This is a combined review of the Atlantic City stop with a few Philly comments thrown in. Interestingly enough I had seats on opposite sides each night so it was nice to see the same programs from a different angle. In AC, just about every skater had a perfect night with lots of 'on' performances, so that was a real treat. And I think I had the best ever seats in AC - on-ice at dead center - way cool!

Opening - "Sunrise"
I'm still not a big fan of this opening number. It's got amazing music and some really nice choreography, but I guess it just doesn't 'stick' with me. I enjoy it at the time but by the end of the show the details are already gone. Everyone skated it very well though and I like how you have lots of side-by-side tricks from the pair teams and single skaters. Funny moment in Philly was that the people behind me were convinced that Kyoko was Kristi when she first took the ice. And I still don't think the ladies costumes match the mens at all - Fuschia and Rust?

Wylie - "Long Time" It was great to see Paul skating again and he's definitely improved since Kristi's show in Philly. He's found a bit more of his speed and his spins and spread eagles are done fast and with great power and lean. That being said - he needs to get a different program. Paul just isn't your rock-n-roll guy and the fist-pumping looked especially retarded. The song might have been ok except for the repeated fist pumping, audience mugging and other antics - it almost looked like Paul was skating a Scotty program.

"Timing Is Everything"
The falling water number has been modified I think since Lake Placid with David and Paul doing a verbal "ta-da" at the end of it. Very cute. Got a bit lucky in AC as they weren't quite on center under the water.

Ina & Zimmerman - "Look At Little Sister"
While I adore John and Kyoko, this is just something of a throw-away program and I hope they go back to something more complete next year. I don't mind the song or the rock-n-roll, but the program just looks rough. Having now seen it 4 times, I know that they're doing the moves as they're choreographed, but the problem seems to me that the choreography isn't clean. Too many moves seem to look like they've made a mistake and are trying to cover it up. I do find it commendable though that it's the lowest ranked pair team on tour that are the only ones trying side-by-side jumps - and they're John's nemesis - the axel! Major points for that!

Metronome
Todd must get awfully tired of swinging that big metronome around show after show! I like how they use this transition to pointedly show the music change as without it I don't think you could go from pumped up rock to the soft ballad. And I just love this outfit on Todd - very fun and I always chuckle when he tips his hat to Yuka at the end.

Sato - "Misty"
Ahhh, I could watch Yuka skate forever. I think in AC I spent 75% of the time just watching her from the knees down - she just has such amazing edges and flow. And of course those blades are whisper quiet. This program also suits her really well with lots of long edges and moves that just sort of melt from one right into the other. After she finished in AC, I turned to my friend and said 'that's who Sasha should be talking to about how to properly use extension.' Yuka doesn't have the extreme amplitude but every bit of her is extended into the move out to the very ends of her fingers and tips of her toes - she's totally committed her entire body to the move and it's simply gorgeous!

Sale & Pelletier - "Come Away With Me"
This is a cute program from them, but nothing I'd consider spectacular. While the choreography is beautiful, I'd have much rather seen their Queen number or even "Cryin'" I guess maybe the song just bores me a bit which hurts my overall enjoyment of the number. Still, it was skated very well.

Hands of Time
On seeing this a second time, I still really like the concept but the program does seem to run about 60 seconds too long. The girls were very much in unison though and it's another program that's improved since opening night. I think Kyoko got the best outfit though - very cool.

Eldredge - "Flamenco"
Now here's a program that's improved 110% and really needs Todd to be "on." I honestly disliked the program quite a bit in Lake Placid, and wasn't that much more impressed in philly, but in AC it completely kicked ass. The movements were really sharp and crisp and he had some serious speed going throughout. He doesn't have Kurt footwork speed, but it's nice to see someone trying to improve their skating as a pro. Todd said he hasn't added much new material, but that he's gotten a lot more comfortable with the timing. It's a shame that a later version of this program wasn't taped for tv as it would be much better.

Time For An Olympic Champion
Poor Todd Sand - everyone but him gets a funky b&w costume and he has to play a fat man :( He does comedy well though so it's a cute little bit.

Berezhnaya & Sikharulidze - "Let Me Fall"
While I really don't understand the military feel costumes (though they are gorgeous), I really like this number from them. It's B&S doing what they do best - especially spirals for him and spread eagles for her. Lots of nice combo moves in here. I think this was the program that Elena fell on the throw in Philly in but I'm not positive. Very nice program.

Jailbird
It's a send-up along the lines of the old Vaudeville routines and doesn't really lead into the next number, but I still laugh every time I see it. Something about Todd and John's expressions is just too funny.

Yagudin - "Memorial"
What a complete waste of a program. If possible I think the program has gotten worse since Lake Placid. While I know Alexei is recovering from injury, this program is just a wasteland - lots of pointless stroking from one end to the other with one or two tricks thrown in - and those were recycled bits of "Overcome" and "Man In The Iron Mask"!!. And in Philly Alexei's russian splits looked more like jumping jacks - no height or stretch at all. The one upside to this number is that I can tune it out and think about Grishuk and Platov's free dance (one of my favorites). This is also a number where Alexei has more applause when he started then when he finished - never a good sign (and even the die-hard Alexei fans behind me in Philly were overheard to say "wow, that was really disappointing"). The number was scrapped entirely in AC - and I for one did not miss it - except that because of it they had to scrap the Jailbird number too and that was a favorite bit of mine :(

Rumors were of course fierce around Alexei's not doing this number in AC, with some saying it was his hip and others saying he just didn't want to do it. Not sure which are really the truth. He did look to be in some pain in Philly (leaving out choreography in the group numbers) but he looked completely pain free in AC with big jumps and no missing choreography. Odd.

Ensemble - "TGIF"
This is a fabulous group number and I was very glad to finally get to see the opening half that I'd missed in Lake Placid. For the most part the cast looks like they're just out their goofing around and having a great time. (the exceptions are Alexei and Anton who both looked to be phoning in their parts entirely). And the colors - everyone looked so great in the bright contrasting outfits! There were so many fun moments happening all over the ice that it was hard to know where to look. In AC, Eldredge was in his element and seemed to be really on. I love the moment when the guys lift him overhead and he's sort of 'flying' - very fun! Sand was a complete stich in the "Be My Number Two" portion - very hammy and he played it off so well! Also loved the little bit that was bulls and bullfighters - John and ToddE were very funny at this part. This number sort of reminded me of the old Stones or Queen finales where there are lots of little story lines that meld into one big number. The only small flaw in Atlantic City was that Anton had to join the number late because he had no time for a costume change.

Post show in AC, ToddE commented that with the removal of Alexei's first number everyone lost an additional 4 minutes of rest and he was really tired so the whole program had sort of this manic energy to it (of course that was perfect for the program's mood so it worked out well).

Ensemble - "Work'n Time"
You'd never think that a program based around push brooms would be even remotely interesting, but it's really just a lot of fun and it relates the two halves of the show together nicely. This number was also full of some manic energy in AC and it was performed really well. There was a fun moment where Todd is being swung around on the two brooms by John and it seemed that John got a little carried away as it was huge swing around and even Todd looked a bit startled by it. I also love the move that has Alexei flipping over two of the brooms.

Meno & Sand - "Shall We Dance"
I'm still not terribly fond of the version of this song that was chosen, but at least I can sort of overlook that. Now if they would just scrap the cheesy voice intro it would be a lot better. This program is classic M&S romance and it works very well for them. They had a slight problem on a lift in Philly that never quite got off the ground but they were pros and never let it really interrupt them. Jenni has always had such beautiful leg positions in the lifts and their lifts were right on in AC.

4 x 2 = 8
This is a cute transition number with the only downside being I was humming the tune for the rest of the weekend (drat, and just typing this has got me humming again - damn that educational cartoon!). The girls all just look so cute with the pink earmuffs.

Eldredge - "When You Come Back To Me Again"
This to me is one of the best solo numbers of the show and is definitely one of my favorite Todd programs ever. And in AC he delivered a stunning performance of it complete with 2 triple axels (that made 3 over all for the show - nice to see someone still doing the harder jumps). I just love all the edgework and long movements that start out this program - this was Todd at his best.

Out of Time
Somehow this number works better for Paul than Scott (and who would have ever thought that?). Maybe because Paul comes out to center ice and strikes this absolutely perfect dramatic pose. I think it's because Scott always looked like he was setting up a joke, where it's a bit more of a natural or expected pose for Paul. In Philly there were *huge* "awwwwws" when Paul skated off looking all sad.

Ensemble - "Sunscreen"
I love these unique ensemble pieces that put together skaters in different combinations. It was fun to watch different skaters both nights and see some of the poses and comedy that I'd missed at differing stops. Sand's face at the line about knowing what to do when you're forty was priceless! And kudos for Yuka to being lifted and pulled about every which way and still looking incredibly graceful. I loved her move to the line about stretching - very effective. Nice fun number!

Wylie - "Hero"
This is a more classic program from Wylie and it's a good fit for him. It's also improved since Kristi's show as Paul looked a bit speedier and the footwork in sections was crisper. The program of course included some gorgeous inside and outside spread eagles. The lean he gets on those things is just astounding!

Show You To Your Seat
This is by far the weakest of the Time transitions. Also a suggestion to the props man - fake popcorn in the boxes would make it more realistic than having them be empty.

Berezhnaya & Sikharulidze - "Kalinka"
This program has also gotten better as the tour's gone on. I still think Bechke & Petrov's version was much better, but this one is growing on me. I love the cartwheel lift halfway through and some of the other mini-lifts and pass throughs are very clever.

Yamaguchi - "Have You Ever Been In Love"
This is classic Kristi and even having only been back on the ice a short while she looked great. Her jumps are a little shaky yet and the overall content is a bit light, but it was still a joy to see her on the ice. (I'd rather have Kristi-lite than Oksana any day) Everything she did though was fully committed - lots of nice edges. The one negative was the completely cheesy voiceover at the beginning.

Rock Lesson
Watching Eldredge and Sand do the funky chicken is definitely one of the funniest moments of the show. This is the only interlude where I can't see the Time reference at all (anyone want to explain it?). Even if it is unrelated, it's damn funny. AC was even better as I had Eldredge doing one of the moves right in front of me and I thought I was going to fall out of my chair laughing! It's very silly :)

Yagudin - "Ain't That A Shame"
Oddly, this is the better of Alexei's two programs. Yes, there's still too much gratuitous posing, but at least this one has some actual skating in it. I really like the traveling sit-spins or twizzles (or whatever they exactly are) - they're very good and timed well to the music. The footwork is Gladiator retread (even with the "gladiator arms" but at least it's good footwork. Alexei also landed some really nice 3toes in this program - the one in AC was a beauty.

Sale & Pelletier - "Strictly Ballroom"
Next to Memorial this is my least favorite program of the event. I'm sorry, but it's a program based around toilet humor and a fart joke - this is elite skating? I don't mind comedy routines at all, but I thought the voiceovers were pretty crass and tasteless. The program also isn't what I'd consider to be a show closer - very weak. And it's a shame too, because within the program itself are some nice lifts and carries that just sort of disappear into the humor.

Finale - "Time"
This is another program I enjoyed much more the second and third time around. In Lake Placid I walked away thinking that this wasn't really a big sendoff of a finale and that it sort of trickled on. Had a much better impact this time around and I really enjoyed it. I don't know if they've changed it a bit or if it's just something that had to grow on me. But I loved how there was almost too much to see going on - all four pairs doing lifts at different corners, groups of three doing russians or footwork. I also like how the cast gets introduced again at the end as sort of a break from the lengthy hand shaking - I think it works really well. I especially like the unison single axels at one point - when was the last time you saw Sand do an axel?

Overall I really enjoyed the show more than I did when I saw it in Lake Placid. I think the skaters have settled more into the group numbers and are comfortable about which are the points to play to the audience. The two weak numbers in the show are not enough to drag the whole thing down. It's also a bit like SOI's of the past where the group numbers are just real gems.

-Hoo