Salt Lake City, January 19, 1999
Just got back from the Salt Lake City SOI show. Surprisingly, the arena (not that large) was only half full -- and it was totally full last year acccording to the folks I came with. One factor might be the National Championships which come in 2 ½ weeks to the city -- some folk may have decided to save their money.
I liked the show a lot. The opening number now has Scott doing virtually all of the talking (I tried to see whether Kristi has a wireless mike on when they first come out -- didn't look like it to me.) Maybe there was a technical problem with all the spins she was doing. Anyway, I liked the bits that didn't make it to TV.
Because some of my sentimental favorites are not touring this year (Paul W., Kurt B.) it didn't have quite the same emotional punch, although seeing Roz and Bechke and Petrov for the final time live (probably) was touching. Those in the know gave standing ovations -- and Bechke and Petrov got one of the loudest responses to their cold spot -- magnificent skating--they really are going out with a bang. Pure Moskvina choreography and fabulous skating, nailing the throw triple sal dangerously close to the boards.
Kristi was on tonight -- the Tchaikovsky was simply brilliantly skated -- effortless and three/four tough triples (Toe, Flip, Lutz and Loop I think) plus a double axel and great spins that got applause. She slightly stumbled in the poetry piece on a jump, but other than that she was flawless. With her first program and Ilia's tango blended right after -- well, I simply was mesmerized. Ilia seems to be growing in his role as the showman (shades of HamiltonBowman are appearing especially in the stomp skating one) and he loves the spotlight. I liked all of his numbers because he was really present in them and gave his all. The diversity of his skating gives me hope there'll be great pro skating after Scotty retires.
Scott had a tough night on the jumps (fell on one in the "You've Got Mail program -- I think he was bailing out of a triple toe) and two-footed the lutz in the "Keep the Customer Satisfied" program, but he got the highest standing O of the night. Nobody can touch his way with a crowd, and you simply forget how hard all of it is, like the Kawahara footwork.
Steven Cousins adds a new punch to the show and keeps it light. One of the guys that was part of our group really got a kick out of him -- I think he helps the "skating widowers" feel more of a part of the whole thing--very "guy." I liked his number "Invisible" quite a bit too. The ultra violet was a nice touch in many of the ACT II numbers. But aren't those white jeans the gals wear as muses just a bit painful -- no room to sit down in those babies.
Katia still seems to have some back recovery to do. She didn't do all of the choreography in group numbers that involved back stretches. She also had a worried look going into her double axel--stumbled on the landing, and doubled her toe loop in the Fragile program. But golly, she is worth a million bucks in the Russian Quartet number. The spins with Dennis are faster, and she's more confident in the lifts now -- really stretching out and flying. Ilia is doing better on the lower lifts with her too--he looks like he is having fun. This was one of the highlights of the show for me.
Meno and Sand and Lu Chen still seem to be finding their identities in the show. While Lu did her best to sell the Santana, it wasn't that appreciated by the crowd. Too much posing for my taste. I think she needs more gentle music than this. Meno and Sand could have been skating to just about any music with the choreography that they used -- I hope that they work more on the feel of whatever music they use.
Roca and Sur -- The Santana number was great -- I checked later and sure enough, it was Christopher Dean choreography. Some great dance-dance, and I could only wish to see lifts as attractive in the upcoming dance competition at Worlds :) Also the lifts go on and on -- one of them went almost the entire length of the rink in their first number with tons of changes in position. They have found themselves as pros and I hope we see them forever!
Tara. Hmmm...I've always liked her enthusiasm, but I felt as though she wasn't really present in her performances tonight. She skated well, even though she stumbled on a couple of jumps at first but she landed a lot of them (including some toe loops, salchows, and a loop and a flip). But...she didn't connect with the audience the way the rest of the skaters did. I've really liked the swing number, but this felt more distant, and I don't think pigtails helped. The "My Fair Lady" program -- well, she looked everywhere but at the audience, and it still seems too old for her. And even "Second Element" which I've liked a lot on TV (by the way the costume problem seen on NBC has been fixed!) also wasn't as impressive. She received warm but not overwhelming applause. The exception was the clown group number -- there she really was into it. She and Scotty have added a couple of fun new moves to their "mirror" segment, and the timing is much better. Perhaps this was an off night for her.
The closing was very strong with "Face to Face" -- I liked seeing the different skaters in the different parts -- this has gotten much cleaner. The audience was on and we gave a standing O for jobs well done. We may have been a small crowd, but we were very enthusiastic!
Rene
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