Dallas SOI Review

[pawgal02]

The day finally came, I was going to Stars on Ice! I was down in Plano early that day so I took DART down to the AAC. I took the Red Line from Plano and got off at the West End to take the bus down to the AAC. It turned out that bus service got discontinued. I had to get back on DART now to go to the AAC. I gon the train and this became a highlight of my day. I got on and was sitting next to Hollie Vise. OMG OMG OMG! (For those of you who don't know, she is an elite gymnast who trains with Carly Patterson in Plano) I was going nuts, I couldn't believe it was her. Then the train pulled up at the AAC and I got off.

I got to the AAC at 5:15 but had to wait an hour to get in. After standing outside for an hour they let everyone go in. I went the SOI souvenier stand and got my program and long sleeve shirt and headed to my seat. Before the show I met scottmyers, who also was one of the guys on the guys on the board to attend this show.

It was then 7:38 and the show started. The announcer said "due to the condition of the ice, the show would ne modified". I was trying to think what and why.

ACT 1

Cast (Pure Imagination): Lets just say the outfits were cute and the program could be described as breathtaking. All the skaters came out and were welcomed with so much joy form the crowd. The guys were wearing a light blue and purple shirts with grayeish courdaroy pants and the gals were wearing the cutest blue dresses. AFter they were all introduced, Todd stayed out on the ice while everyone else went off the ice.


Todd Eldredge (Let Me Entertain You): He's still wearing his blue shirt, purple vest, and grayish color pants, of course. The song sounds very jazzy yet classical. Todd landed all of his jumps, did a few spilt leaps (is that what they are called?), overall a well done Todd performance. Got a standing ovation and some loud cheers from me.

Trasistion: Yuka comes out with two of the guys and is wearing a red dress, then she goes into and dressing room and poof, she's wearing a magenta and black stripped sphagetti strapped top a cute looking short black skirt.

Yuka Sato (Naughy Girl): The program well suited her. Showed off alot of great dance moves and had a wonderful program. She really got the crowd going with her performance. Well done and really got me going.

Transistion: Jamie came out in this red genie outfit telling all of us something about getting SOI tickets for all of our friends.

Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman (Harder to Breathe): Program not done, I'm guessing it was due to "the condition of the ice". I'm sure if I did see it, it would have been the greatest and I would have been drooling all over John at the end.

Kurt Browning (Jitter Bug): He came out with a toybox that siad Gabe's Toybox and was wearing Khaki's with a yellow and black shirt that said "#1 Dad" in Red. There was a leaky pipe, so Kurt had to fix it. His program was fabulous and hilarious, just like always. He didn't fix the leaky pipe. Infact I think he made it worse and the water just came splashing down on him.

Steven Cousins, Todd Eldredge, David Pelletier, Alexi Yagudin,and John Zimmerman (TKO): Another cute guys program. They used lots of boxes and did many crazy things with them. They finally stacked all the boxes up and "poof" Sarah Hughes came out to do her program.

Sarah Huges (Ranindrops Will Fall): She was wearing a black dress and her hair was let down. Very elgant and mature. I'd have to say for a first SOI program it was great and well done.

Transistion: Todd came out with white flowers and did a whole "He Loves Me/ He Loves Me Not" with Sarah. The white flowers ran out and then a bouquet of red flowers appeared and she gave them to Todd.

Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharuildze (If I Could): Anton was wearing a black outfit and looking mighty handsom while Elena is wearing white sparkly dress and is lokking as cute as anything. They did some great throw jumps and performed a wonderful program.

Jamie Sale and David Pelletier (Radar Love): One of the most romantic yet entertaining programs ever performed by them. Jamie was weaing a sky blueish silvery top and a little leather black skirt while David was wearing a sky blueish silvery top and black laether pants (he looked smokin' hot in it). Jamie's red hair highlights were very visible and made her look even cuter in person. They did lots of sexy and signiture moves to make the program worth seeing. I was so in awe about he program I can't remember much of it, except very well done. During thier bows to the crowd they got plenty of standing ovations and screams from us.

Transistion: Sarah, John, Todd, and Yuka (I think), came out with balls to hypnotize us so we wouldn't pay any attention to Alexi get his sheet set up on the other end of the rink.

Alexi Yagudin (Passion): Alexi started by hanging out from his white sheet and doing what I though looked like gmnastics moves drapping from the sheet. He was wearing a black tank and black pants, looking mighty fine. He finally was lowered onto the ice and did a spectular program with alot of great footwork and some breath taking jumps. One of the best prgrams Im have ever seen him do.

Cast (The Ride of a Life): The cast comes out wearing all red, Sarah and Alexi coing out a little later. They lined up and got buckled in to go on a roller coaster ride. They split up into singles and pairs and strutted their stuff. During "Love Reign O'er Me" they had rain special effects and every one had red umbrellas except Kyoko and John who did their own little thing in the rain. I didn't realize how long Kyoko's hair was and how hot John looked with wet hair. A great program to end the 1act.

Todd: Before intermission Todd stayed out and told us that all of the proceeds from SOI was going to the Boys and Girls Club and that the 2nd half would be better than the first.

It was now 8:40 pm.

Intermission 8:40 to 9:00 pm

I'll review ACT 2 later!

[scottmyers]

Thanks in part to planning ahead like dressing warmly prior to driving from Mineola to Dallas, I was able to withstand the wind chill temps of 22 degrees while waiting outside the American Airlines Center for the show. It was simple pure magic at its finest, and here's my thoughts about the show. I'll keep the review as short as possible so that I don't give away much for those yet to see the show or the A&E special....including the transitional magic acts the cast used in between the numbers.

By the way, I met up with pawgal02 prior to the show as she was seated across the ice just seven rows from the ice!


ACT ONE:
** Cast: Pure Imagination - Nice opening number. Neat intro of each skater and they got a round of applause from the audience.

** Todd's Let Me Entertain You - High energy with this opening number in setting the tone for the night.

** Yuka's Naughty Girl - Nice change of pace for Yuka in which she changed from one dress to another magically.

** Jamie Sale's Crystal Ball - Love the transition piece....especially where she reads "Property of Ice Capades 1979!"

** Ina/Zimmerman's Harder To Breathe - They didn't skate to this number....no reason given.

** Kurt Browning's Jitter Bug - What a hoot! #1 Dad trying to fix a leaky faucet.....ever been there, done that? Love the music from Harry Connick Jr. and Kurt's tool box!

** TKO: Steven, John, Todd, Alexei and David used the motif of boxing to full advantage and the choreography work was excellent! In the end, Todd and Steven shook hands having suceeded in knocking out the other three.....with Steven suckerpunching Todd for the "win".

** Sarah Hughes' Raindrops Will Fall: Sarah's entrance was excellent. The guys stacked up four goodsized boxes and one of them opened all four on one side and Sarah stepping out of the boxes and onto the ice. Neat illusion! Sarah's routine was well choreographed....and she, to me, didn't seem to run out of energy.

** Elena/Anton's If I Could: Nice piece by the Russian pair to a Michael Bolton song...sweet interpretation from start to finish.

** Sale/Pelletier's Radar Love: Hip beat....upbeat and full of energy! Looked as if Jamie was enjoying it more than David.....then again, Jamie looks like she's loaded with a lot of energy!

** Alexei's Passion: Nice work with the long sheet off the ice......excellent use of the prop and Alexei showed his muscular strength in skating to this routine!

** Cast's The Ride of a Life: Get on the MAGIC BUS with The Who and their front man, the late Jim Morrison. The cast did a great job with the medley including the prop of rainfall at the end of the number.

pawgal02 beat me to some added notes.......like Todd talking about Boys and Girls Clubs of America...and the change in the weather prior to Act Two.

I'll have my take on Act Two up shortly.

Scott

[Cassie Pool]

Sounds like you had a good time - but my comment is OT on skating ...


Hollie Vise autographed one of our balance beams .. Shannon Miller the other.

[scottmyers]

Act Two had more emotion than Act One. So here goes:

** Mr. Blue Sky: Sarah and the Guys came out to the strains of ELO and well protected with umbrellas.....cute routine UNTIL Sarah fell on a simple jump and landed a bit hard. She got up and never missed a beat.....what a trooper!

** Yuka'S Amazine Grace: Elegance at its finest. Dressed in a lovely pastel-colored costume, Yuka shined with the same magic that Janet Lynn had in the 1970s.

** Steven's Come Back To Bed: Yes, ladies....Steven came out barechested and looking very sexy prior to donning his magically produced t-shirt. Neat number to John Mayer.

** Step-sisters: Steven, newspaper in hand and wearing a leisure smoking jacket, ignored the four cuties dressed up as Dolly-type skaters. But......Jamie, Yuka, Elena and Kyoko stripped off their Dolly costumes and revealed sexy black hot dresses....and they turned the heat up on Cousins! LOL

** Kurt's Super: Back to try and fix that leaky faucet, Browning must have a fixation on Harry Connick Jr's music.....and the motif works well with his rummaging thru the toybox Gabe has.......LOL. This routine was so funny!

** Elena and Anton's Dance Mix: Guess Anton was trying to act sexy and cool like Elvis....but Elena wasn't going to have any of that! I missed seeing what caused her to land off the ice and right near the on-ice section. But altogether, the routine was funny and cute!

** Alexei's Shout: If you are a Dallas Mavericks fan, then you know their unofficial theme song also used in "Animal House". Alexei uses it to full advantage and.....hey, man, I loved those shades!

** Sale/Pelletier's Who Wants To Live Forever: Powerful and strong in every aspect of this routine, Jamie and David shine brightly in this selection from Queen. So much drama and romantic at the same time!

** Sarah Hughes' Over The Rainbow: When I saw the music list and saw what Sarah was skating to, I knew I was going to have a hard time keeping my emotions in check. This routine would be a perfect tribute to close friend and skating competitor Angela Nikodinov. Sure enough, the moment Sarah started to skate to this song, I was crying. THAT IS WHY I AM A SKATING FAN!

** Todd's Forevermore: Last solo of the night and just as strong and powerful as Sarah's and S/P was.

** Dream On: Aerosmith never sounded so good! Wonderful finale complete with snow flakes falling down!


Final Observations:
The 2005 tour may indeed be the best yet! Hamilton, Dean and Billings outdid themselves in creating yet another outstanding show! If you plan on attending the show, do so! You won't regret it at all!

See ya folks!

Scott Myers
Mineola, Texas

[pawgal02]

I got some studying done, so now I'll review Act 2 for ya'll!

Act 2 started at 9 pm

Sarah, Steven, Todd, David, and John (Mr. Blue Sky): Oddly enough enough Sarah came out in a red dress and the guys came out in red pants, penguin coats, and top hats. They did plenty of lifts with Sarah and they guys did plenty of funny stuff with their red umbrellas! All in all a great way to start the second act.

Yuka (Amazing Grace): Such a wonderful and graceful program. Yuka comes out in this mezmorizing white sparkly dress. Her spirals, jumps, and spins are a treat to watch. Huge standing crowd ovation at the end. I was both screaming and cying at the end of it, see how emotional I am when it comes to figure skating!

Transistion: Steven comes onto the ice without his shirt (ahh I thibk I'm in heaven), looking like he is cold. Yuka then gives him his white tank and he puts it on.

Steven (Come Back to Bed): A great entergetic type of Steven program filled with fancy footwork and some great dance moves. I was in awe by the end seeing him skate his program.

Elena, Kyoko, Jamie, Yuka, and Steven (Step Sisters): The gals came out in maid type looking dresses. They skated in unison and gave Steven a newspaper, a pair of tiny black skates (I think), and put on a peguin coat and sunglasses on him. Then the gals tore off thier maid dresses and were wearing these cute little black dresses, shoving them into Stevens hands. Again the gals skated in unison! Cute program.

Transistion: Todd come out introducing the worlds first and smallest singing tenor flea, which he ends up splatting in the end.

Kurt (Super): Kurt comes out with the toybox and in the same outfit again, trying to fix the leaky pipe. He takes a football out of the toybox and heaves it across the rink. Then he starts doing cartwheels across the rink (very talented I must say so). He then takes out a jump rope and you guessed it starts to jump rope across the rick. He then gets the crowd singing Supercalafargalisticexpealadociou. Then at the end he finally fixes the leaky pipe! Yippie! A crowd pleasure for sure!

Transition: Todd, David, and two other skaters (can't remember off the top of my head) come out onto the ice rink weaping at the flea's funeral. Poor David let out a few long and loud cries!

Elena and Anton (Dance Mix): Another crowd pumping routine. Anton comes out in balck leather pants and jacket (boy is he hot in black leather) and busts some moves and then Elena comes out in a black and white stripped tank and she busted some moives. Then they busted some moves together, Elena was a little better at it then Anton (sorry Anton )! They did two throw jumps and one time Elena landed and skid across the ice into the on ice seats and another time almost fell on her face, but she was ok! They got the crowd clapping, singing, and dancing in thier seats! Got a huge ovation at the end!

Transition: Girls came out in red feathery dresses and suglasses!

Alexi (Shout): Boy was this a great program. Alexi came out in a red and black top and black capris. He got the crowd screaming, clapping, dancing, and singing along. He displayed a lot of great footwork. An enthusiastic and very entergetic program enjoyed by everyone!

Transition: Jamie and David are unvieled by two skaters in red hooded robes

Jamie and David (Who Wants to Live Forever): This program is a perfect example of why they are together! Jamie was wearing a purple and black dress with her hair in a bun, while David was wearing a purple and black top with balck pants. They executed many signiture moves including the one where Jamie does a handstand on Davids arm. I was crying by the end it was so romantic. Many standing ovations and screams from the fans as they took their bows!

Sarah (Over the Rainbow): Wow is all I can say! Sarah was wearing a cute black , blue, and gray color dress that went down in the back. She never let the smile leave her cute face! Her spins, jumps, and spirals were mezmorizing. A well done elegant performance!

Todd (Forevermore): Another mezmorizing program by Todd! His spirals and spins were amazing to watch! You could see the passion on his face as he was skating! By the end of his performance I was in tears, so awe strucken by his performance!

Cast (Dream On): A perfect way to end a wonderful SOI! Kyoko and John came out, followed by Alexi, then Yuka, followed by Steven, then Kurt, Jamie and David along with Elena and Anton, followed by Sarah and Todd. The guys were wearing bluish slivery long sleeve tops and pants while the gals were wearing bluish silvery spaghetti strap frilly looking dresses. There was alot of single, duo, and tri skating. The show came to end with cheers, tears, screams, and shouts from the fans. They took their bows and waved to the crowd and poof it was over!

SOI Dallas ended at 10 pm!

All in all another great SOI not to be missed by anyone and I mean anyone! To everyone who took anypart in putting the show on , Kudos and Congrats!

It's been almost 15 hours since the show has been over and I'm still trying to recover from the excitement the show brought out! But hey only another year till SOI 2006!

[Jeb Hoge]

I bet that Kyoko & John's first number got skipped because if the ice is bad, there's too much risk to Kyoko. I know something happened at a previous show and Kyoko had a scary fall; I'm sure they're being careful about what kind of risks she'll have to take.

[DawnCarlson]

Obviously SuperSexy JohnZ and Kyoko's safety comes first, but I would have been heartbroken had I not gotten to see SuperSexy JohnZ skate around in his leather pants. Their program was one of my faves of the show.

I wonder what was wrong with the ice??? If it was bad enough that John & Kyoko didn't skate, but everyone else did is kind of odd.

[Octoberopals]

I was there & also loved every single minute of the show. I, too, wondered about the absence of Kyoka & John's program because they did the cast numbers. I thought one of them may have been injured. Kyoka didn't look too happy about much of anything, even in the cast numbers--thus the wonderment about an injury.

We arrived early & the Zambonni made several passes over the ice, with individuals checking the ice in certain spots & then trying to fill it in. The machine again made the circles. By the middle of part II, the ice was a little slushy, but Kyoka & John's programs was #3 in part I & the ice looked good at that point.

When had Kyoka fallen? Guess I never heard about that.

Most definitely Jamie & David were the absolute best!!! Alexi was excellent, especially in his acrobatics above the ice. Sarah was good, but I do believe she doubled all her jumps; I'm sure she'll be doing triples in due time. Elena & Anton's If I Could was very creative & quite gracefull; their second number was a splatfest.....but the ice was beginning to get slushy.

Yes, it was below freezing when the show was over!!!

[Jeb Hoge]

It was pretty recent...I'm pretty sure it was in the past week, no earlier. IIRC it was something that could have been quite a bit uglier, but luckily wasn't. I don't remember the specifics but I *do* remember thinking that it sounded like something that could give a concussion. *shrug* She may be toughing it out on some of the easier bits, but not up to the real high-flying stuff.

[Octoberopals]

Thanks for the information! I hope she improves quickly!

[Cantabridgian]

The accident happened in Denver and sounds very nasty. During their candle lift, John's edge was too shallow and skated onto the carpet, resulting in what sounds like a very nasty crash into the on ice seating.

[pawgal02]

Now that I know what happended to Kyoko in Denver I feel awful that I was feeling so upset for not seeing John and Kyoko skate at Dallas SOI!

[scottmyers]

pawgal02, when Elena had her mishap on the ice, that may have been similar to what Kyoko went thru on her crash landing. There was also Sarah's misstep during Mr. Blue Sky......so you had to wonder if the AAC ice was up to a skating show's specs or if the NHL lockout could be blamed for it. (Non ice usage could cause the problems therein with how the condition of the ice surface looked).

Anyways, interesting mystery to ponder and if IMG and SOI might want to investigate further should they choose to do so.

Scott
(still feeling like I'm having a letdown after Saturday night)

[Cantabridgian]

pawgal02, when Elena had her mishap on the ice, that may have been similar to what Kyoko went thru on her crash landing.

Kyoko's crash would have been much more serious because it occured whilst she was in a candle lift, so she would have fallen from about 6ft up!!!