Greetings, fellow Todd-fans!
Following is a personal and somewhat lengthy review of the Seattle Stars On Ice show of January 4th, 2003. I am not going to -- for the most part -- deal with who landed what jumps, as those more skilled in assessing these things live have already done so. I'm going to focus on the impressions I have of the show and each performance overall, and what stood out, for good or ill, afterwards looking back at the evening. I believe one of the real weaknesses of this show, overall, is the lack of a strong singles woman skater. (More on this later.)
I don't think there were any standing ovations all night, primarily because it was a 'cold' crowd, and not all that skating knowledgable. A woman a few seats down from me commented during the intermission that she thought this was a much less 'flashy' show than in years past. I agreed happily, and added, "There's more *skating* going on, more focus on choreography, less theatrics and gimmicks." She turned to her seatmate and said, "See, I told you it used to be better!" This I think gives you a pretty good idea of the world-view.
We had a special guest-appearance by Ekatarina Gordeeva (sp?), and she skated well. It was one of those Russian dance songs, and my husband and I were able to get folks clapping in rhythm for a chunk of it. Katya is not one of my favorite skaters, but not on my 'ick list' either -- I just think she's a weak performer solo. It does look like Ilya has been working with her on footwork, though, she had some nice little bits. Speaking of footwork, that seems to be one of the underlying themes of this show! I guess when you have Yagudin and Browning on a tour, it makes everyone sit up and pay attention a little more, but it was certainly fun to see some effort being put in by everyone.
We had the good fortune to be at the 'right end' of the arena to have Todd throw his axel in the opening number right in front of us. (The guy next to me said, "There he is -- wave your banner," and I said, "Not when he's about to jump, I'm not!" Then, as if on cue, Todd launches, and the fellow beside me aid, "Whoa.") Not only did he nail it very solidly, he was bang on the center of our end of the ice when he took off. And he does not have much time or space to set up that jump!
The group numbers were very good. I am impressed with the amount of true group choreography that was done -- from little touches like have Todd and (IIRC) Kurt do simultaneous jumps in a crossing pattern, so with their opposite directions of turn it makes a mirrored effect -- to the way groups of skaters came together and dissolved. The closing number had some highly cool synchronized footwork, and having done some dancing, I know that getting that many people to step at exactly the same time is not easy! Also, most of the cast seemed to really have fun working with each other -- there were more than just professional smiles changed! And if anyone did make a mis-step or slip up, they were generally greeted with grins by whoever they skated by next.
Everyone has said it, but I'll have to join the crowd: Todd in tight jeans GOOD! Todd before his hair gets 'spun' also GOOD! Todd having fun on the ice, REALLY GOOD! Todd, Kurt, Alexei, and David skating by in succession, close by: Does life really get better than this? I mean, on a PG-rated fan page?? The opening number was a nice variation on the "everyone show off a little" theme that all such intros share.
Another fairly random note: Is it just me, or is Jamie Sale so gosh-darn cute you just want to give her a big hug every time you see her? She's adorable! She and Katarina really stand out in the group numbers, Katarina because she has so much presence, and Jamie because she's like a happy little hummingbird out there.
I hope I don't have to turn in my Todd-fan card for saying this, but I think the most memorable number of the night was actually Gorsha and Sur doing "The Prayer". Simply beautiful: Beautiful music, good costumes, gorgeous choreography (Christopher Dean I'm sure) and well-skated. One of those performances where no one even claps for a moment while they inhale deeply, suddenly realizing they were holding their breaths a bit.
Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman skated as well as I have ever seen them skate live -- almost as well as I have EVER seen them skate, to a rock ballad I'm not familiar with. It's a nice program, and they were really in tune with each other and the music. John is looking more confident and secure as a skater, maybe all the solo skating he gets to do with this show is good for him. Or maybe the unfortunate situation with Kyoko's suspension has brought them together a little more. Whatever the reason, it's a darn shame they can't defend their title when they're skating so well.
Kurt did two programs, and they were almost as different as is possible. The first was a romantic piece that was wonderfully wistful and smooth. As much as I enjoy seeing him on TV, I have to say that watching his footwork live is almost religious for me. A camera doesn't really give you a feeling for the speed, smoothness, or quality of the basic skating. (Note to enevolent deity: Please, please, before I'm old, let Yuka Sato skate an event near Seattle! Even on TV she's unreally good.) Kurt dances on the ice in a way that shouldn't be possible. It's as though any orientation of the blades is just as easy for him as any other -- not just which edges, but relative to the direction of motion. He seems to be able to put his blade at right angles to his momentum without slowing at all -- or making noise -- or kicking up snow. I'll have to watch the TV show (if they show it) to see what his face is doing for most of this skate, as I couldn't break out of watching his legs for more than a few seconds at a time. Just amazing. Smooth and sweet as a Grand Marnier at room temp. And his jumps were as always clean. I love the way he delays starting rotation just fractionally longer than most skaters, so that it looks like he's on wires when he does! I believe this was the program where he did the wonderful camel spin where he bends his supporting knee slowly, then straightens up again, it's striking move and I have to think a challenge to do well.
In contrast, the other piece was laugh-out-loud funny. He's a good mime, and when he "cast" over toward the far side of the rink and reeled himself in, I almost fell out of my seat. And yet, as in his memorable clown piece, all the apparent sloppiness and haphazardness is actually very tightly choreographed; and the footwork, again, was great. (I have to wonder how LONG does it take him to rehearse one of these things? So that he has taken exactly the right number of slipping steps to start skating backwards just when the music changes, while looking like it's accidental??) A good night for Kurt, who is hammy and fun in the group numbers too.
Alexei also did two solo programs. He did successfully land the triple-triple-double, which amazed me given that you could see that he was not skating without pain. It was actually most obvious on spins -- not that anyone is equally adept on both feet, but his smile became very frozen on one side. Ditto on some of his quick turns in footwork. (Not to sell Alexei Yagudin short, but it would be nice to see him do less toepick work. A whole pass of the rink on that is really overkill, and especially if it's not the only time in the program that you do it...he clearly has the ability to do a greater variety of footwork, and there ain't enough of it in skating today IMHO. Maybe watching Kurt show how smoothly you can move while changing everything about how your blade meets the ice sensitized me to this.) The first solo program is, for Alexei, not very technically packed, and that's probably a good idea given his health and the length of the tour -- and he has certainly earned the right to enjoy vamping the Sweet Young Things that are swooning in the aisles. Actually, the coolest thing about his second piece was that he left his jump until a little too late at one point, and his foot swung into the on-ice seating as he overturned to try to avoid hitting anyone. A short while later, as he neared that spot to begin a straight-line footwork pass, he bent to the lady and (he was facing our way and I do read lips) said, "You're okay?" and paused to get her answer. She nodded vigorously and one presumes said "Yes", but I thought it was great he did that himself, instead of having SOI send a runner to check afterwards. Two good skates, and he was also in almost all of the group numbers. He doesn't look all that at-home as a cowboy, but he's clearly having fun.
Katarina Witt did two numbers, one where she was a society lady of style, money, and sex appeal with two men in attendance. She's well acquainted with the role of vamp, and quite good at putting some sizzle in the air around her. It was a fun piece, again choreographed well on several levels. Her serious piece, to a Barbara Streisand song, was lovely. She only did a couple of jumps, but they were executed beautifully and with great musicality. More than anything, the piece -- romantic and slightly wistful -- used her amazing presence. She just draws the eye, she commands attention and has a wonderful line and style. This piece, and Kurt's also, explicitly brought to my attention how beautifully LIT this show is--they must have a heck of a lighting designer.
The big ensemble piece with the four Olympic pairs medalists and Todd doing 'narration' while skating was much more enjoyable than I expected. I hated most of the talking in last year's show, so I wasn't looking forward to it, but the poem was cool -- and it was really neat to be able to compare the two pairs so closely. The costumes were similar but not identical, and they did many, but not all, of the same moves. Sometimes side-by-side, so you could think, "Gee, her back is in a better position, but *her* entrance was nicer" and so on. Anton and Elena did that gorgeous move where he's doing a spiral and she's in a spread-eagle, which is so unusual and so exquisite -- they look like some kind of delicate sailboat sweeping down the ice. By the way, Todd does some serious skating in this as well, it's not just token moves around the pairs.
Jamie and David did their "Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin' " number, which is vampy and cute, and a long way from Tristan and Isolde. She really stuck the landing on the throw triple, and of course the handstand lift has got to be seen to be truly appreciated. I was struck again by how well matched they are as a pair in terms of style, although they are built so differently you would expect that would express itself more in their stroking. One of my hopes for this year was that they'd have a good skate in Seattle, they had a bad fall last year and I wanted to see them when they were in better form. Wish granted!
Okay, I think it's Todd time! First things first: He looked GREAT. A good hair night, although he kept running a hand over it while holding the mic in the other hand during the pairs number. (It was kinda cute, reminded me of how often he smooths it during warm-up at a competition.) Also, I liked the music and the costumes for both of his solo pieces. The costume is simple and striking, and let's hear it for lycra/spandex under a spotlight! Todd seems to be put in an introspective mood by this piece, which is not something I expected. It felt almost like he didn't notice the audience, which was a neat effect. He skated well, and I must agree with a couple of previous reviewers, he *does* seem to have, somehow, gotten faster on his spins. (Maybe touring with Lucinda last year??) He put a hand out, possibly down, on one triple, but without video replay I can't be sure. Other than that, it was a clean and well-skate program, and I really enjoyed it. I have to say, though, that it just wasn't as memorable as some other similar programs he has done -- Il Mare and 1492 come to mind. He did get a very nice ovation for this.
The other program, the jazz drum piece, was such a departure for him, musically and stylistically, that I thought, "Wow! This is *not* a watered-down competition piece!" It's hard to describe it, but imagine taking all of the non-jump aspects of a program -- all the footwork, moves-in-the-field, spirals, etc -- and beef them up by about an order of magnitude. Then take a driving tempo and just ride it up and down the ice for several minutes. Not that he looked tired, he seems to really have fun with this one, but *I* got winded watching it. He's very busy the whole time, and that's the biggest weakness of the piece. A program usually works like a novel, with a few small climaxes and pauses, slowly building to one final peak and then a quick denouement. "Channel One Suite" is flatter, shallower valleys and less distance from the average to the peaks, which is not as emotionally satisfying to an audience. I personally, could watch this one about five times in a row, no problem -- ideally from a different place in the audience each time, say from each side of the rink? -- but I think as general entertainment, it's going to get less reaction than a more traditional program. Dammit but he skated it well, though! Todd is really good at hitting jumps just *so* on the peak of the music, and especially when you're doing so much to get from now to then, that's hard to do. And it is sooo spectacular when it's done right! He landed I think a triple lutz right in front of us, and we were so close you could see his eyes crinkle into a smile of relief when he checked out for landing. (Veeeerrrrry cool to see!) He also had a lot of fun playing the crowd with this number, more relaxed and connected to the audience than I have seen him before.
Oh, important Todd development note: He actually looked like he was dancing in the finale! It used to be all routines with dance moves needed to be subtitled "Todd Is So White, But He's Trying" -- not the case this time. He not only wasn't the least fluid man dancing out there, he looked like he was gettin' into it! (Picture my astonishment...)
So, overall impressions: Lots of good choreography, lighting, and skating throughout; a good overall balance of moods and styles. And, kudos to SOI for this, the VOLUME was not ridiculous! (I hate to sound middle-aged, but Champions On Ice tends to use the same volume control as ZZ Top's sound crew; this can make for some serious headaches in small buildings.) Similarly, how nice to mostly not have spotlights flashing in one's face, or reflecting off the ice. Good performances by everyone involved, I think there were two (2) missed jumps TOTAL for the evening, and one almost-stumble. (Which I must confess was Todd, but it wasn't horrible.) Oh, Jenny went down on her throw jump, but she was up again right away and they went on smoothly. Wonderful costuming, I assume most or all were Jef Billings.
Great ideas by management: Having a ladies' favorite number with the boys doing the cowboy bar routine. We like jeans, we like our skaters shaking their booties, and we like to see the guys having fun.
Token mistakes by management: 1) Puh-leese, don't ask Elena to try to do Marilyn Monroe! She just doesn't have it in her -- though, surprisingly, Anton had a great time doing Elvis, and pulled it off pretty well. Also, I found the musical cut-togethers for that piece a little jarring. They did seem to enjoy doing the piece though, and some of the audience liked it a lot. 2) Get a female soloist! There's got to be someone available -- what's Surya up to? Yuka? Chen Lu?? -- it was good to see Katya, and the crowd loves her, but get someone who can land a triple, hey?
Hope this was informative and enjoyable to you all, Kitt
