- Joined
- Jul 26, 2003
Last night I had the pleasure of attending the San Diego Stars On Ice. My seats were pretty close to the ice (6 rows back) which made it easy to see the facial expressions on the skaters. I want to first of all give the show . The skaters had lots of energy and the music, in my opinion, was great. I'm not sure how the older people liked it but for those of us in our mid 40's (speaking for myself) the music of "The Who" just rocks!
I don't know where the ideas of the costumes come, but Jef Billings is a genius.
I like the idea of the "magic shows" in between the skating programs. They were creative and funny.
The best performers by far are the two pair skaters Sale & Pelletier and Elena & Anton. These were actually my husbands favorite too. I have to note that Anton has cut his hair and he looks marvelous! No more long/ greased back hair! Sale & Pelletier are already performers and this year as compaired to last year Elena & Anton are catching up. They (especially her) seem more comfortable out there on the ice. Their program to "Dance Mix" took them out of their classic skating lines and into new territory that really worked for them.
What can I say about Alexei Yagudi? His program above the ice made me a little nervous, but I liked it. His program to "Shout" had all his great footwork, plus I loved his costume of Hawaiin shirt and shorts. It made me wonder if the amateur men would be able to were long shorts or if that's against the rules.
Kurt Browning was our guest skater and he did his "Toy Box" routine. This routine is entertaining but it doesn't show off how great a technician Kurt is. I still enjoy watching him skate, and would give anything to have even a small amount of footwork skills that he has.
Yuka Sato did a sexy routine to "Naughty Girl" I think she was feeling the music last night. I missed half of Yuka's "Amazing Grace" program. With the second half of Act II starting with the group number "Mr Blue Sky" a elderly gentlemen was making his way down the dark stars to his seat by the ice. He passed me almost falling over in my lap and unfortunately the next few steps he missed and tumbled/rolled down to the bottom. As Yuka was skating to the beautiful music of "Amazing Grace", the poor man was being attended to. Fortunately after awhile they got him up and he looked ok.
Steven Cousins solo to "Come Back To Bed" was filled with triple jumps and fun choreography.
Last night wasn't the best that I've seen Todd skate, but I still enjoy his speed and powerful jumps. He seems very comfortable with being the mc of the show. Loved his little "flea" routine and the little funeral parade they had-funny.
Now I saved the not so good for last and that award would have to go to Sarah Hughes. She has two solos and a solo with the guys. I could of done with seeing her skate one solo. She is a step below all the others technique wise and it shows especially when you see her skate more then once. I hate to say this but she is also on the hefty side (this is the first thing that my husband noticed). There's Yuka, Kyoko, Elena, Jamie (small petite) and then there is Sarah the big thumb on the hand. Now the good things about Sarah's skating is her big smile and her still beautiful inside edge camel spin. She skates with enjoyment on her face which makes up for the lack of everything else. I would hope that if she continues to skate with SOI that she will work hard to get at least halfway to the type of skater she was during 2002. Otherwise I would hope that SOI can find another featured female skater to take her place.
I don't know where the ideas of the costumes come, but Jef Billings is a genius.
I like the idea of the "magic shows" in between the skating programs. They were creative and funny.
The best performers by far are the two pair skaters Sale & Pelletier and Elena & Anton. These were actually my husbands favorite too. I have to note that Anton has cut his hair and he looks marvelous! No more long/ greased back hair! Sale & Pelletier are already performers and this year as compaired to last year Elena & Anton are catching up. They (especially her) seem more comfortable out there on the ice. Their program to "Dance Mix" took them out of their classic skating lines and into new territory that really worked for them.
What can I say about Alexei Yagudi? His program above the ice made me a little nervous, but I liked it. His program to "Shout" had all his great footwork, plus I loved his costume of Hawaiin shirt and shorts. It made me wonder if the amateur men would be able to were long shorts or if that's against the rules.
Kurt Browning was our guest skater and he did his "Toy Box" routine. This routine is entertaining but it doesn't show off how great a technician Kurt is. I still enjoy watching him skate, and would give anything to have even a small amount of footwork skills that he has.
Yuka Sato did a sexy routine to "Naughty Girl" I think she was feeling the music last night. I missed half of Yuka's "Amazing Grace" program. With the second half of Act II starting with the group number "Mr Blue Sky" a elderly gentlemen was making his way down the dark stars to his seat by the ice. He passed me almost falling over in my lap and unfortunately the next few steps he missed and tumbled/rolled down to the bottom. As Yuka was skating to the beautiful music of "Amazing Grace", the poor man was being attended to. Fortunately after awhile they got him up and he looked ok.
Steven Cousins solo to "Come Back To Bed" was filled with triple jumps and fun choreography.
Last night wasn't the best that I've seen Todd skate, but I still enjoy his speed and powerful jumps. He seems very comfortable with being the mc of the show. Loved his little "flea" routine and the little funeral parade they had-funny.
Now I saved the not so good for last and that award would have to go to Sarah Hughes. She has two solos and a solo with the guys. I could of done with seeing her skate one solo. She is a step below all the others technique wise and it shows especially when you see her skate more then once. I hate to say this but she is also on the hefty side (this is the first thing that my husband noticed). There's Yuka, Kyoko, Elena, Jamie (small petite) and then there is Sarah the big thumb on the hand. Now the good things about Sarah's skating is her big smile and her still beautiful inside edge camel spin. She skates with enjoyment on her face which makes up for the lack of everything else. I would hope that if she continues to skate with SOI that she will work hard to get at least halfway to the type of skater she was during 2002. Otherwise I would hope that SOI can find another featured female skater to take her place.