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Canadian Stars on Ice Review - Hamilton, ON, Toronto, ON and Vancouver, BC - May 3, 4 & 16, 2019
Written by Tina
When it was announced that Kurt Browning was returning to the Canadian
Stars on Ice tour this year, I immediately made plans to go with
friends and shoot the Toronto and Hamilton shows, as I usually
do. Then, my five year old daughter asked when she'd see Kurt skate
live, and I realized it'd be a great opportunity to take her and just
watch the Vancouver show without my camera. So I was lucky enough to
see three stops of the 2019 tour from different angles.
In Toronto and Hamilton, I have to admit that I was a bit distracted
by shooting the show, since I was using an unfamiliar rented camera,
and wasn't in the best locations. In Toronto, I was in the middle of
the end with the tunnel, behind where the skaters sit in a large group
during the 90s group number, so they blocked my view of the actual
choreography and much of the choreography was facing away from me. In
Hamilton, I was center ice, which was nice, but in the players' box
behind the on-ice seats and TV camera, so parts of the ice were
blocked by the camera and heads. In Vancouver, I had a more birds-eye
view, 19 rows up center ice, which gave me a less close-up view of the
skaters' faces, but did let me see the patterns in the lighting and
choreography better with nothing blocking my view except people coming
and going.
On a side note, seats that weren't so hot in Toronto became great
seats during the 90s number in Vancouver, from what I could see. The
skaters are usually having fun and less rigorously following the
script in Vancouver since it's the last show on tour. During the 90s
number, the skaters who weren't actively in the group number were
often up and visiting the people in the on-ice seats on the
tunnel. That must have been a great compensation for the obscured view
of the number for those people!
Last year, I loved the show despite the absence of Kurt. The cast was
amazingly strong and everyone was on a high after the success of the
2018 Olympics. It's hard to top the very unique circumstances of that
tour, and this year's show did not do so. However, it was still a very
enjoyable show. It's true that the tour no longer has the budget to
recreate the huge group numbers and woven together solos of the tour
in the 90s, when they used to get weeks of rehearsal time and the
choreographers had control over the solos as well as the
ensembles. But Jeff Buttle did what he could within the limitations of
the current show. The 90s group number at the end of act 1 was a
callback to the multi-song themed ensembles the show used to be famous
for, and there were attempts at transitions between numbers so they
felt more interwoven and less standalone. For myself, personally, the
second act solos were stronger than the first act solos, and I liked
the transitions between numbers there, though Kurt's transitions as
the clown in search of popcorn were an amusing thread woven through
the first act.
Going from general impressions to a number-by-number review of the
show:
Before the show starts, there are typically announcements that "the
show is starting in 10 minutes," etc, so people know when they should
head for their seats. In the tour this year, these announcements came
via videos of Kurt, in costume as his popcorn-seeking clown, adding a
bit of fun before the show for those who were already in the
arena.
The show opened with a video of the cast lip-syncing to "Video Killed
the Radio Star", which tracked through the backstage areas from the
locker rooms to physio to the halls, and finally to the tunnel leading
onto the ice. This was a cute, fun way to get things going and
cleverly led directly into the live choreography with Piper Gilles and
Kaitlyn Weaver stepping onto the ice at the end of the video just as
the lights came up on the real skaters stepping onto the actual ice in
the same costumes and poses. In Hamilton, unfortunately, the audio
track was completely out of sync with the video track, which kind of
destroyed the effect of the lip syncing. I kept wondering why they
didn't just kill and restart it instead of letting it go on so
painfully wrong for the entire video. Luckily, the video worked
correctly in Toronto and Vancouver.
Opening - Born This Way
The opening number to Born This Way was a high energy way to start the
show. The choreography cleverly introduced the skaters in smaller
groups that came on and off the ice in different combinations before
(almost) the entire group came together to dance their way down the
ice. One thing I often fail to notice with how the choreography works
is how certain skaters (ie, the ones doing the next numbers after the
opening) disappear and don't come back for the rest of the
number. This song was a great way to kick things off.
Runaway Baby - Nam Nguyen
My first impression of Runaway Baby wasn't overly positive. I have a
particular bias against what I'll call egotistical audience-pandering
programs - programs where it seems like large parts of the
choreography rely on the skater pointing into the audience and soaking
up the cheering response. Runaway Baby is not exactly that type of
program, to be clear, but it contained elements that leaned
uncomfortably in that direction for me. However, in subsequent
viewings, I grew to enjoy this program more. There is no denying Nam's
charisma or charm, and he so clearly loves performing in Stars on Ice,
that it is difficult to resist that grin in this upbeat number. There
was a bit of a transition here as Nam had a bit of a cute interaction
with Piper as she came on the ice and he went off.
In the Mood - Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier
The Stars on Ice audiences were introduced to new cast members Piper
Gilles & Paul Poirier with a fun, playful number to "In the Mood."
Utilizing a chair and cane as props, Piper and Paul charmed the
audience with quirky and cute choreography.
A running thread through the first act was Kurt, in character as a
"Cirque-reject" clown, desperately in search of popcorn. His first
appearance on the ice came here, as videos of each of the female
skaters appeared on the corner screens, windblown and sexy
looking...and eating popcorn. Kurt, in character, longingly skated
towards each screen, looking like he was yearning after the woman on
screen, until it became clear that he was going for the popcorn each
was holding. Finally, Kaetlyn Osmond appeared on the ice in person,
Kurt looked like he was mesmerized, not even noticing that his pants
had fallen around his ankles (revealing red fluffy underwear and
striped long underwear) as he skated towards her...only to blow right
past her and fall to his knees before a video of popcorn pouring from
a container, trying desperately to get the popcorn from the
screen. Kaetlyn was left looking rejected and understandably
irritated, before setting up for her solo.
Proud Mary - Kaetlyn Osmond
I love Kaetlyn Osmond - she has a sparkle and charm on the ice, and
she's a great performer. I really enjoyed her skate to "Proud
Mary". She really uses her flowing hair to great (face-obscuring)
effect in pulling off the attitude for the choreography. I thought she
did a great job to this music.
Stole the Show - Stephen Gogolev (Toronto and Hamilton only)
Stephen Gogolev guest-starred in the first act, skating to "Stole the
Show" by Kygo. He's actually quite effective at interpreting the kind
of angsty choreography/music, but he really needs to learn to perform
with his face a bit better (and at least smile in bows and such). His
jumps seemed a bit shaky, but I wonder how used to show lighting he
is. Given his success on the competitive circuit, it's easy to forget
just how young he is. I look forward to seeing him grow as a performer
and find a way to let out his personality more, as most Canadian
skaters seem to inevitably do. Stars on Ice is a great place for him
to develop that.
The Great Escape/To Build a Home - Patrick Chan
A skater who has definitely grown into abilities as a performer is
Patrick Chan. His skating skills have always been incredible, with
those deep, sweeping, whisper-quiet edges and beautiful
jumps. However, his ease on the ice in Stars on Ice has really grown,
and he has a great rapport with the audience now. Whether in an
introspective, emotional, slow skate like this one, or playing it up
to the audience in group numbers, Patrick seems to really have a
comfort in his skin now, and it just oozes out in his
performances.
Uninvited - Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje
I love the music for Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje's first number -
"Uninvited" by Alanis Morissette. It's got this eerie quality that is
really interesting. In Toronto, from where I was sitting down at the
end of the ice, I felt like they didn't really fully capitalize on the
music, and didn't build as strongly as they should have when the music
got super dramatic and intense, but in Hamilton and Vancouver, from
center ice, I thought the program was more effective. I don't know if
it was my position, or if Toronto was an off night. It is a really
interesting program.
After Kaitlyn and Andrew left the ice, the video screens popped on,
with what looked like Kurt, in character, trying to video chat with
the breathless pair just as they got off the ice. He asked them for
popcorn, which they understandably did not have since they just
finished skating. Then, the video popped through a succession of video
chats where Kurt asked several of his fellow cast members for
popcorn. Eric, Evgenia - who lets out a string of Russian, Patrick
("who eats popcorn in the middle of the show??" "I do"), Kaetlyn - who
gives him a heavily scornful look, apparently still annoyed from being
blown off earlier, and finally, Elvis, who can't believe Kurt is
asking him this when he's literally just about to step on the ice, and
also can't understand why he still has his phone on him. The video
call ends, and Elvis appears on the ice. I kind of love how this
transition was pre-recorded but clearly written for exactly where it
appears in the show (as Weaver & Poje leave the ice and Elvis is about
to step on) and with continuity with the previous transition (with
Kaetlyn still reacting to Kurt's rejection in favor of
popcorn).
Original Fire - Elvis Stojko
Elvis Stojko always seems to do one number I can't stand, and one that
I enjoy. The one I can't stand always has the same qualities - it's to
some rock number ("Original Fire" by Audioslave in this case), he
points into the audience a whole lot and gets huge cheers for it, he
does that really fast in-place footwork that seems to be his
trademark, and he spins around on his hands. I feel like it's kind of
the same program to different music, and the audience pointing just
drives me nuts. See my comments above about egotistical
audience-pandering (egotistical not because I necessarily think Elvis
is egotistical, but because that kind of choreography is expected to
garner huge cheers just because he's him and he's pointing at the
audience).
Popcorn Perils - Kurt Browning
Kurt's first "program" wasn't a traditional skating program to music,
but a comedic piece featuring his popcorn-loving clown character and a
custom recorded audio track. He recorded a funny track of a Siri-like
voice and his own character's grumbling mumbling responses, and his
expressions and responses are hilarious. The crowd really seems to
enjoy it, laughing quite a lot, and it's a great expression of Kurt's
comedic skills. This description won't do justice to all the little
jokes, funny timing, and comedic acting in it. He starts out by
snatching a small box of popcorn from an on-ice audience member, and
joyfully eating popcorn from it (with accompanying loud munching and
"mmm" sounds). He goofs off, throwing one up into the air and then
getting confused when it doesn't seem to come down. But then he finds,
to his consternation, that the popcorn box is empty, so he throws it
over his shoulder into the audience and proceeds to pull a giant
"iPad" from his (oversized, suspendered) pants. He tries to use the
Siri-like voice on the iPad to navigate himself to some popcorn. This
part is impossible to do justice to in description, as Siri's
increasingly sassy voice directions, and Kurt's character's responses
get funnier and funnier. She takes him from waltz jump to single Axel
to double Axel, but he decides to "navigate around" triple Axel
highway. She calls him a "chicken", and in frustration, he throws the
iPad to the ground and puts his foot through it. Some quick, peppy
music starts up, and suddenly Kurt's skate - still stuck through the
iPad - is doing all sorts of crazy footwork and moves (seemingly
controlled by the iPad) but eventually getting closer and closer to
the end of the ice (with the voice telling him "popcorn is in 15
feet..10 feet..."). He finally ends up at his pot of gold, a gigantic
container of popcorn on someone's lap at the end of the ice. He
snatches it up and starts eating popcorn, not noticing at first who
was hidden behind the container - Evgenia Medvedeva, sipping from a
straw cup, and ready to start her program. He reacts with exaggerated
astonishment, and plops himself down on the boards, continuing to
shovel popcorn into his mouth, bowing down to her and ready to watch
her program. In Hamilton, for the TV taping, they actually put the
popcorn container into the lap of an audience member who was quite
hilarious herself in facial expressions reacting to Kurt coming
towards her and then stealing her popcorn. Evgenia started instead in
a chair halfway down the ice. My guess is, this was so either program
could be cut from or rearranged in the TV broadcast. In Vancouver,
Kurt decided to go for broke since it was the last show, and caused a
veritable "explosion" (my daughter's word) of popcorn, throwing
armfuls in the air and tossing some at Evgenia. It was hilarious (the
picture has been widely shared on social media) though the poor crew
guy then spent the next three numbers sweeping it all up!
7 Rings - Evgenia Medvedeva
Evgenia's program, by contrast, was a more straightforward number,
albeit with a great apparent appreciation for Ariana Grande's style
and attitude. Evgenia started off wearing a pink fur jacket over her
hot pink outfit, with sunglasses and a straw cup, all of which she
quickly shed, and a high long Ariana-style ponytail. The program had a
lot of sass and Evgenia clearly loved skating to it. She brought a lot
of spark and personality to the performance.
Get What You Give - Meagan Duhamel & Eric Radford
It is totally understandable that Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford have
watered down some of the technical content of their programs, not
doing jumps or throws or twists, and doing less of the other crazy
thrilling stuff they're known for (since Meagan is pregnant). They
(especially Eric) can be beautiful artistic skaters, and their
programs were lovely. I do have to admit though that I didn't enjoy
them as much as usual, possibly because of the lower gasp factor of
their numbers. They still do lifts (though much less one-handed), Eric
still spins Megan around upside down or just hanging by one foot from
one hand, and he still even tosses her a bit onto her feet, but it's
just not quite the same. It could also just be the programs, since I
don't actually remember much of this first one.
Pump up the 90s - Cast
After the lights went down on Meagan and Eric, the screens in the
corners came up with staticky brief clips of various 90s music videos,
as if someone was flipping through the dials, looking for their
favorite song. As this was happening, the cast came out on the ice,
dressed up in 90s garb and carrying several boxes to sit on. This
ensemble number was, appropriately, a callback to the elaborate
multi-song group numbers that Stars on Ice was famous for in the
90s. As the music went from song to song, different combinations of
skaters would go out and dance to the music while the rest of the
skaters sat or stood around the boxes, dancing around, laughing with
each other, or interacting with the nearby audience. I got an
especially close up view of those skaters in Toronto, as I was seated
behind them and couldn't actually see all of the main choreography as
a result. It opened with Kaitlyn Weaver bouncing around to "Shoop",
before being joined by Kaetlyn Osmond. Then Patrick, Kurt, and Elvis
came out to "No Diggity", including a bit where Patrick and Elvis
flipped Kurt between them. In Vancouver, they dropped him, but I
couldn't tell if it was an accident or a last show goof. At the end of
their bit in Vancouver, the two of them basically carried him back to
the boxes, which didn't happen in the other shows. There was the
requisite bit with all the ladies to the Spice Girls, then the ladies
turned into screaming fangirls as Nam Nguyen strutted out to "I Want
it That Way", before being joined by Eric, Andrew, Paul, and
Patrick. This was a very boy band-ish section with the choreography,
and the girls having to be restrained from grabbing the guys as they
skated by, and fainting as Eric Radford took a turn with each of
them. But then Evgenia and Kaetlyn re-asserted themselves, skating to
"I'm Just a Girl" with power and sass, looking like they were having a
great time. Then it was the dance teams' turn to skate to "Good
Vibrations" by Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, before the whole group
got up to jam to "Everybody Dance Now." This included a bit where
Elvis and Kurt appeared to be trying to break dance and do the worm,
and ending with the group back on the boxes while Elvis did some of
his super fast in-place footwork in front of them to the closing
notes. The whole thing was just a great deal of fun, and the skaters
looked like they were having an awesome time hanging out on the ice as
the others skated. In Vancouver, Kaetlyn Osmond apparently brought her
phone out on the ice, and there's a video out there of the skaters'
perspective on this number, as the phone is passed from hand to hand
as different skaters go out on the ice.
Before intermission, a video played to promote WorldVision, before
Kaitlyn Weaver came out to talk to the audience about her work with
the charity and asking people to donate or sponsor a child. In either
Toronto or Hamilton, I've forgotten which, the video had no audio, so
Kaitlyn had to come out early and improvise a bit to make up for
it. Given that she had to change from having just been out on the ice
for the 90s number, it was impressive how quickly she was able to get
back out there.
The "there will now be a 20 minute intermission" usual voice over was
instead a cute video of Kurt, still in clown costume, telling us about
all the different merchandise for sale on the concourse, as each item
was tossed from off camera to him. There was a cute bit where he
obviously thought something thrown to him was one item and mid-way
realized it was something else, and just adapted and kept going. He
also re-appeared on screen during intermission to warn us when act 2
was going to resume.
Act 2
Trusty and True - Cast
Act 2 opened on a completely different note than the closing to act
1. Whereas "Pump up the 90s" had an energetic, party atmosphere,
"Trusty and True" was quiet, subdued, and dimly lit, with the cast
dressed entirely in shades of grey and pale pink. The costumes were
interesting for this number, and didn't really make sense unless you
really paid attention to the lyrics. The skaters were dressed in a
whole variety of clothing, from suits and ties to casual clothing of
all sorts, to a mechanic's jumpsuit with rag hanging out the
pocket. There was no unifying theme except for the colors. But then
you listened to the lyrics, which said repeatedly, "Come however you
are. Just come," and it made more sense. These were people from all
different walks of life coming together however they were. I loved
this number - all the skaters coming together in different ways,
beautiful pure skating and clean lines, somber mood, and lovely
theme. It was a beautiful number, and set the tone for a second act
that tended towards slower, more dramatic numbers than the first
act.
Vincent (Starry, Starry Night) - Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier
The beautiful skating continued right into the first individual number
of the second act. I don't follow competitive skating very closely so
I hadn't seen the competitive version of this number, but I'd heard
rumbles and rumors of how great this program was. It didn't at all
disappoint. This program completely captivated the audience. The
music, the choreography, the performance were a perfect meld. They had
beautiful, interesting, creative lifts that just flowed from one to
another with the music, and so much emotion. This was probably one of
my favorite numbers of the night.
There Will Be Time - Nam Nguyen
Nam's first number was all joy and charm, upbeat dancing and playing
to the audience. It was a lot of fun, but I preferred his second
number, which was much more angsty and slow. He showed off his more
dramatic, introspective side, and did it well.
The second act had lengthier transitions with music of their own. In
this transition, Nam briefly shared the ice with Kaitlyn Weaver, Piper
Gilles, and Evgenia Medvedeva, before skating off the ice, and leaving
the three of them to skate in unison to "What a Wonderful World",
before Piper and Kaitlyn left Evgenia alone on the ice to start her
program.
Beautiful Mess - Evgenia Medvedeva
Evgenia began this number lying on her back on the ice, but soon was
up skating emotionally to "Beautiful Mess", dressed in a black
negligee with a loose unbuttoned white shirt over it. I much preferred
this number to "7 Rings", personally (I may lean towards the more
emotional slow numbers). She is a beautiful skater. This program was
heartfelt and passionate and she really threw herself into it.
On Our Own - Meagan Duhamel & Eric Radford
Continuing the trend of each skater doing their slower number in the
second act, Meagan and Eric came out with a flowing long purple scarf
to skate a lovely, emotional program to "On Our Own". They used that
scarf to add beautiful visual effects in their spins and spirals and
other flowing moves, as well as to create a literal connection between
them on the ice. Meagan always looks so happy and free and at ease
while she's flying through the air.
Simple Man - Elvis Stojko
Elvis brought a much more serious, dramatic program in the second act,
one that involved a bit more storytelling and acting. As far as I
could tell from the costuming, he played something like a police
detective, alone in his office. It seems that every skater in Stars on
Ice will eventually skate with a chair as a partner/prop. Elvis' chair
almost upended on him in Vancouver during a particularly dramatic
emotional slide when it hit a rut, but he recovered quickly and kept
the emotion going. I thought the music really suited him and that he
did an excellent job interpreting it, really feeling the emotion and
drama. As I mentioned before, he usually does one number I don't like
(the first one) and one I do, and I definitely liked this one.
Million Reasons - Kaetlyn Osmond
Kaetlyn brought the pained angst from the opening moments of this
program, doubled over in pain by the tunnel as the spotlight hit her,
and carrying that tormented passion throughout. Her facial expressions
and body language just channeled Lady Gaga's emotional singing. I did
find the song a bit repetitive after a while but her performance never
let up.
Nam Nguyen and Paul Poirier accompanied Patrick Chan onto the ice,
skating in sync and in turn, dressed in the same suit and tie, until
the announcer's voice came on to announce Patrick and the other two
skated off the ice.
Suit & Tie/Rock Your Body - Patrick Chan
Patrick's aforementioned comfort on the ice in front of an audience
really shines in this number. He kind of channeled Justin Timberlake's
smoothness but a la Patrick Chan's sincerity and Jeff Buttle's moves
(Jeff was the choreographer, and parts of the choreography really felt
like him to me). Patrick really inhabits the confidence of the
character and he really moves to the music. It's a good number for
him, and brought the energy of the show to a happier place than the
angst of the previous string of solos. I also think that this is one
of Kurt's favorite numbers in the show, from things that he said to
me.
Groove Me/Land of 1000 Dances - Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew
Poje
Kaitlyn and Andrew did a complete 180 on the mood of the second act
with their super high energy, upbeat, dancing program to "Groove Me"
and "Land of 1000 Dances." Kaitlyn shook her swishy dress to full
effect, and both she and Andrew really played up the audience
interaction in parts, with Kaitlyn sitting in an audience member's
lap, and Andrew drawing up another audience member to dance. It's a
lot of fun, though I found it to not quite blend in with the angsty
numbers of the second act, Patrick's more upbeat but still kind of
laid back "Suit & Tie" or the gorgeous "If You Could Read My Mind"
that followed. The second act probably did need more upbeat notes, but
this was like the most upbeat of upbeat notes amidst otherwise slow,
angsty numbers. It was a bit odd. I wonder why they didn't put a
couple more upbeat numbers in the second act to mix it up a little
more.
If You Could Read My Mind - Kurt Browning
In my opinion, this number was the perfect capper to the show,
absolutely gorgeous and a wonderful solo to end on. It also was
another 180 from the number before it, switching from super high
energy fun to heartache and anguish. The lighting and music and Kurt's
demeanor carried the audience along, though, and I think we were all
willing to follow him. It helps that I love this song, and that I tend
to love Kurt's collaborations with Sandra Bezic. She picked the music
and choreographed this number, and I could really see her influences
in the way it reminded me of "Time in a Bottle" and some of Kurt's
earlier work with her. This program differed from some of those past
programs in that there was a subtle tension in Kurt's body language
and resigned angst and heartbreak in his facial expressions which I
think made the whole program feel more truly emotional than if he'd
gone full out angsty and dramatic, as slower "sad" skating programs
tend to be. It's a fitting interpretation of the song, which is
beautiful with an undercurrent of sadness and resignation running
through it, rather than in your face angst. Kurt has said in
interviews that Sandra thought he was "old enough now to skate to it,"
and it makes sense, since I think his maturity allows him to do
justice to the subtlety of emotion. I think it's one of my favorite
programs Kurt's done in recent memory.
Finale - With a Little Help From My Friends
The closing number was to "With a Little Help from my Friends" by Joe
Cocker, and it's a nice way to end the night. It starts off simply,
both musically and choreographically, easing us from the emotion of
Kurt's number to the lovely sentiment of the finale. It helps that
this group of skaters seem to genuinely be friends and to enjoy
skating together and supporting each other. The different combinations
of skaters were cute - Piper skating around Paul, Patrick, and Elvis
as they smile fondly at her (and eventually skate with her and lift
her); Nam, Kaetlyn, and Evgenia holding hands and supporting each
other; a pinwheel of skaters looking like they're having a lot of fun,
before breaking off into the next grouping; Nam, Evgenia and Kaetlyn
rejoining to duck under Eric and Andrew holding Patrick up. The flow
of skaters from small groups into larger ones, and then breaking down,
for instance, into each lady being lifted in turn by Eric and Andrew,
before rejoining the larger group to skate together worked with the
"with a little help from my friends theme" in a fun way. The very
biggest cheer went to Kurt coming out and landing his backflip. It was
actually quite astonishing, the roar that went up for that backflip in
every city, like the audience had never seen one before. It's also
quite an entrance, since that was Kurt's entry into the finale. The
finale had a few "endings" where the skaters came together for a bow,
but then broke apart to shake hands with the audience, and then came
back together for another bow, and then broke apart to do a crazy
series of individual tricks on the ice, and then shook hands with even
more people in the on ice seats. In Vancouver, Kurt even ran behind
the on ice seats to shake hands with some people in the first
row. Finally, though, the show had to come to a close, and the skaters
left the ice.
Shortly after the skaters left the ice, as people were filing out of
the arena, the video screens came back on one last time for Kurt in
clown costume to ask "What are you all still doing here? The show's
over! Go home! See you next year!" In Hamilton, though, this video
didn't play yet, since that's the show taped for television, and they
didn't want the audience leaving yet since it was time for
retakes.
Retakes in Hamilton were pretty fun, with Kurt of course coming out
with the mic ("Check..check...if I still have any breath. That's what
we should be checking!"). He was a bit random, though he did make sure
to thank the crew and get the crowd to thank them (before saying "not
that they deserve it"), to call out Sandra Bezic for picking his music
and Gordon Lightfoot for actually being in the audience and doing a
shout out to Kurt in a concert a few weeks ago. He also left the
audience with the image of the skaters naked backstage, particularly
Elvis Stojko, scrambling to change into their costumes for
retakes. Someone offered him popcorn so he decided to share with the
whole audience how difficult it is to skate while chewing popcorn and
how the popcorn doesn't go down his throat or where you would expect,
but somehow goes up his nose and then he's thinking about how
uncomfortable it is and how does popcorn get up there and "Elvis, I'm
talking about my nose now, you need to come out". Kaetlyn ended up
coming out first while Kurt was greeting some long time fans in the
audience with a big Kurt blanket ("with pictures of a much younger
man") but then said she wasn't allowed to go first, Elvis had to go
first ("age before beauty" Kurt: "I'm not touching that"). Elvis did
his retakes spot on, with a little fun interaction with the
audience. Then Kaetlyn came out but for some reason they played the
music and intro videos with the popcorn and girls before they played
her music, so she kind of improvised comedically to the music, but
also had this "what the hell?" kind of playfully exasperated look on
her face. Finally Kurt came out to re-do his double axel, had to cut
the music the first time before his attempt, and then went back to do
it again. He almost made a second comedic piece out of it, in his
different ways of responding to the voiceover, since he didn't need to
do all the stuff she was telling him to do. And in typical Kurt
fashion, after he landed the jump and finished the choreography he
needed to do, he scooted off the ice in a silly pose, before sticking
his head back out of the curtains to tell us all to drive safely, good
night.
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