I saw on social media that the Saturday evening show of the Wilmington, DE club show with Weir and Ting Cui is sold out (not surprisingly). If anyone goes to Wilmington -- or to the Aston, PA shows (post #3 above) -- this weekend, feel free to share any impressions/highlights here afterwards.
Wow, Johnny Weir still has it. He skated to Creep in a black turtleneck, black leggings and a long, flowy black skirt that he used to great effect. He did a stunning triple toe and interpreted the music with beautiful and inventive movements. After the finale, he came to the boards to greet fans. He was delightful and gracious in receiving flowers and gifts, posing for pictures, signing autographs and giving hugs to fans.
Julia Biechler was fantastic also (One Moment in Time.") I wish she had been given a suitable introduction by the rink announcer, but there was no introduction for her. Julia looked trimmer and fitter than the last time I saw her in person, and given all the discussion of eating disorders and their pervasiveness, I hope she got into condition a healthy way. Her skating was sublime and she looked to be really enjoying her performance on the ice.
Tony Lu did his program to Queen. He did several big triples, including 3a. Might have done a quad, not sure. He landed almost everything. Boy needs to project, though. He skates inwardly and does not engage the audience.
David Shapiro gave a very engaging performance to a non-Buble cover of "Feelin' Good." He is a great dancer, sinewy and flexible, finds the nuances in the music and uses the blade VERY well. In a fun "cowboy" group number, I could not take my eyes off him.
Lu and Mitrofanov skated twice. Did a double twist.
Ilia Malinin and Nick Hseih both gave strong performances. Peter Liu had small roles in the group numbers but did not skate a solo.
Ting Cui did not perform due to injury.
Second to Weir's performance, biggest applause went to the "Baby Shark" song. Four pre-schoolers in tiny shark (mascot-style) costumes toddled onto the ice followed by an adult ice-dance couple, she in a pink shark mascot suit and he in gray. Let's go hunt d-doo-d-d-d-doo!
ETA: correction
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