Following is a personal and idiosyncratic review of Stars On Ice...

Despite the unusually cold weather (in the 20s), January 4th 2003 was a great day in Seattle! Stars On Ice was a 4 pm show, which is about perfect in terms of managing traffic, weather and logistics in getting a group of people from various suburbs into Seattle Center.

My first recommendation about this SOI tour is to get there early and hang out in your seats, listening to the pre-show music and announcements. The songs are all on the theme of Time, and the announcements are hilarious! My second recommendation is to have on-ice seats, ideally diagonally across from the skaters entrance. While this is officially Anton and Elena's handshake area, it's also close enough to Todd's territory that he'll sneak over to shake hands with you if you have your Todd regalia in evidence...but I am getting ahead of myself. It's also a great place in terms of seeing some wonderful skating maneuvers--we had a couple of throw jumps landed almost in our laps and a couple of Kurt visits as well.

First things first: Great show. You could tell that it was going to gel a little more with more performances, but even so a well-choreographed, well-lit, nicely-costumed and neatly-planned show. Some of the best group choreography I have ever seen--the finale was more ballet than skating in terms of musicality--and enough humor to keep it fun. Lots of interesting in-betweens (which as a general rule I dislike) separating individual numbers, yet tying the show together. And the performers are obviously really enjoying themselves! Finally, despite it being only the third city on the tour, I think (Oksana Baiul aside) we saw a total of three missed anythings all night. Everybody was "on", and how wonderful that was to see!

The opening number begins with the divine Yuka Sato alone in a spotlight, moving with inhuman grace and incredible quiet. (This was even more evident in her solo number: She doesn't make blade noises unless she is actively braking, which is seldom indeed. I was--and am--blown away with her fluid and soundless skating. Crossovers not two feet away make no sound. Definitely not something TV can do justice to!) She is soon joined by the rest of the cast. They eventually get down to introductions, but the number is really designed to be beautiful and to progress like a ballet piece instead of being the "now people do things they are famous for" -type segments we usually see. They make good use of having Todd and Alexei available to mirror skate and do crossing jumping passes. The guys seemed to be actively tracking how well the other one was hitting his tricks: once a competitor, always a bit competitive I guess.

Kurt Browning was one of our guest artists in Seattle. He skated to Moondance, and he was awesome, as expected. It's nice to see him do some serious skating--his humorous stuff is very funny, but I really like to watch him just skate. (There isn't enough good skating in men's eligible at the moment for my taste, and this tour was my chance to soak some up for the challenge of watching the Nats, Euros and Worlds!) This was followed by a delightful little bit called "Timing is Everything" wherein David Pelletier showed that Todd isn't the only one burdened with a weird costume this tour.

Ina and Zimmerman then showed that we COULD have had a pair contending for the podium at Worlds this year, had anyone been at the '24 hour' hotline a while back. They have, I think, improved with turning pro--possibly because John is doing so much more solo skating with SOI. All I know is, Kyoko as usual *nailed* her landings, and they skated with charm, power, and precision. A sassy and fun little number, but not just fluff.

between: Todd in stupid costume, mercifully mostly hidden by big metronome prop. Leading into Yuka's solo number, which was gorgeous. She landed everything cleanly; and her lyricism and line were tremendous. I can't believe she has been out of the eligible arena for so long, and is still skating so well. AWESOME.

e and Pelletier (skating to a Norah Jones tune): They didn't win that world championship by facing a weak field...Wonderful lifts, good speed and a spiffy throw triple--this program looks like they're going to use it for an "Open" competition, more packed than I expected a pro show routine to be. Does anyone doubt that they'd be on the podium if they were still eligible? (Me, neither.) Wonderful costumes, which is actually true of almost everything in this show. And, of course, Jamie is so appealing you just want to go hug her.

t, 'the girls' (Yuka, Kyoko and Jenni) did an odd little number where they were sort of dressed as watches, with black-and-white, stiff tutu-ish skirts and carrying clock hands that were highly reflective. The lighting was dimmed so the hands were the focal point visually. This was the one number I felt did not do well. It's a cute concept, but either they aren't comfortable with the piece yet, or it's a failed concept. Kyoko was outstanding though, with a perky, ceerleaderish presence that I've never seen in her pairs work. But Yuka just isn't well-suited to the funky glasses and dancehall movements.

ch brings us to: Flamenco. Todd does his (gorgeous) thing, dressed in black and red, to flamenco music. This is a number that feels new and familiar at the same time. There are some interesting new flavors of style on top of Fundamental Todd Skating, so I'm not surprised that casual observers see it as Classic Todd, and we Eldredge Specialists see it as new and different. Here, I am sorry to report, he completely popped his big 3-axel into an extremely high single. C'est la vie. The rest was just tight and loaded, and he seems to really like this program. He's into the role, though not yet flamboyant enough. (Note to Todd: Less smooth, more sudden, on the upper body; strike out and retreat those arms. Spend two weeks with a character dance coach.) I may have to hock the silver and go to Vancouver BC for CSOI just to see what this looks like when he's had time to get it down. On television, you can't see how much ice he eats with every stroke--and rinkside you can really feel it. Do I need to mention great spins? And a killer triple--probably lutz, but I didn't see the takeoff--across the (width of the) rink from me, you could have freeze-framed the peak of that jump and used it for a 'Proper Rotation Form' instruction poster. Some nice and different footwork, too. Very serious and intense face, lots of focus.

ana Baiul skated next, and she two-footed every jump but one. Don't get me wrong, she has climbed back a LONG way from where she was a few years back, but she's just not to the level of the other skaters on this tour. Since her persona does nothing for me, I don't enjoy her skating as much as many people do. I am glad to see her looking fit and fighting for every landing; I think she can get back to having her competitive chops. But she's not there yet.

between: This time, it's Todd Sand with the Stupid Costume, but by this point you come to realize that they're cartoony for a reason--duh, no wonder they're all black-and-white--and it's actually kinda fun.

Anton and Elena. They weren't handed a World Championship for funsies,either. I love to watch this pair skate, and I LOVE Josh Groban singing "Let Me Fall", so I'm predisposed to love this program. On the other hand, because of these things, my expectations are very high... Simply wonderful, classic, elegant. Here we had the second big miss of the night, Elena lost her landing on the throw triple and darned near took out a footlight three seats down from us. (She literally had to hop over it with one foot while getting back onto the ice.) This piece includes that incredible move where he's in a spiral and she's spread-eagled, which is so lovely a shape, and so smoothly skated, that words fail. Breathtaking.

In-between -- featuring Ugly Costumes in the cause of humor. I also enjoyed this interlude because Alexei Yagudin was sneaking down-ice without a spotlight and ended up passing his black velvet-clad fanny about 18 inches from my face. (My heart belongs to Todd, but Yags can wear that costume within spittin' distance any time at all...)

Alexei skated in a wonderful black, sort of Shakespearean costume, and though he did lay down a triple-triple combo (which the Seattle Times reviewer called a quad, but it wasn't, it happened in front of us, I counted) he is obviously trying to back off a bit on technical content. He did have to save a combination spin and seemed to be in some discomfort right after that, but looked okay by the end of the program. Nice piece, well-skated, and it's amazing to think that such a personable and lyric skater was once the robotic Yagudin of the late 90s.

Finale of Act I: Guys in bright 'date clothes' do a lot of skating, with and without the ladies, to Joe Jackson tunes. Despite the REALLY bright colors, it's a good look for almost all of them. The group numbers are really well-choreographed, using the different skaters' strengths but also really doing some good ensemble work, where what counts are the movements and the shapes of the skaters, NOT who is doing them. This is so different from what is usually done...It feels much like the dance numbers in a well-staged Broadway musical, with a coherence and flow I have never seen in an ice show before. It's also definitely a mini-story, NOT just a few moves tucked together. Delightful, and full of really good, solid skating. It must be a joy to choreograph for a bunch of champions!

At some point during this number, Todd noticed the "Todd pennant" I had laid across my tummy facing the ice, and gave me the eyebrow waggle I associate with him assessing marks in the kiss-and-cry area. (Color me happy!) During the bow and wave, Jamie Sale gave my husband a very pointed wink and a wave--color HIM happy.

End of Act One..

Act Two opens with the charming skating-with-brooms piece. This is really a neat piece of technique, but will improve when they are all better at looking relaxed while doing it. Some segments and moves look smooth and calm, and some are still obviously a concern. Twice there were falls -- one of them Our Todd, darn it -- which when you see some of the stuff they do is an amazingly small number for three shows into the tour. Or even for thirty! LOVED Todd spinning with the broom across his shoulders, and the sort-of folding star group spin bit (you'll know what I mean when you see it). I don't generally like props, but I do have to say this was cool.

Meno and Sand -- Skating to a kind of torch-song version of "Shall We Dance", they showed why they are still a crowd favorite. There's good chemistry and solid skating there, though it definitely is planned they aren't too close to any of the other pairs in order of performance. This was followed by a neat little in-between skated to the old Schoolhouse Rock song "Figure 8" (and if you don't remember it, never mind).

Todd skates next, doing "When You Come Back To Me Again". This is my favorite Todd program since "1492". It's a well-designed piece, and he is sooo into it, it's very emotional. He looked like he was skating for a championship, too, nailed every element solid as a rock. THIS is what I had really hoped to see from the front row: My skating hero being godlike and perfect. Much as I enjoyed the rest of the show, I could have lived with paying on-ice ticket price for just this performance (and getting a handshake)! Todd also seems to be using his familiarity with this skate to focus on technique, too. He's not kicked back in a comfort zone, he is really pushing for excellence in every nuance.

At this point a really funny in-between occurs. (But I'm not saying what it is. You want to be surprised!)

"Timely Advice" -- this is a piece with the supposed Commencement Address of a few years back as the spoken part. The one that starts "Wear sunscreen" and includes such gems as "Be good to your knees, of all the things of your youth you will miss them the most when they're gone". This is just a wonderful ensemble bit for Todd Sand, Yuka, John Z and David P. They really use the fact that Yuka is now a trained pairs skater as well as a strong singles skater to do neat stuff.

"Ding Dong Daddy" Kurt Browning does contemporary Swing. 'Nuff said. Oh, baby! Kurt is a footwork god.

Kalinka -- Anton and Elena get Russian, both in music and costume, and once again are excellent. This piece showcases their power more than most they have done, and that's a good thing.

Oksana Baiul did her Swan Lake reprise at this point, and it was better skated than the first thing she did. She landed everything, with only one serious lean, and her spin was much more secure.

The in-between on How To Do Rock Concert Moves was a lot of fun. The guys looked like they were enjoying it, too. This set the stage nicely for Alexei skating to Cheap Trick, which also included a triple/triple, but was a lighter piece than the first one. I'm glad, I like to watch him skate and he seems to have accepted that he can skate tough or long, but not both, as a career path at his current level of hip health.

David and Jamie's "Ballroom" piece is a huge pile of fun. First of all, she is having such a great time being snooty and overbearing that he has a hard time not cracking up. The piece is humorous, but still has good technical content. I enjoyed this a lot, on two levels: I used to do ballroom dance, and I love to watch good skating.

Finale: This really bears watching. The whole cast is dressed in white with silver trim or belts, kind of satin-y for the most part, and it's a lovely spectacle. It is choreographed like a ballet piece, with different small groups assembling and breaking up, brief solos between the whole group performing, and it's excellently done. Having Todd and Alexei as the matching 'danseurs' is just delightful, although poor Oksana looked pretty scratchy next to Yuka when they were similarly matched. The pairs -- well, you've got the co- gold medallists and two other good pairs as well. I was really sorry to see this piece end, not just because it was the end of the show, but because it was so lovely in itself.

Now, things only Todd fans will truly appreciate: We were seated in Anton and Elena's handshake section. She is built like a bird, nothing to her at all -- tiny hands, tiny bones, even for a skater -- and he is surprisingly charismatic one-on-one, with a warmth I've never seen in his performances. He seemed genuinely pleased, and a bit surprised, to be given a heartfelt "Thank You!" for his skating. Then -- it pays to advertise -- Todd came over to our section, even though I think he was supposed to stop the next section over. (This is good, it saved me from throwing myself between him and the ice--as I was standing, prepared to attempt -- if he had turned to go instead.) So, here is Kitt's Review of Meeting Todd:

Ohmigawd, he really DOES have that color eyes! He really does have those incredible cheekbones! He has a warm and firm handshake, and he sounds genuine as he says, "How're you doing?" Given this wonderful moment, what does my brain come up with?? "It is my GREAT pleasure to meet you." (Lame lame lame!) He smiles, and as he starts to move on to the next person, drops a hand onto my shoulder and pats. I damn near collapse, feeling 14 all over again. My husband murmurs, "I think he noticed your shirt". (I was wearing my Friends For Athletes 2002 'Todd Eldredge' shirt -- of course!) I am still applauding and trying to make my brain work as the skaters do one last bow and wave, and exit the ice.

So, I definitely recommend this tour, and I really recommend on-ice seats if you're lucky enough to score some. (Did I mention the dimple? That he looks killer in white satin?? That he's nice, even if you're overwhelmed???) I am grateful to all of you for helping me become a Todd fan, because I wouldn't trade that afternoon for anything except my family's health and safety.

That's it from Seattle, hope you've enjoyed the news, Kitt