I managed to get some decent photos at the show, thanks mostly to a new zoom lens I recently got for my camera. :)
The show intro was in typical COI format, starting with a short light show, followed by the featured performers doing a few moves to contemporary pop songs:
Totmianina/Marinin - Get This Party Started
Nicole Bobek - Hey Baby
Rudy Galindo - Love Shack
Lang/Tchernyshev - ?
Philippe Candeloro - I'm a Believer
Sasha Cohen - I Love Rock & Roll
Punsalan/Swallow - Your Mama Can't Dance
Surya Bonaly - Whenever, Wherever
Michael Weiss - ?
Kazakova/Dmitriev - Wherever You Will Go
Victor Petrenko - All Star
Chait/Sakhnovsky - Woman
Elvis Stojko - Elevation
Michelle Kwan - Here Comes the Sun
Timothy Goebel - Hero
Irina Slutskaya, Evgeny Plushenko, Sarah Hughes - The World's Greatest
Nicole Bobek (music from Moulin Rouge/Material Girl) - Good energy from Nicole to start off the show. Fell on her first jump (2axel) but later hit a nice 3toe and another 2axel. Some nice spins as well. She's a great dancer and moves very well.
Kalesavich & Parchem
Kalesavich/Parchem (Harry Belafonte song) - The first surprise solo number of the show. :) I believe Aaron Parchem is from the Chicago area which would explain their participation here. Cute "tropical"-themed number. They were fairly slow, and Stephanie fell on a throw 3sal, but they did do some nice lifts (including a Detroiter) and other pair moves.
Lang & Tchernyshev
Lang/Tchernyshev ("Parisian Walkways") - They got a fairly muted response upon introduction, but the crowd really got into their routine as it went along. Great sustained hydroblade move midway through drew cheers. The sight of Peter T. in a tank top drew "wows" from some of the ladies seated near me. :)
Philippe Candeloro ("Wild Wild West") - Cheezy to be sure, but the crowd just loves him. The only skater I've ever seen bring a clothes hamper out onto the ice with him. :) Typical Philippe program with some big jumps, ankle spin, clothing removal, and audience attack. Had one lady smack his rear end a few times, asking her to hit harder each time, until another lady seated next to the first one hit him really hard. :)
Punsalan/Swallow ("Because/One") - Kind of a dark, moody number. I like their flow and power over the ice. They did some cool lifts that exhibited their strength and her flexibility.
Dan Hollander (South Park/Mrs. Doubtfire) - He's done this program on tour before, but Dan still had the audience in stitches as soon as the lights came up. Starts off as Cartman from South Park, then segues into a Mrs. Doubtfire getup. :) He miffed a couple of triples but it didn't really affect the performance; he also did a back flip. Fun number, but I'm hoping that his terrific skills (esp. the footwork!) are showcased in a new program next year.
Sasha Cohen ("Hernando's Hideaway") - A very solid routine. She is noticeably slower over the ice than most of the other top ladies, but she has great presence. Hit a 2axel, 3flutz, 3sal, 3toe. Gorgeous positions as always, and her LFO spiral was held on a nice deep edge (really!). Got a good crowd response.
Totmianina/Marinin ("Never Met a Girl Like You Before" (?)) - Not terribly exciting, but this number did have a bit more flair than their competitive programs. Very nice throws and lifts.
Michael Weiss (The Doors?) - Michael showed off his new "freedom" blades several times in this number. He fell on one triple (I think a 3toe?) but hit a few clean ones as well in between his breakdancing maneuvers. :)
Surya Bonaly
Surya Bonaly ("March with Me") - Surya threw in tons of jumps throughout this program (mostly 3toes and 2axels), although she did stumble out of a couple. I don't think she used the music particularly well, but I did enjoy the energy she put into her performance. She did *two* backflips, including one landed on one foot right into a back spiral!
Rudy Galindo (Village People medley) - Great way to close out the first half of the show. He could probably do this routine on tour for the next 10 years and crowds would still eat it up. Got some nice 3toes and 2axels in before popping another 3toe then singling an axel. The crowd clapped along through most of the routine and many people joined in the "YMCA" portion. :)
Irina Gregorian ("Start the Commotion") - Started off the second half. Did some amazing things with several hula hoops while skating, including a 2toe and several spins and spirals all while keeping the hoops moving. Dan Hollander assisted by bringing out more and more hula hoops for Irina. :) Ended by "hula-ing" a huge slinky.
Chait/Sakhnovsky ("Stranger In My House") - Another surprise performance. They are fast and move well, but I didn't really get into this number.
Elvis Stojko ("That Girl") - A typical Elvis number: pointing at the crowd, singing along to his music, kissing someone in the audience, and doing some big jumps and lots of fast footwork.
Besedin & Polischuk
Besedin/Polishchuk ("The Swan") - A goofy routine with tons of simply amazing acrobatic tricks. Incidentally, it was easy to take photos of them because they barely moved from one spot on the ice. :) They got a huge audience response.
Timothy Goebel ("Freedom") - Tim had some jump trouble tonight, leaning on a few triples and popping/stumbling out of a 3flip. Still this was a good program that showed some additional improvement in his musicality and carriage, especially in his spins. The local boy (he's from Rolling Meadows, IL) got a nice ovation from his hometown crowd.
Irina Slutskaya ("Cotton-Eyed Joe") - This was a fun number, very different from Irina's recent competitive programs. She hit a nice 3loop out of 3 turns, and a 3salchow. Spins were nice and fast, as was her overall skating. I wasn't as blown away by her athleticism as I was expecting, but this was an enjoyable skate.
Victor Petrenko ("Who Let the Dogs Out") - Another cheezy program. We've seen better from Victor, but I was impressed that he was able to jump (3toe, big 2axels) with that stuffed dog strapped to his arm. :)
Kazakova/Dmitriev (The Matrix) - A very innovative program with lots of original moves. They did their "air throw salchow" as well as a move where she did a double jump out of a death spiral, sort of. I think they did a throw 3toe also (she may have put her foot down on the landing though).
Michelle Kwan
Michelle Kwan ("Fields of Gold") - Wow, as beautiful as this program is on tv, it was 10 times better live. :) It was smooth and seamless, yet still athletic; her power doesn't seem to come across as well on tv. Hit a 2axel, 3toe, 3lutz, and 3toe. Spins were nicely positioned and well-centered. Her ending RBI-RBO change-edge spiral drew a huge cheer. I think I held my breath through the entire program. :) Michelle received the only standing ovation of the night aside from the finale.
Evgeny Plushenko ("Carmen") - This was a nice program filled with lots of jumps. He did a 3toe-3toe-2loop (it might have been 3loop!) to open. He really gets into the choreography, putting his all into the many arm and head flourishes throughout. :)
Sarah Hughes ("I'll Never Say Goodbye") - Sarah's program was very pretty and she covers the ice very well. Her skating still lacks a bit of polish but she's come a very long way since I first saw her skate in person almost four years ago. She hit most of her jumps (2axel, 3sal, 3lutz, 3toe) but singled the loop out of a spiral/3 turns. Got a very nice ovation from the crowd.
The patriotic-themed finale had everyone dressed in varying combinations of red, white, and blue. As in past COI finales, there was some group choreography combined with short solos from all/most of the skaters. Some highlights included a change-edge (LFI-LFO) spiral from Sasha Cohen (really nice position, although slower/less-steady than Kwan's), backflip into spiral from Surya Bonaly, Nicole Bobek's trademark spiral, a great scratch spin from Rudy Galindo, spiral into 3 turns into 3loop from Sarah Hughes (hit it nicely after missing it in her program), and a beautiful split falling leaf from Michelle Kwan (she was the last skater to come out for the finale). Then various groups of skaters did coordinated moves before they all went back into a final formation to acknowledge the crowd as fireworks went off overhead. Received a well-deserved standing O.
Overall, I really enjoyed the show! The level of skating was high despite the cheeze factor of many of the routines. :) I still prefer competitive skating to shows/exhibitions, but since competitions don't take place in Chicagoland too often, I definitely plan on attending COI again in the future.
