Growing North American Show Skating

[Tanager]

It’s a good time for show skating in North America. In this post-Olympics glow, Stars on Ice was the most well-attended it’s been in years in both the US and Canada. There has also been good buzz for the Thank You Canada tour bringing skating to smaller markets across Canada this fall.

With the Thank You tour especially, I’ve heard a lot of comments akin to it being good that the skaters can take advantage of this now, as similar opportunities may not be there in the future. But is there a market in North America for a greater, more sustained show skating presence?

I began watching show skating as a kid in the heyday of the late 1990s. It was mostly cheesy and over-saturated. For a long time after, I approached show skating with about as much enthusiasm as a 14th century European would have approached the bubonic plague. Yet, I understand that show skating done well (in both quality and quantity) can reach new markets of fans, be a wonderful showcase of entertainment and skill, and provide much-needed income for skaters. For these reasons, I would like to see show skating grow beyond a temporary post-Olympic popularity bump.

I’m curious about your thoughts of how this current Olympic popularity can be built upon. North America is a very different market from, say, Japan or Russia, and we know the dangers of the 1990s approach to shows. So what could work in this current context? Is it possible to build a greater, more sustained show presence in North America? How could that look? What's worth trying (or at least exploring and discussing)?

 

[jillredhand]

I'd love to see more shows. Canada basically has one show a year, and while I adored going to see the Olympic Champions victory lap across the nation, there are also so many less well known Canadian skaters that I want to be able to see have a chance to perform. Elladj Baldé should not have to go to Europe to be appreciated, dammit!

The Thank You Canada tour is a good start. But I don't know how much demand there would be for too many national tours; a better place to start might be a TV special of some kind. Yeah, some of those 90s iterations were cheesy, but a couple quality productions with a combination of both the champion stars and some of the less well known but great performers would help grow interest for more live skating shows. And if you filmed those specials at different locations across the country, then you help regional interest grow.

 

[Haleth]

I personally would love something on the model of Fantasy on Ice, Art on Ice, and Revolution on Ice, all of which feature collaboration across the arts. Bringing in live musicians would be wonderful, but it wouldn't have to be limited to only live musicians. Anyway, these are my favourite shows, alongside how excellent CSOI was this year.

Second big thing that would get me excited is using skaters from around the globe. At least CSOI had Javier along with our many fantastic Canadian talents. It would be lovely to have one show that highlights local talent (CSOI), and then at least one other collaborative show with international stars (some of whom could also be local). The X factor rn is that Japan has an embarrassment of shows, which means you'd have to schedule around those (tricky, given how short the time currently competing people have), or be prepared to offer considerably more to the biggest Japanese stars who can just stay home and have multiple opportunities domestically. So perhaps we might have to wait for people like Yuzuru and Shoma to retire to potentially see them in a show outside of Japan.

Another model we saw this year was the wonderful Continues with Wings show, but it really depends on a huge megastar/s who want/s to honour their roots by inviting people that shaped their career. So here something like that might be linked to V/M? I'd be interested in seeing other Canadians do that as well, but not sure about practicalities.

 

[narcissa]

I personally would love something on the model of Fantasy on Ice, Art on Ice, and Revolution on Ice, all of which feature collaboration across the arts.

What a good idea, not just have it be a skating show but a skating + live orchestra, or skating + live singing, or skating + circus acts, or skating + comedy, or skating + talent competition. Why not? There are lots of formats that North Americans love. Just look at how many seasons of Dancing with the Stars there's been.

 

[TGee]

I recall being wowed by the Ice Capades as a child.

And I wasn't looking for Disney on Ice.

But it was the synchronized 'choruses' numbers and storylines that captivated me more than the singles skaters. I treasured my program for years, and I'm sure it was one of the things that got me into skates.

I also recall being wowed by Toller Cranston's television specials for CBC in the early 1980s.

See SkateGuard's retrospective on 'Strawberry Ice"...

http://skateguard1.blogspot.com/2014/03/strawberry-ice-toller-cranston-at-his.html?m=1

So, while I'm enthused on one hand that V/M are exploring an option for North American shows, in my heart I wish someone would take a leaf from Plushenko or Cirque du Soleil and develop a traveling ice show with a theme and storyline.

 

[NanaPat]

Cirque's Crystal show was good, and the skating act with the ramps was amazing, but the plot was very weak.

As well, they had three different performers portraying the main character, Crystal, and the transition was a bit jarring. In one case, I was really worried about the aerial tricks a skater was doing, until I realized that it was a different performer, with a different skill set, and also noticed that she was wearing a safety line. In the other case, it was obvious from the get-go that it was a different performer, which was disturbing in a different way.

 

[Dragonheart97]

With all the media recognition he's getting right now, someone should collaborate with Adam Rippon to do a limited run skating tour in the vein of Fantasy on Ice in the US, like maybe 10-12 major cities because I don't see multi-day weekend runs selling well here. He's brought more attention to the sport in the US and I feel like with his name attached it would draw some attention. If the dates sell well and there's a demand, slowly expand it.

 

[SnowWhite]

With all the media recognition he's getting right now, someone should collaborate with Adam Rippon to do a limited run skating tour in the vein of Fantasy on Ice in the US, like maybe 10-12 major cities because I don't see multi-day weekend runs selling well here. He's brought more attention to the sport in the US and I feel like with his name attached it would draw some attention. If the dates sell well and there's a demand, slowly expand it.

He doesn't seem that interested in doing shows right now. More focused on other projects, which is fair.

 

[SnowWhite]

What a good idea, not just have it be a skating show but a skating + live orchestra, or skating + live singing, or skating + circus acts, or skating + comedy, or skating + talent competition. Why not? There are lots of formats that North Americans love. Just look at how many seasons of Dancing with the Stars there's been.

Details on the Thank You Canada Tour from a Toronto Star article:

Virtue described the concept as a sort of scaled-down combo of a rock concert, dance extravaganza and traditional skating show.

When asked what they want to do creatively, Virtue said there is a “long list” but that budget and the limitations of small venues will rein them in somewhat.

“But” she said excitedly, “even things like having a stage and doing some off-ice dance, but then the choreography comes on to the ice.

So they may try to incorporate some of the things you're mentioning. We'll see.

 

[SpiffySpiders]

I recall being wowed by the Ice Capades as a child.

And I wasn't looking for Disney on Ice.

But it was the synchronized 'choruses' numbers and storylines that captivated me more than the singles skaters. I treasured my program for years, and I'm sure it was one of the things that got me into skates.

I also recall being wowed by Toller Cranston's television specials for CBC in the early 1980s.

See SkateGuard's retrospective on 'Strawberry Ice"...

http://skateguard1.blogspot.com/2014/03/strawberry-ice-toller-cranston-at-his.html?m=1

So, while I'm enthused on one hand that V/M are exploring an option for North American shows, in my heart I wish someone would take a leaf from Plushenko or Cirque du Soleil and develop a traveling ice show with a theme and storyline.

This would be the sort of production I could picture myself, or most folks I know, considering as a evening out entertainment option. The traditional NA skating shows from past decades, or the current Disney-type ones, are widely perceived, rightly or wrongly, as too quaint and 'family entertainment' for young adults and up who aren't hardcore skating fans to attend as anything other than an outing with the kids.

In NA, show skating needs to re-brand, modernize and fight it's own past to regain a place in the live event rotation. Productions that combine skating with other live acts and real storytelling have the best chance, imo. I think there's also a place for star power driven shows, with everything organized around a specific skater's vision, but NA doesn't have many (any) skaters with that level of icon status combined with interesting artistic prowess and a public appetite for skating right now.

*****

I'm going to be the contrarian again - that seems to be my GS role - and come right out and say I'm not so enthusiastic about this Thank You Canada tour. My unpopular opinion is that I'd much prefer Canada's not-yet-officially retired skaters (Kaetlyn and WeaPo) on the GP, not sitting out most of the season in favour of a touring skating show.

 

[Tanager]

So, while I'm enthused on one hand that V/M are exploring an option for North American shows, in my heart I wish someone would take a leaf from Plushenko or Cirque du Soleil and develop a traveling ice show with a theme and storyline.

I would like to see Plushenko or Averbukh bring one of their already established shows to North America. I'd be interested to see how they fared and whether there is a solid enough North American market for such a traveling ice show with a theme and storyline (I hope there is; certainly I would want to attend).

Details on the Thank You Canada Tour from a Toronto Star article:


Virtue described the concept as a sort of scaled-down combo of a rock concert, dance extravaganza and traditional skating show.

When asked what they want to do creatively, Virtue said there is a “long list” but that budget and the limitations of small venues will rein them in somewhat.

“But” she said excitedly, “even things like having a stage and doing some off-ice dance, but then the choreography comes on to the ice.
So they may try to incorporate some of the things you're mentioning. We'll see.

I'm intrigued by this. If Tessa and Scott et al. have it in the back of their minds that the Thank You Tour could morph into a regular, annual thing, then collaborating across the broader arts spectrum would help set it apart from SOI and give it its own special niche within the North American skating scene.

 

[Mango]

Japan also has smaller tours like Christmas on Ice (also known as XOI). I do recall a tour featuring Johnny Weir and Kurt Browning entitled Halloween on Ice. Themed shows like that may work. They would have to be scheduled appropriately. I think the whole issue with ice shows is scheduling. As we see with the Thank You Canada Tour there really isn't much time for a tour that doesn't conflict with the GP or other tours unless you stick it after GPF and before Nationals. However most skaters spend time with their families for the holidays and train hard for Nationals so even that would be tough to do.

 

[macy]

So, while I'm enthused on one hand that V/M are exploring an option for North American shows, in my heart I wish someone would take a leaf from Plushenko or Cirque du Soleil and develop a traveling ice show with a theme and storyline.

would this be similar to the shows they do on cruise ships?

 

[TGee]

would this be similar to the shows they do on cruise ships?

No, I'm thinking of Plushenko's Winter fairytale and Nutcracker massive productions that went on the road.

Or, one of Cirque du Soleil's narrative circus events -- but principally figure skating rather than acrobatics.

Both of these are more similar to Cranston's 1980s TV specials...Strawberry Ice is still worth watching. I'd love it if CBC still has the film archived and could remaster it for high definition....

But even a 'Kings on Ice' thing would be progress in terms of reaching new audiences.

 

[Mango]

Is Rock the Ice returning any time? That was one opportunity to see skaters like Piper & Paul, Elladj, and Shawn along with international skaters like Miki Ando in an ice show in Canada.

 

[Jaana]

It would of course be nice if there would be more skating shows or tours for the US audiences. The problem is though that there are no real US stars currently to draw audiences. I mean stars who are extremely popular and who also have results from skating competitions, I mean real champions with longevity. The time a bit before and during Kwan era was totally different. There were even two big skating tours: Champions on Ice and Stars On the Ice to draw big audiences.

After Scott Hamilton stopped participating the SOI gradually became less popular (also there were economical problems for lots of people).

COI had big US and international eligible stars to draw attention.

 

[century2009]

This year has been a revival of the US Figure Skating shows with great attendance.

I mean I have friends, who I thought would not go, went and said they really enjoyed it and had a great time with all the skaters.

This year does have a great mix of skaters and modern songs that appeal to different people (Adam Rippon, Ashley Wagner, Jason Brown, Nathan Chen, Shibs, etc), so it was a wonderful fun show that appeals to everyone.

Figure Skating has been sadly declining in the the US for years and nice to have it become popular again.

We talk about stars leading it, and we do have at least Nathan Chen as World Champion. He has brought back attention to US Figure Skating with various international wins that we havent won for like 10 years now.

And he is an appealing young skater that US Figure Skating should be happy about because he has made US figure skating exciting again because at least the US has 1 skater to prove they are still a strong Fed.

 

[RobinA]

I think there could be a market for Ice Capades type mixed style shows; comedy, individual, pair, group stuff as long as the quality was up and there were known skaters both US and international AND without the cheese. Or, a TV audience for honest, quality pro competitions. Some of my favorite programs OF ALL TIME are Brian Boitano and Kurt Browning pro programs. We aren't getting to see very seasoned skaters do really artistic programs these days, and it's kind of a waste of talent that has taken years to develop.

The problem with the shows before (I think) was that the shows got waaaaay too expensive and there were too many programs that just weren't great skating. The competitions got bogged down by ridiculous judging (looking at you, Phillippe). Plus, it was too random. How about a pro circuit of a set number of comps with set rules that is worth skaters committing to. It would probably take awhile to become meaningful, but if it could be kept alive long enough it might get some momentum going and become attractive to skaters and audiences.

 

[synteis]

It might also be fun to do pro-competitions that were element by element. Like all the skaters competing for best 3-3 one after the other like you see in things like the NHL All-Stars Skill Comp. Very different from the amateur circuit but fun to watch I'd think especially if it was televised.

 

[TGee]

The pro competitions were fun because at least the skaters appeared to be giving it their all. And that seems to be a problem when so much is available on TV and the shows don't meet the same standard.

While it sounds as though SOI was great this year, my mother - who used to be up for any ice show or competition - asked me to stop buying tickets for her after a lacklustre outing a couple of years back...

As she put it, why go out to see EX numbers that had more energy when seen on TV after ISU events, and show numbers that showed the lack of rehearsal time?