Greetings. When I first walked into the Spokane Arena the crowd seemed very small. However I checked my notes from last year and it was about the same as the previous year - the sides fairly full the ends empty. Two years before (Scott's farewell) the entire lower bowl was full with a few rows around the second level. .I had hoped that Skate America being in Spokane might generate more interest in Stars on Ice. However I think it really is a reflection of the economy. The past two years SOI has arrived in Spokane immediately after the holidays when people have overspent their budgets. The crowd seemed smaller than last year and I bet they didn't get a lot of last minute ticket sales. I didn't notice much advertising in the media or newspapers either.
The day of the performance there were several articles in the local paper. On the humorous side Paul Turner writer of the Slice (a humorous commentary on local life) mentioned SOI in his column. Go figure: Witt keeps us tuned in ...... even some guys who are allergic to figure skating have had a thing for Katarina Witt ever sine the 1984 Olympics. In addition to being a classy performer, she's an actual regulation size woman, not a pixie. The weekend magazine featured SOI on the cover with a large photo of Todd and another showing the Olympic gold medal pairs holding their medals. The cover story article was titled Fire on Ice : skaters have had their share of controversy, but performances don't show it and had another large photo of Sale and Pelletier. The writer Heather Lalley had interviewed Todd Eldrege who was quoted as saying "It's one of the deepest and most exciting casts they've had in many, many years" The article also stated that he has a 6 year contract with SOI which is just fine with me.
I purchase my tickets on the advanced order form and ended up with on-ice tickets for the second year in a row. I started getting on-ice tickets when I started ordering a single ticket. This may be the last year because on the form it says on -ice tickets are now $80 and I won't pay $25 extra just to sit in the front row. Overall I loved the show and wish I could attend again.
During the intro the folks who seemed to get the loudest applause were Todd Eldredge, Sale and Pelletier, Kurt Browning and Alexi Yagudin. It was hard to tell because the music was so loud. I was surprised when Alexi came out, I thought he would be resting his hip.
Alexi started off the program with his Born to be Wild program. He had great charisma and showmanship but I didn't much like the program. To much sliding around on the ice and not much else. I prefer the skaters to stay on their feet. His Racing program in the second half was very well performed with footwork and jumps although I think it was watered down some. I don't particularly like this program and I didn't like it at Skate America where it was performed well with all the tricks. Just a matter of taste I guess. I thoroughly enjoyed everyone else's presentations in particular the ensemble numbers - I love seeing the nteractions between the skaters.
Highlights for me were Meno & Sand (I'm Your Man) It was so nice to see them doing something totally different and doing it really well. Both of Kurt Browning's numbers were perfection on ice - nothing amiss. Todd Eldredge was incredible and everywhere. It seemed like he was on the ice more than anyone. I have always loved Roca & Sur and the Prayer program was wonderful. It was a delight to see Katia Gordeeva skating again. As I said I love the ensemble work and especially enjoyed Blues in the night with Witt, Sur and Zimmerman and Love on the Rocks with Ina/Zimmerman, Roca/Sur and Meno/Sand and of course Studz with all the men.
I hope these numbers are in the TV Special because I feel like I want to watch them again and again to catch all the fine details and nuances in the choreography. One advantage of on-ice seats is getting to shake the performers hands at the end. Kurt came down to my end of the ice but I was at the end of the row and he didn't get to me. There were advance order forms available for next year.
Champions on Ice usually comes to Spokane in June so when I got home I checked the website for the date and we are being skipped this year. Of course I'm very disappointed. COI will be in Seattle on Memorial Day Weekend but at the moment I have a conflict.
Spokane has a lovely park and outdoor skating rink in the center of town and I am enjoying my winter routine of skating on Sunday mornings. It is about the only time the rink is not really crowded.
