March 15, 2005
STARS ON ICE (Toledo, OH)
by Sunshine
Okay, I went to the Toledo show last night..I guess JulesG was there too! That's pretty cool. I wish I knew beforehand!
Anyway, I'm SO glad I went. I almost didn't because I couldn't afford really good seats. I saw SOI back in 1999, and sat SO far up that everyone was just a tiny spec. But that was a different city and the Toledo Sports Arena is teeny tiny!!! I had the 2nd most cheapest seats, and I was in the 4 row from the floor! I couldn't believe it!
The show was amazing. During the opening number, Katia kept skating to the corner I was sitting at, which she didn't do as much with her other programs (only the group ones). But it was wonderful! As everyone has been saying, she looks SO fit!!! She's thin, of course, but that's not the first thing that popped into my mind...just that she looks so muscular! Definately inspiring me to excersize. :-)
Katia fell hard on her very first jump in Awakening...she was the only skater to fall in the entire show. I felt really bad for her. She didn't seem too happy after that for a a bit, but maybe she was regrouping. Because throughout the rest of the evening, she was glowing. But her costume was BEAUTIFUL! I was really surprised because I had always loved the cut of that dress, but the sparkly design looks much tackier on television. It reminds me of Christmas wrapping paper. But in person, it was so sparkly and beautiful. I know Katia landed a beautiful triple jump somewhere during the show, but I can't remember when....maybe JulesG can remember.
During the "rollercoaster" part, when they were skating around the rink, Katia was making eye contact with everyone and I of course got chills when she looked in my direction. It was then when I thought that maybe I should have made a sign. I don't think anyone in the arena had made any signs at all, so if I had made one, I probably would have gotten noticed. But at the same time, I think I would have been too embarrassed to hold it up, because no one else was! As it was, I think I was one of the very few that was taking flash photos (even though we aren't supposed to;)) Heartburn was great. She didn't miss a beat, and her dress is SO fun...especially in the tight spins!!
As for the rest of the cast, there were some surprises. First of all, I didnt enjoy Sarah Hughes' programs during the broadcast, but I enjoyed seeing them live. She's really so happy to be out there skating, and I think her joy transcended into the audience, at least to me. And she definately has one of the most beautiful laybacks I have ever seen. I felt bad for her though, because just around me, I heard some bad comments about her weight. But something funny did happen, at the end of her Over the Rainbow program, as she was doing her combination spins, she slipped and almost fell as she changed legs, but then caught herself. When she was done, she sheepish grin on her face and shrugged apologetically. It was cute. :-D
I LOVED the pairs!!! They were all SO amazing!!! Jamie Sale really projects to the audience. I was never a huge S&P fan, but they did an amazing job. Elena and Anton did steal the show with their dance routine. Its funny, that routine was kinda fun, but kinda stilted on television, but seeing it live gave it a totally different feeling. And I loved her new skirt instead of her pants. When she danced, you could really see her hips move. And that girl can DANCE! There was this one mentally challenged young man in the audience who was SO excited to be there and was clapping the whole time. Elena was going over to him originally, but then I guess she realized that it might not be the best idea, so she sat on the lap of another young man a couple of seats down. The guy next to my friend said "So that's what $95 gets you. I shoulda paid more of my ticket". It was so funny! And Anton kissed Elena's forehead at the end of the program which was very cute. I still want them to get together. :-D
And I was paying close attention to the quick costume change of Kyoko Ina during the rain part...I think it was Jamie? who was mostly pulling off the red dress. That part reminds me of Britney Spears infamous shed-the-clothes to beige-and-sparkly outfit.
The men were amazing too. Steven Cousins did a wonderful job, of COURSE Todd Elderidge was great (although he did pop out of a triple once into a double), and I think it was a good idea to set him up as sorta the "head" of the program, kinda taking over Scott Hamilton's role.
I thought the weakest program overall was Ilia's first House is Not a Home program...it was nice, but nothing special. But his Green Tomatoes was definately one of the best programs! He really seems to a much higher jumper than the other skaters, even more than Todd Elderidge and Alexei Yagudin. He's an absolutely amazing skater, and has so many wonderful tricks and moves. And for the Katia/Ilia update, she did go to him right at the very end as the skaters were leaving. :-)
And of course, Alexei was PHENOMENAL! My friend actually turned away when he was doing the swining from the cloth thing, because it was making her nauseaus! I thought it was amazing though! He's SO talented...and he also stole the show with his Shout program. His dance with an audience member lasted quite a bit longer than the one with Daria, but I couldn't see what was going on where I was sitting!
I think babbled on enough about the show, and I guess I said the same thing that everyone else has said...but that's the Toledo SOI review from me! :-D
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