I agree. Gracie needs to be spending this time to get herself back into shape for next season and not wasting time on shows. She has a lot to prove not just to herself but the judges and there will be no excuse for being out of shape like last season when she simply didn't train before the season started.
2017 U.S. Stars on Ice (April 13 & May 4-21): publicity articles, fan reports & more
- Thread starter Sylvia
- Start date
Sylvia
Flight #5342: I Will Remember You
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Re-posting from the Davis/White fan thread:
Jeff Buttle's message & cast photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/BS2SDd3hl5E/
Clip of Hubbell/Donohue skating to "Believer" by Imagine Dragons: https://www.instagram.com/p/BS2bSLVht_L/
Jeff Buttle's message & cast photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/BS2SDd3hl5E/
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TanithandBenFan
Author of the Ice and Edge Series
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TanithandBenFan
Author of the Ice and Edge Series
- Messages
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Looks like Vincent Zhou will make a guest appearance at the Anaheim show. 
https://twitter.com/DavidBaden/status/854456832173191168
https://twitter.com/DavidBaden/status/854456832173191168
kwanfan1818
RIP D-10
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Nathan Chen is the featured skater in the promo email photo I just got.
I'm looking forward to seeing Davis/White's program to Barber's Adagio for Strings and all of Buttle's group numbers.
I'm looking forward to seeing Davis/White's program to Barber's Adagio for Strings and all of Buttle's group numbers.
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Sylvia
Flight #5342: I Will Remember You
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This young fan made a 9-minute video with some Fort Myers, FL show footage (no audio included in Wagner's and D/W's programs) interspersed with photos & video clips of skaters (Wagner, Rippon, Davis/White, Abbott, Gold, Chock/Bates, Hubbell/Donohue) signing a shirt for her: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9KxSW4opFc
Rippon skated 2 minutes of his "Diamonds" program on the Today Show back on 4/17/17: http://web.icenetwork.com/video/v1295711983
Samuel Chouinard helped choreograph this program (clip of H/D practicing in Montreal 3 weeks ago): https://www.instagram.com/p/BSmSjvgAxoV/?taken-by=samchouin15
Rippon skated 2 minutes of his "Diamonds" program on the Today Show back on 4/17/17: http://web.icenetwork.com/video/v1295711983
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kwanfan1818
RIP D-10
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A friend just forwarded me an email about a discount offer for the Seattle show on Saturday, May 20:
barbarafan
Well-Known Member
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Loved the clip of Hubbell/Donahue....they are terrific
Z
ZilphaK
Guest
Saw SOI tonight at Hershey Giant Center. Went with my 10yo. Here are some notes, thoughts and conversations.
First the Giant Center was about 1/3 full, although it could have been about ½. 100 level only; there was no one in 200 level. I asked my son what he thought about the crowd and he said, “About 5/12 full.” He’s a smart alek.
“24K Magic” Bruno Mars - Cast
OK. For an upbeat song, it felt a bit low energy in the Giant Center.
“Bang Bang” Ariana Grande - Gracie Gold
Gracie seemed...not committed. Could have been opening night nerves (I know there was a show in Florida, but there’s been some time between.) 2T and 1A. Only because I know people are wondering. ETA: I JUST WANT GRACIE TO BE HAPPY. I adore her. The crowd adored her. No one cared about the jumps. We believe. We just want to see her having fun. REALLY.
“Diamonds” Josef Salvat - Adam Rippon
Nice spins. 3 Lz. I forget what else. Lovely skating.
10yo: Who’s that? Adam?
Me: Yes.
10yo: You’re not even watching. You’re posting to Instagram.
Me: I’m…journalisting.
“Believer” Imagine Dragons - Madison Hubbell & Zachary Donohue
Fun program.
10yo: Who’s that?
Me: Hubbell and Donohoe
10yo: Which is which?
Me: They always say the girl first.
10yo: Pfft. Whatever.
“Land of All” Woodkid - Jeremy Abbott
Cool outfit. (10yo: Is he supposed to be a ninja?”) Did a backflip and almost smacked his head. Very Interesting, angular and compellingly weird program. Think: Gary Beacom’s Malevolent Landscape. Jeremy was wearing a hood at first, and when he took it off, he looked Silas, the killer albino from Da Vinci Code. But it worked, oddly.
10yo: Whoever did the choreography for this, I hope they got paid a lot.
“Tango” Gotan Project - Madison Chock & Evan Bates
Loved this! Very sexy.
10yo: They are skating with a chair. Last year, someone skated with a bench, so I guess they had to do a chair this year.
“Bright Lights” Gibbz - Gracie Gold, Ashley Wagner, Jeremy Abbott, Adam Rippon
Everything you ever wanted from four people skating in the dark with LED lights on their pants.
“Exogenesis: Symphony Part III” Muse - Ashley Wagner
This was great! Two 2As and a 3Fl. Not sure if there was another jump in there, but Ashley is a bona fide “skate to the rafters” pro. Didn’t oversell it, either. Very well done.
“Send in the Clowns” Barbra Streisand - Cast
Homage to Jef Billings. Nicely done.
OK, somewhere in there Nathan and Karen skated. I thought Nathan did a 3T and a 4 F, but someone said they were both triples. Nathan is a super star. Confidence out the whazoo. Karen jumps through the roof. She opened with a 3Lz that was SO BIG. I can see now why getting that 3T around on the end in competition can be tough. Great skate with a lot of personality.
Surprise! Skyliners Junior synchro team and some vaguely Michael Jackson medley.
ACT II
Opened with local skaters in group number. Great, except they start the kids with the house lights still up and before everyone is back in their seat. If you’re going to ask families to pay $300 per kid (I think that was the price last time) and the house is already sparse—and it looked like a lot of people didn’t come back aftrr intermission -- at least give them a bigger audience and wait for house lights to go back down. Jeez.
“Fratres” Arvo Pärt Cast
Nice. Jeremy and Adam skating together as a duet for some of this was a treat. A quiet piece with entire cast and then parts of cast.
“Stand by Me” Florence + the Machine - Madison Hubbell & Zachary Donohue
This was slow and moody, too. More people started leaving.
“Getaway” Tritonal ft. Angel Taylor - Adam Rippon
More skating with a mask. Good spins and vogueing, rolling on ice. 3Lz.
“Golden” Ruth B -Gracie Gold
2T, 1A. OK.
“Black Hole Sun” Nouela - Meryl Davis & Charlie White, Madison Chock & Evan Bates, Madison Hubbell & Zachary Donohue
Moody. Interesting. More people clearing out.
“In This Shirt” The Irrepressibles - Jeremy Abbott
Now the white ninja. I like the black ninja Jeremy better. Again, a moody-interesting piece.
Me: I hope he doesn’t try the backflip.
10yo: DO THE BACKFLIP!!!
He didn’t do the backflip. Triple toe? I can’t remember what else.
“Under Pressure” David Bowie & Queen - Madison Chock & Evan Bates
Music starts…
10yo: IT’S “ICE, ICE BABY!”
10yo: Oh darn, it’s not “Ice, Ice Baby.”
“Handclap” Fitz and the Tantrums - Ashley Wagner
Top notch Ashley. She jumped, she shimmied, she turned it up to 11. If only the whole show were like this. I mean, I get it, not everything has to be a pump-it-up number, but with such a sparse crowd, the energy dropped really quickly in the audience.
“Sax” Fleur East - Meryl Davis & Charlie White
Cute! Fun!
“Can't Stop the Feeling!” Justin Timberlake - Cast
You ever notice how you never see Charlie White and Justin Timberlake together? Could it be...nah.
OK. Jeremy did another backflip. This one didn’t look as scary.
Somewhere in there, Nathan did another number to a fun song, all while holding his cell phone. There was also a phone ringing throughout the song, and I couldn’t help but wonder whether it was a good-humored poke at Miss World Champion’s Phone Program.
Karen also did a second number. Can’t place the song – she skated with two fans, did a 3Lz, 2A and popped a Loop. (10yo: How do you know she meant to do a triple loop. Me: Because she wants to go to the Olympics. 10yo: But this isn’t Olympic trials. Me: You sure about that?)
Oh! And Meryl and Charlie did a program in Act 1 that was stunningly beautiful. Adagio for Strings. I cried. My 10yo said, "He should still play hockey. He'd be great." Even the people behind me who usually only come to Bears hockey games were rapt by Meryl and Charlie.
Overall impressions: Eh. Better than last year (although I know some people loved last year’s.)
The audience was way too small and low energy to support so many softer/moodier piece in the show. Speaking with several people after, they all said the same thing: too many soft/slow/moody pieces, not enough high energy, fun pieces. Also, everyone wanted more jumping. Lots more jumping. And I think the show also really misses not having a pairs team. Or three.
Also – and I think this is really, really important – I think the show needs to put the skaters out there with some mics, talking to the audience. This whole things needs to be less “think piece performance art” and more of a high-flying festival with a master of ceremonies breaking the fourth wall (and it was a pretty solid fourth wall that even Ashley had a tough time getting through at times) and interacting with the audience. Jeremy, Charlie and Meryl would have been perfect for this, being the “pro show people” out there.
And the show needed more humor. Not slapstick, but a little more wink and a nod…I don’t know…I get these are mostly competitive skaters and show skating isn’t their “gig.” Also, this is such a short run of shows. But why not, instead of the artsy or reflective dream themes echoed on the big screens, have some of the skaters’ fun social media posts? Or use the screens to interact with the audience? Something.
Hopefully, the Olympics will give the show a boost again. But after the Emotions theme last year and dreams this year, I really hope next year’s theme is “Riot!” or “Ka-POW!” or "Tramps and Vicars!" something like that.
I don’t know…with the half (7/12ths) empty venue and people leaving throughout, I just felt so sad. Skating is such an amazing and beautiful and thrilling one-of-a-kind sport. I know SOI can’t save skating on its own, and I don’t know how you get non-skating folks in to see a skating show. It doesn’t help to hold a show on a Thursday night in a city that’s 2 hours from everywhere. But all those empty seats…maybe give away some Bears playoff tickets with every SOI ticket or have a few of the Bears show up to skate a number with their shirts off.
I’m curious what others thought. The good stuff was really great. But overall, low energy for a Thursday.
First the Giant Center was about 1/3 full, although it could have been about ½. 100 level only; there was no one in 200 level. I asked my son what he thought about the crowd and he said, “About 5/12 full.” He’s a smart alek.
“24K Magic” Bruno Mars - Cast
OK. For an upbeat song, it felt a bit low energy in the Giant Center.
“Bang Bang” Ariana Grande - Gracie Gold
Gracie seemed...not committed. Could have been opening night nerves (I know there was a show in Florida, but there’s been some time between.) 2T and 1A. Only because I know people are wondering. ETA: I JUST WANT GRACIE TO BE HAPPY. I adore her. The crowd adored her. No one cared about the jumps. We believe. We just want to see her having fun. REALLY.
“Diamonds” Josef Salvat - Adam Rippon
Nice spins. 3 Lz. I forget what else. Lovely skating.
10yo: Who’s that? Adam?
Me: Yes.
10yo: You’re not even watching. You’re posting to Instagram.
Me: I’m…journalisting.
“Believer” Imagine Dragons - Madison Hubbell & Zachary Donohue
Fun program.
10yo: Who’s that?
Me: Hubbell and Donohoe
10yo: Which is which?
Me: They always say the girl first.
10yo: Pfft. Whatever.
“Land of All” Woodkid - Jeremy Abbott
Cool outfit. (10yo: Is he supposed to be a ninja?”) Did a backflip and almost smacked his head. Very Interesting, angular and compellingly weird program. Think: Gary Beacom’s Malevolent Landscape. Jeremy was wearing a hood at first, and when he took it off, he looked Silas, the killer albino from Da Vinci Code. But it worked, oddly.
10yo: Whoever did the choreography for this, I hope they got paid a lot.
“Tango” Gotan Project - Madison Chock & Evan Bates
Loved this! Very sexy.
10yo: They are skating with a chair. Last year, someone skated with a bench, so I guess they had to do a chair this year.
“Bright Lights” Gibbz - Gracie Gold, Ashley Wagner, Jeremy Abbott, Adam Rippon
Everything you ever wanted from four people skating in the dark with LED lights on their pants.
“Exogenesis: Symphony Part III” Muse - Ashley Wagner
This was great! Two 2As and a 3Fl. Not sure if there was another jump in there, but Ashley is a bona fide “skate to the rafters” pro. Didn’t oversell it, either. Very well done.
“Send in the Clowns” Barbra Streisand - Cast
Homage to Jef Billings. Nicely done.
OK, somewhere in there Nathan and Karen skated. I thought Nathan did a 3T and a 4 F, but someone said they were both triples. Nathan is a super star. Confidence out the whazoo. Karen jumps through the roof. She opened with a 3Lz that was SO BIG. I can see now why getting that 3T around on the end in competition can be tough. Great skate with a lot of personality.
Surprise! Skyliners Junior synchro team and some vaguely Michael Jackson medley.
ACT II
Opened with local skaters in group number. Great, except they start the kids with the house lights still up and before everyone is back in their seat. If you’re going to ask families to pay $300 per kid (I think that was the price last time) and the house is already sparse—and it looked like a lot of people didn’t come back aftrr intermission -- at least give them a bigger audience and wait for house lights to go back down. Jeez.
“Fratres” Arvo Pärt Cast
Nice. Jeremy and Adam skating together as a duet for some of this was a treat. A quiet piece with entire cast and then parts of cast.
“Stand by Me” Florence + the Machine - Madison Hubbell & Zachary Donohue
This was slow and moody, too. More people started leaving.
“Getaway” Tritonal ft. Angel Taylor - Adam Rippon
More skating with a mask. Good spins and vogueing, rolling on ice. 3Lz.
“Golden” Ruth B -Gracie Gold
2T, 1A. OK.
“Black Hole Sun” Nouela - Meryl Davis & Charlie White, Madison Chock & Evan Bates, Madison Hubbell & Zachary Donohue
Moody. Interesting. More people clearing out.
“In This Shirt” The Irrepressibles - Jeremy Abbott
Now the white ninja. I like the black ninja Jeremy better. Again, a moody-interesting piece.
Me: I hope he doesn’t try the backflip.
10yo: DO THE BACKFLIP!!!
He didn’t do the backflip. Triple toe? I can’t remember what else.
“Under Pressure” David Bowie & Queen - Madison Chock & Evan Bates
Music starts…
10yo: IT’S “ICE, ICE BABY!”
10yo: Oh darn, it’s not “Ice, Ice Baby.”
“Handclap” Fitz and the Tantrums - Ashley Wagner
Top notch Ashley. She jumped, she shimmied, she turned it up to 11. If only the whole show were like this. I mean, I get it, not everything has to be a pump-it-up number, but with such a sparse crowd, the energy dropped really quickly in the audience.
“Sax” Fleur East - Meryl Davis & Charlie White
Cute! Fun!
“Can't Stop the Feeling!” Justin Timberlake - Cast
You ever notice how you never see Charlie White and Justin Timberlake together? Could it be...nah.
OK. Jeremy did another backflip. This one didn’t look as scary.
Somewhere in there, Nathan did another number to a fun song, all while holding his cell phone. There was also a phone ringing throughout the song, and I couldn’t help but wonder whether it was a good-humored poke at Miss World Champion’s Phone Program.
Karen also did a second number. Can’t place the song – she skated with two fans, did a 3Lz, 2A and popped a Loop. (10yo: How do you know she meant to do a triple loop. Me: Because she wants to go to the Olympics. 10yo: But this isn’t Olympic trials. Me: You sure about that?)
Oh! And Meryl and Charlie did a program in Act 1 that was stunningly beautiful. Adagio for Strings. I cried. My 10yo said, "He should still play hockey. He'd be great." Even the people behind me who usually only come to Bears hockey games were rapt by Meryl and Charlie.
Overall impressions: Eh. Better than last year (although I know some people loved last year’s.)
The audience was way too small and low energy to support so many softer/moodier piece in the show. Speaking with several people after, they all said the same thing: too many soft/slow/moody pieces, not enough high energy, fun pieces. Also, everyone wanted more jumping. Lots more jumping. And I think the show also really misses not having a pairs team. Or three.
Also – and I think this is really, really important – I think the show needs to put the skaters out there with some mics, talking to the audience. This whole things needs to be less “think piece performance art” and more of a high-flying festival with a master of ceremonies breaking the fourth wall (and it was a pretty solid fourth wall that even Ashley had a tough time getting through at times) and interacting with the audience. Jeremy, Charlie and Meryl would have been perfect for this, being the “pro show people” out there.
And the show needed more humor. Not slapstick, but a little more wink and a nod…I don’t know…I get these are mostly competitive skaters and show skating isn’t their “gig.” Also, this is such a short run of shows. But why not, instead of the artsy or reflective dream themes echoed on the big screens, have some of the skaters’ fun social media posts? Or use the screens to interact with the audience? Something.
Hopefully, the Olympics will give the show a boost again. But after the Emotions theme last year and dreams this year, I really hope next year’s theme is “Riot!” or “Ka-POW!” or "Tramps and Vicars!" something like that.
I don’t know…with the half (7/12ths) empty venue and people leaving throughout, I just felt so sad. Skating is such an amazing and beautiful and thrilling one-of-a-kind sport. I know SOI can’t save skating on its own, and I don’t know how you get non-skating folks in to see a skating show. It doesn’t help to hold a show on a Thursday night in a city that’s 2 hours from everywhere. But all those empty seats…maybe give away some Bears playoff tickets with every SOI ticket or have a few of the Bears show up to skate a number with their shirts off.
I’m curious what others thought. The good stuff was really great. But overall, low energy for a Thursday.
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Interludes
Well-Known Member
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- 3,049
I was there too! I haven't been to a SOI show for a long time - so I can't really remember enough to compare it to. I thought that overall, the show was pretty good and to be honest, it was better attended than I thought it would be.. (Which still wasn't great, but still..) I do think the show was missing a little something - I think the fun angle is where it's lacking, as you said. I liked a lot of the group numbers and I think Jeff did a good job with the choreography for them, but with all the voiceovers about dreams, etc. - it just could have used a bit more fun.
I found the highlights to be Ashley, Nathan, Jeremy and Meryl and Charlie. D&W's "Adagio for Strings" was absolutely gorgeous, it's my favorite exhibition they've ever done. Made me wish they had done a program to it while they were competing. Ashley's "Hand Clap" is the perfect exhibition piece - it's super fun and she performs it amazingly well. She also did quite a few jumps during her Muse program and it was cool to see her perform it. Totally agree about Nathan - I loved both of his numbers. I'm now convinced he needs to do a more modern program next season, you can tell he loves that type of music and it really helps him artistically. And I just found Jeremy's programs to be super interesting - I couldn't look away! I was also pleasantly surprised by Karen, I enjoyed her more than I expected to. I'm glad she and Nathan get the opportunity to perform in the rest of the shows.
Overall, I'm happy I went (and it isn't exactly a close drive for me) but I certainly wish they could do more to market these shows.
I found the highlights to be Ashley, Nathan, Jeremy and Meryl and Charlie. D&W's "Adagio for Strings" was absolutely gorgeous, it's my favorite exhibition they've ever done. Made me wish they had done a program to it while they were competing. Ashley's "Hand Clap" is the perfect exhibition piece - it's super fun and she performs it amazingly well. She also did quite a few jumps during her Muse program and it was cool to see her perform it. Totally agree about Nathan - I loved both of his numbers. I'm now convinced he needs to do a more modern program next season, you can tell he loves that type of music and it really helps him artistically. And I just found Jeremy's programs to be super interesting - I couldn't look away! I was also pleasantly surprised by Karen, I enjoyed her more than I expected to. I'm glad she and Nathan get the opportunity to perform in the rest of the shows.
Overall, I'm happy I went (and it isn't exactly a close drive for me) but I certainly wish they could do more to market these shows.
Spun Silver
Well-Known Member
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- 12,130
What an interesting review (responding to @Jozet). Thank you. I am concerned about Jeremy's safety with those backflips! I think your kid should start a skating blog. I would read it!
Maybe they need to rearrange the show so there is more energy at the beginning and no back-to-back slow programs.
I am puzzled by your saying there is a Dreams theme this year because it sounds like the skaters are doing their usual thing -- C/B Under Pressure, Ashley's Exogenesis and shimmying... How do you rate Jeff Buttle's contribution?
I have been to SOI's where they had the skaters and an MC talk (sometimes just on big screens) and where they had humor ... and I always hate it (except for the clowns - they were really good!). It feels very phony and very much pitched to children, which isn't what I'm looking for. On the other hand, when I have gone, there have been lots of kids in the audience (singing along to popular songs) so it's understandable.
I do know what you mean about the jumps. Big difference between US and Japanese shows. Japanese skaters seem to give their all whereas US skaters seem to be desperate not to fall. I'm glad Nathan and Karen were such good performers.
Sad but not surprised to hear about Gracie. She looks very out of shape in recent pix. Can't wait to see some of the vids, esp Meryl and Charlie.
Thanks again for the long report.
Maybe they need to rearrange the show so there is more energy at the beginning and no back-to-back slow programs.
I am puzzled by your saying there is a Dreams theme this year because it sounds like the skaters are doing their usual thing -- C/B Under Pressure, Ashley's Exogenesis and shimmying... How do you rate Jeff Buttle's contribution?
I have been to SOI's where they had the skaters and an MC talk (sometimes just on big screens) and where they had humor ... and I always hate it (except for the clowns - they were really good!). It feels very phony and very much pitched to children, which isn't what I'm looking for. On the other hand, when I have gone, there have been lots of kids in the audience (singing along to popular songs) so it's understandable.
I do know what you mean about the jumps. Big difference between US and Japanese shows. Japanese skaters seem to give their all whereas US skaters seem to be desperate not to fall. I'm glad Nathan and Karen were such good performers.
Sad but not surprised to hear about Gracie. She looks very out of shape in recent pix. Can't wait to see some of the vids, esp Meryl and Charlie.
Thanks again for the long report.
Z
ZilphaK
Guest
Karen seemed really out of her normal shell, and that was cool to see. Nathan, yes! Something modern for him. He looked so comfortable out there.
I enjoyed Jeremy's pieces, too, but I'm a real skating nerd.
I think the non-skating-nerd audience members (and I get the feeling there were enough there) were good with the first piece (Ninja! Hood! This is different!) but lost attention later in the show. I will never stop going to SOI shows. I just wish there were a way to get more casual fans or curious folks in the door.
Z
ZilphaK
Guest
There was a lot of "dreams" talk in the voice overs. It wasn't a completely cohesive theme throughout; more disjointed.
I don't know exactly which pieces had a heavier Jeff Buttle influence, but overall -- and other than the Nathan and competition pieces -- the skating felt like it had a lot of "angles" to it. A lot of "here are some shapes and movements you probably aren't used to seeing on ice." The first Jeremy piece seemed the peak of this. Again, so Beacom. (ETA: Per Silvia, Jeff Buttle did not choreograph this piece.)
I don't personally care whether the skaters talk to the audience or not...again, I'm a diehard skate nerd and I'm up for anything and will buy tickets no matter what. But in such a big venue with such a sparse crowd, the show as is didn't work completely. Either find a more intimate space (and I know, no such thing as an intimate skating rink, but this felt more "black box" theater) or bring in more people, or make it more Broadway. It can still cater to adults, but there needs to be a bit farther reach, I think, into other age groups and kinds of audience members.
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Sylvia
Flight #5342: I Will Remember You
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Your 10-year-old's comments are
- thanks for including them, @Jozet, and for writing such a detailed review!Jeremy debuted his program to "Land of All" by Woodkid, choreographed by Benoit Richaud, at SOI in Japan back in mid-January - here's a televised version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr0PMlUanRo
Costume/look was designed by Brady Lange: https://www.instagram.com/p/BS1FnHAD5PI/
ETA:
One of Karen Chen's programs is to "Rise" by Katy Perry (don't know if this was number recently choreographed by Misha Ge?), according to this publicity article on the "2 new kids" for the Chicago show this Saturday: http://chicago.suntimes.com/enterta...-phenoms-headline-top-tier-stars-on-ice-tour/
ETA #2:
2-minute clip of Karen Chen's "Rise" by Katy Perry: https://twitter.com/galangrants/status/860288734679506945
2-minute clip of Nathan Chen's new program to "Parachute" by Otto Knows: https://twitter.com/galangrants/status/860305808353103873
Jozet's clip is linked here:
Nathan's other solo in the show is this past season's exhibition number to "Stole the Show": https://twitter.com/galangrants/status/860287366740758529
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Z
ZilphaK
Guest
Your 10-year-old's comments are
It was long, I know. But I hadn't posted anything in a while and competition season is over, so I was thinking people might indulge me a bit.
Spun Silver
Well-Known Member
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- 12,130
Actually, club skating rinks ARE intimate by comparison with hockey rinks, and they are a perfect size for shows of this sort that don't draw a huge crowd. Plus, clubs have a built-in audience. Plus, they would be a LOT cheaper for SOI to rent, so maybe it could afford to bring its own fancy lights and sound systems. I know it would seem like a downgrade, but I think it would be a win in some ways.
princeton123
Well-Known Member
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- 1,180
People were leaving in the middle of the show?! 
Firedancer
Well-Known Member
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- 3,047
Thank you for the detailed reviews. I would definitely go if SOI would come near by. I'm happy to read Nathan and Karen performed so well and hope at least one of Nathan's programs next year is to something modern. This is a great experience for them. But it's really sad that people are getting up and leaving during the show. Maybe more modern, fun programs throughout the show would be helpful.
Z
ZilphaK
Guest
People were leaving in the middle of the show?!
It was disheartening. I think the combination of Thursday night, school night, people coming in from Philly/Maryland/Virginia with kids for the group number made it tough to stay until 9. Our entire row and seats behind us cleared out after the intermission. A lot of people with young kids. A weekend show might have fared better, but the Bears made the playoffs again.
clairecloutier
Well-Known Member
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I went to SOI in Portland, ME, next year .... I don't remember seeing people leaving in the middle of the show. Not at all. To be frank, I can't imagine why people would shell out money for tickets only to leave halfway through??
It makes me wonder if a bunch of tickets to this show were given out for free, or at very discounted prices maybe.
It makes me wonder if a bunch of tickets to this show were given out for free, or at very discounted prices maybe.
Z
ZilphaK
Guest
That's a good point. A lot of the skating clubs did sell tickets for a discount. That might make people feel less compelled to sit through a show that was either getting too late -- or feeling too long -- knowing that they didn't pay as much. On the other hand, so many seats were empty. I can't imagine what the audience would have looked like without the discounted tickets.
ETA: Also, a lot of the parents of kids in the show and skating clubs were invited to come early to see warm-ups, starting at around 3:15. That made for a long day for many people, I imagine.
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I was at the show last night and pretty much agree with everything Jozet and Pretty Vegas said. I loved C/B's tango and give them major props for coming up with an ex number with a lot of actual dance, i.e. in hold...it reminded me of the numbers we used to see from Torvill/Dean, which is not surprising, since Chris Dean choreographed it. Ashley was awesome in both numbers, as were Karen and Nathan, and I loved the Black Hole Sun (cover) number with all 3 dance teams. Meryl and Charlie are always the highlight for me, and their programs did not disappoint...they have grown so much as dancers and performers over the past few years.
As for attendance, I agree that a work/school night is a bad night to have the show in a semi-remote place like Hershey. I think attendance was slightly better last year when it was a Friday night, but Sat aftn/evening or Sun aftn would probably work best. Based on the available seats map on Ticketmaster a few days ago (I checked out of curiosity) and the sections that were mostly filled, I would say there were likely a bunch of tickets given to local clubs/skaters/other groups. I don't have a problem with making it easier for local skaters and their families to see the show, it's just sad when I think about the times 10-20 years ago when shows would sell out within days and the only way you could get a decent seat was to mail in the advance order form on your way home from the previous year's show.
There were people around me that left during the second act (people, please, if you're going to leave early, at least do it in between numbers, not in the middle of a performance that the people around/behind you might like to watch!
) but most were young children and their parents, so the reason may have just been the late hour, but really, it was only 9 pm.
It would have been great to have a pairs team in the cast, but truthfully, I don't think most casual fans know the difference between pairs and dance, so I don't know how much that would have added to the show's general appeal. I think SOI would get a decent size audience, esp in an Oly year, by going to a major city like DC, Philly, or Baltimore...but I imagine the arena rental cost is a big driver of their decision to keep coming to Hershey (although there is also the arena at George Mason U in NoVa, which would prob be a lot cheaper than Verizon....). There were advance order forms on the seats, so they'll be back next year...I hope they can add more cities, and get better attendance.
Ashley was awesome in both numbers, as were Karen and Nathan, and I loved the Black Hole Sun (cover) number with all 3 dance teams. Meryl and Charlie are always the highlight for me, and their programs did not disappoint...they have grown so much as dancers and performers over the past few years.As for attendance, I agree that a work/school night is a bad night to have the show in a semi-remote place like Hershey. I think attendance was slightly better last year when it was a Friday night, but Sat aftn/evening or Sun aftn would probably work best. Based on the available seats map on Ticketmaster a few days ago (I checked out of curiosity) and the sections that were mostly filled, I would say there were likely a bunch of tickets given to local clubs/skaters/other groups. I don't have a problem with making it easier for local skaters and their families to see the show, it's just sad when I think about the times 10-20 years ago when shows would sell out within days and the only way you could get a decent seat was to mail in the advance order form on your way home from the previous year's show.
There were people around me that left during the second act (people, please, if you're going to leave early, at least do it in between numbers, not in the middle of a performance that the people around/behind you might like to watch!
) but most were young children and their parents, so the reason may have just been the late hour, but really, it was only 9 pm.It would have been great to have a pairs team in the cast, but truthfully, I don't think most casual fans know the difference between pairs and dance, so I don't know how much that would have added to the show's general appeal. I think SOI would get a decent size audience, esp in an Oly year, by going to a major city like DC, Philly, or Baltimore...but I imagine the arena rental cost is a big driver of their decision to keep coming to Hershey (although there is also the arena at George Mason U in NoVa, which would prob be a lot cheaper than Verizon....). There were advance order forms on the seats, so they'll be back next year...I hope they can add more cities, and get better attendance.
Z
ZilphaK
Guest
This is true. And the dance numbers were quite acrobatic! The first programs by C&B and H&D especially. I just remember the high-flying Zimmerman and Ina numbers. Those were they ones I had to hide behind my hands to watch. Of course, Jeremy's second backflip filled that anxiety void quite sufficiently.
clairecloutier
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In thinking this over a bit, I believe the lack of pairs skating in recent shows DOES hurt SOI. Ice dance is great and I love it, but it's just not the same experience as pairs, even with acrobatic moves. I enjoyed the dancers in the last 2 years of SOI, but I definitely did miss having pairs.
One of the best editions of SOI that I ever saw was one year in Providence, when the show included Berezhnaya/Sikharulidze, Sale/Pelletier, and Ina/Zimmerman. Talk about WOW moments. The level of skill & beauty with those pairs was amazing. The pairs were definitely the highlight of that year's show. They do bring a special excitement. (Of course I'm biased toward pairs anyhow, but still.)
And yeah, more jumps might be good. It's not like I feel a program HAS to have jumps to be successful; I don't. But, OTOH, when you know very well that Gracie Gold is capable of things like 3Lz/3T and instead she's giving you 1A and 2T, or whatever it was, the knowledgeable skating fan WILL take notice of that .... I always go back to Kristi Yamaguchi. Kristi was such a strong professional skater, and it's because you knew you could expect 2 things from her: 1) Interesting & appealing programs, with a strong level of artistry/interpretation and 2) Triple jumps in every program. It's what show skaters should aspire to, IMO. I remember at last year's SOI in Portland, Adam delivered a version of his Beatles LP with, I think, a triple Axel and 5 other triples. It's not like I was demanding to see that from Adam, by any means, but I sure did appreciate the effort on his part! It doesn't have to be all about jumps ... but jumps are cool and one of the things we like about skating, right?
As to some of the other comments in this thread ... Some more interaction between skaters/audience, with them speaking into the mic and all, MIGHT be nice ... But, unless they're really good or funny speakers, it could grow old or awkward fast. As to criticism that the music should be more accessible and upbeat .... maybe? I personally prefer more innovative-type programs, with more unusual music ... I remember in last year's show, Ashley skated to one big pop hit ("Dangerous Woman") and that was about as much as I needed to see from that genre. A show full largely of the latest upbeat pop hits would, for me, be boring, and, not to be a snob, but lacking in artistic interest. BUT, I realize I am not everyone.
Wish I knew what the answer was to drawing more crowds in! I'm sure SOI would like to know, too ....
One of the best editions of SOI that I ever saw was one year in Providence, when the show included Berezhnaya/Sikharulidze, Sale/Pelletier, and Ina/Zimmerman. Talk about WOW moments. The level of skill & beauty with those pairs was amazing. The pairs were definitely the highlight of that year's show. They do bring a special excitement. (Of course I'm biased toward pairs anyhow
, but still.)And yeah, more jumps might be good. It's not like I feel a program HAS to have jumps to be successful; I don't. But, OTOH, when you know very well that Gracie Gold is capable of things like 3Lz/3T and instead she's giving you 1A and 2T, or whatever it was, the knowledgeable skating fan WILL take notice of that .... I always go back to Kristi Yamaguchi. Kristi was such a strong professional skater, and it's because you knew you could expect 2 things from her: 1) Interesting & appealing programs, with a strong level of artistry/interpretation and 2) Triple jumps in every program. It's what show skaters should aspire to, IMO. I remember at last year's SOI in Portland, Adam delivered a version of his Beatles LP with, I think, a triple Axel and 5 other triples. It's not like I was demanding to see that from Adam, by any means, but I sure did appreciate the effort on his part!
It doesn't have to be all about jumps ... but jumps are cool and one of the things we like about skating, right?As to some of the other comments in this thread ... Some more interaction between skaters/audience, with them speaking into the mic and all, MIGHT be nice ... But, unless they're really good or funny speakers, it could grow old or awkward fast. As to criticism that the music should be more accessible and upbeat .... maybe? I personally prefer more innovative-type programs, with more unusual music ... I remember in last year's show, Ashley skated to one big pop hit ("Dangerous Woman") and that was about as much as I needed to see from that genre. A show full largely of the latest upbeat pop hits would, for me, be boring, and, not to be a snob, but lacking in artistic interest. BUT, I realize I am not everyone.
Wish I knew what the answer was to drawing more crowds in! I'm sure SOI would like to know, too ....
Scrufflet
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I want to go to a show with your 10 year old!Saw SOI tonight at Hershey Giant Center. Went with my 10yo. Here are some notes, thoughts and conversations.
First the Giant Center was about 1/3 full, although it could have been about ½. 100 level only; there was no one in 200 level. I asked my son what he thought about the crowd and he said, “About 5/12 full.” He’s a smart alek.
“24K Magic” Bruno Mars - Cast
OK. For an upbeat song, it felt a bit low energy in the Giant Center.
“Bang Bang” Ariana Grande - Gracie Gold
Gracie seemed...not committed. Could have been opening night nerves (I know there was a show in Florida, but there’s been some time between.) 2T and 1A. Only because I know people are wondering. ETA: I JUST WANT GRACIE TO BE HAPPY. I adore her. The crowd adored her. No one cared about the jumps. We believe. We just want to see her having fun. REALLY.
“Diamonds” Josef Salvat - Adam Rippon
Nice spins. 3 Lz. I forget what else. Lovely skating.
10yo: Who’s that? Adam?
Me: Yes.
10yo: You’re not even watching. You’re posting to Instagram.
Me: I’m…journalisting.
“Believer” Imagine Dragons - Madison Hubbell & Zachary Donohue
Fun program.
10yo: Who’s that?
Me: Hubbell and Donohoe
10yo: Which is which?
Me: They always say the girl first.
10yo: Pfft. Whatever.
“Land of All” Woodkid - Jeremy Abbott
Cool outfit. (10yo: Is he supposed to be a ninja?”) Did a backflip and almost smacked his head. Very Interesting, angular and compellingly weird program. Think: Gary Beacom’s Malevolent Landscape. Jeremy was wearing a hood at first, and when he took it off, he looked Silas, the killer albino from Da Vinci Code. But it worked, oddly.
10yo: Whoever did the choreography for this, I hope they got paid a lot.
“Tango” Gotan Project - Madison Chock & Evan Bates
Loved this! Very sexy.
10yo: They are skating with a chair. Last year, someone skated with a bench, so I guess they had to do a chair this year.
“Bright Lights” Gibbz - Gracie Gold, Ashley Wagner, Jeremy Abbott, Adam Rippon
Everything you ever wanted from four people skating in the dark with LED lights on their pants.
“Exogenesis: Symphony Part III” Muse - Ashley Wagner
This was great! Two 2As and a 3Fl. Not sure if there was another jump in there, but Ashley is a bona fide “skate to the rafters” pro. Didn’t oversell it, either. Very well done.
“Send in the Clowns” Barbra Streisand - Cast
Homage to Jef Billings. Nicely done.
OK, somewhere in there Nathan and Karen skated. I thought Nathan did a 3T and a 4 F, but someone said they were both triples. Nathan is a super star. Confidence out the whazoo. Karen jumps through the roof. She opened with a 3Lz that was SO BIG. I can see now why getting that 3T around on the end in competition can be tough. Great skate with a lot of personality.
Surprise! Skyliners Junior synchro team and some vaguely Michael Jackson medley.
ACT II
Opened with local skaters in group number. Great, except they start the kids with the house lights still up and before everyone is back in their seat. If you’re going to ask families to pay $300 per kid (I think that was the price last time) and the house is already sparse—and it looked like a lot of people didn’t come back aftrr intermission -- at least give them a bigger audience and wait for house lights to go back down. Jeez.
“Fratres” Arvo Pärt Cast
Nice. Jeremy and Adam skating together as a duet for some of this was a treat. A quiet piece with entire cast and then parts of cast.
“Stand by Me” Florence + the Machine - Madison Hubbell & Zachary Donohue
This was slow and moody, too. More people started leaving.
“Getaway” Tritonal ft. Angel Taylor - Adam Rippon
More skating with a mask. Good spins and vogueing, rolling on ice. 3Lz.
“Golden” Ruth B -Gracie Gold
2T, 1A. OK.
“Black Hole Sun” Nouela - Meryl Davis & Charlie White, Madison Chock & Evan Bates, Madison Hubbell & Zachary Donohue
Moody. Interesting. More people clearing out.
“In This Shirt” The Irrepressibles - Jeremy Abbott
Now the white ninja. I like the black ninja Jeremy better. Again, a moody-interesting piece.
Me: I hope he doesn’t try the backflip.
10yo: DO THE BACKFLIP!!!
He didn’t do the backflip. Triple toe? I can’t remember what else.
“Under Pressure” David Bowie & Queen - Madison Chock & Evan Bates
Music starts…
10yo: IT’S “ICE, ICE BABY!”
10yo: Oh darn, it’s not “Ice, Ice Baby.”
“Handclap” Fitz and the Tantrums - Ashley Wagner
Top notch Ashley. She jumped, she shimmied, she turned it up to 11. If only the whole show were like this. I mean, I get it, not everything has to be a pump-it-up number, but with such a sparse crowd, the energy dropped really quickly in the audience.
“Sax” Fleur East - Meryl Davis & Charlie White
Cute! Fun!
“Can't Stop the Feeling!” Justin Timberlake - Cast
You ever notice how you never see Charlie White and Justin Timberlake together? Could it be...nah.
OK. Jeremy did another backflip. This one didn’t look as scary.
Somewhere in there, Nathan did another number to a fun song, all while holding his cell phone. There was also a phone ringing throughout the song, and I couldn’t help but wonder whether it was a good-humored poke at Miss World Champion’s Phone Program.
Karen also did a second number. Can’t place the song – she skated with two fans, did a 3Lz, 2A and popped a Loop. (10yo: How do you know she meant to do a triple loop. Me: Because she wants to go to the Olympics. 10yo: But this isn’t Olympic trials. Me: You sure about that?)
Oh! And Meryl and Charlie did a program in Act 1 that was stunningly beautiful. Adagio for Strings. I cried. My 10yo said, "He should still play hockey. He'd be great." Even the people behind me who usually only come to Bears hockey games were rapt by Meryl and Charlie.
Overall impressions: Eh. Better than last year (although I know some people loved last year’s.)
The audience was way too small and low energy to support so many softer/moodier piece in the show. Speaking with several people after, they all said the same thing: too many soft/slow/moody pieces, not enough high energy, fun pieces. Also, everyone wanted more jumping. Lots more jumping. And I think the show also really misses not having a pairs team. Or three.
Also – and I think this is really, really important – I think the show needs to put the skaters out there with some mics, talking to the audience. This whole things needs to be less “think piece performance art” and more of a high-flying festival with a master of ceremonies breaking the fourth wall (and it was a pretty solid fourth wall that even Ashley had a tough time getting through at times) and interacting with the audience. Jeremy, Charlie and Meryl would have been perfect for this, being the “pro show people” out there.
And the show needed more humor. Not slapstick, but a little more wink and a nod…I don’t know…I get these are mostly competitive skaters and show skating isn’t their “gig.” Also, this is such a short run of shows. But why not, instead of the artsy or reflective dream themes echoed on the big screens, have some of the skaters’ fun social media posts? Or use the screens to interact with the audience? Something.
Hopefully, the Olympics will give the show a boost again. But after the Emotions theme last year and dreams this year, I really hope next year’s theme is “Riot!” or “Ka-POW!” or "Tramps and Vicars!" something like that.
I don’t know…with the half (7/12ths) empty venue and people leaving throughout, I just felt so sad. Skating is such an amazing and beautiful and thrilling one-of-a-kind sport. I know SOI can’t save skating on its own, and I don’t know how you get non-skating folks in to see a skating show. It doesn’t help to hold a show on a Thursday night in a city that’s 2 hours from everywhere. But all those empty seats…maybe give away some Bears playoff tickets with every SOI ticket or have a few of the Bears show up to skate a number with their shirts off.
I’m curious what others thought. The good stuff was really great. But overall, low energy for a Thursday.
Spun Silver
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I agree that pairs bring a visceral thrill of a sort that dance doesnt. (Happily dance is becoming more popular with the increasing interest in ballroom dancing.) Pairs is the scariest discipline, after all. I wonder why SOI left it out?
Spun Silver
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Coming back to the idea of using local rinks which no one has responded to ... some of the most memorable concerts I have ever attended were in a high school auditorium in NYC, a low-budget series that persuaded some of the world's leading musicians to perform for free (I assume, based on the almost free tickets) for a mostly senior audience that could not afford to go to Carnegie Hall.
It seems to be a fact that in the USA the audience for skating shows has shrunken drastically. Who knows, maybe Nathan will be the Olympic champion this time next year and all that will change, but for the last ten years or so that I've been going to SOI etc., the venues have obviously been papered and they are still half empty. Whereas, when "Miki Ando and Friends" (back when she was training in the US with Morozov) including Alexander Abt, or on a different occasion Johnny Weir, performed at the Ice House in Hackensack, New Yorkers poured across the Hudson, the Japanese community came out in droves, and little local skaters were in heaven. The place was packed and people actually paid money (albeit very small amounts) to attend.
I doubt SOI will change its model but there is an opportunity there for some new-thinking impresario. Imagine if Jason made that his mission for a few years after 2018!
It seems to be a fact that in the USA the audience for skating shows has shrunken drastically. Who knows, maybe Nathan will be the Olympic champion this time next year and all that will change, but for the last ten years or so that I've been going to SOI etc., the venues have obviously been papered and they are still half empty. Whereas, when "Miki Ando and Friends" (back when she was training in the US with Morozov) including Alexander Abt, or on a different occasion Johnny Weir, performed at the Ice House in Hackensack, New Yorkers poured across the Hudson, the Japanese community came out in droves, and little local skaters were in heaven. The place was packed and people actually paid money (albeit very small amounts) to attend.
I doubt SOI will change its model but there is an opportunity there for some new-thinking impresario. Imagine if Jason made that his mission for a few years after 2018!
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How many does the Ice House seat vs large arenas? A smaller venue will generally look fuller than a large arena with a lot less people.
Hackensack is train and bus accessible and as you said, there is a large Japanese community in NYC, plus the large Russian community was probably also a factor for that show. And if Johnny was skating.... I don't think putting SOI in regular skating rinks is the solution. The rinks are cold, they're not designed for large crowds, and they are usually not in the middle of cities, either. Like every other business venture involving skating, shows are hurt by the sport's decreased popularity in the U.S. But really, the sport wasn't filling arenas in the years prior to The Whack, so I don't think the current decline is unprecedented. We've discussed this all before....lack of U.S. singles stars/OGM, lack of exposure on TV (the sport didn't get a huge amount of TV time prior to 94 but certainly, the increased number of sports and networks/cable/new media channels has diluted interest and ratings further), confusing judging system....it all blends together to create less buzz.
I think SOI could be doing a better job with advertising and promotions, not to mention sponsors (very few now compared to years past), but don't forget, it's owned by IMG, which represents most of the skaters and isn't hurting for cash, so it may be that there just isn't the desire to pack arenas and tour 30 cities like they did in skating's heyday. They may be earning enough money and feel it's decent vehicle to promote their skaters and that's all they need. A larger tour with more skaters requires more staff/manpower to run, and at a certain point, the cost may outweigh the benefits in the grand scheme of their overall business model.
Spun Silver
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^It is hard to see how SOI can be making any money at all after renting such huge venues, paying the skaters, and covering tour expenses. Certainly there cant be any money left for advertising (IMO). It almost looks as though the tour itself was a form of advertising -- could its costs be subsidized by USFS? It's baffling to me.
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