US Stars on Ice tour (Feb. 18-April 9, 2011): articles, reports, photos, etc.

[Teenes]

Nope not a blonde... I forgot Kurt "dances" with more than one person in that number. I was in the section Joannie prematurely went to, actually. Closer to the piano. It was really funny because she was so sweet and thanking everyone and completely oblivious to her fellow skaters looking for her and then pointing and laughing when they found her. In fact it might have been me laughing and repeatedly looking past her at the other skaters that clued her in. Poor Joannie! Good laugh though...

[RD]

Many thanks to all the reviewers so far!

Is anyone planning to attend the fundraiser before the DC show tomorrow?
http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/showthread.php?t=77583
Would be interested in hearing a report.

Sylvia, I plan on attending. Hopefully the M&G is finished before things get underway.

[midori]

And...not to give away my secret identity, but if anyone got pictures of the ball of hair sitting on-ice that Kurt pulled up and mauled right before Tanith came out in "Knock, Knock!" please let me know?

And...in Portland in the same part of the program, if anyone got pictures of Kurt, a banner, and a woman whom Kurt summoned to the rink side and got almost fainted, please let me know?

I went to the shows in Seattle and Portland last week, and I am trying to write something about them, but I still feel just overwhelmed. I really enjoyed them.

[skamper23]

Nope not a blonde... I forgot Kurt "dances" with more than one person in that number. I was in the section Joannie prematurely went to, actually. Closer to the piano. It was really funny because she was so sweet and thanking everyone and completely oblivious to her fellow skaters looking for her and then pointing and laughing when they found her. In fact it might have been me laughing and repeatedly looking past her at the other skaters that clued her in. Poor Joannie! Good laugh though...

Yes poor Joannie! it was a cute moment though!! I love when things like that happen! I did see Kurt dance with someone who had very long blonde hair and when you said "ball of hair" I thought maybe that was you, although somehow I didn't think you were blonde! I was on the opposite side as you just off center ice in row 3, Very near where Todd fell in his That's Life program!

Was there another skater in the audience besides Tuffy, because when the spot light guy was looking for her some people were pointing and saying.."She's right there" and Scott said that's not the one I'm looking for, but I couldn't see who it was from where i was.

[paskatefan]

Thanks for the additional reviews. Loved hearing about the Boston show. Sorry to hear about all the traffic hassles.

[Teenes]

I couldn't see that clearly either b/c it was too far away but it didn't look like a skater. Then again, I couldn't really tell it was Tuffy until he said so, and then I recognized her. I'm pretty sure they don't just skip over past SOI skaters - seems like they've acknowledged multiple ones at past shows...

midori - did Kurt pull you up at that same part of the "Young Blood" number?

[joemauerlover]

Does anyone know about how long the act 1 finale and beginning of act 2 parts are. I am trying to plan out how many memory cards I need to take with me, since I focus more on doing videos, than pictures.

Thanks!

[skamper23]

Act 1 finale is longer than the Act 2 opening......Act 2 opening is only two songs long as I recall, but Act 1 finale has a few more...maybe even 4 or 5 songs....I"m not sure on exact minutes though...Hope that helps.

Teenes, I thought maybe there was a skater there that had not been in SOI, like maybe JZ's wife Silvia or since we were in Boston, I thought maybe Nancy Kerrigan might be there, just guessing...when I was at Riverdance on Ice n Lowell, MA Nancy K. and Michelle Kwan hosted and talked about how they both lived close by...I just thought there would be more "skater sightings" in the crowd, but I didn't see any..LOL

[Wyliefan]

Back from the D.C. show! My friend and I had a blast. There wasn't a number I didn't enjoy this year. And it was lovely to have old-timers like Katia and Kurt back. Kurt especially was terrific; I loved that "Steppin' Out" number where he commented through the whole thing. Our seats were fantastic -- second row from the ice -- and I got some good pictures.

And Sasha's new 'do looks much better than it did in yesterday's photo. The pouf or wave or whatever it was is gone, and it's all curly. No more soccer mom look. I still prefer it longer, but it's cute. On the other hand -- and I can hardly believe I'm saying this, because I've always liked whatever she did with her hair before -- Katia's hair color doesn't work for her at all. In pictures it looks fine, but when you see her up close, the blonde washes her out terribly. I hope she changes it soon.

Only two falls tonight -- Katia in her second program and Sasha in her first. Sasha gets Best Spin of the Night, though! She seemed so relieved to get through all the jumps in her "Mein Herr" program that she just went crazy with the rest of it, and finished up with a scratch spin that was sheer dynamite.

And . . . ! She shook my hand at the end! She was the skater who came to our section to shake hands, and everyone in front of me had left, so I leaned way out over the front row and stuck out my hand and she shook it. It was really loud in there with the music and the cheering, so although I screamed "YOU WERE AWESOME!" at her, I'm not sure she heard. Still, it was really cool.

ETA: Oh, and the former SOI skater in the audience tonight was Elena Bechke. She was sitting way on the other side of the rink and I couldn't get a very good look at her, though.

[Yazmeen]

Any pictures of Sasha's new "do?"

[Wyliefan]

I think I got a couple of decent shots of her. When I get them uploaded, I'll post one.

[IceAlisa]

ITA about Katia's hair color. She is so pretty but looks so much better as a brunette IMO. Please post pics of Sasha's curly version of the cut! Sounds like an improvement.

That's so cool that you got to shake her hand!

[Wyliefan]

Pics:

Sasha's first number (somehow I kept getting everyone from the back tonight!)

First act finale

After the second act finale

[orbitz]

Sasha shouldn't have tried to save money by going to the Hair Cuttery. I bet she's never going back to that stylist again.

[Debbie S]

I went to the DC show. We were in the first row off the floor - there was only 1 row of floor seats, so we basically got the same view for about $20 less per seat. We were near the skaters' entrance. Ben Agosto was the skater who came to our area at the end and a couple people from our row stuck out their hands but he only high-fived people in the front row. After the finale music ("Best" sung by Tina Turner) finished, the sound system played "Raise Your Glass". I've noticed this before in shows as well as tonight - Ben is very musical; he gets into everything.

I don't like Katia as a blonde. And I don't like Sasha's new hair - it was very curly today, reminded me of Maria Petrova. That said, both did a great job with their programs, despite the falls (Sasha on a 3toe, Katia on a 2axel). Todd also had some jump issues in his first number ("That's Life") - stepped out of a 3-something (flip?) and had a hand down on a 2axel. But his skating was fab, as always. Second number (Neil Diamond) was generic male ballad-y but his basic skating is always great to watch.

Kurt did a great job as emcee, and his Steppin Out number featured the singer (Geoffrey Tyler) in person. Is the guy a skater? Kurt said he helped with the choreo. He (singer) came out on skates - sung the first half (the part with Kurt's voiceovers) at one end and then skated down to the other end. He also gave Kurt the hat and walking stick handed to him by the stage guy.

As Wyliefan said, Elena Bechke was the SOI alum honored tonight. I think she lives in Richmond now? I'm guessing the guy sitting next to her was her husband?

I liked everyone; there really wasn't any weak performance in the bunch. Highlights for me were B/A (their scarf prop behaved ), Evan, Katia, Sasha, Todd, and Kurt.

[Wyliefan]

Good grief. I just put in my Facebook status that Sasha Cohen shook my hand . . . and almost everyone thought I meant Borat. *weeps*

[manleywoman]

Good grief. I just put in my Facebook status that Sasha Cohen shook my hand . . . and almost everyone thought I meant Borat. *weeps*

[Teenes]

Kurt did a great job as emcee, and his Steppin Out number featured the singer (Geoffrey Tyler) in person. Is the guy a skater?

He's Canadian . As far as I know, he's not, but he's a stage performer (he was recently in Assassins in Toronto). His bio on his website says actor, singer, dancer, musician, etc. He was intimately involved in the design of the Steppin' Out program, and I'm guessing his dance background helped with the choreography.

[RD]

Just got back from the DC show! It was awesome. This one, and the first show I saw (2008) have been the best so far. I'll elaborate more on the pre-show stuff, since the show numbers have already been covered in great detail by other posters.

FIRST, THE PRE-SHOW STUFF

This is gonna be a long post, but here goes...I arrived at the arena about 1:15pm since the meet & greet confirmation told us to arrive there at around that time. There was already a line of people waiting when I arrived, and more came afterward- it wasn't until around 1:30 that will call finally opened for us to get our passes. Once we showed our IDs, they gave us our pass and then the security guard let us past the entrance. We were then ushered into the arena where we took seats in the upper bowl to watch skaters practice (!) before we were taken down to the meet & greet area. There was no one on the ice when we got there, but barely a couple minutes had passed when Evan Lysacek came onto the ice. Some of the girls went crazy, yada yada, etc. It was really cool, though. I've attended this show for 4 years and this was the first time I actually got to watch the skaters practice for the show. Sasha Cohen joined Evan on the ice a few minutes later. Like the Boston people reported, she did cut her hair- it's now short and black. It looks a LITTLE better in person actually than it did in that photo that was going around earlier- but I still don't like it. She's better with long hair, no doubt about that.

Then other skaters came out- Joannie Rochette, Michael Weiss, Todd Eldredge I believe. I saw Kurt Browning talking to someone on ice level as well. We watched them practice for about 10 minutes. I've a few photos and a video I posted on my twitter account- I'll see if I can get a few up. After we took that in, we were led down backstage- actually, into the same area it was last year. They gave us those blue frames and then we were led to the table where 3 skaters- Ekaterina Gordeeva, John Zimmerman and Kyoko Ina were. Some people already bought programs for them to sign, but since I was attending the pre-show reception for the Capitol Skating Fund where we're given free programs, I decided not to get one. I did bring last year's program, though, just in case there were skaters there that could sign that. Unfortunately there were not, but at least I tried. I got my frame signed, which I then lost...but at least I was able to get some pictures of them, and a picture with them. (Pictures are more important to me personally than autographs are, although both are nice.) I asked for photos of them, then I was able to get a photo with them. All three were very nice to us. Chalk up another positive skater experience into the bag!

Afterwards, many of the fan club members went back to watch more practices, but it was 2:30 by now and I needed to get upstairs to the reception before things got underway. I was already afraid I'd missed the beginning, but turns out they were just getting settled in! Excellent. I brought my camera to take some photos, and as soon as they saw my camera (I had an SLR) I was designated the photographer...boy that's some pressure lol, but I did get a few good ones. (I'll post a few later) Phyllis Howard addressed the crowd, and introduced a few skating names in the audience. Don Laws was in attendance, as was someone else I can't quite remember at the moment. Lower-level skaters Kristine Musademba and Haley Dunne were there too. Afterwards, USA Today journalist Christine Brennan gave a short speech. Basically talked about her background, briefly about the looming NFL lockout, and then tied it into skating again citing that 1994 Olympic ladies SP is the 6th most watched TV program ever in the US. However, she mentioned that this year's Nationals got a TV rating of 0.5 as opposed to the 48.5 the '94 Olys got (wow, shows how far skating has fallen off the map since). Of course, ratings for all other sports except the NFL have been going down, and she made sure to point this out as well. Someone asked her what we need to get skating back on top- she first joked that we should wait until Tonya's baby boy gets to be 18 and hope he skates (haha!!!) then she mentioned the need of a superstar (precisely, a female superstar)- which I agree with, but I think said person really needs to transcend sport. Say, like a Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods type. It would take someone extraordinary I think, and even then, you need some drama. I don't think we'll ever see numbers like that for skating or ANY event not named the Super Bowl ever again...

Anyway, when she was done, there was a raffle, and two of the prizes were copies of two of Brennan's books (I forget titles already...) which she said she would sign and personalize. I was one number off the winning one!! alas. After that, some went over to the silent auction that was going on...then the skaters came up. They came in via the back and had to go up front. Once they got to the front they lined up, and then they were introduced. Tanith Belbin addressed the crowd briefly, saying she hopes we enjoy the show, etc.

Then the chaos began. As I told my Twitter followers earlier, Evan Lysacek was SWARMED immediately by fans. Ben Agosto, Tanith Belbin, and Michael Weiss were close to where I was. Todd Eldredge I think was on the other side of the room, John Zimmerman and Kyoko Ina in the middle, and...? They actually had to announce Sasha Cohen since no one really saw her, lol. She got her hair cut and sneaked into the crowd, so they had to point her out. haha. I think she was behind me somewhere at this point. Anyway, I believe I went to Todd Eldredge first since he was the closest. Then Ben Agosto. Cool guy, like always. I was then planning on making my way over to Lysacek, but I saw the HUGE crowd (of mostly fangirls) surrounded him and just said, nah, not worth it. (Last year at the reception I waited in a big crowd for Jeremy Abbot and Todd Eldredge and because of that I missed Mirai Nagasu and Alyssa Czisny!) I knew I had to be strategic this time around, so since Tanith Belbin & John Zimmerman had smaller crowds, I decided to go to them instead. Now, there were two skaters I really wanted to meet coming here: Tanith, and also Joannie Rochette. At least I'll get one of them! I'll tell y'all right now that Tanith was very friendly to us and actually is the only skater that I got to talk to briefly...it was so cool. I was on cloud 9 at this point (but surprisingly not nervous! I guess I'm becoming a veteran at this, lol), but I recall Belbin asking me whether it was my first year attending the show, I said no, it was my 4th. She said something I don't remember exactly- something along the lines of being a regular to the show. I told her the first show was the 2008 one in Baltimore, then the 2009 and 2010 ones in DC. She then said, so now you have something to compare this show to. (Heck yeah, after reading y'all's raving reviews, expectations were high!) I told her that I saw those shows, and always wanted to meet her- then decided to actually introduce myself (never done this before w/a skater!) and we shook hands. I did not get a picture with her though- partly because I wanted to try to catch the other skaters. All this time I was trying to get good pictures as well.

Next, I think was Sasha Cohen, as she was pretty close by. I remember the first time I saw her (at this same event, 2 yrs ago) I was somewhat nervous approaching her- part of the reason was her sorta being stand-offish. This time it was better though, but after getting a few shots of her, I just had time for her to sign my program quickly, no real opportunity for a small talk like in '09. Weiss was close by, so I was able to get to him as well. I then tried to chase down Evan Lysacek (well, ok, not literally, but you get the picture) but just missed him. I think Christine Brennan had him sign some stuff and then he had to go. JUST missed him. But oh well, I already have his autograph and pic from last year's M&G, so that was ok. I then found Kyoko Ina and got her to sign my program this time. I think by that time the skaters had to leave, so things were winding down. I spotted Kristine Musademba and was actually debating whether or not to approach her, but decided not to. I then decided to find Christine Brennan and ask her a question about the Olympics. She was talking to another young skater, Haley Dunne when I found her. When they finished, I asked her who we should keep our eyes on for 2014. Of course it's early, and she mentioned that, but mentioned Mirai Nagasu (if she can gain consistency) and Lindsey Vonn. Who knows at this point though. We talked real briefly afterwards, then it was time to make our way over to the show. Another solid skater experience in the books. And meeting Tanith Belbin was the highlight of it all for me. Surpasses Czisny last year as my favorite skater encounter (Czisny remains a very close 2nd). A LITTLE disappointed we missed Rochette (and also about that frame), but good stuff still went down and that will be remembered.

THE SHOW

Ok, rambled on and on about the pre-show. Now the show itself. I'd have 2011 up there with 2008 (the very first show I saw) as my favorite. Very well done, and I liked the group numbers as well. In fact, I wish there were more of them. The show went by rather quickly I must say.

Attendance was very good, I thought. DC always draws a solid crowd, I think SOI will continue to come here in future years.

It opened with Kurt Browning talking with Scott Hamilton on the video screens...it was a simulated convo between the two. I understand Hamilton was actually at the Boston show to do it live...we just got the regular video recording. Still though, it was cool to actually hear his voice. You could just feel the appreciation behind his words though. If there's one thing he is, it's sincere. They showed snippets of past SOI performances all throughout the show.

Michael Weiss was the first skater out. He is a native of the area so he got a decent reception from the crowd. I love his backflips. Again, he appears comfortable with the crowd, and it shows in the performance. Awesome.

Joannie Rochette was next. This was my very first time seeing her skate live, so it was exciting. She has some nice qualities to her skating- I think she projects to the audience more than Cohen does, but I still found some of the pro skaters (Gordeeva, Browning) more engaging. Then, they've been doing this forever. Rochette is an enjoyable skater, though, and I think she can really develop into a great performer with more time on the tour.

I have to mention that I really enjoyed the transitions between pieces in Act I. Makes the show flow better, gives it some purpose and a sense of a theme. I thought they should have continued it throughout the whole show rather than just in the beginning.

Now I see what the hype is about Gordeeva. She and Kurt Browning IMHO were the real stars of the show. They made it happen. I really think the show needed Kurt's "wackiness"- I think that and the group numbers were what were missing last year.

Geoffrey Tyler was there with Kurt Browning in his first number to sing "Steppin' Out Of My Mind" live. Tyler was in the NE corner while Kurt performed his piece. He acknowledged Tyler at the end of the performance.

Cohen was Cohen- still very inward style of skating, but continues to draw one of the biggest crowd reactions. Funny thing about her is, though, during the group numbers I could see glimpses of her actually reaching out a bit more, enjoying herself- so I think she IS capable of it...anyway, she had a fall in her "Nobody Knows" routine. In "Mein Herr" I think she had another landing that was a bit funny, but in general- again, I think that character requires a skater that has a bit more engagement with the crowd to REALLY pull it off.

I liked the piano number (the "Knock Knock" routine)- although the piano was blocking my view in the very first part, so couldn't really see some of the skating that went on in the very beginning. Thankfully it got moved elsewhere (lol) in the middle of the program. Another good one (probably the best) was the balloon-kite one in group 2 with Eldredge, Cohen and Browning. It was really cool to see Browning flying the kite around the arena, and also Cohen letting herself go a bit, having fun.

Nice to see Ina & Zimmerman again. They're a welcome addition and I think did really well to replace Sale/Pelletier.

Gordeeva's 2nd performance to Whitney Houston had me in from beginning to end. She had a fall in the beginning though.

Browning is just a natural entertainer, a natural performer. The show needs more of that! His addition added SO MUCH to the show's element IMHO.

Lysacek's first performance was pretty good, did not like his "Roxanne" routine though. I mean, it was OK, but compared to everything else I thought it looked a bit bland, at least for a performance from a reigning Oly champ.

Belbin/Agosto were awesome. They are learning the pro routine quickly. I think they fit right in. Solid addition to the cast.

There was one SOI alum in the audience- Kurt introduced her in the 2nd half of the show. Elena Bechke was in the on-ice seating and Kurt skated over to her, introduced her to the audience, then they embraced.

The funniest thing about the whole night is how often I kept crossing paths with John Zimmerman. He was the skater that came to our section during the handshake portion and he even said he recognized me from earlier. (!) Three times- the M&G, the reception and now this. I think he asked me first if I enjoyed the show, I said yeah it was fun.


All in all, the show was highly enjoyed, and is highly recommended by me. If you can see it- if it's coming near you- if you are a skating fan to the heart, you really owe it to yourself to try to catch this one.

[YukiNieve]

After seeing this year's SOI (in DC), I really want to go to another one! (but I cannot...sob). The show today was really good!!

A few comments and links for the photos that I took:

- First and foremost, this year’s SOI would not be the same without Kurt; he is truly the entertainer, showing up on ice at various times and keeping things upbeat and fun.

- Somebody to Love by Michael Weiss: nice, passionate skate. Mike seemed to be very happy to skate for the hometown crowd and we really welcomed him!!
http://inlinethumb42.webshots.com/44...600x600Q85.jpg

- Cinema Italian by Katya Gordeeva skates impressively. She nailed double axel and did a fast scratch spin.

- Use Somebody by Belbin and Agosto: their skate has a story and that is what I like about them very much.
http://inlinethumb24.webshots.com/16...500x500Q85.jpg

- Steppin Out by Kurt Browning: Kurt skated this to the live song by Geoffrey Tyler, who, while singing, also threw hat and stick to Kurt. Kurt does exactly what his voice in the music tells (such as "next, triple salcow.." then he nailed it). Kurt's "stepping" is to die for.
http://inlinethumb37.webshots.com/46...600x600Q85.jpg
http://inlinethumb29.webshots.com/44...500x500Q85.jpg (with Geoffrey)

- Yes, Sasha got a new hair-do. It's cute and looks good on her.
http://inlinethumb43.webshots.com/45...600x600Q85.jpg

- The Climb by Evan Lysacek: I think the lyrics of this song mean a lot to him. I love this number!
http://inlinethumb63.webshots.com/47...500x500Q85.jpg

- The Best by Cast: the group number that is really fun!!
http://inlinethumb14.webshots.com/47...600x600Q85.jpg (Kurt was so cute at the piano!)
http://inlinethumb44.webshots.com/47...600x600Q85.jpg

- Flamenco by Belbin & Agosto: I liked the intensity of this piece; just hoped that Tanith's costume is not white - somehow it seems to me that "white" does not match the theme of the program. But it is very well done.
http://inlinethumb56.webshots.com/45...600x600Q85.jpg

- Another look at Sasha's hair-do.
http://inlinethumb30.webshots.com/45...600x600Q85.jpg

- Downstream by Kurt: Kurt is one of the few skaters who can keep you interested in his skating just by gliding. At one point it seemed to me that he was doing almost school figure, leaving a beautiful trace on the ice.
http://inlinethumb42.webshots.com/11...600x600Q85.jpg


- El Tango de Roxanne by Evan Lysacek: Evan really got great show programs this year; I really loved his intense performance to this music! The music is powerful but Evan's skate is even more powerful.
http://inlinethumb04.webshots.com/14...600x600Q85.jpg

The programs I have not included here were really good as well. Overall, it was a great show!!!