The Cast:
First half
Elizabeth Manley | Timothy Goebel | Nicole Bobek | Michael Weiss | Anissina & Peizerat | Alexei Urmanov | Berezhnaia & Sikharulidze | Surya Bonaly | Rudy Galindo
Second half
Laurent Tobel | Todd Eldredge | Klimova & Ponomarenko | Elvis Stojko | Oksana Baiul | Victor Petrenko | Kazakova & Dmitriev | Philippe Candeloro | Michelle Kwan | Brian Boitano
I was happy to have gotten much better seats for this show than I did the last two times I attended. I got my ticket two weeks ago and got second row seats, halfway between center ice and one of the "non-lutz" corners, towards the skaters' entrance area. Last year, I was about six or seven rows from the top of the United Center :) so my viewing experience was much different this time around! Last year, it was neat to be able to see the ice coverage patterns of the skaters; this year, I was able to notice facial expressions, hand movements, and other details. It was also a bit scary watching a skater set up for a jump right in front of me. :)
I've added some photos to the review; all photos can be clicked on to bring up a larger version.
The show started off with the typical opening number. All the skaters seemed to be "on" ... interestingly, Punsalan & Swallow came out for the opening, but unless I completely blanked out on them, I believe they did not do a solo number.
The first solo number was by Elizabeth Manley, skating in a black and neon costume with black pants. Did a few double jumps, and some great spins, including a nice scratch spin.
Local boy Timmy Goebel skated to "Zoot Suit Riot" and hit a nice 3sal to open his program. He then fell on another jump at the far end of the rink (could have been a 4sal attempt???). Timmy needs to work on his performing quality, but he has potential.
Nicole Bobek did her Blondie medley. Not quite as electric as we are used to seeing, but she was sporting a new shorter hairdo. :) Hit a big 3toe, but turned out of a 2axel. She did a lovely spiral of course, plus a long, low hydroblading glide.
Michael Weiss
Michael Weiss got the crowd going with his fun KC & the Sunshine Band medley. Excellent jumps (3lutz, 3flip, 3toe), nice spins, wild costume, very entertaining! This is a terrific program for him.
Marina Anissina & Gwendal Peizerat performed a version of their passionate "Man in the Iron Mask" routine. Very nice, crowd loved them.
Alexei Urmanov skated to "I Put a Spell on You" in a way-too-big-and-colorful shirt. :) Stepped out of a 3axel, then nearly jumped into the boards on a 3toe (but saved it nicely). Got a good crowd response as well.
Elena Bereznaia & Anton Sikharulidze did their mesmerizing "Impossible Dream" program. Amazing spirals and eagles, glorious edging... plus a big throw 3sal. Impressive speed, and very quiet skating. Wonderful!
Surya Bonaly skated to a Russian (?) folk song. Triples all over the place, including walley-walley-split-3toe! She used the build up in the music towards the end of her program to good effect, setting up for her one-footed backflip. Nice ovation for her; she seemed to be very popular with this crowd.
Rudy Galindo
Rudy Galindo closed the first half of ths show with his Village People medley. Stepped out of a 2axel in the beginning, but hit a couple more good ones, plus a couple of 3toes. Of course, many in the crowd joined him for the YMCA portion of the program. :)
The second act started with Laurent Tobel, dressed as a pot-bellied soldier. Lots of pratfall-type tricks, plus a big 3flip. Neat footwork sequence where he swizzled (?) down the rink on one foot, narrowly avoiding the bottle of "vodka" he had placed on the ice.
Todd Eldredge did his "Pity the Child" program. I don't care much for the song, but Todd was definitely on for this performance. Great 3loop, 3axel, 3lutz, 3toe. Wonderful spins. Good speed throughout as well.
Marina Klimova & Sergei Ponomarenko skated a very relaxing routine to "Evergreen"... nice, soft, romantic skating. Very smooth.
Elvis Stojko performed to "What I Like About You" and really worked the crowd. Lots of footwork! I think he hit a 3axel at the far end of the rink (not positive).
Oksana Baiul
Oksana Baiul did her Bach program. This program has grown on me since I first saw it. She was hit-and-miss with the jumps: got a 3toe and 2axel, stepped out of a 3sal, and wiped out on the final 2axel (she hit the ice with an audible "argh!")... She seemed to really appreciate the warm crowd response.
Victor Petrenko skated his Michael Jackson medley program, much to the crowd's delight. Hit a 3toe, 2axel, 2sal. Fun dance moves. Great show program.
Oksana Kazakova & Artur Dmitriev skated to "Fly Me to the Moon" and were very dynamic. Awesome lifts, and a big throw 3toe (may have been two-footed). The move in which Artur turns while holding Oksana upright in front of him, right into throw 2sal, is really amazing. Neat series of "cartwheels" by Oksana over Artur's back towards the end of the routine.
Philippe Candeloro treated us to his wonderful "D'Artagnan" routine. Started working the crowd even before his music began. Hit some nice jumps, then unexpectedly fell backwards after a backflip! He made up for it by trying another backflip, and hitting it perfectly. Great swordplay, and very effective footwork.
Michelle Kwan
Michelle Kwan skated her lovely "One More Time" program. Just wonderful choreography, line, flow... She did 3toe, 3lutz out of steps, 3sal, and 2toe, plus several gorgeous spirals, nice split jumps, and many interesting connecting moves. The performance was expressive and emotional, without being overdone. I'm so glad I got to see this one live!
Brian Boitano closed the show with a Sinatra medley. Very powerful, sweeping movements throughout the program. Hit a big 'Tano 3lutz plus a couple of other triples. Nice program.
The swing-themed closing group number was definitely a cut above the mish-mash closing of previous seasons. The group interaction was fun, and well-choreographed. Highlights included a 4-person death spiral (!) with K&D and B&S, two sets of simulataneous 2axels by Galindo, Eldredge, Urmanov, and Boitano, and side-by-side backflips by Bonaly and Candeloro. Neat way to close the show. Hats off to Sarah Kawahara for doing a great job with the number.
Once again, I left the show amazed, impressed and very satisfied. Also, I realized, by the number of blurry photos that I got back, that I need to learn a lot more about action photography! Hopefully by next year I'll have it down pat. :) Thanks to all the skaters and crew for a very entertaining show!
