I'll warn you, this review is long and I didn't take notes, so any errors are mine (based solely on memory). My mom and I went together and arrived at the arena about 30 minutes before the show's start time. The arena was not full, but while the crowd was small(er), they were certainly verbal in their support and that made for a great evening for everyone. There were advanced ticket order forms on the seats, so I picked one up for next year.
Since I knew that Todd was opening the show, I have to acknowledge that I was a little perturbed at the people coming in late and finding their seats after the lights went down. Todd comes out in a light blue t-shirt and jeans and skates around a bit, and then lands a beautiful double axel. At least I'm fairly sure it was a double, although I can't guarantee it thanks to the big guy who was trying to find his seat along with a huge bucket of popcorn and a giant soda who just happened to block my view as Todd was doing his opening jump "russen-frussen", mutter, mutter, "stupid people" mutter, mutter "next year, I'm ordering on-ice seats", mutter, mutter. OK, F-O-C-U-S, after all, Todd's still on the ice and here comes John - Todd's smiling, John looks good, feeling better now. In this number, everyone looks like they are having fun and are in good spirits. In my opinion, during the introductions at the end, pretty much everyone got a great reception.
First up was Yags with "Born to be Wild". I have to admit that by the end of this number, I thought Alexei's hip must really be bothering him - I only saw one triple-toe during the entire number and his hydroblading moves were not as low to the ice as I have seen him be in the past. But, he did a great job hamming it up for the audience and and was certainly well received.
Next, Kyoko came out and skated a little bit with Alexei and then that transitioned into John and Kyoko's "Bed of Roses" program. Absolutely beautiful - John fell on their SBS jumps, but other than that, on everything else they were solid.
Jaime & David were up next with "Come Fly With Me". I love this program, especially all the lifts that really highlight the music.
Todd took the ice next for "Channel One Suite". During this performance, my mom said, "wow, he's really loosened up a lot" and I agree. Todd totally put everything into this performance, he hit all of the jumps including the triple axel, his spins were fast and centered as usual and his footwork was quick and intricate (mom even went "wow" during the ending footwork section). I think that Richard was dead on when he put the barrel rolls in this piece - they fit perfectly with the music and Todd looks like he's really enjoying this departure from the "classic". At the end, he finishes with this "whew" motion, wiping his brow, which, of course, the audience just loved.
Kat comes out and skates up to Todd. After Kat does some slinky moves, Todd looks like he's going for her, but alas John and Gorsha have come out and they pull him away, then they join Kat for Hotter Than Blue". It was a cute transition. I'm sorry to say that the one thing that I kept noticing was Kat's dress. I can't begin to describe what was going on, but the strap down the back kept slipping off Kat's shoulder (as if it wasn't fitted down the back but was flowing loosely) and she kept having to shrug her shoulders to get it back into place - needless to say, it was very distracting to me, even more so than John. ;-)
Alexei skated next to "Overcome". I have seen this program live several times and he was definitely slower tonight than I've seen him in the past. I have always loved playing "name that program" during Overcome. Tonight, I recognized parts from Gladiator, Winter, and Man in the Iron Mask. This was the program that Alexei decided to put all of his jumps into. We saw a total of three combos (all of which were 3 toes/3 toes) and, if I remember correctly, a single 3-Flip. None of the combos seemed totally solid; but, in actuality, he only stepped out of the second jump on the second combo. During the intermission, one of the ladies near me commented that she thought that Alexei was trying to do a quad-triple combo, but that all we kept getting were triple-triples. I don't know if that was accurate or not, but given that Alexei has said he's going back to competing, it might be possible.
Afterwards, Jenni comes out with a rose and tries to give it to Yags. He acts like "for me?" but then, in the end, runs off leaving Jenni alone on the ice with the rose. Jenni looks very forlorn and the entire audience cries "Awwww" which was very cute. She then pretends to try to give the rose to someone in the on-ice seats. Finally, Todd (Sand) comes out and he and Jenni skated to "I'm Your Man". The program was adorable and was my mom's favorite. Todd's expressions were great and they were skating well as Jenni even landed her throw double axel.
Kurt followed with "How Do You Keep the Music Playing" - I have to say that the highlight of this program to me was Kurt's Ina Bauer - it is absolutely gorgeous. Having just gotten back from Worlds where I saw a lot of Ina Bauers, absolutely none of them even came close to the one that Kurt does in this program. It was worth seeing that move alone.
"Power Play" was next. It's not one of my favorites, but I don't have a problem with this program (some people's mileage may vary). I would have liked to see some fours work instead of just having the two pairs (Elena & Anton, Jaime & David) do mirror images but it was a reasonable way to close Act I. The highlight of this number for me was a little wave and wink from Todd to someone in the front of our section. I just know he made someone's evening and it was great to see him enjoying himself and interacting with the audience.
Actually, just before the intermission, Kurt came out with a microphone and announced that Smuckers had donated a portion of all of the sales for tonight's show to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. Having done some work with the local Boys and Girls Club during Nationals, I really appreciated the support being given to this wonderful organization.
Act II opened with "A Little Less conversation/Studz" - Jaime started out in front of our section and had her hair in pigtails. Her smile seemed like a 100-watt light bulb. This program is nothing but pure fun and is a chance for the cast to really just have a good time. I enjoyed it as did the rest of the audience, and I have to say that even though I tried to watch the whole cast, being from Texas and having a true feel for "cowboys", I just couldn't help but being drawn to watch John throughout most of this number. He's just got the right image!
I feel for Katarina having to follow after Studz, but she really holds her own with "Rest of Your Life". Her skating is still soft and lyrical and the jumps that she did do were right on. She is such a beauty, and her basic skating skills still make her a joy to watch.
Todd was up next with "Miserere". This is classic Todd and I really enjoyed just watching him skate this program. He landed all four of his triple jumps, but I have to admit that his cat feet were showing. If I remember correctly, it was the lutz that he was leaning on so much that I was amazed that he landed it cleanly. This program doesn't move me as much as Glory or Il Mare, but it still captivates you and he skated it beautifully. I'm really glad that Todd mixed up his programs and chose to include a "classic" along with the departure (Channel One).
Renee and Gorsha followed with "The Prayer". This was perfect to follow Todd as again it's a classic and they skated it so beautifully. There are a few moves in this program where Gorsha just presents Renee in such a way that you can't help but see and feel the elegance of it.
er these two classic programs, there was even yet another classic with Kurt doing comedy in "Slippery Side Up". Kurt's ability to pull this program off is amazing. He does it so well and had the entire audience just cracking up with laughter. I will say that, for me, Kurt could never do another jump, as long as he just did footwork from here on out, I'd still love watching him.
mething Stupid/Love on the Rocks" with John & Kyoko, Renee & Gorsha and Todd S. & Jenni was up next and was a fun group number. The girls looked cute in their outfits and everyone looked like they were enjoying themselves. It was a good piece to put in after Kurt, as it was lighthearted but allowed the audience to have a chance to catch their breath from laughing.
Mme. T After Hours" with Elena & Anton followed. Elena's hair is longer and in ringlets, so she kinda reminded me of Shirley Temple, but she looks adorable. I think my mom said it best, she thought that the Elvis number that Tanith & Ben did in the exhibitions at Nationals (and Worlds) is better than this one, yet you can still tell from this program that Elena & Anton are certainly great skaters.
Jaime & David skated next to "Lovin, Touchin, Squeezin". What a great program! Jaime landed the throw triple salchow and their triple twist looked good. Of course, the highlight of this program is the handstand lift. What a cool move! David even stayed in character for the bows by putting his arms around Jaime and turning her to each section of the arena. Finally, right before the lights went out, he wrapped his arms around her in a big hug. Very sweet!
Alexei followed with "Racing" but had obviously had put all his jump efforts into "Overcome". He still had fun with this number, but I didn't see much technically, only one jump that I can recall. His footwork, however, was great as always and the audience loved it.
Then came the finale "Can't Stop" - I couldn't believe that it was the closing number already =96 I was definitely wanting to see more, but isn't that the goal of a good show leave 'em wanting more It was hard to watch everyone since there was so much going on, but Todd has really loosened up and he's so comfortable with the moves that he really has gotten into this finale and is looking good. At one point, I had a direct view of Gorsha with Todd lined up behind him - I have to say that Gorsha had more fluidity in his upper body, but he is an ice dancer, so it would be reasonable for him to really add to the moves in such a dancin' based finale. It was fun to watch (despite not being able to follow Todd and everyone else at the same time), and afterwards they shook hands with people in the audience and then everyone waved goodbye from center ice at the end of the show (and for those of you who'll want to know - there was no shirt-rippin' here in Dallas).
After the show, it was nice to see several people that I had met or worked with at Nationals. I also got to see John, Kat, and Todd as well as a few of the other skaters. I have to say that Todd looked really, really, sharp dressed in black Versace jeans with a red "Stars on Ice" polo shirt. Red is certainly a great color on him. Todd said that he was a little tired, but not too bad; however, none of them were really looking forward to the long (7-hours) bus ride to Mississippi.
Here's what I can tell everyone about being able to see Todd in the near future. He'll be finishing up the U.S. tour and then they will immediately start rehearsing for the Canadian shows. Be sure to catch Todd at any of the rest of the U.S. tour stops and also on all of the Canadian stops between now and the first week of May. As a side note: for other Steven Cousins fans (like myself), Stephen is recuperating and doing well. He is reportedly landing some double jumps. Stephen will be attending the last few U.S. shows to refresh his memory and then will start rehearsing with the rest of the cast for the Canadian stops - It certainly will be nice to see him skating again.
For the golfing fans, Todd is planning to do Jimmy V this summer. Todd seemed very relaxed, he was smiling, and, as usual, was such a sweetheart to everyone who wanted photos taken or an autograph. Finally, one of the crewmembers came by to let him and John (both of whom were still chatting with people) know that they were hitting the road, so off they went, heading towards Mississippi. Mom and I left the arena on a much shorter trip towards home, with both of us giving the entire evening a definite "thumbs up"!
