U.S. Stars On Ice 2000-01

�Amy

Well, I am finally back from Lake Placid and have summoned enough energy to write a review of Stars on Ice. We didn't leave Lake Placid to drive back to Manhattan until after the retakes on Sunday night (we left before they were over and it was well after 7pm, I believe) and dinner at Nicola's. LaGuardia was a mess and Washington National wasn't much better, so I was extremely exhausted. I seem to be trying to acquire a cold, so I stayed home from work today. This year's show on the whole was a far sight better than the last two years, I think. I am attempting this review without my notes (which I loaned to a friend), so I will probably forget a few things but I didn't feel like waiting.

ACT ONE

Let's Get It On -- Cast
I loved this number in practice at Simsbury but here it seemed a little slow and sloppy. Don't get me wrong, I still like the number a lot. I just don't think they performed it as well as they are capable of. Probably just opening night jitters and being tired after a long two weeks of reworking the show. The highlights are Gorsha and Ilia, who really seem to have caught the feeling of this music. Ilia's lift with Kristi was very impressive considering how inexperienced he is and how long she's been out of pairs skating. It looks like they worked really hard on it. It was an adagio lift where one of Ilia's hands is in Kristi's back and the other is holding her ankle. She is laid out over his head with one knee up. It had an interesting exit too, although I can't recall it right now. Renee's overhead lift with Todd was very impressive too. Yuka and Jenni both looked nervous and don't seem to be very comfortable being lifted by people other than their husbands yet. I'm sure they will be fine with a few shows under their belts though. In general, I really liked the notion of all the women being lifted by different men, and the women being passed from one man to another (and sometimes to a third man) in the lifts. One thing that I found strange was the way they introduced the skaters. It was just a simple reading off of their names as they skated by. No opportunity for each skater to do a special move or even just a second or two to stop and be recognized by their fans. Also, none of their titles were given. I'm not sure I liked this approach.

I Got You (I Feel Good) -- Scott Hamilton
Typical Scott--nothing new or overly exciting, but it was fine and gave the audience a chance to give him a standing ovation. There was a long pause at the end and the house lights were brought up.

A Song For You--Scott Hamilton and Dean Ricci (Sandra Bezic's son)
Not a lot here but I guess it was sort of a moment for Scott to reflect on his beginning in the sport. I wonder if this is a one time thing or if they will try to get a local kid at every show? I seriously doubt Dean Ricci is going to make all 65 shows. I'm sure he has school or something. I got a chuckle out of Dean's red suede Harlicks.

New Moon in the Old Moon's Arms -- Tara Lipinski, Kurt Browning, Jenni Meno & Todd Sand, Renee Roca & Gorsha Sur Tara was not originally supposed to be in this number, but was a replacement for Katia. I think Katia probably would've worked a little better in it, since she is a much more elegant, edgy, smooth skater. Tara didn't do badly though. There's just not much to this number and I'm not really sure what it's supposed to mean. Kurt had the biggest part in it with a double axel-turn-turn-triple toe and a spread eagle sequence. I have to say the costumes in this number were not very attractive. They were almost identical to the ones R&S and M&S had last year for the intro to Katia & Ilia's number, but not as attractive. They didn't fit all that well either (especially Gorsha's pants). Not one of Jef Billing's finer moments. He must really have a thing for the cream/beige color combination.

"Higher" by Creed -- Steven Cousins
I really liked the choreography for this program (done by Sarah Kawahara). I think it is very challenging for Steven though and he doesn't quite have a handle on it yet. He was very slow and his spins were off, even though he's normally a strong spinner (even if his positions are the prettiest). He seemed to be concentrating really hard and wasn't able to give a passionate performance because of it. However, I think with some more practice and experience performing it in front of an audience, this number will be quite good. Also, I just have to add, GREAT PANTS!

"Desert Rose" by Sting -- Kristi Yamaguchi
She doesn't seem comfortable with this number yet. The choreography is very challenging for her, as she is not the most natural dancer in the world. There were a lot of arm and hand movements, but I got the feeling they were very appropriate to Indian dance (not that I know anything about it). Kristi seems to have trouble keeping any speed going between the crossovers. Once again, I think with practice and performance this will be fine. Heck, I really didn't care for "Smooth" last year in Lake Placid but by the end of the tour it was much better.

"Drive/Driven" by Yello -- Ilia Kulik
This program was supposedly choreographed by Christopher Dean, but it looks pretty much like Ilia's own work. It's true that Ilia's jumps were off a bit, but with entrances that hard, you can see why. He did one sequence that was so incredible I can't believe he pulled it off, even in the retakes. It was a lunge (all the way down on the knee) turning immediately to a backward lunge, then an inside Ina Bauer directly into the triple axel. The moves were fast and directly connected to each other and the jump, rather unlike most of the eligible skaters' footwork into triple jump sequences in their short programs. Ilia also did a half split that he basically threw himself down into going full speed down the ice and slid several feet before getting up smoothly and easily. Is it just me or does that move have groin injury written all over it? Knowing Ilia he'll pull it off easily every time. I felt this number was really the point where the show picked up steam and started to cook.

"Double Bogey Blues" by Mickey Jones -- Scott Hamilton
I don't generally like prop/gimmick numbers, but this was well done. The backflip over the golf bag was especially exciting. Scott's triple toe and salchow looked miles better than last year. He doubled the lutz but got the triple on the first try in the retakes. He also redid the backflip over the bag in the retakes although I didn't recall there having been anything wrong with it. He bailed out a couple of times before he did it and said that it scared him to death to jump over the bag.

"Everything Must Change" by Nina Simone -- Renee Roca & Gorsha Sur
This program had some really cool lifts. I don't know how they come up with great new innovative (and attractive) lifts every year, leaving eligible dancers in their dust. Of course, there's not really any real "ice dancing" in this number, but it was nevertheless well done and entertaining. I'm not sure the glorified bikini Renee wears is necessary though. That is, I think more clothing would be better. She's extremely skinny.

"Nyah" by Hans Zimmer feat. Heitor Pereira -- Kurt Browning
Wow! This number was dramatic and extremely difficult and I'm so glad to have the sexy, intense Kurt back. If he ever skates this thing without stumbling, it will blow the roof off the building! You don't even notice that there's no jumps and hardly any spins. The only problem is that this number is so difficult I'm not sure Kurt will skate it clean very often. Of course, he'll also probably never do it exactly the same way twice. Kurt fans are going to have to trek to a lot of shows for this one because it will surely be worth it.

"Dance With Me" by Debelah Morgan -- Tara Lipinski
Anyone who has paid attention to my posts in this forum will recall that I have little to no use for Tara's skating or programs. Well, take a seat and hold onto your hats folks. This number is pretty good. It's pop without being teenybopper and there is more actual skating in it than her numbers from last year. It's a more mature look for Tara without being inappropriate, thank god! To be sure, she still looks to be feeling the effects of her surgery. She was slow, her flying camel was dead, her double jumps were weak and she seemed to be having a little trouble getting down into that low sit spin position as well as the spiral (a la Kerrigan). However, she performed well (good connection with the audience) and seemed comfortable with the music. Also, the red and black beaded dress was an absolute stunner! She doesn't have one tenth the body for it, but still. I kept thinking that Katia Gordeeva (pre-pregnancy) would have looked completely fabulous in that dress (and it's not bad on Tara).

Tunnel Vision -- Cast
This was probably the best number in the show. Without my notes, I know I will get the sequence of this wrong though. The cast (minus Denis and Ilia) came out to "Heard it Through the Grapevine" and did a cute step down the ice where they alternately cover their eyes, ear and mouth with their hands. Then they form a circle and whisper to each other around it, presumably passing on gossip. Scott "freezes" them and talks for a bit. I forget exactly what he said. Basically this is a "backstage" bit with some insights into the skaters personalities off the ice. They all lined up sitting in chairs at one end of the ice. Scott said something about being old and Tara said that her father was his age and he didn't feel old. This of course didn't go over well with Scott. Tara then said something about the cast being boring, at which point Kristi and Yuka got up and skated a short duet. I wish I could remember what song it was, but they were basically trying to prove how "un-boring" they were. Gorsha was pronounced a ladies' man and proceeded to do a strip tease and crowd dive and maul that would have done Candeloro proud. The expression on his face was hilarious! Steven Cousins announced Denis and Scott as "Shaft" and "Mini Me." They came out in matching dark blue pants and shirts with long black leather dusters (coats). Denis looked so serious and fierce I just about busted something laughing! Denis and Scott did a Detroiter (two-handed) after which Scott was kind of hunched over and limping exaggeratedly. Steven said something about "where was his hand?" At some point Denis also grabbed Scott by one hand and one foot and swung him around while Scott made hilarious faces. Ilia made a big entrance strutting out to "Mr. Big Stuff" and being chased by all the women. He does that smug/cool look very well. Tara was complaining to Scott about being the youngest on the tour. Scott didn't appreciate her problem so Tara went down the row of skaters sitting in the chairs and pronounced her problem with each of them. Kristi (married), Yuka (married), Ilia (taken), Renee (never tells anyone), Jenni (married), Todd (married), Denis (always taken), Kurt (married), Steven (check his website). Gorsha was found up in the stands seducing an older woman. Todd had a ridiculous but funny feature as "The Sandman" where he stripped off his clothes to reveal a muscle shirt and leather pants. He was showing off and one of the women said something like "man is he in trouble". The women surrounded Jenni and teased up her hair, then she ran off after Todd looking ready to kill. I think they did a pairs move or two here, but I can't really remember. Anyway, Jenni does mad very well so it worked. There was a dance sequence at the end that was very good. Denis seemed to be especially into it and enjoying himself. Overall, I think it was the best group number they've done since "Fun and Games" (the Olympic parody). Scott laid it on a little thick with his dialogue, but Tara and Steven were very natural and spontaneous with their lines.

ACT TWO

The second act starts off as a continuation of the Tunnel Vision number. Several of the skaters come back out in the same costumes as before and sit on the chairs at various places on the ice. Kristi and Jenni come out and sit down as well, wearing their costumes for their number with Denis. The music for their ensemble, "Both Sides Now" by Joni Mitchell comes on and the other skaters leave while Kristi and Jenni do some mirror skating. Denis comes out next and does an adagio star lift with Kristi. The lift goes around the end of the ice and down one whole side while Denis skates on one foot and then slowly sinks down to one knee, holding Kristi in the star position the whole time. I don't remember the exact sequence of the rest of the moves, so I will just list them in whatever order I remember them. Denis does a series of moves with Kristi that consists of two short lifts (actually the same lift repeated) and a swing. In the lift, Denis puts one hand on Kristi's back and lifts her over his head while he makes a half turn and then sort of catches her on that same arm and sets her down. The swing is in a dance hold (kilian, I think) where they are standing side by side holding hands with their arms crossed. Denis lifts her up and swings her around, never letting their sides touch. With Jenni, Denis does a two-handed chair lift (one hand holding her ankle) with a half turn. This is the same lift Denis did with Katia in the "Four Corners" number a couple of years ago, except that with Katia he released her ankle. Also with Jenni, Denis did a back outside death spiral and the same pairs spin he did with Elena last year where she picks up her feet and supports herself with one hand on his knee. I think I remember Jenni also doing one of those carry lifts where she is draped over Denis while he does a spiral. In the middle of the number Kristi and Jenni do a nice circular spiral sequence where they skate in opposite directions on the same circle. Frankly, I found this number a little disappointing. I saw some of the moves Denis was supposed to do with Katia and Kristi in Simsbury and they were much more difficult than what Denis is doing with Jenni. It may be that they are planning on adding more difficulty as they get comfortable with the number. I hope that's the case. Unfortunately, I also think the number lacks emotion. I can only hope that will come with practice and familiarity with the number. Kristi and Jenni both looked tight in this performance so I'm sure that was part of the problem. I was also a little disappointed for Denis that he isn't getting to show off his considerable skills more. I guess there's only so much you can do with two new partners in such a short time.

"Terminator" by WestBam -- Renee Roca, Gorsha Sur, Ilia Kulik, Steven Cousins, Kurt Browning
The men were wearing grey suits with short jackets, white shirts, black ties and these goofy looking goggles. Renee had on a very attractive purple dress (clean lines, no beading or other decoration) and mirrored sunglasses. I'm borrowing this description from my own review of SOI practice in Simsbury. It's easier than trying to describe it all over again. Besides, if you can't borrow from yourself, who can you borrow from? The number starts out at center ice with each skater sitting on a chair, the four men surrounding Renee. The music is this very loud, percussive techno song. The skaters start out just doing arm movements to the music, then start scooting the chairs around the ice with their feet (basicly doing swizzles while sitting down). They spin the chairs around a couple of times, then do more swizzles. Next, they stand up and then do back crossovers while leaning on the chair seats with their upper bodies. From the back crossovers, they lay across the chair seats on their stomachs and push off with one foot to go spinning down the ice. Then the guys sit back down on the chairs and Gorsha grabs Renee's foot and pulls her around a bit while she is still holding onto her chair. There is a bit more spinning across the ice, then the men line up next to each other sitting in the chairs. Renee stands up and leaps across the men's laps. They all pick her up from their laps, stand up and lay her down across the chairs, pushing her around a bit. Then they each sit back down on a chair and do some more swizzles across the ice and a besti squat while resting their elbows behind them on the chair seats. Then there is more scooting around and lifting Renee, pushing and spinning around the chairs and gliding around in a circle to hold hands. Next, they line up next to each other and pass their chairs behind them to the person next to them, leaving Kurt hovering in the air with no chair under him. Then the person at the end of the line brought Kurt's chair back and stuck it under him. There's a little bit more than that, but that was as far as they got while I was in Simsbury. I wasn't expecting to like this number too much, but it turns out that I did. It's actually pretty cool. It does need some more practice though. I think the unison needs to be dead on for this to really have the stunning impact it should have.

"Moanin'" by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers -- Tara Lipinski and Ilia Kulik
Ilia stayed out on the ice and was joined by Tara (in a simple long-sleeved, hot pink dress). Tara took Ilia's jacket and goggles off and handed him a pair of sunglasses. At first he was acting like some kind of automaton, but I think she supposedly brought him to life or whatever. Then they proceeded to skate a jazz number together, but not really together. There was not really any interaction between them and I think this number was a little weak on concept. I didn't really get it. Skating-wise, their unison was sadly off and several times Ilia appeared to be literally waiting for Tara. I'm really not sure it was a good idea to put their slowest, weakest skater (who is just coming off hip surgery) in the position of having to keep up with their fastest and arguably best footwork skater. I think this might work better with Yuka. She has great feet and wouldn't have trouble keeping up with Ilia. I also think this number needs some interaction between the two skaters.

"Take My Hand" by Dido -- Yuka Sato
This is the same number she did at Grand Slam and some other events this fall (in the black and purple dress). It's a good program for Yuka and she skated it very well. I don't have my notes here, but I believe she landed the triple loop, triple salchow and double axel (not sure if there's also a triple toe). In any event, she skated clean and was charming as usual.

"Don't Fence Me In" by Holly Cole -- Kurt Browning
Even though Kurt is dressed in very over the top royal blue cowboy gear with white trim and a big white hat, this is not a comedy number (thank God!). It's actually a sort of bluesy/jazzy version of the song and Kurt actually gives it a sort of sexy interpretation. I know--only Kurt could pull off sexy in that ridiculous outfit. He messed up the triple axel (forget if he splatted or popped it) and it took him four or five tries to fix it in the retakes. He also had an interesting sequence where he does two small jumps into a triple salchow. I don't think they were walley jumps so I'm at a loss for what to call them other than half Salchows. It looked like a single salchow (rotated with the right leg extended straight out) and landed on the left back inside edge. He also did a series of four double axels with a couple of crossovers in between and always coming out of a counter-directional edge. What can I say? He's the man!

"Let 'er Rip" by the Dixie Chicks -- Kristi Yamaguchi
At the end of Kurt's number, he "lassos" Kristi and pulls her out onto the ice. She is wearing white jeans, a white mostly sheer sleeveless shirt (or halter top?), white gloves (or wrist bands?) with fringe hanging off them and her hair in low pigtails that hung down in front. The program was cute, fun and well done, if not exactly challenging. I forget what jumps were in it, but I think there were at least two triples.

"Sin Wagon" by the Dixie Chicks -- Kurt Browning, Kristi Yamaguchi, DDenis Petrov, Steven Cousins, Renee Roca and Gorsha Sur
Denis, Steven, Renee and Gorsha all came out wearing very brightly colored cowboy outfits. Denis was all in red from head to toe, including a bright red cowboy hat. This is bordering on the ridiculous, LOL. Anyway, its not a bad number. Kurt choreographed it, so it does have some interesting footwork, a lot of which Kristi was excused from (giving her a rest?). It didn't go very well this night since they had real trouble keeping in unison. I think with some practice this will be fine. If they can get the footwork in unison it would actually be pretty impressive.

"I Can't Make You Love Me" by Bonnie Raitt -- Jenni Meno & Todd Sand
This is a pretty good program for them, but I have one major gripe. What the heck was Jef Billings thinking putting Todd Sand in white jeans and a Pepto Bismol pink shirt? Yuck! I couldn't get past it. Jenni's dress is a lighter pink with some kind of pattern in the fabric (floral?) that is actually very attractive, even though I would never put a redhead in pink. Jenni & Todd have some new lifts in this program and they made for one really scary moment. Todd was lifting Jenni in a laid out position over his head (holding one leg and the back of her neck) while skating backwards. Todd rocked forward on his toepicks just as he got Jenni to the top of the lift. I'm telling you, I was shocked that he didn't do a face plant and send her flying! It looked that close to disaster. Fortunately, he managed to shift her weight (and his) backward just enough to save the lift. It scared me to death anyway.

"Rockit" by Herbie Hancock -- Ilia Kulik
I had seen this program before at the Masters, so I already knew it was brilliant. It has a new opening where Ilia starts out inside a giant toy box, with stuffed animals, slinkys and one of Ilia's arms hanging out from under the lid. Ilia opens the box and flops backward over one edge of the box, then "falls" and rolls out of the box to start his program. I think he doubled one of his jumps, but in this program I really don't care. The man is incredible!

"Tiny Dancer" by Elton John -- Tara Lipinski
Tara begins this number sitting on a huge swing that's suspended from the ceiling. She's wearing this big ugly purple robe with feathers around the collar and a narrow headband over her long straight hair. She stands up and takes off the robe to reveal a pink baby-doll top and a blue denim mini-skirt. Well, the skirt and top are actually fairly heavily beaded, but the skirt is supposed to look like denim. It's hard to believe that I'm nearly thirty years old and I'm too young to remember when people dressed like this. Needless to say, Tara doesn't remember such a time either. My friend assured me that the costume fits the time period of the music perfectly though. The music starts out with a woman singing, but then quickly cuts to the Elton John version. This isn't a bad number either. I don't know that I like it as much as her first program, but it's still a vast improvement over last year.

"My Way" by Glenn Roven -- Scott Hamilton
The program starts out as a serious interpretation of "My Way" but then begins cutting to some of Scott's old numbers. He does bits and pieces of "Walk This Way", "Cuban Pete" and "Figaro" in addition to "MacArthur Park" as a tribute to Gordie McKellen. The music cuts back and forth between these songs and "My Way" several times. I actually think it's a good concept and Scott does a good job with it. He didn't make it too cheesy or over the top. However, I have one BIG problem with this number and that is the music. This entire medley is sung by Glenn Roven who, if you will remember, also sang (and arranged?) the music for "I Love Me" and "Keeping the Customer Satisfied". This guy is dreadful beyond belief!! It was fine for him to sing "I Love Me" as a really bad lounge singer, because it was supposed to be a parody. However, I don't think this program was supposed to be one. I had a hard time enjoying the number because this singer grated on my nerves so badly. And that's a shame because it's a good program. I really think Scott needs to rethink this and try it with the original versions of the songs edited together. Is this Glenn Roven guy a personal friend of his or something?

"If It's Magic" by Stevie Wonder -- Cast
Scott stays on the ice after his number and Kristi comes out in her closing number costume. She skates around him for a while and then the other skaters come out. Scott skates around them and touches each one briefly as he passes by.

"As" by George Michael/Mary J. Blige/Babyface -- Cast
This is a nice dance sequence and includes several lifts. It's actually pretty similar to the opening number. Ilia really moves well to this music and it's hard to take your eyes off of him. Denis does a double axel in this part of the number. However, he had to fall out of it this time in order to keep from running into someone who was out of position. This number, like the opening, seems a little short on practice as the skaters tended to get bunched up in ways that didn't look intentional at times. The skaters all headed for the tunnel at full speed with Ilia leading the line. He skidded to a stop inside the tunnel and I thought for a second there might be a pileup, LOL.

"As" (Reprise) -- Cast
The skaters all came back out of the tunnel and finished off the dance sequence, ending in a line in front of the tunnel. I think they got messed up somewhere because three of the men ended up next to each other at the end of the line. The music in this section is kind of melancholy and if I remember correctly it just kind of drifts off. It seems to be intentionally lingering and bittersweet as if they are reluctant to say goodbye to Scott. I think with a little more practice and experience performing it, this could be really powerful (emotionally). As you have probably noticed, I generally found the show a little rusty and the cast a little nervous. However, I really think there's not much wrong with the show that a little repetition won't cure. Overall, I think this is a much stronger show than the last two years and I can't wait to see how it evolves over the course of the tour.

Do you have a full review of this show (just Steven or the entire cast)? I'd love to add it to this page for those who didn't get to see the show so send it in!