Dallas, Jan. 23, 1999
Stars On Ice: Hello and Farewell
Inside the chilly confines of Reunion Arena, a warm welcome awaited the Stars On Ice cast as they introduced some new faces, and prepared to say farewell to a few familiar ones. The SOI tradition of excellence and eclecticism continued, as the cast skated solo and group numbers to a varied selection of music.
Swing music from The Brian Setzer Orchestra opened the show, as the skaters made their entrance to the strains of "Rock This Town." In a departure from the normal introductions, the skaters were introduced...by themselves! As the song neared its end, Kristi Yamaguchi and Scott Hamilton were introduced. They in turn welcomed one of their newest members, 1998 Olympic Men's Champion Ilia Kulik of Russia, who skated to "Jumpin' Jack." Members of the cast then paired off for a bit of romantic skating to "Sleepwalk." But wait a minute! "We forgot somebody" said Kristi and Scott, as the audience helpfully offered the name. "Tara!" affirmed Scott and Kristi, and out danced 1998 Olympic Ladies' Champion Tara Lipinski of Sugar Land to "Jump, Jive, An' Wail"!
The skaters, veterans and rookies alike, then proceeded to entertain the fans the entire night with their quality performances. Katia Gordeeva enchanted the crowd with her routine to "Fragile," and Scott Hamilton turned the smiles up two or three notches with The Barenaked Ladies' "One Week," choreographed by Sarah Kawahara. Tara once again charmed the fans with a performance to music from the musical My Fair Lady, and Kristi Yamaguchi displayed her elegant skating at its best with a beautiful interpretation of Tchaikovsky's "Violin Concerto."
It was time for some fun then, as the cast of skaters let loosed and clowned around [literally!] in a circus number choreographed by famed ice dancers Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean. From the never-ending stream of ribbon emerging from Roz Sumners' mouth to the scarf juggling near the end, there was truly a big top atmosphere on the ice! A few highlights were the mirror skating of Tara and Scott, who wore identical costumes, and newcomer Stephen Cousins of Great Britain, who lost his pants, then got doused with water. In the end, he got his revenge by chasing the other clowns off the ice in his "Zamaguchi"!
In the second half of the show, eight time British National Champion Steven Cousins electrified the audience with a techno pop routine to the song "Invisible" by the Hackers. Skated in large part under a black light, at times only his striped shirt and gloves could be seen, giving the illusion of a dancing torso!
Then came two performances by skaters who will be saying good-bye soon to Stars On Ice. Rosalynn Sumners, leaving after thirteen years with Stars On Ice, skated a lovely routine to Anne Cochran's "After All These Years." Elena Bechke and Denis Petrov of Russia, headed, possibly, for the coaching ranks, performed beautifully to Andrei Petrov's "Eva."
Music by Santana was featured next, as ice dancer Renee Roca and Gorsha Sur led off with "Oye Como Va." Newcomers Chen Lu, the two-time Olympic Bronze medalist from China, and 1998 World Pairs Silver medalists Jenni Meno and Todd Sand of the US followed, also skating to Santana.
Two of the best-received performances came near the end, Tara's routine to the Sarah Brightman song "Second Element" and Scott's crowd-pleasing "Keepin' the Customers Satisfied," which drew the first complete standing ovation of the night. Then it was time to face the facts, as the cast began their closing routine to "Face The Face" performed by Neil Donnell. The show was over, and it was time to say good-bye to all the skaters! Though the departing skaters will be very much missed, Stars On Ice has chosen some very able replacements. Welcome, newcomers, and well done! Farewell - and thank you - Roz, Elena, and Denis. May your stars shine forever!
Robin Kent
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