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Canadian Stars on Ice Review - Toronto & Hamilton, ON - Apr. 29 & 30, 2011
written by Tina
Every year, it's been interesting to see how the Stars on Ice tour
changes between the US leg and the Canadian leg. Some years, it's
drastically different - skaters, programs, even group numbers. Other
years, it's almost identical. Given that this year was the 25th
anniversary tour in the US, but the 21st Canadian tour, I was curious
to see how they handled the transition. As it turned out, with the
postponement of Worlds necessitating more of the US cast to skate in
Canada, the transition mostly consisted of minimizing Scott Hamilton's
video participation, slightly altering the videos, and changing
references from the 25th anniversary to "celebrating over two decades
of Stars on Ice". With Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir not joining the tour
until the second half, and Cynthia Phaneuf not joining the tour at
all, the only cast changes in the Ontario shows were Jeff Buttle and
Shawn Sawyer taking the place of Michael Weiss and Todd Eldredge, and
Kyoko Ina more or less taking Katia Gordeeva's slot.
On a side note, it always amuses me how they talk about "over two
decades of Sears Stars on Ice presented by Samsung" or the "25th
anniversary of Smuckers Stars on Ice" as if those sponsors have been
with the tour the whole time. I still remember when it was Chrysler
Stars on Ice (thus making the CSOI acronym doubly appropriate) and
Discover or Target Stars on Ice. Still, Sears, Samsung and Smuckers do
deserve a lot of credit for sticking with the tour and making it
possible for it to keep going even as audiences dwindle. And Lindt
deserves a lot of credit for sponsoring the Canadian tour and giving
out delicious chocolate at the reception ;).
Speaking of audiences, Canadian arenas are almost invariably more
full, and the audiences more enthusiastic than American arenas, but
even the Canadian crowds seemed diminished in size this year. The end
section in Toronto and the entire audience in Hamilton more than made
up for their diminished numbers in volume, though. The Hamilton
audience in particular were enthusiastically supportive all night,
cheering, whistling, laughing, giving standing ovations, and yelling
"we love you so-and-so!" throughout the night. It was a fun atmosphere
to be in. Oddly, though, the lighting was way lower in Hamilton than
in Toronto, and hopefully won't cause issues for the TV broadcast, as
Hamilton was taped for broadcast.
Speaking of the taped show in Hamilton, before the show started, one
of the stage directors or someone stood by the tunnel to speak to the
crowd and get a series of audience reactions for the TV
cameras. Polite clapping, enthusiastic clapping, clapping like you
just saw the best thing you have ever seen, standing ovations.... The
whole time, though, Kurt was goofing around in the tunnel. You'd see
his hand peek out and look around, like a snake, before quickly
withdrawing back into the curtains. Then you'd see the curtains part a
bit while he peered out, and then quickly snatched them shut again.
He made impatient faces and gestures to hurry the guy along, and then
when the guy was trying to get audience reactions would make the
appropriate "raise the volume" and "decrease the volume" gestures with
the hand sticking out of the curtains. When the guy wanted the super
enthusiastic cheering, Kurt stuck one leg out like he was showing off
some leg. Then he came out and acted like the cheering was all for
him, with a pleased look on his face. He was just hilarious to watch,
and made it much easier to give the guy the false reactions he was
looking for.
Onto the show itself. I can never remember which video intro goes
where, so just assume that somewhere in there was a tribute to the
ladies, a "boys are back in town" tribute to the men, a "I'm sticking
with you..'cause I'm made out of glue" tribute to the pairs, a
"Magical Mystery Tour" tribute to the group numbers, and probably a
general past tour tribute video. In fact, the show opened with a
general history of the tour video (rather than the "boy and his dream"
video about Scott Hamilton's founding of the tour) that closed with an
image of Kurt standing and bowing after "That's Entertainment".
ACT I
Opening - I Like It (Enrique Iglesias) - Cast
The first act opened with "I Like It" by Enrique Iglesias. While I
have a particular bias towards watching Kurt Browning during group
numbers, I found that my eye was repeatedly drawn to Ben Agosto, and
to a lesser extent, Tanith Belbin. They both just exude so much
enthusiasm and personality, and seem to have so much fun being there,
it's just a joy to watch. I also enjoy Kurt's solo bit - it's very
very reminiscent of Katia's solo bit in the "Stairway to Heaven"
finale in 1998 - he does footwork down the ice while the skaters skate
in a line following him, and the footwork is incredibly fast and
fleeting. While the choreography didn't seem particularly complex,
and if you listen carefully, the lyrics are a bit sketchy for a
"family show" ("my girlfriend's out of town and I'm all alone...your
boyfriend's on vacation and he doesn't have to know"), it's still an
irritatingly catchy song and a fun way to open the show.
While in the US show, Kurt took the microphone to engage in banter
with Scott Hamilton about the show about the show's history (and kill
time while Michael Weiss got changed), in Canada he took the mike
instead to introduce Shawn Sawyer. In Toronto, I was a bit amused - he
opened by referencing Patrick Chan's victory in Worlds (which had just
happened that morning, I believe) and the women next to me somehow got
it in their head that Patrick was there in Toronto, about to
perform. How he managed to get from Moscow to Toronto the very same
day he won didn't seem to cross their minds. In Hamilton, he skipped
the Patrick part (talked about it before retakes instead) and went
straight to the Shawn intro. In essence, he said that Shawn had the
skate of his life at Canadians, and then faced a difficult decision
when Worlds was postponed, and that he was grateful that Shawn had
made the decision to pursue his true calling as a showman, and
welcomed him to the pro ranks.
Hold it against Me (Sam Tsui) - Shawn Sawyer
I wish I had looked at the runlist before I watched this program so I
knew that Shawn was skating to Sam Tsui. I've seen Sam sing on YouTube
and he's quite a talent. Which is quite suitable since Shawn is no
slouch of a talent himself. He threw himself fully into the drama and
angst of his first program, interpreting the emotion through the
stretch of his body and his quite incredible flexibility.
Nobody Knows (Pink) - Sasha Cohen
When Sasha came out to do the little mini
skating-around-each-other-transition with Shawn into her own program,
I was very amused because I sometimes think of Shawn as the male
Sasha. Not in their choice of music or choreographic styles, but in
their extreme bendiness. Sasha is just a beautiful skater - her
posture, her positions, her line. "Nobody Knows" allows her to use her
often inward reserved skating to good effect. It's like she's inwardly
focused because she's so emotional and angsty, and the audience is
allowed to glimpse that inner angst, rather than her throwing the
drama out towards the audience, which is a bit more of Shawn Sawyer's
style. Two very bendy skaters, but with very different interpretative
styles.
Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (Daft Punk) - Jeffrey
Buttle
Jeff Buttle's first program was quite a shot in the arm after the
dramatic first two programs. He used the video screens to full effect
for the opening, projecting a photo-negative robotic-looking image of
his face to accompany the robotic voice of the opening, with the
lights flickering in accorance with the music. When the lights finally
came up, he stood grinning into the audience in a semi-futuristic
getup and sunglasses. If Sasha was all about inward emotion, Jeff was
fully projecting and engaging with the audience. Hopefully he wasn't
trying to be an emotionless robot, because his engaging grin just kept
shining out. He contorted his body rhythmically with the music, and
just brought a whole energetic vibe to the building.
Use Somebody (Kings of Leon) - Tanith Belbin & Ben Agosto
I wasn't all that familiar with Tanith & Ben before this season. I'd
seen them skate a few times on TV and live, and liked them, but just
hadn't paid that much attention. After this year's tour, I'm
definitely a fan. Their two programs were my favorites after Kurt's,
and as I already mentioned, their personalities in the group numbers
were just so much fun. I hope they continue to tour with Stars on Ice
for years. As for "Use Somebody", I just love this program. The music,
the costumes, the choreography, the cute interplay and expressive
interpretation... it all just comes together so well. "Bambi" (the
purple scarf) may cause them a lot of frustration on some nights, but
it ties the program together nicely, just adding to the feeling that
the program never stops flowing from one move to the next. I liked
that this program wasn't all angst and drama, but instead had a much
lighter, more wistful but playful feeling to it.
On Golden Pond (Dave Grusin) - Jeffrey Buttle, Kyoko Ina, Evan
Lysacek, Jamie Sale, David Pelletier
I have seen the show five times now, as of the Hamilton show, and
should know what to expect, and yet every time they announced Evan
Lysacek and he appeared standing in the middle of the ice, I've
reacted in surprise that his solo is so early in the show. Of course,
it's not his solo - he is simply opening the group number - and his
grey costume should have clued me in that it wasn't his solo. But for
some reason, the intro just makes it feel like it is, and I know I'm
not the only one who has been misled. In fact, one of my friends asked
why Evan got three solos the next day, because this intro so sticks in
your head that way, and I had to remind her that the third number was
in fact a group number.
Odd intro and wrong assumptions aside, "On Golden Pond" is just a
beautiful number of pure skating. It's the type of number where you
really get the sense of the skaters gliding whisper-soft over the ice,
and you can hear that pure sound of blades carving the ice. It also
builds nicely, with Evan starting alone, and then Jamie and Kyoko
appearing out of the darkness to glide past him, and then David and
Jeff eventually also emerging out of the shadows to join. It also
gives Kyoko a nice little spotlight moment where she first skates
alone, and then is lifted by David.
Steppin' Out of My Mind (Geoffrey Tyler) - Kurt Browning
Kurt developed this program with his friend Geoffrey Tyler, who helped
him in every step of the creation - from the music to the choreography
to singing the song - so it was particularly special in Toronto when
Geoffrey performed the song live while Kurt skated. He sounded
fantastic - matching the recording incredibly well while adding that
extra little sparkle of live performance, especially when it came to
belting the closing lines of the song. Unfortunately, Kurt's legs
weren't quite under him in Toronto, so he had some little missteps
which obviously frustrated him. However, bolstered by his friend's
energy and performance, he still brought the audience a charismatic,
fun performance, and his footwork, even when his legs weren't fully
with him, was still miles better than most. Fortunately for him
(though not for those who love retakes), he got his mojo back in
Hamilton, nailing his jumps and nimbly dancing his way through the
footwork. The crowd probably helped, enthusiastically laughing and
reacting to the voiceover, and giving him a huge standing ovation at
the end. It made his "I love...bowing? I love bowing!" voiceover at
the end that much more appropriate and special, and he was clearly
touched and a bit taken aback by the huge reaction he got.
True Colors (Cyndi Lauper) - Joannie Rochette
I quite enjoy Joannie's "True Colors" number. Cyndi Lauper's fairly
unique voice and the 80s history makes it not feel like a generic
female ballad, and Joannie's choreography explores the nuances of the
music. Instead of just holding a move and gliding through a run of
notes, or maybe just spinning, she utilizes a series of movements -
hand movements, head bending, small turns, and body movements - to
interpret bits like "when this world makes you crazy and you've taken
all you can bear". And aside from one mistake in Hamilton, which she
quickly rectified on her second try in retakes, she lands some lovely
jumps in the middle of all that choreography.
Wild Horses (The Rolling Stones) - Jamie Sale & David Pelletier
Jamie and David have gotten new costumes since performing this program
in the US. Instead of the pinkish costumes, they have dark blue and
black costumes that have a Western influence in the styling, which are
quite striking. Jamie is probably one of the most engaging female
performers I've seen on the ice, directly engaging the audience and
drawing them onto the ice with her. What strikes me, though, is that
she doesn't just do it the same way each time - it's always in keeping
with the feeling of the program. "Wild Horses" is a much more subtle
and quiet program than their Prince number, and Jamie is accordingly
more subdued yet still engaging. And David doesn't exactly fade into
the background when he performs either. There's a quality to this
program I can't quite put my finger on that I quite like, in its
musicality and nuances. Because it's a quieter program, it doesn't
quite reach out and grab you the same way their more energetic numbers
do, but I feel like it has a deeper impact.
El Tango de Roxanne (Jose Feliciano) - Evan Lysacek
I can't quite remember - I think it must be before this number that
Jeff Buttle came out to introduce Evan, saying he was very proud to
introduce the new Olympic champion, who had his victory in
Canada. Given that Jeff and Evan were very recently competitors, I
couldn't help but feel a bit odd about this, but Jeff was certainly
enthusiastic enough. It would be interesting sometime to see Evan do
a non-intense dramatic program. There's just so much intensity and
seriousness about him in general when he's on the ice, that it's a
little hard picturing him just being loose and goofy. But I have to
say that the drama really works for him, especially in this
number. There's a crispness to his movements and over-dramatic stretch
to his body that really emphasizes both the tango aspect of the song
AND the super over-dramatic scene from Moulin Rouge the song comes
from. Both Evan and Ewan (McGregor) are obviously tormented, and it
works if you just go with the drama. I think it was in this program
in Hamilton that Evan took an unexpected fall on a jump (which he made
up with a beautiful 3-3 in retakes). Kurt said later in retakes that
it was the first misstep Evan made in 30 cities on tour.
Knock, Knock (Various Artists) - Cast
Given that this tour was recast as a "celebration of over two decades
of Stars on Ice", I guess the creative team felt that Kurt taking the
mike to talk about how special group numbers are worked with the new
theme as well as it did for the 25th anniversary show. It also works
as a transition into "Knock, Knock" since it starts out simply, with
Kurt talking about how the group numbers let you really see the
skaters' real personalities and friendships, and how a good group
number needs a big prop - a piano in this case - and if he's in it, a
hat. With that intro, Kurt plopped himself down in front of the piano
and started to "play" it. In the early US shows, it wasn't completely
obvious if Kurt was really playing or not, since he was making some
effort to match the sounds. By the time Canada rolled around, it was
pretty clear Kurt decided to completely play up the fact that he
wasn't really playing, deliberately lifting up his hands while the
music was still going on, or exaggerating the playing motion while
nowhere near the keyboard, to great comedic effect. This especially
was funny in Hamilton, where the music started earlier than expected
in a few places, prompting him to rush to get his hands in place and
giving a shrugging self-deprecating reaction that cracked the audience
up. His facial expressions were also priceless. At points in this
intro in Hamilton, I thought I heard the TV cameraman near me laughing
loudly at Kurt's antics, though it's possible it was a loud audience
member in the stands behind him. Either way, the audience were clearly
eating it all up.
When the first knock came at the door, it was Ben Agosto who first
appeared, and his and Kurt's byplay was far funnier and more animated
than it had been with Todd Eldredge. For one thing, Ben very goofily
talked in accents - a different accent each night - which made Kurt
play off of him more. Ben is definitely a guy where it's very easy to
imagine him both dramatic and goofy, since he does both in the course
of the night. It's odd - both nights they made the "caught in traffic
- there's a lot of traffic backstage??" joke, both nights it fell a
bit flat, and both nights Kurt commented on it. You'd think they'd
either drop the joke, realize that people weren't reacting b/c they're
actually not sufficiently miked when they're by the door, or figure
out a way to fix it. But people do often laugh at Kurt's rueful
reaction to the lack of reaction, which might be why they kept it
in. They definitely do laugh at his "everyone's coincidentally wearing
the same color scheme" joke every time though.
"Knock, Knock" is just a really fun group number overall. The skaters
seem to have a lot of fun skating with different partners - I saw
pairings like Shawn and Jamie, David and Kyoko, Jeff and Joannie, etc,
though Kurt was almost always alone and doing something goofy as a
result. It incorporates aspects of the now-traditional all guys'
group number in the beginning, including David throwing Shawn into a
jump, Ben and Jeff doing a kind of hydroblading move, David and Ben
(?) throwing Shawn backwards into a flip, guys' leapfrogging over each
other, etc. It also gives Tanith a very Shae-Lynn Bourne role as the
sexpot whose slinky movements draw the guys like panting flies to
honey, and whose every hip bump sends them simultaneously tumbling to
the ground (to the crowd's great amusement). For some reason, it kind
of bugs me that the only real idea for ladies' group segments in Stars
on Ice seems to be the girls being all "we are women!!" while striking
cutesy or sexy poses, while the guys seem to be allowed to show more
diverse personalities. Still, it's hard to repress Jamie or Tanith,
and both brought more pronounced personas. Tanith and Ben had a cute
bit where they danced together at center ice looking all smitten, and
Jamie and Shawn did some cutely flirtatious stuff right in front of me
in Hamilton. At times, the whole thing seemed to just devolve into a
big party, with everyone doing something different all over the ice,
which just made it that much more fun. It wasn't the finely honed
script of a "Fun & Games", or even the somewhat less finely honed
script of a "Tunnel Vision", but there was a lot of personality and
joy in the number.
Before intermission began, a video was shown about making a difference
with WorldVision, and then Jeff Buttle came out to make a plea to help
out by donating to WorldVision and sponsoring a child. In Toronto, he
got a bit tripped up and flustered about it, so his plea came out a
bit jumbled. In Hamilton, it was a lot smoother, but my friends and I
were immensely amused because both nights, he said "for every child
you take home tonight..." I'm guessing most Stars on Ice audience
members had no idea that they'd go to the show and come home with a
kid.
I wasn't really looking - was finding friends the first night and
furiously deleting photos the second to make room on my card - but I
don't think they had trivia questions on the screens during
intermission in Canada.
ACT II
Who's There - Cast
"Who's There", as the name implies, is the second half of the "Knock,
Knock" number from the first half. The first act closed with a strong
knock at the door and the skaters all yelling "Who's there??". The
second act opens with the skaters resuming their poses, and Evan
Lysacek coming in the door all cool in his leather jacket (very
reminiscent of similar entrances with Ilia Kulik in past group
numbers). I know I said before that it's hard to picture Evan being
loose and goofy, and you'd think this number would be the chance to
see it, but not quite... Evan looks like he's having fun and tries to
dance all funky, but he doesn't quite shake that extra layer of
intensity he always seems to have, and his movements still sometimes
seem a bit too precise. Still, this is a fun way to bring him into the
group number, and let the skaters cut loose with each other for a bit
longer before getting into the second act.
Love the Way You Like (Rihanna) - Kyoko Ina
When I first heard that Kyoko Ina was going to be the solo female
replacement for Katia Gordeeva in the cast, I was concerned that as a
pairs skater, she was only going to be in group numbers, thus
shortening the show and not giving her the opportunity to shine on her
own. I was therefore gratified to find that she had a solo in the
show. It was interesting to see Kyoko skate alone when I'm so used to
seeing her skate with a partner. You'd think she'd look smaller when
contrasted with the tall John Zimmerman, but I couldn't shake the
feeling that she just looked so tiny out there on the ice by herself.
She did a nice job, with a quiet interpretation of Rihanna's song, and
some choreography that kind of reminded me of the choreography she did
with John in past numbers. She's got a beautiful tidy spiral and some
lovely positions, and even went for a few clean jumps. I feel like she
needs a bit more practice at skating alone to learn how to project her
presence a bit more, but it was cool having the chance to see her do
something different.
Party in the Park (Rachel Portman) - Kurt Browning, Sasha Cohen,
David Pelletier
When I heard that David Pelletier was Todd Eldredge's replacement in
this hobos-with-balloons-and-a-kite number, I immediately thought it
was a natural fit. In 2006 at Gotta Skate, David and Kurt did a really
cute number to "Lonesome Road" together with very similar goofy
battling personas that was really funny to watch. As expected, David
did a nice job with the number. Unexpectedly, Todd Eldredge was
actually a lot more facially expressive than David, but David's almost
matter-of-fact mockery of Kurt's character and innocently fascinated
attempts to capture Sasha's balloons gave a differently effective feel
to his part of the program. He also either had a different kite, or
different kite technique than Todd - his kite was almost always
straight up, and he seemed to actually have to work to get it to swoop
down when he needed it to, while Todd had a lot more horizontal
movement and swoops going on. As for Kurt and Sasha, they've
perfected their takes on their characters, getting the timing and
expressions down well in their interplay. The number ends very
differently - and hysterically. Kurt and David both vie for Sasha's
attention, turning her this way and that until she gets completely
flustered and irritated, and steps away just as both bend over to kiss
her with their eyes closed, resulting in them "inadvertently" making
lip contact, promptly wiping frantically at their mouths like kids who
ate something nasty with hilariously disgusted facial expressions.
Working For the Weekend (Loverboy) - Shawn Sawyer
Shawn Sawyer seems to have an affinity for characters, taking his
clothes off, and exaggerated facial expressions, all of which he uses
fully in his second number. The number opens with Shawn coming out all
buttoned up in suit and tie and carrying a briefcase. He sets the
briefcase down upright and sits on it, beginning to mime typing. He
types increasingly frantically, his facial expressions get
increasingly frustrated, he starts hitting what appears to be a
typewriter (I guess typewriters make for better miming than
computers), checking his watch, "crumpling paper" and throwing it away
in frustration, before he finally breaks away from his "desk". As the
number progresses, he shakes off his job shackles, tossing aside the
briefcase (after flailing it around wildly and spinning with it
propped on his leg) and tearing off his suit jacket to reveal a bright
green ruffled shirt underneath and heavily tattooed arms. Given the
title of the song, it's probably pretty clear what the theme of the
program is. In the end, he goes to sit on his briefcase again and
resume working, before giving up entirely and giving the briefcase a
good boot, knocking it over. In Hamilton, he had to do a retake of
the whole beginning part of the program for the sole reason that the
bright green shirt apparently was visible, and is supposed to be
hidden until he tears his jacket off.
Show Me How You Burlesque (Christina Aguilera) - Joannie
Rochette
When I first saw this program, I don't think I was particularly
impressed by it - I think it's neat that Joannie has become
comfortable enough as a performer to do the sassy flirtatious thing,
but it didn't really speak to me. But I feel like she's grown quite
comfortable with this program and isn't just going through the sassy
motions - she's got a definite bit of spark and attitude in her eyes
these days when she does the number, and she wields that cane with
confidence and conviction. And for some reason, the part where the
music goes "a little bit of what what" and Joannie does the
corresponding hand movements cracks me up. It's so cute.
Enigma (Edward Elgar) - Jeffrey Buttle
Jeff Buttle's second number was particularly notable in that I think
it was basically the only solo program to slow classical music in the
whole show. It provided quite a contrast to the numbers that preceded
and followed it, both of which were theatrical programs. A lovely
contrast, full of flowing edges and passionate skating, beautiful
spread eagles, and heartfelt choreography. Most skaters skate two
contrasting styles in the show, but I think Jeff may have achieved the
biggest contrast of the night, with his techno-futuristic first number
and flowing classical second number.
Mein Herr (Liza Minelli) - Sasha Cohen
I wonder what the tour will do to transition into Sasha's number
without Ben to do his exaggerated German-accented introduction. For
Toronto and Hamilton, though, he and Tanith were there and in fine
form, dancing about to introduce Sasha. I believe Sasha choreographed
this program, and you can sort of feel her connection to it. She's got
that extra little bit of attitude, that extra level of archness, that
comfort level with the persona and program. It's a fun match of skater
and music, and she does a great job with it.
The Climb (David Hernandez) - Evan Lysacek
When I first saw this program, I was kind of rolling my eyes because
it felt kind of like a generic "I had my triumph this year, this is my
triumphant program". I've warmed to it as I've watched it,
though. Evan seems to really feel a connection to the music, and he
brings it out in his impassioned performance. Not as impassioned as
"Roxanne", of course, or at least not as dramatic. But I like some of
his choreographic touches. In particular, he makes great use of the
quick deep spread eagle, and using his long limbs to good effect. And
of course, his jumps are huge and stunning, and a great addition to
the show.
Flamenco (Vicente Amigo/Rodrigo y Gabriela) - Tanith Belbin & Ben
Agosto
I kind of adore Belbin & Agosto's vampire flamenco number, to a kind
of unreasonable degree. I tend to be a little cynical about
over-dramatic numbers, but there is someting about Tanith and Ben's
utter commitment to their characters in this program, and the way they
evoke the storyline running through it that I find mesmerizing and
kind of awesome. I love the way the program develops, with Ben's
vampire kind of mesmerizing and drawing Tanith's character against her
will, the way the choreography shows how he's controlling her and her
torment, and then the way the tables turn from the moment he bites
her. Her whole demeanor changes, the body language and choreography
changes, it becomes much more equal in terms of who is the stalker and
who is the stalkee - they circle each other challengingly, and
finally, she is the one who dominates over him at the end. And through
this, they maintain the flamenco theme while remaining fully in
character. Plus, I kind of love the music.
Downstream (Supertramp) - Kurt Browning
Downstream is perhaps not the opposite of B&A's flamenco number, but
it's pretty far down the spectrum away from the drama and
theatricality of that program. It is instead a quiet, reflective
program, one of Kurt's most introspective numbers to date. This is the
one place where Scott Hamilton's pre-recorded video from the US tour
was kept, in his heartfelt intro to Kurt, where he says no skater was
more special than Kurt, who came to them full of enthusiasm and a
million ideas, and had to channel them to shape him into the
exceptional skater he is today, a true genius, and Scott's son's
favorite skater. I would have to concur with Scott and his son. I
think Downstream is an absolutely gorgeous number, with all sorts of
little subtle choreographic touches that unexpectedly grab me and just
add to the overall beauty of the program. Little things, like Kurt's
foot turning quickly from inwards to outwards as he goes into an Ina
Bauer, while the rest of his body stays completely still and
gliding. The edge pushes and changing flow to the Ina Bauer in one
sequence of the music. The way the choreography goes into bursts of
energetic movement that suddenly fall away into stillness. I love it
when Kurt lends his body and blades to different artists - dancers,
skating choreographers - to use as a canvas. It results in a style
that is not "typical" Kurt while being at the same time wholly Kurt in
the versatility and connection to the music and ice. Just a beautiful,
beautiful program.
Let's Go Crazy (Prince) - Jamie Sale & David Pelletier
In the US, Jamie and David skated to "Scream", the super cool, very
angry Michael/Janet Jackson number they did in CSOI last year. In
Canada, they had a new program - far less intense, and definitely far
less angry than "Scream", but much higher energy and more dynamic than
"Wild Horses". In many ways, it was a "typical" Jamie and David
program - lots of dance moves, high energy, crazy tricks, Jamie's high
intensity connection to the audience. But in no way is "typical" a bad
thing here. I feel sometime like Jamie and David really exemplify how
good pairs skating can be - they are so completely synchronized while
at the same time not feeling like they're paying any attention to
trying to stay perfectly on beat or match perfectly. Instead, they
both seem to be totally committed to the dance moves and performance,
and the result is perfect synchronicity. Last year, there seemed to be
a bit of a disconnect (understandable), but this year, they seem to be
having fun with each other and the audience.
Finale - The Best (Tina Turner & Jimmy Barnes) - Cast
Instead of Scott Hamilton thanking the audiences from a video, the
Canadian show had Kurt on ice with a mike, offering a sincere thank
you to the audiences for supporting the skaters and tour for so many
years, and then standing calmly while the opening started, until Kyoko
came out to replace him. Kyoko's definitely taken Katia's place in the
show - in the finale, she's the one who steps out to start the
program, and then is spun around by Ben. In Toronto, there was a
rather funny moment when Jeff suddenly tripped and fell and rolled
back onto his feet while skating down the ice with Kurt and other
skaters - he and Kurt were laughing quite hard as they moved away down
the ice. This finale is quite a traditional Stars on Ice finale - the
different skaters stepping out to each take their turns on the ice,
the pairs and dance teams executing the same moves side by side, or
each doing their own types of moves together. Sets of skaters moving
down the ice to execute simultaneous jumps or butterflies or
spins. The skaters moving down the ice simultaneously or in
alternating groups as they turn and point and glide together. The
ending is a bit fun, though, since there are a series of bows and
moments of audience interaction. Bow, then dance around, then everyone
gathers into a final pose to point, and then more bowing in different
directions. Coming around to shake hands and then later coming around
to circle around slapping hands... it provides for a fun experience
for the on-ice people, since they get to briefly interact with several
skaters, and the skaters themselves seem to have a lot of fun.
In Hamilton, of course, after the finale ended, Kurt took the mike to
make sure the audience stayed for retakes. Rather amusingly, Jamie was
still on the ice doing a final round of hand slaps for the audience,
and came right over to him, giving him a big hug. She then initiated a
bunch of cute flirtatious stuff, rubbing noses with him and hanging
off his neck while laughing. He was laughing and playing along, while
at the same time looking slightly confused, and then she suddenly
planted a big kiss on him. Afterwards he was laughing and pretending
to be all dazed, staggering around going "Kate and William who?", and
then kind of wiped his lips and was like (disbelievingly) "that was
the real thing!" I don't think Kurt's quite used to being upstaged
like that ;). Otherwise, he was his usual fun, entertaining self,
taking the moment to revel over Patrick Chan's Worlds win, and to
explain to the audience what was going on with retakes. His
explanation of why Evan needed a retake was hilariously delivered (and
will be hard to convey in typing). He marveled that it was Evan's
first misstep in 30 shows, and explained that in practice in Toronto
the previous day, he didn't know what happened, but it seemed the ice
gremlins reached up, grabbed Evan, and threw him to the ice (making
sucking up and then slamming noises). He took a hard fall and went
careening towards the boards, running into and over some of the
lights, and bruising his butt badly. So now, Kurt says, poor Evan's
butt is all sore, "right here" (rubbing his own butt), and "there's
even a mark". Which meant he couldn't quite get over his edge for the
jump and missed it. Of course, when Evan came out, he nailed a 3-3
combo straightaway, and quickly made up for his earlier mistake. As
Kurt skated off the ice for Evan to do the retake, he thanked the
audience for being so patient, saying how weird it would look on TV if
one of them were going into a jump, the audience was there...suddenly
the audience disappeared, and then the skater landed the jump and
whoosh, the audience was back.
When Evan finished, it was Ben who came out to do the rest of the
transitions. If I recall correctly, he pulled out yet another accent
(he seems to love doing accents), and again thanked the audience for
our patience. He explained that Shawn had to do a retake because some
green was showing and (Kermit voice) we can't have the Kermit. Quite
amusingly, when Shawn came out, all properly buttoned up with the
green shirt all hidden away, he went to sit on the briefcase and start
the program, and almost immediately the briefcase fell over. Shawn's
reaction was quite hilarious. He clearly doesn't actually put much
weight on the briefcase because he squatted there for a moment, sans
seat, stopped his typing motions, and hung his head in chagrin.
Luckily, his second attempt at redoing the beginning of the program
went off without a hitch.
Joannie had the last retake, for a missed jump in "Show Me How You
Burlesque". She spent some time clearly mentally working her way
through the program before it was like a light switch turned on, and
she suddenly was fully into the choreography and sassiness, working
her way around to the jump. Unfortunately, she doubled her first try
and immediately came to a halt, looking disappointed. The crowd
quickly yelled their support and encouragement, and Joannie nailed the
jump on her second try with a look of determination on her face. Very
cutely, as she wound down the program, she clearly forgot for a moment
it was a retake and started to bow to the crowd like normal, before
suddenly going "what am I doing??" with an embarrassed start, and
waving sheepishly. Ben came out before she could leave the ice, and
put his arm around her shoulder as he thanked the crowd and wished us
a good night. They both then waved to the crowd and skated off the
ice, and that was a wrap.
Overall, despite the fact that the show didn't change much between the
US and Canada, it was fun to see it again, and see how things have
developed as the skaters have become more comfortable with their
numbers, as well as seeing the different little things. Jeff and
Shawn were great additions to the cast, and it was neat seeing Kyoko
try her hand at solo skating. I look forward to seeing the show again
when it airs on CBC in December.
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