July 8 - Champions on Ice Dallas

I was surpised at how many people showed up. I've read that the show has been underselling, most likely due to the lackluster that was the Olympics this year. However, at the Dallas Show a good 3/5ths of the seats were filled.

During the opening, each skater was introdued individually and took the ice for about one minute before the group opening. Rudy Galindo was introduced, followed by Surya Bonaly, Viktor Petrenko, Dan Hollander, Anissina & Peizerat and the other professional skaters - the eligible skaters were announced last, including Johnny Weir, Evan Lysacek, Michelle Kwan, Belbin & Agosto, Totmianina & Marinin, Sasha Cohen, Shizuka Arakawa, Irina Slutskaya and Evgeni Plushenko. All the ladies wore sequined halters and hot pants and the men wore sequined shirts and baggy cargos.

It seemed we were blessed with sitting in the "gynecological section" of the rink. My mom joked she saw more crotches in two hours at the show than she's seen during a week of giving pap smears at the office.

(I just did a few reviews over my favorite performances)


(In the middle of a spin)
(Random shot)
(More Johnny)

Johnny Weir (USA)
3-time U.S. National Champion (2004-2006)
2006 Olympic Team Member (5th)





Johnny skated in the middle of the first half of the show. I was hoping that he would perform his new “Desert Rose” exhibition, but he stuck with “My Way”. As always his costume was exquisite – it was black with solid white and grey sequins down the sides, a different one than he had at Marshall's with his name written in Cyrillic down the side (or was that his exhibition to "Unchained Melody"?). He is an internal skater and doesn’t express his emotions in the way that a lot of other “show-biz” skaters do who like to amuse or excite the audience – he doesn't skate for anyone else, including the crowd. My mom described his skating as "other-wordly" and I agree - he is artistic beyond belief. I don't think I have ever seen another male skater with as much balletic quality as Weir. He also demonstrated his athletic ability and did several triples in his program - I think the same amount or more than Plushenko did. He also did a triple axel - and while its so clean and crisp on TV, live it is simply amazing - its beyond me how he can make them look so effortless. His edges were deep with no falls, doubles or two-footed landings. Absolutely flawless.The crowd really enjoyed it and got a great reaction.


(Going into a triple axel during the opening)

Evgeni Plushenko (Russia)
Olympic Gold Medalist (2006)
Olympic Silver Medalist (2002)
3-time World Champion (2001, 2003-2004)
5-time European Champion (2000-2001, 2003, 2005-2006)





Plushenko wore a similar outfit to Weir and skated to “Tosca”. He has never really “done it” for me on TV, but is absolutely mesmerizing live, and despite the complaint that he does his “footwork with his arms” he had the entire audience in a trance during his straightline footwork. I was surprised when he did a few hard triples one of which was a combination. He came right over to our boards and stood for a minute doing some dramatic body movements. It would’ve been amazing to see his quad-triple-triple combination live, but I can understand the risk of injury, and the crowd always likes to see a clean easy triple rather than a fallen quad. The crowd really enjoyed his performance and I would rate it as one of the best of the night technically and artistically.


(Beautiful hydroblade position - terrible picture)
(Another terrible picture)

Michelle Kwan (USA)
Olympic Silver Medalist (1998)
Olympic Bronze Medalist (2002)
5-time World Champion (1996, 1998, 2000-2001, 2003)
9-time U.S. National Champion (1996, 1998-2005)





Michelle closed the show, which was a bit surprising given Shizuka is now in the cast. I figured the powers that be would allow the reigning Olympic champion to close the show, but Michelle is arguably the most well known in the bunch, so I can see why she was asked to close. She skated to a Natalie Cole song. She is incredibly gorgeous in person and looked like she had lost weight since Marshall’s back in April. She scaled back a lot technically; no jumps and minimal spins. She looked like she was skating more conservatively than the other skaters, taking her time to complete each element. Its evident the injury is still giving her some problems; her spins weren’t as fast as usual and her lines weren't as extended, but it was quintessential Kwan when she did her signature spiral sequence. Her inside-outside edge spiral is beautiful on TV, but seeing it live literally took my breath away. I got a bit star struck when she did a charlotte right in front of our section. Of all the skaters, Michelle looked the happiest to be there, as I'm guessing this is her final year on tour. At the end of her performance everyone started getting out of their seats to give her a standing ovation. She smiled, laughed and pointed to a few audience members who yelled out "Happy Birthday" to her. The crowd really enjoyed her and responded to her more so than anyone else.


(A blurry picture during the closing)





Irina Slutskaya (Russia)
2-time Olympic medalist (Silver in 2002, Bronze in 2006)
2-time World Champion (2002, 2005)
7-time European Champion (1996-1997, 2000-2001, 2003, 2005-2006)
4-time Russian National Champion (2000-2002, 2005)

Irina is such a powerful skater. She probably skated the fastest of all the ladies and did a few jumps - I think a double loop and triple toe - and yes, they are as huge as they look on TV. She skated to "Big Spender" and really pulled off the flirtatious act. She's absolutely cute in person, and she looks about 17 instead of 27, haha. I think she did one biellmann (I can't remmeber for sure - and it wasn't double foot!) but she did quite a few catchfoot spirals and spins throughout the program, though. I didn't really like the costume as it wasn't all that flattering, but I liked the idea of it. I've always found it interesting that Russian skaters tend to use American show tunes for all their exhibition performances; perhaps its to win the favor of the audience, lol. She plays to the audience surprisingly well and seemed to be enjoying herself. She's always been one of my favorite technical skaters but this program definitely showcased her presence. She was well received and got a few standing Os.


(Sideways shot of her Russian split)
(Gorgeous charlotte spiral)
(Spinning)

Sasha Cohen (USA)
Olympic Silver Medalist (2006)
2-time World Silver Medalist (2004-2005)
U.S. National Champion (2006)
4-time U.S. National Silver Medalist (2000, 2002, 2004-2005)





Sasha Cohen is perhaps the worlds most flexible human being. It truly is amazing how she can make a 180 degree spiral extension look natural. Like most of the other programs, I saw this back at Marshall's last Spring, and she skated just as beautifully. While I hated the hideous choice of music to Celine Dion's "God Bless America" she is such a gorgeous skater. Physically, she is stunning. She is so tiny and cannot be more than 5'1 and 100lbs and really is as beautiful as she is in pictures. She showcased her trademark flexibility as usual and did a couple charlottes and an incredible spiral just a few feet from our boards which was gorgeous. She fell on a double axel early on but landed a triple salchow later on in the program smoothly. She is such a balanced skater - artistically and technically - but its a shame she can't get her jumps more consistent in competition, because she really is a wonderful skater. She didn't smile a lot, but towards the end she started to lighten up and enjoy it.


(Blurry catchfoot spin)
(Blurry spiral)

Shizuka Arakawa (Japan)
Olympic Gold Medalist (2006)
World Champion (2004)
2-time Japanese National Champion (1998-1999)





I was under the impression that Shizuka was only skating during the end of July and early August, so it was a treat that she performed in Dallas. I got so excited when they announced her during the opening. She skated to "You Raise Me Up" by Celtic Woman in a beautiful blue dress (I couldn't help but think of Michelle since she had the same exhibition song last year and wore a blue dress) that probably wouldn't have been flattering on anyone else, but looked amazing on her. She did a couple jumps that were all clean. As much as she does tend to overuse the "doughnut spin" it put a smile on my face when she did one on our side of the rink. I love the freehand she uses during the spin - minor, but elegant. She also did her extraordinary Ina Bauer - she betters Sasha for most flexible in that category. She did a beautiful spiral sequence as well as a "Biellmann Spiral". She's a very quiet skater in that she doesn't attempt to draw attention to herself, and she is simplistically elegant - she is well-rounded, technically consistent and wonderfully artistic. As Dick Button said at the end of her Olympic free skate, "That's a lady skating."



Rudy Galindo (USA)
World bronze medalist (1996)
U.S. National Champion (1996)

Rudy is such a great performer. He really knows how to play to an audience and get their attention. I remember when there was some controversy about him carrying the gay pride flag during an exhibition skate several years ago. Its strange that even in such a seemingly liberal sport as figure skating that there is so much intolerance within the community towards the male skaters that are out. Rudy very much played up the stereotype and skated to some disco music, took his shirt off to reveal a sequined-flesh colored shirt and began "vogue-ing". He did a couple triples and did his "shotgun" spin position. The audience really enjoyed it and got them pumped up for the rest of the show.


(A lift)
(Throw Jump in the opening program)

Tatiana Totmianina & Maxim Marinin (Russia)
Olympic Gold Medalists (2006)
2-time World Champions (2004-2005)
4-time European Champions (2002-2006)

Tatiana and Maxim are such classical skaters. They epitomize what Russian skating is about - beauty and strength (I know it sounds cheesy). Their lifts and throw jumps are spectacular and they kept a lot of speed throughout the program. They have so much passion, but not in the way that the American or Chinese pairs do - its much more internally focused instead of outward.


Tanith Belbin & Benjamin Agosto (USA)
Olympic Silver Medalists (2006)
World Silver Medalists (2005)
World Bronze Medalists (2006)
Three-time U.S. National Champions (2004-2006)

I love this couple and I'm not even that big a fan of ice dance. They have so much fire and passion on the ice - they are just plain fun to watch. It doesn't hurt that she's a gorgeous blonde bombshell and he has this sexy Latin lover vibe going on. I really don't know any ice dance technical jargon (besides "twizzles" and all I know is that they're hideous) so I really can't describe in detail all their choreography and elements - but like I said, they are impossible not to watch. Unlike a lot of ice dancers, they have personality. They're the first American-produced ice dance team in half a century to medal at the Olympics, so they're definitely doing something right.


Katy Taylor (USA)
Four Continents Champion (2006)
U.S. National Pewter Medaist (4th)


Marina Anissina & Gwendal Peizerat (France)
Olympic Gold Medalists (2002)
World Champions (2001)
2-time European Champions (2000, 2002)
4-time French National Champions (1998-2001)






Closing
(Another Shot)