cast, click on this globe:

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but why or why do the men have to wear diva-ite colours too. Why not a black pants.

'Cause Katarina told 'em to.

IMO titles like "Katarina Witt and Friends" (or anyone else "and friends") sounds SO cheesy. "Divas on Ice" was much better. Don't know why she changed it.

icenut84 said:

IMO titles like "Katarina Witt and Friends" (or anyone else "and friends") sounds SO cheesy. "Divas on Ice" was much better. Don't know why she changed it.

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I agree about the cheesy "...And Friends" titles for skating shows. I watched "Katerina Witt and Friends" and "Brian Boitano and Friends" from the late 1980s on videotape. The title was somewhat misleading though, as the performances were not from a single show but from Skate America 1986 and 1988 exhibition and the 1987 Champions on Ice. It was worth it though to see a young Tonya Harding skating to a sappy Witney Houston song on the "Katerina" tape.

Divas on Ice is also a lot less of a mouthful.

I guess Katarina wants the star billing!

I think a lot of the names were added to the show to attract an audience. Divas On Ice doesn't indicate to the casual viewer who is in the show. Big names like Katerina, Brian, Kristi and Scott attract audiences. It's all about marketing.....

icenut84 said:

IMO titles like "Katarina Witt and Friends" (or anyone else "and friends") sounds SO cheesy. "Divas on Ice" was much better. Don't know why she changed it.

Click to expand...

in 1999 she and Scott Hamilton were the headliners for a tour IMG brought to Alaska... "Scott Hamilton, Katarina Witt, and Friends" the stupid commercial on TV only showed them so we had no idea who else would be there. I still think with better advertising we'd have had the place packed

They all look beautiful. Picking out the most Diva-type I think would be Witt herself. Who is that girl not in costume and with all that hair on her head? And which one is Umanov? He may just be the best looking if we change the adjective from beautiful.

Joe

The ladies in the back row are the singers--Linda Eder, Denyce Graves, and Renee Olstead (the one with all the hair). I don't see Urmanov, though, and I think he would truly qualify as a diva.

Thanks Idle........we'd be lost in a perpetual "TV Guide" maze without you......... 42

Great move on adding the men, the Bond segment was GREAT.

ok, is it just me, or was this years just not up to the Diva's standards???


Idle were you thinking Denis Petrov when you said Alexi Urmanov was in the show? Cuz Urmanov wasn't on!

Actually, I wasn't really aware of what male skaters were, or were not in the show. I just used Alexei Urmanov as an example of a guy who people would consider to be prettier than alot of women. I suppose I could've used just about any Russian male skater as an example.

To tell you the truth, I often have trouble telling one guy from the other. I mainly watch these shows for the babes. For instance, in the picture that you see when you click on the globe-link, the only one I really recognize is Jumpin' Joe. I assume the guy standing behind Yuka is her husband, but to me, he looks just like the guy standing next to Jumpin' Joe. Since you mentioned his name, I'll assume that's Dennis Petrov that Lulu's got her arms around.

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to go rewind my VCR and actually Watch this thing. Chances are, I'll be fast-forwarding through alot of the men's numbers.

Yes, my t.v. set didn't give out & I managed to watch this (kinda fuzzy though)....

Here's my review:

First off, I want to begin with the part of the show that I enjoyed the most - THE JAMES BOND NUMBER - Woohoo!!! {two thumbs up!} ALL four of them looked like Bond Women (i.e. tough, strong, sexy, sleek & divaesque; the kind of women that I have always looked up to, no lie) with the charismatic Nicole Bobek leading the pack & ending w/the equally charismatic Katarina Witt (btw Madonna's James Bond song fit her to a "T"). And the guys - WOW - they didn't disappoint either, especially Jason Dunjen whom I've never really noticed in the past until now......tall, dark, & handsome........my kinda guy. (;^D

Katarina Witt - dressed in a black sequined dress.......beautiful song (forgot the name of it though *embarrassed*)........truly enjoyed Katarina's interpretation.

Nicole Bobek (Somewhere Over The Rainbow) - Yes, my second favorite part of the show (no lie)........the singer (Olmstead?) & the skater were simply wonderful........they melded together as one, which is really rare to see b/c usually it has been my observation that this type of thing doesn't work. However, today it sure did. My gosh, that song sure is a tearjerker but the way that this young beautiful little lady sang it (with that voice) was just phenomenal (no lie). ***Note: have to be honest though & say that the whole time I kept imagining Oksana Baiul skating to this song (not to take anything away from Nicole's beautiful interpretation btw)***

Maria Butyrskaya - wow, Maria was in her element......pro. skating is her niche IMHO.....loved her innovative & creative interpretation of this Egyptian number (no lie). Bravo, Maria! ^)

Chen Lu (Miss Saignon) - aaahhh, nobody skates like Lulu, lovely. ^)

Oksana Baiul (Ain't It Funny) - it feels so good to see Little One skating her heart out & truly enjoying herself out there on the ice (no lie). Good job. ^)

Chen Lu (Footloose) - yeah, loved Lulu's interpretation of this song......right on the money......and one can tell she was having a blast as well! ^)

Oksana Baiul (Ave Maria) - yes, it was great to see this classic brought back again........and this time sung by an accomplished singer (ala Graves).........truly lovely. ^)

Katarina Witt (Man of La Mancha) - wow, as w/Nicole Bobek's "Somewhere Over The Rainbow"........this number also worked........the singer & the skater were as one (JMHO). Perfect. Bravo, Katarina! ^)

In closing, just want to say that what made this show so special (at least for me) were the FABULOUS singers.......OMG.......they truly outdid themselves, especially Olmstead's "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" & Eder's "Man of La Mancha". WOW! Also, another thing of note was that ALL the women on this special were truly women........not little girls or women built like little girls........four thumbs way up! Real women w/curves rule (lol) ^)

Peace & Love, Nadine

P.S. Oops, also wanted to say that I enjoyed the little skit where they showed the skaters getting their hair done. ^)

Thinking that this show was going to be the same old stuff I've seen before, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised and wishing that I had recorded it.

Nadine- ITA with you about the James Bond number. I loved it!

"Man Of La Mancha", what great music to skate to and the singer-wow. Katarina gets a wow too!

Am I the only one who is sooooooo tired of all the hype about Katarina Witt? I just don't find she is all that. Retire already!

Really enjoyed the show. Even enjoyed Katerina somewhat.
Only part I didn't like was the gal that sang Over the Rainbow. Yuk. Nasal. Of course, nothing could beat Judy Garland. Anyone else can't do it justice. Do think that L. Eder is very good. No one else should be able to sing Over the Rainbow but Judy.

Nice little show and much better than its predecessors, imo.

The best skating I've seen from Bobek, and the body is fab.
Yuka and Jason, oh how I wish they could skate eligible.
LUlu looking beautiful and happy if not skating all that well
Katt looking a bit on the aging side
I've never seen Oksana do decent jumps ever and this was no different.

All the boys looked great and secure as Bond.

And nothing comes better than Linda Eder. Wow, what a broadway voice who could probably do opera.

Joe