My post is probably going to be unpopular, but the theme was a real no for me. Deeply unfunny for the majority of the night and just all around somewhat pointless. I felt sort of bad for the cast honestly. Deanna didn’t wait to get on SOI until she was 40 to wear a knee length lab coat and what looked like rubber gloves to wash dishes the entire night.
The only two bits that worked for me were the Ilia single to quad progression and the measuring of Keegan’s backflip. In theory having Satoko demonstrate choreography was a good idea, but the execution was poor IMO. Instead of having her repeat the same 3-4 turns in rapid succession with little ice coverage, it would have been more effective if they’d actually had her skate some full out choreographic pieces that she excels at. Would have loved a full speed Ina Bauer and spiral for example. Sure have her do a sequence of rockers, counters, brackets once. But I didn’t need to see it five times.
For the rest of the “science”….was not into it. Why were they playing with beach balls? Why were they also playing some other game catching smaller balls? What does that have to do with skating or science?
I also felt the entire thing had a low rent feel. They were clearly skimping of costumes in the group numbers. Everyone wore one of their own costumes in the opening number for example. And this makes it look like they wandered into the local skating club for a one off show for $5 a ticket. Why couldn’t they just have rented one of the beautiful sets of costumes from a previous year if there was no money for new costumes? An ice show needs some sparkle and not a single other costume that was made specifically for this show had any sparkle on it.
I am a huge Kurt fan and think he’s one of the greatest of all time. But a gifted choreographer he is not. I disliked the show in 2015 (the previous time he was in charge) and disliked it even more this time. It doesn’t make me excited to go back next year if he’s at the helm again.
I think the attempt at comedy would have been fine if it was a singular bit that only lasted a few minutes. It didn’t need to be something they tried to do for 2.5 hours. I also think that he could have pulled this off as a program. But not everyone is him, and they don’t all have his comedic timing or acting chops. But bottom line is that I don’t desire to see that much time being spent on things so hokey and cringy.
I will say the finale was very well done and I quite liked it. Perhaps because no one was wearing a lab coat.
And beyond all that, there were some really wonderful individual performances on the tour this year. And for that reason I’d still encourage people to go.
Some random (positive
) thoughts
This is far and away the best Maddie Schizas has ever skated. I don’t know who did her programs (especially the Lion King) or what they did with her skating in the last month, but she looked like an entirely different skater than any other time I’ve seen her. I’ve long been a fan, but also very aware of her short comings. But this is the first time where I’ve seen her and thought she looked like an equal of others in the cast. Speed, nice open posture and great arms throughout. More of this please.
Loena is a really great addition to any tour. She had sparkle on the ice and her personality comes through. I find her music choices a bit random, but I really enjoy watching her. She was jumping well, so hopefully the injury at worlds wasn’t anything that will linger.
I also really enjoyed Elvis this year. The second program is super fun and he works the audience better than anyone else there. So impressive that the jumps are still solid after all these years.
I will miss Patrick and his beautiful skating. Seems so soon to be saying goodbye, but I get it and wish him well.
Ilia was very enjoyable. I think this is the most commitment to his choreography from him that I’ve seen and I really like his second program. Casually knocked off a couple quads during the course of the night
.
Piper and Paul had two great programs. Agree with some tweets I saw that the I Wanna Dance With Somebody might have been a better Rhythm dance choice than what they did. I often find myself more drawn to their exhibitions than they competitive programs for whatever reason. They are great show skaters and I get the sense that Piper is the glue of the cast sometimes. She sold the comedy bits the best I thought.
Satoko was glorious to watch. To be honest I didn’t love her programs last year, but she knocked it out of the park this time. She even did a couple triples (one was < but who is counting
). Just pristine quality to her skating.
Deanna really does have a 90s quality to her skating that I love and feel is missing from today’s skaters. She presents herself beautifully at all times and I think she loves what she is doing. I thought their first program was lovely, a little less in love with the second, but it was still enjoyable. They were a nice addition to the cast.
Keegan’s backflip really is a gasp moment. Wonder what if feels like to fly 20 feet while flipping?
Those are my unfiltered thoughts. Feel free to
me
.
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He was the only skater to do one program instead of two, because he kind of had a mini-solo during one of the group numbers in the second half.
