Well, we had a great time at the show tonight, but I'm too tired to do a full review. Let me hit the important points: The only fall by anyone was John Zimmerman tripping over his suitcase, and that almost worked into the program choreography (except that all the other guys were laughing at him). Elena turned out of one jump, and Todd had one slip on what seemed to be a bad spot in the ice--it was not during anything particularly difficult, nor did he have to put a hand down, but he did just focus on balance for a second, so something visibly got left out--all in all, a much cleaner show than Seattle usually gets. We're very early in the tour, so growing pains are always in evidence...We also got the treat of a live tribute to Rosalyn Sumners, who happened to be sitting about 10 seats down from us. Scott had a video tribute, and Steven brought her flowers and coaxed her out onto the ice (in spike heels, she almost went down twice!) so she could be seen better during the gigantic ovation she received from her hometown crowd.
In Todd news, he looked pretty good, better than I had expected given how recently he had his ankle worked on. It helped that Todd's second-half piece -- to Bolero -- is as well-choreographed a program as I can remember seeing him skate. It is mesmerizing without requiring him to do many jumps -- in fact, I think he doesn't have any until at least halfway through. The program begins with him doing figures (man! did I love that!) and progresses through edgework and spirals into more complex footwork, spins, and jumps. Yum! If you going to use that music, it helps if you get The Man to choreograph it for you...Todd does not have his triple axel back, but his double axel is looking very big and secure, so I think it's just a question of time and practice. He doubled a number of jumps, but they were all sturdy and well-executed. (Note for LB: His hair is SHORT at the moment!) He and Steven Cousins seemed to have a lot of fun being the Mirror Image Guys in the group numbers; I imagine them both being the Rehab Guys added to that.
By the way, those of you who have read my prior reviews know that Mr. Cousins has never been a favorite of mine. He skated better this year than I have ever seen him do, and had some very nice footwork in one piece. He has definitely recovered completely from his injury of a few years back.
And speaking of injury recovery: Alexei Yagudin landed one of--arguably, THE--prettiest triples I have ever seen in my life about 10 feet in front of us. Didn't watch the takeoff, but it was probably a flip, and he had the most gorgeous, clean rotation; the most textbook air position; and the most perfect landing I have seen from him ever. OMG, just that was worth the price of admission. Alexei was doing real skating this time, and while he's not back to pre-injury in terms of how much horrendously difficult stuff he can do in a program, he landed multiple triples and did much more skating and less vamping than last time out. Nice to see.
Yuka and Jason's pair number is breathtaking in its beauty. I am still just stunned by how wonderful a pair skater she has become. Her throw jump was as nice as anything Elena or Jamie did, and her death spiral position is first rate. The lifts were effortless and solid, and she and Jason are so well-matched on the ice that it's hard to believe they don't have 10 years together under their belts. That program got the biggest hand of the night, and not without reason.
Jennifer Robinson has really found her performance self and blossomed since last we saw her. She will be a quality part of the tour for years. She has a nice lightness and good edge quality (gee, you think with Todd and Yuka in the company people work on that?) and had a super layback in one routine. She got the 'here I am surrounded by all the straight guys' number this tour, which has got to be fun.
John and Kyoko have carved themselves a special niche: Metal pairs is their oyster. Having done last year's Nationals in Portland, I can tell you that we have no one even close--still!--to these two. Their hard rock, fast, high-flying style is unique and really fun to watch; and Kyoko can still save ANY throw jump if she has enough ice to do it in. I have no idea *how* she managed to land one of them, but her upper body looked like it was a piece of cake, and her blades looked like she was going to end up in Tacoma-then floated out on a lovely clean edge. (I'm so impressed by saves now...the more I skate, the easier they are to spot, and the more I admire them.)
Elena and Anton have an adorable program on the Chaplin theme. Who knew that inside that classical skater facade, Anton was a talented comic waiting for his chance? He gets funnier and more relaxed every tour. These two are still world-class, it's such a pleasure to see them skate. (My six-year-old thought the Leap of Faith was so amazing that she tried one onto Daddy's lap during intermission.) It's hard to think of praise for this pair that hasn't been said sixty times already; how does Just Plain Good strike you?
Jamie and David brought newlywed smiles along with their comic timing, great skating, and wonderful stage presence. Their 'ragtime' routine is delightful to watch, fun and lively and *balls narsty* difficult without looking it. Lots of cool little bits that require exact timing and great body control. I think they won the Whose Throw Triple is Better? contest for the Seattle show, but not by a huge margin. Their second-half number had the most fantastic bit of costuming / choreography in it: the whole underside of Jamie's rather muted costume was bright red, so in all the inverted maneuvers she was suddenly clothed in brilliance. It worked so wonderfully with the music and the mood: there would be a musical high point coupled with a highlight move that included Jamie's costume changing colors because of her position. (Kudos to Jef and Chris for making that happen!)
Last, but certainly not least, Yuka Sato's solo numbers were, well, Yuka. Is there anyone, ever, anywhere, who has better edges? I love having on-ice seats just so I can NOT hear her go by. Even her spins make almost no noise, and her basic skating makes none. She still has a double axel, she still has great spins, she has absolutely fabulous body/blade control. (The more I skate, the higher the pedestal I think she belongs on: She just has a better relationship with the ice than most skaters, even world champions, ever achieve.) When she skates, it gets very quiet, because even folks who don't know what an edge is know that *something* about her is different, of a higher caliber, than what they usually see. She has the unlovely duty of sharing her skate with a series of video clips at one point, but she manages to make it a graceful bit of showmanship instead of a battle against videocy.
The show, as a whole, is entertaining and well-planned. The transitions are enjoyable and the group numbers are great--though, as usual, it's frustrating because you can't see everything that's going on at the same time! If we had two shows, I'd do one from low down to watch details and one from higher up to see the patterns moving and shifting, but alas they'll be long gone tomorrow night. I'm trying to talk my husband into Stars On Ice Canada in May, since they will be in BC the week of my birthday...
Go enjoy the show!
