Stars on Ice 2009

[sillylionlove]

Here is some news on the upcoming tour (which was obtained from the fan club site )

The theme is On the Edge: The Heart of a Champion (yes that is an emphisis on the art part. )

The case it pretty much the same as last year...SASHA COHEN, ILIA KULIK, TODD ELDREDGE, MICHAEL WEISS, YUKA SATO, DUBREUIL & LAUZON, JOHN ZIMMERMAN, JENNIFER ROBINSON, SPECIAL GUESTS & MORE!

JUST ADDED --- XUE SHEN & HONGBO ZHAO!.

But the interesting part....only John Zimmerman is listed on the cast....not Kyoko Ina...so I am guessing that he will be solo this year. I wonder if they broke up?? I am hoping that Ilia will be full time this year and not part time. Not mention of Jamie and David.

 

[Pixie Cut]

only John Zimmerman is listed on the cast....not Kyoko Ina...so I am guessing that he will be solo this year. I wonder if they broke up??

It was announced weeks ago that John would do this year's tour alone. Kyoko is "taking some time off."

 

[Grgranny]

I just received word today that the show in Kansas City that I had paid for tickets for has been cancelled. What a disappointment.

 

[sillylionlove]

Thanks for the info on John and Kyoko.

Sorry to hear that your show in Kansas City was cancelled. That stinks. They haven't announced where the tour is going yet...so I guess we will have to wait and see.

I know there will be show in Philly this year.

 

[iluvtodd]

Grgranny, sorry to hear that there won't be a Kansas City show. I hope there's another show that's reasonably close for you. The flyers announcing the complete itinerary should be coming soon (for those who are on the SOI mailing list).

I will miss Kyoko and John as a pairs team, but I'm glad that at least John will be back on the tour. I wonder if Kyoko is taking some time off due to the injuries from the past season (doing that really daring move they do, you know which one I mean).

 

[Ginask8s]

Grgranny, sorry to hear that there won't be a Kansas City show. I hope there's another show that's reasonably close for you. The flyers announcing the complete itinerary should be coming soon (for those who are on the SOI mailing list).

I will miss Kyoko and John as a pairs team, but I'm glad that at least John will be back on the tour. I wonder if Kyoko is taking some time off due to the injuries from the past season (doing that really daring move they do, you know which one I mean).

I saw them wipe out on that in Philly this year. They could not finish the routine. I had heard that that was happening alot. Is she injured or has she just had enough? I dont know why they have to do that move. They do so many other great things. Sounds like there might be other issues?

 

[AwesomeIce]

I always enjoy seeing I&Z skate together, but I'm certainly not going to complain about seeing John out there solo! I'm sure many of the ladies will enjoy the clear, unobstructed view of nothing but John out there on the ice.

 

[skamper23]

Well I can't argue with that AwesomeIce! But I do hope Kyoko is well and enjoying her time off and that we will see them skate together again at some point! I sure will miss some of their signature moves like the candle lift & the fly high. I looked forward to seeing what they would come up with each year and I was never disappointed! Now I'm interested in seeing how John does as a soloist and how SOI will use him in group #'s, maybe they will find someone brave enough for John to toss around

 

[heyang]

On their official website, they are calling it a semi-retirement for Kyoko.

http://www.figureskatersonline.com/ina-zimmerman/news.html

It could be that she's just tired of touring and wants to take a break from touring. Elena Bechke did the same and Denis Petrov continued to skate on SOI without her.

Hasn't Kyoko been engaged to a Disson executive for a while now - at least, dating? Maybe she wants to spend some time with him...

 

[Grgranny]

The only place near me is Dallas and it's on a Monday night so Angel daughter can't go then. Sometimes it's in Okla. City but not this year. It's where we prefer to go (if it's not in Wichita).

 

[Tonichelle]

unfortunately I don't see SOI surviving much longer... their tour is dwindling in number

 

[Jaana]

unfortunately I don't see SOI surviving much longer... their tour is dwindling in number

I think that they will manage to "limp" until next Olympics. In the 2008-2009 tour Cohen is an excellent show skater and Weiss has really gotten great reviews. After the Olympics I´d see a big revival, as they will have a possibility to get addtional male skaters like Lambiel, etc. to help to draw the audiences in. Besides, maybe one of the US ladies will win the gold medal?

 

[Tonichelle]

unfortunately I don't see Male skaters that are not American skaters bringing in the audience. As much as Scott Hamilton pushes that Male Skaters do sell tickets, it seems that with an American audience the only skater that's really going to be able to headline it is an olympic champion/medalist who comes from good ol' USA... Ilia couldn't hold the headline on his own (he didn't have to, Scotty was still in the show)... I didn't see a huge boom when Alexei joined and co headlined the show with Jamie and David and Elena and Anton... and even the star power of S/P diminished quickly in the US...

I just don't see it making it. (yay for doom and gloom, eh?)

 

[R.D.]

Even if the tour can't maintain itself every year, I think there might be enough interest to do an Olympic skating tour (every 4 years), just like gymnastics does.

Where are people getting this info from? they have not updated their web site and are still showing 2008 dates. I went last year, but I heard from Skatefans that there will be no Baltimore show this year. so unless it's really good I'll sit this one out.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

unfortunately I don't see Male skaters that are not American skaters bringing in the audience. As much as Scott Hamilton pushes that Male Skaters do sell tickets, it seems that with an American audience the only skater that's really going to be able to headline it is an olympic champion/medalist who comes from good ol' USA... Ilia couldn't hold the headline on his own (he didn't have to, Scotty was still in the show)... I didn't see a huge boom when Alexei joined and co headlined the show with Jamie and David and Elena and Anton... and even the star power of S/P diminished quickly in the US...

I just don't see it making it. (yay for doom and gloom, eh?)

I think skaters with a great competitive following and an Oly gold will bring in the crowds with the right kind of hype.

As to Amercian men, when was the last Oly champ bringing in the crowds?

IMO, figure skating has been in decline since 2002 Olys and it has now dragged down show skating too. NBC has a plan to boost interest in figure skating for the 2010 Olympics. Let's hope it works. What will be the most watched event? Well, in addition to FS, there is

Winter Olympics Medal Sports
Biathlon, Bobsleigh, Curling, Ice Hockey, Luge, Skating - Figure skating, Short-track, and speed skating, Skiing - Alpine, Cross country, Freestyle, Nordic combined, Jumping and Snowboard

How much Prime Time will NBC use for these events?

 

[iluvtodd]

Where are people getting this info from? they have not updated their web site and are still showing 2008 dates. I went last year, but I heard from Skatefans that there will be no Baltimore show this year. so unless it's really good I'll sit this one out.

RD, I'm on the mailing list to receive the SOI itinerary flyer, which hasn't come yet. I am also a member of the SOI fan club. Some other fan club members reported the news about next season's cast (most of last season's cast ) that was posted there. It was also announced at the fan club that those people on the SOI mailing list would be receiving their itinerary flyers soon.

Now I did get a letter in the mail yesterday stating that SOI will not be returning to Newark, NJ's Prudential Center. However the show will still come to NJ's Izod Center in East Rutherford, NJ (the Meadowlands Complex) on Saturday, March 28, 2009 @ 3 PM. Some other dates - Nassau Coliseum, Long Island, NY - Friday,March 27, Philly's Wachovia Center on Friday, March 13. A friend of mine who lives in Northern NJ also received a letter that the show would return to Bridgeport, CT on April 4.

We have cousins who normally attend the show in Baltimore. IIRC, someone from FSU received a letter stating that the show would not be returning to Baltimore this year, but would be coming to a venue in Washington, DC (whatever the new name for the MCI center is). I don't have the date for that yet. Once the itinerary flyers have been mailed out, then we'll know all the tour dates.

 

[AdamFan]

Buttle

Is there any buzz about Buttle joining the tour? He is represented by IMG. It would only make sense to add him to the tour roster. I'm sure he'll do CSOI, but I have been waiting to hear an announcement that he's joining the tour in some capacity. He has said that he's not going back to school right away.

 

[R.D.]

RD, I'm on the mailing list to receive the SOI itinerary flyer, which hasn't come yet. I am also a member of the SOI fan club. Some other fan club members reported the news about next season's cast (most of last season's cast ) that was posted there. It was also announced at the fan club that those people on the SOI mailing list would be receiving their itinerary flyers soon.

Now I did get a letter in the mail yesterday stating that SOI will not be returning to Newark, NJ's Prudential Center. However the show will still come to NJ's Izod Center in East Rutherford, NJ (the Meadowlands Complex) on Saturday, March 28, 2009 @ 3 PM. Some other dates - Nassau Coliseum, Long Island, NY - Friday,March 27, Philly's Wachovia Center on Friday, March 13. A friend of mine who lives in Northern NJ also received a letter that the show would return to Bridgeport, CT on April 4.

We have cousins who normally attend the show in Baltimore. IIRC, someone from FSU received a letter stating that the show would not be returning to Baltimore this year, but would be coming to a venue in Washington, DC (whatever the new name for the MCI center is). I don't have the date for that yet. Once the itinerary flyers have been mailed out, then we'll know all the tour dates.

Thanks for the info. I used to be a member of the Club last year...paid the 25 bucks, that was AFTER I decided to splurge on front-row seats to the Baltimore show (and it was worth it, BTW). If the show were NOT in town, I would have needed extra convincing to arrange for travel (i.e. train) to the city, plus cab fare to and from my residence AND the arena in the host city. Things (i.e. costs) start adding up there. It'd better be SPECTACULAR for me to go through that trouble just to see a two-hour ice show that may not even include any skaters I enjoy. Last time the first-timer experience nearly overwhelmed me, but this time I'd be much more critical of what I'm seeing.

 

[iluvtodd]

Is there any buzz about Buttle joining the tour? He is represented by IMG. It would only make sense to add him to the tour roster. I'm sure he'll do CSOI, but I have been waiting to hear an announcement that he's joining the tour in some capacity. He has said that he's not going back to school right away.

According to the SOI Fan Club site, guest stars will be announced later on. I would imagine that some of the guest star additions will be announced close to or after US Nationals, and perhaps some more after Worlds (I realize by then the US tour would be winding down). I'm hoping that maybe Jeff will get to do at least some of the US shows, if not the whole tour. He'd be a fabulous addition to the show (and I think there are quite a number of US FS skating fans who would to see him perform in the States).

RD, would the Washington, DC show be a possibililty for you? Can you connect easily to the Metro from where you live?

 

[AdamFan]

Jeff Buttle would make a difference in deciding whether or not to go. The tour has gone way downhill ever since Scott Hamilton took over and got rid of Bezic and Seibert as choreographers and directors. I also don't need to see Sasha perform 1 triple toe and fall on it. I'd love to see Jeff perform (maybe Belbin and Agosto, Lysacek, Meissner, etc will perform after worlds.)

I think Alissa Czisny should go pro and skate in the tour. She'd be a great tour skater and could really freshen things up.

Will Yuka be skating to Hat Full of Stars this year?