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For some reason, this year’s show seemed short. I was surprised when it was intermission, and when I figured that there were only two skaters left at the end, I was sort of thinking...that’s it? Not that it wasn’t good, just that there didn’t seem as many skaters as usual. Maybe it was just me excited about being able to go backstage after the show (bowing down to the person that got the backstage pass for me, thank you SO much!! See below for my report from backstage.), and it’s the same as always, but it just seemed short. And what is it that I always sit near people that don’t seem to care about skating? I think in general, there weren’t any huge ovations except for some exceptions. But some skaters (such as Sale & Pelletier) didn’t get as big a hand as I expected, or thought they deserved. There was this person sitting next to me who seemed like she never even watched the ice. Many times, I felt like I was the only one clapping around me. But anyway...Let’s see, some other non skating stuff...I didn’t see a cast photo (maybe later in the tour, though there aren’t many shows this year), but there was a nice keychain, and that thing that you put around your neck to hold keys that says “Champions on Ice” on it, along with the usual shirts (one was a youth shirt that had a pic of all the skaters on it wearing the opening number costume.) It was great fun meeting people from online before the show, too! Now, onto the show... I always liked how they had a different song for each skater when they were introduced at the beginning, but they way they did it this year worked well, too. They used three songs, Music, Body Rock, and Higher. Like last year, they all had the same type of costumes, which were black and silver. I don’t remember much of what they actually did. Some of what I remember is Michelle doing a Charlotte and Yspin, Tim a few jumps, Sasha some split jumps, and Nicole shoot-the-duck. When they came out towards the end, they all did something, as usual, which 2 sets of pairs teams doing a double death spiral. Here is the order they came out, though I’m missing some: Music:
Body Rock:
Higher:
I didn’t take many notes this time, only noting the order and other interesting things, so forgive me that this isn’t too technically detailed. It was a pretty clean show, I don’t remember too many falls, though there were a lot of doubles and fallouts. Sasha Cohen- Ribbon number. I forget the song this is. I can imagine how hard it is to skate, spin, etc using the ribbon, as I know it’s hard to use it, period. It looks especially beautiful when she spins. I can only remember her doing one jump (a double axel), but I can’t remember how it was landed. She seemed a bit off. I think one of spirals didn’t look right. Timothy Goebel- Ricky Martin. I like him, but...I didn’t like this program at all. He did a lot of jumps, and I can’t remember him landing most of them well. Dan Hollander- Elmer Fudd/Bugs Bunny. I know this was supposed to be funny. I guess it just got a little much for me. Punsalan & Swallow- I don’t know what they skated to, but I liked it a lot, much better than last year’s program. They had a scarf type thing, and then it became her skirt. Michael Weiss- Backstreet Boys Medley. I just can’t picture him skating to Backstreet Boys, LOL. This one girl near me, who didn’t really seemed interested in much of the skating, was bouncing up and down the whole number. He landed a nice triple lutz near me, plus several other jumps, which all looked great. Did some break dancing and backflip later on. Berezhnaya & Sikharulidze- Chaplin. Great hobo program, really into the character. Started off on a chair, and once the program was over, I realized that the chair wasn’t there any longer. I wondered how that happened, but figure it out later on. Irina Slutskaya- A skin-tight blue costume, almost looked painted on. I don’t know what she skated to. She seemed slow to me, for Irina anyway. She doubled a jump and landed on two feet, then tried to throw in a double toe on the end, but double footed it as well. She was one of the skaters I was disappointed didn’t get more of a hand. Elvis Stojko- You Really Got Me Now.. LOL, I always get a kick out of him mouthing the words while he’s skating. The audience here really loves him, he always gets one of the biggest hand, and people screaming throughout the program. I’m pretty sure he did a double toe/triple toe combo (the first didn’t look like a triple to me). He also did a few other jumps. Edited to add that I am told that he *did* do a triple/triple. It was at the other end of the rink, I was probably just blinded by all the flashes going off or something! Sale & Pelletier- The same adorable program they did at Worlds. Of all the skaters I was upset didn’t get a bigger hand, this one I didn’t understand. Even after the show, my mom said the same thing. I thought they would get a really good ovation, but they got barely polite applause, even when they were done. I tried to overcome that by applauding loudly. ;) I don’t think the section I was in even clapped much when they were done. The one section on the side, when they were bowing, applauded loudly though. I was so happy to finally see them in person. Viktor Petrenko- Love Me Tender and Jailhouse Rock. Wearing prison garb, comes out with a “ball and chain.” When he was done, there were sirens, and he put his hands up, which was pretty funny. I don’t know if any of his comic stuff is going to top last year’s program, though. Brasseur & Eisler- Ricky Martin. Ricky was really popular tonight. ;) When they came out, the arena was pitch black, and all you saw were lights she was twirling around. Really neat, though I don’t know what it had to do with the rest of the program. Lots of tricks and great pairs moves, as always. Intermission Nicole Bobek- Cabaret. I was pretty surprised she skated first after the intermission. They usually don’t have one of the top draws in that spot (since people are still getting to their seat), and I thought Nicole was one of the big draws. Her costume was...well, there wasn’t much there (she even had garter straps on), though it fit the program. I seem to remember liking the program better when she did it at World Pros. I don’t know if it was changed or what. Usova & Platov- Desert Rose. As I tend to with dance, I don’t know what to say. I was changing my film, so I think I missed part of it as well. Rudy Galindo- Fosee. It starts off that there’s a curtain around him, supposed to be his star dressing room. And then it drops down. He stays in about the same spot, so you could see that the curtain was slowing being pulled away by someone off the ice on a line of something. So that’s when I realized that’s what they did with B&S’s chair. ;) I think a lot of people were whispering about it, it just looked so funny...this thing slowly being pulled away. Anyway, Rudy was great. Got one of the biggest ovations of the night. Besedin & Polishuk Acrobatic skaters. Did the same routine as last year. Judging by the audience response, I was the only one who wasn’t into it. At least do something different than last year (though I didn’t like it then, either.) Though they were good at what they were doing, I was there to see skating. And, I tend to have a problem with them getting one of the biggest hands of the night, even more so than World and Olympic champions. But, again, maybe that’s just me. Philippe Candeloro- Bullfighting. I can’t remember much here. Um, he took his shirt off. ;) I remember when he went into the audience to kiss the girl, he basically fell into the seats there, though knowing Philippe, that’s the way he wanted it. The one he went to was a girl who was holding up a sign for him, so I thought that was nice. (On that note, I noticed a lot of signs this year. Just mentioning it...) Surya Bonaly- Typical Surya program. Todd Eldredge- Thank You For Loving Me. Wore his short program costume from this year. Did a lot of jumps, but not many of them came out well. But I still have to give him credit for planning all those jumps in a show number. I think he went for a triple axel, but only doubled it. I know people will say it’s same old Todd, but I will watch same old Todd anytime. :) Evgeny Plushenko- Sex Bomb. Uh... definitely not the same thing he skated to last year! Thankfully I saw it on TV, or I would not have believed it was Evgeny. I kept wondering if from the nose bleed seats, if it looked like that was a costume, or if they thought that was his skin. ;) And then I kept thinking of the ABC announcers during the broadcast. LOL He ran into the crowd in the section directly opposite me, in what I think was my row (I had an end seat.) Got a big ovation. Kazakova & Dmitriev- Somewhere out there. She’s blond! That’s all my mom kept saying...look at her hair! It looks really good on her. The program was really nice, though I can’t remember elements. Michelle Kwan- This Time Around. If there was a definition of a statement program, this was it! Wore that gorgeous gold costume, skating to a song with words “This time around, no second places, I'm showing aces, I'll win, I'm gonna have it all.” I do not think that it’s another GFB, it seems more powerful than that. Not every song sung by a female singer is a GFB. Her hair was in a bun. She did a triple lutz and two triple toes. So nice. Some other elements were a falling leaf (I knew it was coming, but I didn’t move to take a picture because that move is so beautiful), ina bauer, layback (that was in her short this year), and spread eagle. Her spiral seemed to go on forever! All around the rink and then some. She was the only one to get a partial standing ovation (including from myself, of course.) Brian Boitano- Blue. He tried something different again, and I think I like this program. Did a huge Tano lutz right in front of me, and when he landed it, he had a HUGE smile on his face. He seemed really happy throughout the program. Finale: OK, I can not explain this at all. I like how they’ve been having group endings like this the last few years. I think I may have liked last year’s better, though this one was funny. It was a western thing, and at one point, Michelle is being carried by half the skaters, moving towards Dan, who is being carried by the other half. They all have these over the top costumes with feathers and the works. Michelle’s costume was red and black. Dan wore a yellow costume with this huge hat. LOL, I just cannot explain this. I hope they show it on TV! OK, I don’t know where to begin! Everything is still jumbled in my mind. I had such a great time backstage, it was so much fun. It wasn’t anything big...you stood behind a rope, and the skaters went by signing and posing for pics if asked, but it was still so much fun. When we got down there, Todd was leaving, but he kept saying, “I’ll be back!” And he did come back. Once we were down there, and didn’t have to wait much longer for the first skater to come out, David Pelletier. I was closer to the end of the line, so I could see who was coming, and have plenty of time to get to the right page in the program. I’m not really an autograph person, I’m more a pictures person, but I still got most to sign the program. I don’t remember the rest of the order they came out, only who was first and last, so I hope I don’t forget anyone. I guess I’ll just go by the order of the program. Maybe when I get my pics back, I’ll be able to figure out the order. Michelle came out in the middle of all the skaters, or so. Once I saw her coming down the line, besides me screaming "AAAAAH Michelle!!!" in my head (just in my head, they probably would have thrown me out if I did it there, LOL), I got the book of congratulations from MKF out, and the printout of the front page of my site I wanted her to autograph. I knew I had to give her the book first, or I'd totally forget (my mom said I should have told her my name, but I probably couldn't have even remembered it if asked!) I first said that I had a web site on her (showed the print out of the main page), and said I also am co-moderator of the Michelle Kwan Forum, and the members put together a book of messages congratulating her on winning Worlds. I showed her the book, and opened it to the cover, and she was genuinely touched. You know how some people can be fake, or just say "oh thanks." You could see in her face how much she appreciated it. She said something like "aww, thank you so much!" Then I asked her to sign the printout, and she said something like "I think I've seen your site before!" At which point you could have knocked me over with a feather. So then I took a picture of her. I had asked the woman next to me before the whole thing started if she could take a pic of me with Michelle. After Michelle had signed for them (she was also sweet with them...the girl asked if she could sign it to her name, and she did), the woman took the pic of us (though she wasn't really sure how to use my camera, she kept apologizing that it might not have came out.) LOL, when she was saying he wasn't sure how to use it, Michelle said "just point and click!" in like a sing-song type of way. So then she went further down the line, and I took some more pics of her. She must have seen the flash (I was surprised I didn't see as much picture taking, mostly people wanting autographs). Anyway, so one time, she turned to me, and flashed a huge smile...of course that's probably not the pic I got, LOL. But I was just so excited, that I got everything I wanted there, no problems, no me just missing Michelle or anything. I was talking with someone later, and she said that Michelle looked "sharp." That fits it to a T. She had on a long coat, that I guess went to her knees. I honestly don't remember what else she was wearing. She had her hair down. She looked great. And just always smiling. Smiling all the way. :) Next in the program is Brian. He signed my program, but there was a lot of skaters around at that point, and I didn’t get a picture. Next is Todd. Like I said, he came back! I actually think I saw him coming down a second time. Next is Elvis. He actually was right after Irina. As she was signing my program, I asked for a picture. As I was about to take the picture, Elvis moved out of the way, so I said, no that’s OK. So I got a cute picture of the two of them together. Isabelle Brasseur looks so pretty close up. I didn’t see Lloyd, but I got her autograph. One of the last ones to come out was Artur Dmitriev. I must have missed Oksana, cause I didn’t see her either. Surya was, I believe, the second to last skater to come out. I think she took the longest to sign than any skater. On that note, a lot of skaters seem to write the year down with the name. Elena Berezhnaya seemed so shy. It’s not that she didn’t say much, it’s was just, I don’t know, her body language. I didn’t see Anton. For Tim, I remember saying something to him about attending Nationals. Next in the program is Punsalan and Swallow. He came down the line a lot earlier than she did. I think she was the 3rd to last skater to come out or so. I told them both how I enjoyed their program. Michael Weiss is next in the program. I missed him. He came at the point when there was a lot of skaters. Someone was signing for me (I think Elena?) and he just went to the next person. I didn’t even get a pic. Then, his wife came around, and was passing out autograph pictures of him. I got the last one. ;) I later saw him walking around with his daughter. When Rudy was signing for the person before me, the girl next to me was asking who was next (meaning after Rudy), and he turned and said I’m next. It was so funny. I can’t remember if I got his pic or not. I tended to forget at times!! Usova & Platov were the only couple who came down the line together, so I know I got their pics together. My pen started to leak just as Evgeny was signing, and I later realized it got on my face and new (I mean, this was the first day I was wearing it) jacket. Next in the program is Plushy. He had his own pen (as probably half of the skaters did), which was silver. I just found that funny for some reason. I already wrote about David, and Jamie Sale came much later. Her hair was wet, but she still looked cute. She just looked so happy. Sasha Cohen was one of the first to come out. I told her how I loved her hair. I think she may have smiled in the pic I took, but I can’t remember. The last skater out was Nicole. She had on a bright red leather jacket. And, once she got up close I noticed her eye lashes. She had on these eyelashes that were very long, and part of them were this metallic red. They looked right on her, though. Only Nicole. ;) I said something like, uh, nice eyelashes...LOL. When we were done, you went outside. I saw all these people hanging by the fence, and then I heard yelling...and I realized that's where the buses were. Geez, if I'd only knew this all along, this is always near where we park, we could have done this every year. Anyway, we were above where the buses were. I asked someone was if Michelle had already gotten on the bus, and they said yea, along with most of the skaters. A little after I got there, Nicole was just showing up at the buses. I saw Irina and Elena just hanging out together. Sitting on the grass, that type of thing. I took several pics of that. Surya kept going on and off the bus. One time, she came off with a bag of Cheetos, and then she kind of sheepishly stuck the bag behind her back. ;) Eventually, she took her stuff off the bus, and got into a cab. I saw Brian come on and off the bus a few times, too. Sasha I think ended up switching buses. At one point, I hear someone say "there's Michelle, in the front." So, I moved so I was actually standing in front of where the buses were. The windows were tinted, but you could see what was going on inside. Sure enough, there was Michelle, in I believe the 3rd row, seat by the window. And low and behold, what was sitting there in plain sight in the seat next to her, but the book!! I was, once again, like "AAAAH!" LOL, so much so, I had to tell the person standing next to me, who I later found out is a visitor to my site. ;) But I was so happy. I guess she'll read it on the bus. :) She later came out of the bus (when I only had 1 pic left, of course), walked around somewhere. And then the people started screaming Michelle (OK, me too ;)), and she looked up, and waved to everyone. And then later went back on the bus, still sitting next to the book. I think when Brian got on the bus, he was sitting right behind her. That’s about it. I hope you enjoyed this report from the show and backstage! Check out my pictures from the show and backstage! Back to Events / Reviews and Reports Photo © Heather Winfield |
