SOI in Wenatchee WA

el henry said:

My very first "skating live" was a show with Torvill & Dean in the 80s. I always thought it was COI, but I have no idea now. T&D were the headliners, but it was a huge cast, I actually don't remember. But it filled about 75% of Philadelphia's largest indoor stadium...

For whatever reason, those days are gone.....:sad21:

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Ice Dance said:

And yet all those Olympic medalists were on Champions On Ice in 92, when Nancy, Tonya, & Kristi all performed in the same show. The pairs, the dancers, the men. All but maybe one or two performers from the entire Olympic Exhibition. It was not the Tonya/Nancy scandal that built COI. It undoubtedly expanded the tour dates. But it wasn't what brought all those athletes here to perform.

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Tonichelle said:

What built COI was the quality of competition in the other big show at the time Stars On Ice (SOI). the only difference was at the time only Champions could have amateur skaters in the cast because it was partnered with USFSA and the ISU whereas SOI had to be all pro in the states (and in Canada Kurt Browning had to fight to be allowed in the cast IIRC the story correctly). COI relied greatly on the star power and strength of the cast where as SOI boasted a more cohesive cast that was about the cast as a whole with break out routines for each skater/team. COI was about the individual more than the group, SOI - to me - was the reverse. In the glory days and early days of Internet fans were fiercely loyal to one or the other (I was pro SOI "back in the day). Sadly, SOI is now using the COI model and the routines IMO just aren't up to the standard of what they had in the 90s (honestly it was never the same once Bezic left).

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CoyoteChris said:

Here is a look at the seats for sale in Seattle today in the lower bowl, The seats in blue are for sale, the seats in grey have been taken or set aside.
http://s1217.photobucket.com/user/C...ton14/seattle_zpssximun1q.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

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PullingForSasha said:

Will this be televised this year? I don’t think it was last year. I have an on ice seat, center ice for Chicago. I can’t wait to go!
I met Sasha on 9-14-04 at a Marshalls Skate Fest at the Seven Bridges Ice Arena in Woodridge, IL. about 20 miles west of Chicago. So I figured WTH? I might as well go to a skating event. So in ‘05-‘06 I booked up C.O.I. front row center ice. The place CRACKLED with the anticipation of the Olympics. EVERYBODY was there. It was my first skating event ever at the Chicago, United Center.
I just found out that I missed a local skating/fundraiser with Courtney Hicks, and Alissa Czisny who was my new fave after Sasha. It was 30 mins away.
Shots of C.O.I. 2005 by Jay Adeff.
http://www.jayadeff.com/COI2005/COI2005.htm

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tennisguy said:

There's been a lot of talk in recent years about why figure skating tours in North America aren't doing as well and why so many of the skating shows have closed. Certainly some of it has to do with a dip in popularity of the sport and a lack of American stars on the tours - Evan Lysacek won an Olympic title just 7 years ago but isn't on the SOI Tour - but I think we also have to look to the changes in the way people spend their entertainment dollars. A lot of places/organizations that deal in live shows are struggling because people don't spend the money to go out anymore.
Ringling Brothers is folding up its tents after a 146 years.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ringling-bros-circus-ending-1.3936551
Bars & Nightclubs are closing.
http://www.news1130.com/2017/01/10/...usic-clubs-are-losing-the-fight-to-stay-open/

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Ic3Rabbit said:

I understand what you are saying here, but Lysacek was on the tour 2 years ago plus Patrick Chan and more and that was the worst $ netting tour in the US in years. You also can't market a skater as a headliner for this tour if he doesn't skate shows much (he's in fashion now and truly retired). The US SOI tour cast with exception of 2015, has been the top Olympic and Worlds level skaters from the USA since at least 2014, so it's not like people here don't know who these skaters are.

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tennisguy said:

But there aren't enough people here to sell tickets in all the cities that host the tour - I was speaking of the general public, who really only know those skaters that break through at an Olympics and singles skaters are usually the headliners. I understand that Lysacek isn't touring anymore but when you look at the Canadian Tour including Browning, Stojko, and Buttle, all of whom retired from ISU competitions prior to Lysacek, it's unfortunate that only singles Olympic Champion from the US in the past 15 years is not still touring and performing.

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Ic3Rabbit said:

No it will not be televised.

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Ice Dance said:

I always liked the group numbers & fresh choreography in them in SOI. And, of course, you couldn't beat Scott for entertainment value (Kurt was one of my favorites as well); but the tour was always more North American centric. Usually only a top European pairs team and maybe 1 or 2 other European athletes (one of which was Stephen Cousins?). I love many North American skaters, but I see them much more often. If you wanted to see any of the great Russian ice dancers that dominated the dance event from 1985 to the present, you were out of luck. There was very little turnover on SOI, which is a good sign loyalty-wise, but not great motivation if the point is the chance to see athletes live that you have never seen. I did see Shen & Zhao post Olympic gold on SOI and will always be grateful, and SOI allowed us to continue to see Katia skate much longer than would have happened without it.

The first skating show I remember attending when I was little was something like Disney on Ice in San Francisco. It had Linda Fratianne, Peter Pan, and Goofy. That's what I remember. I thought it was fabulous.

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Tonichelle said:

What built COI was the quality of competition in the other big show at the time Stars On Ice (SOI). the only difference was at the time only Champions could have amateur skaters in the cast because it was partnered with USFSA and the ISU whereas SOI had to be all pro in the states (and in Canada Kurt Browning had to fight to be allowed in the cast IIRC the story correctly). COI relied greatly on the star power and strength of the cast where as SOI boasted a more cohesive cast that was about the cast as a whole with break out routines for each skater/team. COI was about the individual more than the group, SOI - to me - was the reverse. In the glory days and early days of Internet fans were fiercely loyal to one or the other (I was pro SOI "back in the day). Sadly, SOI is now using the COI model and the routines IMO just aren't up to the standard of what they had in the 90s (honestly it was never the same once Bezic left).

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Ice Dance said:

I always liked the group numbers & fresh choreography in them in SOI. And, of course, you couldn't beat Scott for entertainment value (Kurt was one of my favorites as well); but the tour was always more North American centric. Usually only a top European pairs team and maybe 1 or 2 other European athletes (one of which was Stephen Cousins?). I love many North American skaters, but I see them much more often. If you wanted to see any of the great Russian ice dancers that dominated the dance event from 1985 to the present, you were out of luck. There was very little turnover on SOI, which is a good sign loyalty-wise, but not great motivation if the point is the chance to see athletes live that you have never seen. I did see Shen & Zhao post Olympic gold on SOI and will always be grateful, and SOI allowed us to continue to see Katia skate much longer than would have happened without it.

The first skating show I remember attending when I was little was something like Disney on Ice in San Francisco. It had Linda Fratianne, Peter Pan, and Goofy. That's what I remember. I thought it was fabulous.

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