An Evening on Ice 2000
"An Evening on Ice 2000" was a United Way Benefit skating show held at the New England Sports Center in Marlborough, Massachusetts. Tickets were $25.00, and there were two shows: 1:30pm & 7:00pm. I went to both shows, and I had a really good time. Surya and all the others really skated well. It was also nice to see some new faces of the up-and-coming skaters.
Due to a few requests, this review will be different from the ones I normally write. It will be different in that I will comment on all the skaters at the show, instead of just Surya. My comments on Surya's performances will be in bold so as to retain the Surya-centric theme of this web site.
DISCLAIMER: All observations/assessments made here are my own. All pictures shown here were taken by me. I decided to post them all, even though many of them are little more than blurry blobs. Just click on the thumbnail to be taken to the full image. Let me know what you think. (unless it is a criticism of my photographic skills!) Enjoy!
Introduction:
The introduction for the show really was little more than the announcer calling out each skater's name, and they came out and did a little move and then got in line. There was no music. However, the announcer did say that the theme of the show was "Entertainers of the Century". All that really pertained to, however, were the group numbers. Not a whole lot to say about the introduction, I suppose. I can comment a bit on the practice session before before the 1:30 show, though. When I got there, Surya was just leaving the practice ice (what bad luck). Elena Berezhnaia & Anton Sikharulidze (whom I will refer to as B/S from now on) were on the ice, though, as well as Victor Baryshevtsev (famous for doing routines while skating in hockey skates). All Victor was doing were some nearly out-of-control death drops and a bit of footwork. He never did try any jumps. B/S were practicing in an outfit with a black top and brown bottom which looking rather peasant-ish. Anton's hair looked a little shaggier than I remember it, but it's been awhile, so maybe it was just me. They kept practing Side-By-Side Triple Toes (SBS 3T). Elena almost consistently doubled the 3T. They weren't looking too sharp in practice....but they didn't practice long. Now, on to the show!
Pictures from the Introduction:
Act One:
Act One began with a group performance to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" which consisted of the young skaters at NESC. I think it was thrown together at the last minute, because many of the skaters in this group also did solos, and they were much better in those performances. Now that I think about it, I think they performed first, and then the Introduction came right after them. Oh well.
The first to skate were Daniel & Kaile Eison, who I'd never seen before. The only thing that I wrote down is that they used Annie Bellemare's LP music from last season, and that they successfully completed some very basic pairs moves, and although slow, made no obvious errors. At the 7pm show, though, they had a disasterous performance, and ended up all over the ice. I think they're 14 and 12 respectively, so they're still very young.
After them was Ashlee Cushing. Once again, she is new to me, and I was really impressed with her performance. She exudes personality in her skating. She chose to skate to "If My Friends Could See Me Now" from the Sweet Charity musical. She came out to the ice with a stuffed animal dog, but it was hardly a prop. She nailed all her elements, although they weren't too difficult. 1A, decent-looking layback, 2Z (so close to the wall someone screamed), 2F, Split Jump-2T, another 1A, all very clean. She got a great response from the crowd, and she deserved it. Definitely an entertainer.
A group of kids so young they could barely stand up on their skates was next, and they skated to "The Candyman". One girl was so little it waa almost humorous -- she didn't fall, though. There were about 2 or 3 that did take a tumble, though.
Young-In Bae was next. The start of her music was some generic female ballad. She hit a 2Z, 1A, a rather nice Charlotte spiral, 2F, and a so-so layback. At some point, there was a horrendous music cut. It sounded like Alvin the chipmunk got on the microphone and said, "10 seconds until countdown" and then a bunch of loud sirens went off, and he finished with "3-2-1, BREAKDOWN!" After that the music picked up and she did some footwork, but that music cut was really, really obvious. She did a Flying Camel and then a 2S. Her technique is strong, but a little more expression could go a long way, and the music was just distracting.
Next was Hania Drozdowski. She was in the "Thriller" number, and judging from that, you'd never have known she was so good. She doesn't have the triples, but everything else about her skating was very pleasant. She was very flexible, and her music was very nice. She hit all her jumps. I was looking forward to seeing her skate again at the 7pm show, but she only skated her solo at the 1:30pm show.
Dan Hollander was next, and he skated to a Bugs Bunny/Elmer Fudd music medley. It began with Bugs Bunny singing as he cut hair in a Barber Shop. Oh, and he had a barber's chair in the first number. (Dan had a chair in all his programs at this event.....chairasexual? Yes, I think so.) His costume was such that he could flip a part of his costume one way and he was Bugs Bunny, and another to become Elmer Fudd. (After the show he mentioned that he thinks he may have to adjust his costume because it took a little too much time/effort to switch between personalities) I don't particularly enjoy most "funny" skating routines, but this one wasn't too painful. He landed a 2A, 2L (he doubled the loop at both shows), 3T, and a 3S. At the end he landed a backlip and sat in his chair. (For the 1:30pm show, he was a little close to the chair when he landed, and he looked a little surprised it was right there when he sat down for the ending)
Viacheslav Zagorudnik skated his Austin Powers medley next. He landed 2A, 2Z, 2F, and a 3T with a touchdown. The crowd loved it, but the funniest part for me was when the music switched to "Touch Myself" by Divinyls. His facial expression when the lead singer sang, "I love myself...." was priceless. The jumps weren't there, and again, this wasn't my type of program. Entertaining, nonetheless.
Barbara Fusar-Poli and Maurizio Margaglio (F-P/M from now on) came out next, and they were on. They skated to "I'm Just a Baby in the Business of Love" (at least that's what I think it was called). The first thing I noticed is that Maurizio no longer has a ponytail, which may be old news, but it was new to me. They've got tons of personality, and loads of speed. They performed a clockwise-counterclockwise rotational lift with some very nice variations of position. I know this wasn't competition, but they really made Usova/Platov look junior-ish with their speed. Anyway, F-P/M had a very entertaining number, which included a section where Barbara took off her jacket a la Striptease. Tastefully, though. She seemed to be having a lot of fun. My best pic of the show was probably Barbara's little strip scene, though, as you can see below. Once the number was over, Barbara skated over to where she threw off her jacket and said, "Bye!" really loud, which got a substantial laugh from the crowd. I met her after the show, and was struck by her friendliness.
The moment I was waiting for came next, as Surya Bonaly came on the ice. Immediately from her costume I knew that she would be skating to her Technical Program from last season, "Exotica" & "Duel of the Fates". Evidently, she wasn't ready to debut her new programs, which I suppose she'll do at Ice Wars in November -- at least I hope she'll get to debut them before World Pros in December. The lack of pro events this season gives her less time to "test out" her new programs on the judges. The elements were the same as her normal routine to this number, with the exception that there was no Triple Loop and she put her hand-down on the 3T in her 2A-half loop-hop-3T sequence. She also turned her Split Jump-3T-3T into a Split Jump-3T. Only one backflip in this performance, and that came in the middle of the program, vice the end, where she threw in a footwork sequence instead. She did "The Bonaly" spin as well as a scratch spin and one of her combination spins that goes on forever. Her scratch spins are much faster than they have been in the past. I love this music, and she skated well, other than the hand down on the 3T. (At the 7pm show I didn't take notes, but I she was definitely clean in her "Exotica" number then. She also put her Backflip at the very end instead of in the middle.) Suzanne was standing in the skater's entrance watching Surya the whole time. Both Surya & her mother are extremely friendly, as I would find out after the show.
B/S were next and they skated to some music which I really loved! This may be their new short program, but I'm not sure, as I didn't pay too much attention to their elements or length of program. The music was something with choral voices (a la Maria Butyrskaya's 'Scene d'Amour' last season) so I think it could be an eligible competition program. Elena had trouble with ALL the jumps and technical moves, just as in practice. She went all the way down at least once, and wobbled a lot. Loved the music, though, and they were very fast. Anton looked very strong in all the elements. At the 7pm show they did a variation of their Charlie Chaplin LP for the 2000-2001 season in Act One. It was not 4.5 minutes in length, so that's how I know it must be a spinoff. The costumes were great, but I was wondering if they'd be able to make such a program work. There was a little too much posing at the beginning, but other than that, it was quite nice. It's hard to judge this program since it is probably substantially different from their competitive LP, but there were times when the music cuts were too obvious. I liked it overall, though.
To close out Act One, the synch team of 'Blades of Gold' did a routine to a Grease medley. They had 2 falls, and demonstrated the domino effect for the crowd. I have never seen synch skating before, so this was interesting to me.
Pictures from Act One:
Barbara Fusar-Poli & Maurizio Margaglio of Italy
Surya Bonaly of France
Elena Berezhnaia & Anton Sikharulidze of Russia
Act Two:
Act Two began with another group number to an Elvis Presley song. Somewhat forgettable, and once again it looked like it was thrown together at the last minute. They're young though.
Sarah Farley was next, and she is both a crowd favorite and a skater favorite. The shrieks rivalled those of Tara Lipinski at '99 World Pros (on a smaller scale, of course). She wore black and skated to "100% Pure Love". She is very strong technically, and she landed a 2Z-2L combo in the corner, a lone 2L, and a 1F. She follows the music very well, but doesn't exude much emotion or feeling. At the 7pm show, she hit the 2F at the end.
After her, a group of old skaters ("On the Edge") did a number. One of them looked really, really old, and I think everyone was surprised she was on the ice. They did a nice job, though, and everyone was impressed. Not a fall nor bobble. They performed to some classical piece that I vaguely recognized, but was not famous.
After them, Haley Ellis did her program, set to music from Chicago the musical. She had a good amount of personality, and she landed a 2T, 2F and a 2Z. She ended with some running camels into a scratch spin. Nice job.
Amy Bobrick was next, and she was the first of the young skaters to land a triple jump, which was a loop. She has great flexibility -- much more than she would appear to have. She did a Back Spiral into a 2A, a 2F, and a nice combination spin. I don't remember her musical choice, though I think it was soft and lyrical, but the program was so-so overall. Good elements, though.
Zaggy was next with his second number, skated to "Men in Black" from last year. He fell apart again technically, mustering only a 2A, 1Z, and a 3T. He did have energy and personality, although he'll need more than that to win pro competitions this season.
Maya Usova and Evgeny Platov came out next and skated to "Spente le Stelle" by Emma Shapplin. They had good lifts and good dance spins, but they were really put to shame in the speed department by F-P/M. They were so slow that *I* actually got good pictures of them. LOL.
Dan Hollander came out next with his second number, and, you guessed it, he brought along a chair. I don't recall anything about this program other than the fact that he had a chair and landed a 2A and a 3T with a hand-down. The highlight of this program to me was when he went into a death drop from a flip jump entrance. It was very interesting, because he kind of had to curl his body around to the correct position. At the 7pm show, he did a skating tribute to his girlfriend. (Keeping his form, he began by pushing her out to mid-ice in, yep, a chair)
F-P/M were next and to be honest with you, I don't recall much about this program other than it has TONS of speed and personality. I thought someone behind me said it was one of their cha-chas from the past, but I was enjoying the program too much to remember the specifics. I was able to capture a few pictures. They are now my favorite dance team, and I think they have a more varying style than A/P of France (if that makes sense to you).
Surya Bonaly took the ice again, and skated to her Artistic Program from last season. Why don't I just say here that the music is Carmine Meo by Emma Shapplin. NOT NOT NOT Cuor Senza Sangue by Emma Shapplin. Yes, I realize that's what ABC labelled it, but I think Dick Button just wanted to try and impress the TV audience with his pronunciation of "Cuor Senza Sangue" and then his translation to "Heart Without Blood". So anyway, I was too into the program to really take notes, but she nailed all the jumps she did. She did a Backflip, the rotating split on the ice, "The Bonaly" spin and her eternal combination spin. At the 7pm show, she was clean once again. The truly amazing part of her performance, though, was after she finished. Everyone applauded, and as she skated off the ice, the announcer asked the crowd, "Would you like to see more?" Of course everyone screamed yes, and then Surya came right back to the center of the ice. Keep in mind, she just finished her program, complete with triples and a backflip, and was coming out for an encore. This number was new, but I don't think it is one of her competitive programs for the season. My best guess is that it was about 1.5-2.5 minutes in length. The music was some kind of Big Band/Swing type music with the word "Tuxedo" in it a few times. (it was NOT "Tuxedo Junction" though). She opened with a 1A, which she immediately corrected by taking a few steps and nailing a 2A. (She fell on the opening 2A at the 7pm show - obviously worn out from an entire day of skating, because she didn't even try to land it again, which she normally does) This encore number was mainly a compliation of very nice footwork, which I hope to see in her programs this year. I was really impressed by the improvement in speed and complexity in this area. Let's hope to see more of it this season!
Sasha Cohen made her big appearance at long last, skating to a generic female ballad. I really should know the name of the song, but it escapes me at the moment. It was a popular song that plays on the radio quite a bit -- possibly called "To Love You More", but I'm not 100% sure. I think it may have been a Celine Dion number. (Don't worry -- it wasn't 'Titanic') She skated wonderfully, showing tons of flexibility. Her spins are improved, including that position at the end of her combination spin where her back was a bit bent last season. She landed the jumps, but stepped out of her 2A and had a very low landing to her 3S. I find it hard to believe she is working on a 4S, because her 3S doesn't have a lot of spring or control in it. One of the highlights of this program was when she did a change-of-edge forward "Y" spiral. (I think it's being called a "Skid Spiral" -- anyway, it's pretty cool) Nice number overall.
B/S skated to "Smooth" and did very well. Michael Weiss skated his "Our Father" (?) number in Act Two, and was very good. I forgot to mention him in Act One -- he used his '99-'00 COI program and did well. I skipped some of the synch and group numbers from Act Two, but I didn't take notes.
Pictures from Act Two:
Maya Usova & Evgeny Platov of Russia
Barbara Fusar-Poli & Maurizio Margaglio of Italy
Surya Bonaly of France ("Carmine Meo")
Surya Bonaly of France (Encore Performance)
Elena Berezhnaia & Anton Sikharulidze of Russia
Sasha Cohen of the United States
Finale:
The finale was just as ordinary as the introduction, with a few exceptions. When Victor Baryshevtsev was called, he almost ran over Sarah Farley and the right side of the lined-up cast. They had to jump back at the last minute to avoid collision. He was going *fast*, too. The other event was the highlight of the finale...... and it involved Surya Bonaly. She wore a gorgeous gold costume, and when her name was called, she went to center ice and did a One-Footed Backflip. Then, she did another one, right afterwards! No strokes, turns, or delay in between! This is the first time I've ever seen her do a BackFlip-Backflip combination, and it was spectacular! The highlight of the finale. After the 7pm show, they gave out awards. At this point, the skaters lined up on the ice, and Fifi, Surya's dog, ran on the ice. Surya ran after her and held her for the rest of the ceremony.
Pictures from the Finale:
Post-Show Events:
After the show, I went backstage and was able to meet some of the skaters. Sasha Cohen was very friendly, even though she was nearly mobbed everywhere she went. Barbara Fusar-Poli did not have that problem. In fact, no one knew who she was except me, and as she walked by, people just made a hole for her to pass through. After I wished her good luck this season she looked genuinely surprised that someone recognized her, and she talked with me for a few minutes. Her English is broken, but 100 times better than my Italian! After the crowds dispersed a bit, I got to see Surya. She was so friendly! We talked for close to 10 minutes, and she signed my program and took a picture with me. Suzanne Bonaly and a man who I think was her agent were also there, and both very nice. Suzanne has a lot of critics who say a lot of things about her, but she has such an amiable personality. It was obvious to me that those critics have never met her and don't know what she is all about, because she and Surya are both down-to-earth and very personable. This was the highlight of my trip.
