I completely agree. I came for Ashley, but he quickly became one of my favorites. He is an incredible performer.
Stars On Ice 2018 Tour - US
- Thread starter apgold
- Start date
I completely agree. I came for Ashley, but he quickly became one of my favorites. He is an incredible performer.
I went to SJ's Stars On Ice to watch my fav. skaters. Karen Chen, Nathan Chen, Adam Rippon, Jason Brown, and Vincent Zhou.
Adam Rippon's "Let Me Think About It," Jason Brown's "Can't Stop the Feeling," and Vincent Zhou's "Take On Me" were the best. I couldn't believe what a great opening Vincent Zhou did for "Take On Me." He gets better and better every time he goes on ice.
I love "Never Enough" that Karen Chen chose for her first performance. What a great song.
I met the 2Chenz. I was sooooooooo glad to finally meet Nathan Chen. Such a nice guy.
Adam Rippon's "Let Me Think About It," Jason Brown's "Can't Stop the Feeling," and Vincent Zhou's "Take On Me" were the best. I couldn't believe what a great opening Vincent Zhou did for "Take On Me." He gets better and better every time he goes on ice.
I love "Never Enough" that Karen Chen chose for her first performance. What a great song.
I met the 2Chenz. I was sooooooooo glad to finally meet Nathan Chen. Such a nice guy.
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2012
I always said Never Enough was a great exhibition skating song though I thought more appropriate for Aliona. It means more or reflective of Aliona. But for karen it is more of a pretty song. In fact you could almost do an entire show based on the Greatest Showman. Imagine. Nathan skating to a Million Dreams. Adam to This is me. The Shibs sibs to Rewrite the Stars. Mirai could to skate From Now on.. And the opening song would be great for an opening number.
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2014
:agree:
I think it was cheeky, charming and downright gutsy of Ashley and Nathan to get on the ice to dance in a routine with a couple of bona fide Ice Dance teams ... one team being Olympic Gold Medalists, and the other World Silver Medalists!
I too loved the number.
If we FS fans didn't know Ashley was 27 and Nathan 19, I wonder if those neg reviews here would have even happened.
Also Ashley, in her true form ... being aware and funny and sincere all at once ... posted the IG linked below, captioned: Cougar Status.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BiXO3Uggq9G/?hl=en&taken-by=ashwagner2010
Okay, I went to the show in Portland today.
I preface this by saying that it was a bit .... challenging to have my almost-3 year old there. A pro-tip -- if you have a super active toddler -- your child is not going to survive a 2.5 hour show. Even with an intermission. She liked some of it, but honestly she was far more interested in putting the seats up and down and jogging around the empty bar area in the concourse. We were EXTREMELY lucky that I picked a row (which I picked namely because we could make our escape, which turned out to be a smart move) that was pretty much empty. She survived because she's tiny and could walk back and forth between us and a few seats down. We took turns walking her around the concourse, though Mr. P, being the thoughtful husband he was, did most of that job. I missed a bunch of numbers. Anyway, I'm not saying it wouldn't work with your (Toddler-age) kid, but in hindsight I might have sent Mr. P and Toddler T to the Oregon Zoo and gone myself. On the other hand she did enjoy some of it -- she was enthralled by all the group numbers -- she actually sat still for the men's number to Portugal The Man's "Feel It Still." and she really enjoyed it (actually that was a favorite for all three of us). If my daughter was going to uber for anybody based on her willingness to engage and be still, it would have been Meryl and Charlie. She really loved their first number to "Hold My Hand." Generally upbeat numbers were her jam. Also if there were any GS-ers who were around section 110, I apologize profusely for my crazy daughter.
Overall it was a really good show and even through the extreme challenges -- I came away enjoying it (again thanks to Mr. P but I made made sure he got to see the show as well) for the most part.
A few random thoughts:
* My husband really liked Vincent Zhou. I think it helped that he skated to A-Ha's Take on Me. I think he made a really good effort to perform and connect with the audience. He fell on the end of his Rippon3Z-1L-3S combo, but I admire him for doing that combo under show lights. The thing with Vincent is that you know he's still a work-in-progress, but you can't help but admire his eagerness to improve. I think the program was perfect for him to work on that audience connection and performance.
* Jason was great as always. The interesting thing is that I told my husband after the show that he didn't jump cause of his sprained ankle and he said, "Oh I didn't even notice." I know others say it before on his later SOI shows, but he does really pack his programs with spins, footwork and other elements -- not to mention his audience connection -- so there was plenty to appreciate and enjoy. He is a pleasure to watch and the "Can't Stop The Feeling" number is SO fun. I hope he has time to heal that ankle cause I still missed the spilt jumps (and his other jumps in general).
* I agree with everyone that Nathan's first exhibition number to "Back from the Edge" was great. You can tell how invested. Overall, he had really good audience connection/performance and that was a welcome change from seeing him in competition when he's SO focused. The quad was nice too.
* I think the audience was really behind Adam and I think that really helped him a lot! I liked his first exhibition to Adele's "Remedy" a lot. I honestly like seeing Adam's introspective side a lot because I felt his big thing is these attention grabbing numbers (like his SP) -- it was nice to kind of let it flow more -- which is probably why I generally like his FS to O. The SP, for me, was fun but it didn't have the explosion and spark I remember from nationals. I do think he's a bit tired from the busy schedule with DWTS and it's a big ask to be "on" all the time.
* I missed Karen's second number, but her first number was beautiful. Her spins and spirals great as always.
* Mirai's Body Language number is fun -- she's fun and flirty! I think she was more so since she did DWTS (I saw this number at Nationals gala). I really hope she can tap more of that DWTS performance ability in her programs because...I think it showed in her SOI performances.
* Bradie's "This is Me" was very enjoyable. I really would love her to do more in-depth and emotional programs based on what I saw in that program.
* Ashley's La La Land program was really good. I didn't quite click with it at Nationals but I really liked it here, which makes me wish she had that program all season...because she clearly had time to develop it more since she performed it on SOI.
* The Shibs are skating free, free, free and I love it! There is just an amazing confidence. That's Life, even though I saw it has nationals gala, was great to see again. I loved the Fix You/Paradise combo because it really shows how far they came. I hope one thing they experiment with is really showing Maia off in their programs. One of my favorite mini-numbers was the one of her, Zach and Madison. She really stood out. And it was interesting for her to skate alongside Madison because a lot of people say she skates small, but she was toe-to-toe with Madison during that number. It was a great opportunity to see what both her and H/D bring the table and appreciate their different styles.
* I missed the H/D's second number, but I was glad to see the FD again. It really is a standout program for them.
* Meryl and Charlie. I loved them so much. Honestly the biggest standout of the show for me. I LOVE LOVE LOVE that "Elastic Heart" number. The connection! The cool scarfology. The last four years was clearly a benefit---they really had gotten used to being show skaters, as opposed to competitors who were in a show. As I mentioned earlier, Toddler P loved their first number.
* The "Feel it Still" number was the big standout. Really enjoyable. As I said, it was probably the one number we all three universally enjoyed.
* The Dear Evan Hanson finale was excellent. Really heartfelt and I think since it was the last time, it felt especially so.
I preface this by saying that it was a bit .... challenging to have my almost-3 year old there. A pro-tip -- if you have a super active toddler -- your child is not going to survive a 2.5 hour show. Even with an intermission. She liked some of it, but honestly she was far more interested in putting the seats up and down and jogging around the empty bar area in the concourse. We were EXTREMELY lucky that I picked a row (which I picked namely because we could make our escape, which turned out to be a smart move) that was pretty much empty. She survived because she's tiny and could walk back and forth between us and a few seats down. We took turns walking her around the concourse, though Mr. P, being the thoughtful husband he was, did most of that job. I missed a bunch of numbers. Anyway, I'm not saying it wouldn't work with your (Toddler-age) kid, but in hindsight I might have sent Mr. P and Toddler T to the Oregon Zoo and gone myself. On the other hand she did enjoy some of it -- she was enthralled by all the group numbers -- she actually sat still for the men's number to Portugal The Man's "Feel It Still." and she really enjoyed it (actually that was a favorite for all three of us). If my daughter was going to uber for anybody based on her willingness to engage and be still, it would have been Meryl and Charlie. She really loved their first number to "Hold My Hand." Generally upbeat numbers were her jam. Also if there were any GS-ers who were around section 110, I apologize profusely for my crazy daughter.
Overall it was a really good show and even through the extreme challenges -- I came away enjoying it (again thanks to Mr. P but I made made sure he got to see the show as well) for the most part.
A few random thoughts:
* My husband really liked Vincent Zhou. I think it helped that he skated to A-Ha's Take on Me. I think he made a really good effort to perform and connect with the audience. He fell on the end of his Rippon3Z-1L-3S combo, but I admire him for doing that combo under show lights. The thing with Vincent is that you know he's still a work-in-progress, but you can't help but admire his eagerness to improve. I think the program was perfect for him to work on that audience connection and performance.
* Jason was great as always. The interesting thing is that I told my husband after the show that he didn't jump cause of his sprained ankle and he said, "Oh I didn't even notice." I know others say it before on his later SOI shows, but he does really pack his programs with spins, footwork and other elements -- not to mention his audience connection -- so there was plenty to appreciate and enjoy. He is a pleasure to watch and the "Can't Stop The Feeling" number is SO fun. I hope he has time to heal that ankle cause I still missed the spilt jumps (and his other jumps in general).
* I agree with everyone that Nathan's first exhibition number to "Back from the Edge" was great. You can tell how invested. Overall, he had really good audience connection/performance and that was a welcome change from seeing him in competition when he's SO focused. The quad was nice too.
* I think the audience was really behind Adam and I think that really helped him a lot! I liked his first exhibition to Adele's "Remedy" a lot. I honestly like seeing Adam's introspective side a lot because I felt his big thing is these attention grabbing numbers (like his SP) -- it was nice to kind of let it flow more -- which is probably why I generally like his FS to O. The SP, for me, was fun but it didn't have the explosion and spark I remember from nationals. I do think he's a bit tired from the busy schedule with DWTS and it's a big ask to be "on" all the time.
* I missed Karen's second number, but her first number was beautiful. Her spins and spirals great as always.
* Mirai's Body Language number is fun -- she's fun and flirty! I think she was more so since she did DWTS (I saw this number at Nationals gala). I really hope she can tap more of that DWTS performance ability in her programs because...I think it showed in her SOI performances.
* Bradie's "This is Me" was very enjoyable. I really would love her to do more in-depth and emotional programs based on what I saw in that program.
* Ashley's La La Land program was really good. I didn't quite click with it at Nationals but I really liked it here, which makes me wish she had that program all season...because she clearly had time to develop it more since she performed it on SOI.
* The Shibs are skating free, free, free and I love it! There is just an amazing confidence. That's Life, even though I saw it has nationals gala, was great to see again. I loved the Fix You/Paradise combo because it really shows how far they came. I hope one thing they experiment with is really showing Maia off in their programs. One of my favorite mini-numbers was the one of her, Zach and Madison. She really stood out. And it was interesting for her to skate alongside Madison because a lot of people say she skates small, but she was toe-to-toe with Madison during that number. It was a great opportunity to see what both her and H/D bring the table and appreciate their different styles.
* I missed the H/D's second number, but I was glad to see the FD again. It really is a standout program for them.
* Meryl and Charlie. I loved them so much. Honestly the biggest standout of the show for me. I LOVE LOVE LOVE that "Elastic Heart" number. The connection! The cool scarfology. The last four years was clearly a benefit---they really had gotten used to being show skaters, as opposed to competitors who were in a show. As I mentioned earlier, Toddler P loved their first number.
* The "Feel it Still" number was the big standout. Really enjoyable. As I said, it was probably the one number we all three universally enjoyed.
* The Dear Evan Hanson finale was excellent. Really heartfelt and I think since it was the last time, it felt especially so.
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- Joined
- Mar 3, 2014
Thanks for the review, Mrs. P. Sorry to hear that Toddler P may have been a distraction for you, but it sounds like you did a great job with her at the show. And the men's number us fun
And of course, since I am self-centered and compare to my own experience, I am glad to hear from someone who knows more about Ice Dance than me (which admittedly isn't hard) that Meryl and Charlie were faves. I thought maybe I was so blown away because I didn't know enough to be critical.
I am :sad21: that the tour is over. Now where will get skating clips from
And of course, since I am self-centered and compare to my own experience, I am glad to hear from someone who knows more about Ice Dance than me (which admittedly isn't hard) that Meryl and Charlie were faves. I thought maybe I was so blown away because I didn't know enough to be critical.
I am :sad21: that the tour is over. Now where will get skating clips from
Cool! I wish I could have gone (I live down in Salem.) I missed it as well as a broadway show up in Portland I had tickets for due to illness.
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2014
It never occurred to me until reading Meryl's farewell instagram that the final pose spotlights were supposed to be the Olympic rings. And I even saw it live; the obvious is completely lost on me
I am glad for the colored lights though, because I could always pick Jason out as yellow, and once I saw the men's number close up and realized they have different shirts (another the obvious is lost moment) I could look for his particular shirt even when they were wearing hats.
I am glad for the colored lights though, because I could always pick Jason out as yellow, and once I saw the men's number close up and realized they have different shirts (another the obvious is lost moment
) I could look for his particular shirt even when they were wearing hats.
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2017
It never occurred to me until reading Meryl's farewell instagram that the final pose spotlights were supposed to be the Olympic rings. And I even saw it live; the obvious is completely lost on me
I am glad for the colored lights though, because I could always pick Jason out as yellow, and once I saw the men's number close up and realized they have different shirts (another the obvious is lost moment
FWIW, all the guys had different hats as well.
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2014
FWIW, all the guys had different hats as well.
Thanks for that, okey dokey then .... it's clear that I was just lost period
