September 9, 2006
Iced Energy (Nottingham, UK)
by dancinsk8
I just got back from my family reunion in Las Vegas, so sorry for the delayed report, but here it goes...
First of all some background info. I've been going to SOI in Anaheim since 1999 and have never had ice/front row seats (although I send the form in early, try the advance forms, etc). Anyway, I did have front row seats to this show and it was so great! If we are facing the stage, I was on the left side, closer to the opposite end of the stage (does that make sense?) so I know that my cousin and I will be on camera multiple times. I don't take notes, so everything I'm reporting is from memory and probably out of order.
First great surprise was that co-hosting with Tracy Wilson was Brian Boitano! The crowd was yelling for Brian and it was great! They came out and explained about the live show and that retakes will happen after if there are any falls/mistakes so it is "perfect" on Christmas day. They walk backstage, and back onstage again and the show begins...
The opening number the ladies came out first and I thought they were using the "Rolling Stones" finale costumes (SOI '95), but when they got closer I realized they were sequined and the same colors, but not the same dresses. Katia was the middle of the five girls wearing gold (the girls being Yuka, Kyoko, Karen Kadavy & Naomi Lang). I don't remember the song, but it was Christmasy and I think the guys were wearing white pants and red sweaters with snowflakes across the chest.
Nancy Kerrigan skated the first number (white dress w/ sequins). Again, I don't remember the song, but I have to say it was nice to see her. She fell out of her camel spin so I knew that that would be a retake later.
Steven Cousins skated next. The crowd loved him (especially the ladies). He didn't get height on one of his split jumps and another jump, so he definitely repeated it later.
Yuka and Jason skated next. I am so impressed with this pair! A REALLY lovely number but Jason totally fell in the middle of the routine when they weren't even touching each other. I think he caught an edge on his heel, so when he got up, he had ice all over his black pants. But after the fall, of course the audience was cheering them on, and when they skated close, I yelled "Beautiful!" during their death spiral and they both looked over and smiled.
Katia skated next to "All I Want For Christmas (Is You)" She used this music some Christmases back with a white dress that had red ribbons on the sleeves criscrossing from the wrist to the elbow. This time she wore the red dress from "Autumn in New York." I don't know if I never noticed before, or if she just updated the dress, but it is more sparkly in person. More red sparkles on the skirt. Her smile was wide, her hair was in a ponytail (a little lighter too?) and our section really cheered for her. I think I yelled "yay, Katia!" and she looked and smiled as well--BTW, I yelled for Nancy & Steven too. It's nice that if you call their name, they really do look at you and smile.-- My cousin is not an avid skating fan, but she did know who Katia was. I think we both must have been starstruck because we didn't know Katia made a mistake in this number. I remember thinking, Wow! She skated great! (but that means no retake) and when she came out for retakes in that red dress, we were definitely surprised. The crowd was the loudest in this number, clapping along from the beginning of the song to the end (stamping as well in my section from these ladies to my right!). Katia looked fit and like she was having a really great time performing.
Ok, here is some more in warp speed...Todd Eldridge is always great in person. Fast spins, great smile.
Michael Weiss skated too (not a fan of his) and the crowd went wild when he did a back flip. I do remember liking his second number better than the first, and of course during his retakes for missed jumps, I clapped encouragement with everyone else.
Kyoko and John got tangled up in unraveling themselves from their opening position and John almost busted out laughing, but it was funny seeing him check it so they could keep skating.
I loved, loved, loved watching Peter T. and Naomi L. skate. I was never one to follow their career as I did other skaters, but I certainly knew them (their story) and yelled "it's great to see you both" and they had these HUGE smiles on their faces. Peter is just (sigh) and Naomi is in great shape. She wore a really pretty pink dress. Their second number they vamped a lot on stage at the beginning, but their first number was a great routine (and I am not necessarily an ice dance fan).
Nancy's second number was nice too. She fell on a jump and during retakes she had to repeat one section because her husband peaked out of the black curtain and it was caught on camera.
Karen Kadavy had a routine with John Z, Peter T, and Jason D. They each came out and skated with her a bit. I wanted to yell out "lucky girl!" but I didn't, which is strange since I was yelling out throughout the rest of the show. She skated another routine in a white dress (Pie Jesu?) by Charlotte Church. It was gorgeous. She fell on a jump however and when she did the retake, it took 3 to 4 good tries before she finally got it.
Katia's second routine was the closer before the finale. She wore a dusty blue/grey velvet dress (which she wore for a routine for Artur Dimitriev's show in Russia a year or two back). Anita Baker sang live and it was a bluesy number. Katia made a small mistake somewhere in the middle, but the routine was really nice. She totally flies across the ice. I can't get over her speed. I think she looks very healthy and fit, and while she had some mistakes, she seems more secure (jump wise) than she did in years past. I don't know how to describe it. As she skated by, I could hear ladies in my section saying, "Just look at that smile!" "Go Katia!"
After the finale, Katia was the first retake to tape and she was supposed to redo the bluesy number--my guess is so that the live singer can go home instead of waiting around. So while we were waiting for her to come out, the audience was still cheering for Brian. Katia finally came out and she is in her red dress (with Anita Baker on stage), so she ducks back stage again to change to the other (blue) dress--this was not announced, I just noticed from where I was sitting-- and while Tracy is trying to talk to the crowd, people keep yelling for Brian. "Skate Brian!" So he finally says, he has to go back to his hotel to get his skates and even sticks his shoe on the ice. Katia comes out however in the right dress, and takes two? tries? and gets it right.
The other thing about retakes, some of them didn't use music, they just repeated the section they had to redo. Secondly, Tracy asked the audience to stay for retakes and told those higher up that they could move closer. A girl, about 13 came down to sit to the left of my cousin. She was wearing a lime green zip jacket and had blonde hair in braids. The only reason I mention this is because she didn't sit on the seat. She put her elbows on the board and waved to the skaters as they passed by. Some retakes of missed jumps were right in front of us. All I could think of was, how would they possibly edit this? Will a girl just appear on jumps and disappear for the rest of the routine? Is it a tight shot? Can they edit a whole person out in the background? I can't wait to tape it and see.
Two more things, then I'm done. During intermission, I left to use the facilities and my cousin said that a lady behind her asked if she was a skater. My cousin could not hear her and the lady repeated, "Are you an ice skater? You look so familiar." And my cousin told her she was just a fan. When I got back and she told me the story, I took a good look at her and thought I bet the lady thought she was Kristi Yamaguchi (when her hair was short and layerd--flipped out at the ends). It was a great story to tell at our family reunion. I wondered if others thought it too because no one sat to my immediate right and the couple to my cousin's left, moved one section over after two routines. So here we were, two asian girls sitting a little separated from others in our row.
Last thing...I work at a children's library and had gotten a few author signed books to give to Katia (& Ilia) to read to the girls. After the show I went to the stage area to see if anyone could take it to the skaters. They advised me to ask an usher, who advised me to ask guest services. When I finally got to guest services they said the skaters were in the Meeting Rooms for a VIP siging and advised me to ask the usher/door person there. When I get there I asked if I could give these books to one of the skaters. The lady said I needed to have a pass, and I say I don't need to see her, I just need someone to take them in. She said they will try and she puts them on a table--mind you, these are not wrapped. Just books with ribbon around them and a card taped to the outside of a plain white bag with Ekaterina Gordeeva on the front. So my cousin and I walk away, and I'm thinking, who knows if Katia will ever get it? As I'm leaving the arena, a girl hands me a promotional flyer for the arena. She and the group she's with are all wearing VIP passes. So I ask her if she is meeting the skaters if she could take the books in for me. She said she would, but again, I have no idea if they will ever get to her. It's kinda sad because they are great children's books "If you give a mouse a cookie" by Laura Numeroff and a few books from Anita Lobel"....How do people get these VIP passes? Why did the ladies sitting further down my row cheer so loudly throughout the whole show and when I asked at intermission who they were fans of, they said Ohio State? They didn't even know the skaters!
Anyway, it was a great experience and I'm glad I got to go.
dancinsk8
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