Stars On Ice Review

yeah, my show is in a couple of weeks. should be cool, I hope...

can't wait for the review from the columbus show... discoduck's gushing on Xue & Honbo better not be the only thing we get to read

I was at the Auburn Hills show on Saturday night and I can tell you that Kyoko and John skated only one number. I was in the Detroit area since Friday (and was therefore away from my computer) so I hadn't heard about their fall, and wondered why they only skated 1 solo. For what it's worth they both looked alright to me. I am still amazed at how effortless John makes the lifts look. The guy really is a monster.

I must say that I particularly liked the show this year. The Axel Edge number was a hoot. John was really living out his dreams during it I think! As a big Jennifer Robinson fan I was really happy to see so much of her in this show. The girl has really learned how to "work it"!

thanks for the info!

at least she's still able to be in the show and it sounds like they're working up to doing the full thing - hopefully and they haven't just scrapped the second program

Thanks for the update!

Heather, have a fabulous time at the Ohio shows! :agree:

Apparently, according to what John wrote on his diary on SOI, this is the third time that they have fell on this move and he admitted that doing it twice in one night might be too much. They have changed the move in their programs. While they want to continue doing it, they would like to analyze whether the fans will sill want to see it or be happier with other moves, since they like doing the big tricks.

What really surprised me was that both John and Kyoko were going to talk to Isabelle Brassuer about the trick and what to do. Apparently she is the one that taught them the trick.

They didn't really do any "tricks" besides one nice lift. They looked like they were going to attempt another but something happened, and since they were skating away from me at the time I didn't get a very good look at what the problem was. As Toni mentioned earlier, I think they are probably working themselves back into form. They definitely weren't as spectacular as normal but they were still pretty solid and entertaining.

Originally posted by sillylionlove:
What really surprised me was that both John and Kyoko were going to talk to Isabelle Brassuer about the trick and what to do. Apparently she is the one that taught them the trick.

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I know Brassuer/Eisler were the first to do a lot of the exciting "tricks" in skating, but didn't Bechke/Petrov also do this move?

I'd certainly rather see them do something different than continually have trouble with the 'fly-high-say-bye' move!

One move I haven't seen anyone do in awhile is the "leap of faith" which I think Underhill/Martini made popular....gosh I miss them!

I don't remember Elena and Denis doing the move... they did a cool lift where she did a somersault in the dismount that was kinda cool, but I don't remember them doing FHSGB

NJSk8Fan said:

Heyang, did you notice someone making a spectacle of herself 1st row off ice, center ice, near the lady who got the shirt from Mike Weiss? That was me. I was sitting first row center ice almost directly behind Gail, her husband and her friend. A fellow SOI poster was with my DH and I, and to my husbands left was another fellow SOI poster. So it was a nice little gathering right there in the seats.

We were supposed to meet up with another poster but my co-horts were super hungry and wanted to get food and go sit down with it, so we didn't hang around the escalators as long as we usually do. Plus, our seats were clear on the other side of the building. Things got a little discombobulated!

I plan to be at the show next year, so...Maybe it'll be a weekend with a 7:30 start giving everyone a little more time to get situated to meet!

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I think I might've seen your hand. The lights didn't really extend much past the on ice seats.

I had the afternoon off from work for a dentist appointment. I mis-timed a little bit and barely got to the Wachovia center on time.

I was sitting in the 2nd row on the opposite side - sorta between where ILuvTodd and the lady who got the shirt.

Anyway, I'd love to meet up with you and ILuvTodd next year - just not sure if Philly or Newardk depending on the dates. I didn't go to Neward this year because it was the same day as my niece's 6th birthday party.

Wow, you might be in some of my pictures over there on the other side of the ice!

I doubt very much we'll be seeing any other show besides Philly until my DH retires....which if we're lucky will be within the next 5 years...the sooner the better for him and his back!

I will be seeing the show only in Philly next year. I am saving up to either go to the 2009 world championships in LA or where ever Skate America is in 2009!!

One move I haven't seen anyone do in awhile is the "leap of faith" which I think Underhill/Martini made popular....gosh I miss them!

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Anabelle Langlois and her old partner Patrice Archetto did this move all the time in their exhibitions and they only stopped skating together in 2005 so it was around for a while in another Canadian pair. I don't remember if Anabelle and her new partner Cody do this move in their exhibition this year or not. That is a wonderful move though!

My Cincy SOI show is tomorrow night and I'll make sure I come here and post a few of my thoughts about the show.

Enjoy your show Heather!

I miss Kurt Browning in these shows. I know, I know he is Canadian but man can he put on a show.

Canadian or not, Kurt was one of my favorite cast members of SOI and I miss him tremendously also.

At least he does still perform in some shows that we get to see on tv.

Kurt is one of my all time favorites too. It was a real bonus to see him as our guest star in last season's Philly SOI show. I miss him as a full time cast member, but am glad that he is still involved in the sport and that we still get to see him on TV skating specials ( like his own "Gotta Skate.").

Heather, have a great time tonight, and share your stories here. :agree:

Well, I had a FABULOUS time at SOI last night and I think not knowing all the details about everything that happens (for one of the first times in a long time, LOL) actually helped me enjoy the show more. We didn't really know what was coming next so everything was a nice surprise. My mom and I both loved it and having an on ice seat was a lot of fun. I got a high five from Axel Edge (aka, John Zimmerman who works the hard rock look VERY well!) and we shook hands with Xue and Hongbo at the end of the show who were so cute. Everyone was pretty dead on with jumps although there were a few doubled jumps here and there, mostly salchows! There was only one fall that I remember and it was from Jen Robinson during her solo number. I'm at work right now so I can't do a proper review quite yet. I only work a half day today though so when I get home this afternoon I'll post more details and hopefully a link to some of my pictures. I ended up getting some really nice shots last night which was surprising to me because usually my on ice show is the one where I get the worst shots of everyone!

I'll be in Columbus this weekend for another show and I'm sure discoduck and I will have an amusing review of that show to post when we get back to Cincy. It may not make any sense when we post it but I'm sure it will be entertaining, LOL

I'm glad you had a good time at the show, Heather, and got some good pics! I'll look forward to seeing them!
I thought the Hard Steele program was a LOT of FUN! I enjoyed it immensely!
Be sure to let us know if Kyoko and John skated all their programs and whether or not they left out "FHSB" move or not. If it means a clean, safe skate, I hope they do leave it out!

OK, here is my full review of the SOI show in Cincy last night now that I've got the time to type and the music sheet in front of me so I can remember who all skated to what! I should also mention that while the Cincinnati crowd was probably not the biggest one SOI has had this year, we were definitely the loudest! This crowd was fantastic and I could tell the skaters were feeding off our energy. Most of the crowd were first timers which was really cool!

Opening: I loved the opening they did with introducing everyone and then having a mix of songs while everyone gets a minute or two to be in the spotlight. I loved the costumes too. Simple and sparkly! I couldn't get a good picture for anything in this number though so that's a goal of mine for tomorrow's show in Columbus, LOL

Marie-France & Patrice: Wow, they were fantastic. I loved both their programs and having an ice dance team on the tour again really gives the tour a boost. They skated really well and looked like they were having a blast.

Yuka Sato: I think Yuka is the new flu victim of the tour because while she was wonderful in her first number, she looked not quite as sharp in the group numbers and she didn't even skate her second number. She's a trooper for skating while ill and I hope she feels better soon. I could watch her skate all day because of her amazing basic skating skills and her solo was just lovely. She skated her "1000 Miles Away" number last night and left out the other one.

Todd Eldredge: I loved Todd's first number and he sold it very well! He was one who was having salchow issues though as he doubled it at least twice in this program. He performed the number so well though (and was really getting into character) that it didn't even matter what jumps he did for it. I loved it and the crowd loved it too. He also didn't skate his second number though and I have no idea why because he looked fine in every other program. His second number is supposed to come after Yuka's second number in the second act, so I wonder now if her not skating threw things for a loop and they had to leave his number out too to keep the transitions from being off. I have no idea but Todd did a great job and hopefully tomorrow he skates his second number because I really want to see it!

Jennifer Robinson: I was a bit disappointed that she only had one solo but she was very involved in a lot of other aspects of the show so you really don't realize she only did one number until you look at the program. I loved her being kind of the host for the show and she is so natural with a microphone! They did the "ask a skater" segment behind where I was sitting and the young girl asked a great question..."How long does it take the skaters to learn their programs?" Jen loved the question and answered that it normally doesn't take long for solos but group numbers take longer to get everyone on the same page. Jen's program was a lot of fun too. She had the only fall of the evening on a lutz (I think) but it didn't mar the program and she was having a ball. That seems to be a theme with the skaters...they're all having a blast this year on tour!

Michael Weiss: I was surprised that I actually enjoyed both of his programs last night. He's not one of my fave skaters at all but I enjoyed both numbers a lot last night. His "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy" program really got the crowd going and he didn't mess up any jumps that I remember so it was a great night for Mike.

Kyoko & John: They skated both programs cleanly but the FHSB move was not in either program so I think they may have stopped doing it for the time being in order to just go skate well. They still do some fun tricks and they sold the heck out of their programs! "Shine On" was fabulous and I loved their opening moves to it, especially since they were right in front of me! They seemed in very good spirits and the crowd loved both programs. I had "Pretty Vegas" in my head for hours last night, LOL

Sasha Cohen: I was also surprised by how much I enjoyed her programs last night. She skated cleanly in both of them and I could tell that she was enjoying herself. She smiled through her entire second number (aside from when she was jumping, LOL) and there was a small crowd of crazy Sasha fans across the rink who screamed for her pretty much the entire show. I think she enjoyed that because she gave them a few extra waves during her bows. Her number with the guys with all the bendy moves was crazy awesome. That was really creative and it went over well with the crowd too. The bendy moves weren't quite as impactful for me after seeing all the bendy ladies at US Nats but she still did a great job!

Xue & Hongbo: Out of all the skaters on this tour, I think it's Xue & Hongbo who are having the most fun! They were ALWAYS smiling, always looked thrilled to be on the ice, and they were into every single group number 100%. Both of their programs were well received and their throws are still enormous. I loved their Michael Buble number even though it's another one the lighting didn't allow me to get good pics of (another mission for tomorrow) and Adagio was beautiful too. They are another great addition to this tour and as much as I wouldn't mind seeing them compete in the Olympics again, I think they're having too much fun with SOI to seriously consider it (I feel the same away about M-F & P and Sasha). We got to shake hands with both of them at the end of the show and they were SO cute! Xue took the time to look at everyone and say thank you to people who complimented her while Hongbo decided he wanted to shake as many hands as possible so he was running down the on ice area slapping high fives as fast as he possibly could which was a riot! They were fantastic and I cannot wait to see them again.

Jamie & David: OK, I saw "Thankful" on the Today Show two weeks ago and got a little teary and seeing it in person did the exact same thing to me. This number is so beautiful and you can tell how much the music means to them by how much they're into it for the entire program. The looks they gave each other, the gentle way they did all their lifts and spins, and the huge smiles they had for the whole program made this a very special program for me having been a huge fan of theirs for a long time. You can't really tell when you're watching them because it's really small but David has "Jamie" and their wedding date on one part of his shirt and "Jesse" with his birthday on the other part which is really sweet. They also showed pictures on the TV screens of Jamie & Dave by themselves, at their wedding, while she was pregnant, and then with Jesse at the end which cued the 'Awws' from the crowd, LOL Another mission of mine is to get their ending pose tomorrow because I had people clapping on either side of me and they moved my camera too much to get a clear shot! Thanks mom, LOL J&Ds other number "Love Stoned" was just pure fun and boy can those two dance! They were having a ball and I can't wait to see this one again even though I'm annoyed with Justin T. thanks to the overabundance of "Sexybacks" in the amateur ranks this year. (Sorry to post a million comments about J&D but they were my faves of the night so I had to ramble!)

Hard Steele is Back: OMG, I don't even have words to describe the awesomeness of this program! It was pure fun, the guys were totally into it, and the fangirls were a riot at the very start and all through the program! Xue and Hongbo were the most hilarious although Jen starting off all prim and proper and then busting a move with the band later was pretty funny too! This number got the crowd really going (and remember, we were all ready loud so you can imagine the reaction after this, LOL) and I think the skaters were feeding off it the entire time. John Z was just awesome as Axel Edge and at one point, I was the lucky girl who got a high five and a "Yeah baby!" from him which was so cool. Good thing I had put my camera down at that point! Anyway, the music choices were so fun and the skaters definitely give 110% for this group number. I think it's one of the best group numbers they've had a while so good job SOI!

Finale: The finale was pretty great too but I still think the "Dream On" finale from a few years ago is my favorite. Everyone got to do a little something on their own and then they did some fun group moves together. Sasha did a Beillman spin for one part and I had to laugh because that means every skating event I've been to this year really has had a Beillman spin in it somewhere, LOL

My overall impression of the show is that one, its SOOOO much more fun than last year's show; two, the skaters are all really into it and that is feeding into the crowds; and three, there really isn't anyone who's a bathroom break for me this year which is a nice change! Usually there's at least one program that doesn't keep my interest but the entire show kept me watching until the very end. The Cincy crowd did such a nice job with keeping up the energy and everyone around me was very complimentary about the show too. I all ready mentioned the Xue & Hongbo handshakes but when they did the final bows for each skater/team, the first person was introduced by one of the skaters (I can't remember who, it was a little crazy then!), then that person introduced the next skater/team, and so on down the line until the very end which I thought was really cool. It also gave the skaters more time to shake hands with the on ice people which has been a problem in recent shows with running out of time. During the bows, they were dancing around to the music "Jump" by Van Halen and when he sang "jump", they all jumped! They did this facing both ways and we were cracking up because the second time they did it, half the group jumped at one point and the other half jumped at another point! The very last bow was great too because Jamie didn't have to do her little thing encouraging the crowd to be louder....we were all ready loud, LOL

Anyway, SOI is a GREAT show this year! If the show is coming to a city near you, I encourage you to go and see it because I think you'll have a great time. I haven't had time to get my pics online yet but I promise I will at some point this weekend.