My husband and I attended the Rochester SOI on April 8th. It is only the second time we have seen SOI and it was well worth the trip. We were seated in the 8th row, much better than last year when we were in, if you can believe it, the very last row.
I am not a fan of Led Zeppelin so I didn't enjoy the grating guitar music, but the skating was first rate. Wonderful unison and high energy. Scott didn't fool anyone, as soon as he joined the line-up he was spotted and the applause began. He had a good performance, I believe he did either a triple toe or triple sal (I'm helpless without a vcr) and several doubles. Partial standing O. He spent quite a bit of time taking his bows, you can tell how much he enjoys the audience.
Kurt Browings part was, as some have said, very short. It consisted mainly of spraying ice on three sides of spectators and Paul Wylie. Paul was his usual high energy self. I don't particularly like seeing him do rocky numbers, but he can sell anything.
Bechke and Petrov were amazing as always. They stayed in character through the whole number, lots of applause.
Katia's Gershwin number was much more enjoyable in person than on TV. She held on to the skaky landing of the triple toe--big smile. On her crossovers she came extremely close to the lights. Even my husband gasped at that one.
Kriste was sharp as always. She landed everything cleanly. I thought the music suited her well.
Paul Wylie's Sleepers was wonderful. The music is so dramatic, almost as intense as he is. I didn't see the spiral into a triple flip. It looked like he did a double axel instead, but since he was way down the other end, I could be wrong. He did a nice triple toe at center ice and since we were seated in his lutz corner we saw his incredible curving edge into a double lutz. I don't think he could have tripled it if he wanted to, as he was very close to the corner. Wonderful line and position on everything, short but beautiful Ina Bauer, huge applause.
Scott had another good skate but don't ask me what he landed. I was too busy enjoying the huge smile on his face.
Torvill and Dean were their usual entertaining selves. Both of their programs were skated well. I had read on one of the skate lists that they were only doing one program in their last few performances but we were treated to two. They are always so crisp and perfect. How do they make it look so effortless?
Fun and Games was as everyone has reported, a riot. I especially liked the judges dance. We had perfect seats for this part as the skaters bench was directly in front of us. Everyone around us kept saying, "look at Paul." He had his "skaters" routines down perfectly. Kurt was so comical. He almost fell out of his triple axel but managed to save it. He also did a triple double combination.
This was one of the highlights of the show. I enjoy humor and its neat to see these individual performers working so well together.
Once again we had the perfect seats as the Muses came strutting down our aisle. I was surprised no one was saying anything to them, and me , being the introvert that I am, said nothing either. I was amazed at how small these people are. Seeing them on the ice, they look so strong and , well, normal sized. I was especially surprised with Paul. He is "petite." And to think that Scott is even smaller than him. Their skating part was rather short, but then I could watch Paul do spread eagles all night long.
Roca and Sur have always been a favorite of mine and I was happy to see them in SOI. They skated well and had, I think, the nicest costumes of the night. They got a huge round of applause.
Brian was wonderful as well. Watching him, I was reminded once again of why I prefer pro skating over amatuer. So much more polish and finesse. And of course, a back flip for good measure.
Rosalynn was delightful and smiled from start to finish.
Kurt was on in his Antares number. I didn't see a triple axel but he did plenty of other triples and doulble axels. His jumps seem to come out of nowhere. One minute he's skating and the next, he's in the air.
Joue Jusqu'au Matin was so entertaining. It was good old fashioned pairs skating. Denis stepped out of a side by side jump-a real surprise as he is usually so solid. As always, the lifts and unison were perfect.
Go the Distance, does this song have perfect lyrics, or what? Paul was all smiles skating this one. He put his hand down on his doulble axel and stumbled after his axel type jump, but was perfect from then on. Two incredibly fast, perfectly centered scratch spins, solid triple toe and double lutz. Again, beautiful line and position. He is truly a gifted performer. I can't think of another skater who does so many things so well. I can still remember seeing him for the first time in the late eighties in what was problably a nationals competition. I was blown away. He skated differently than any other competitor. He is truly amazing.
The Presley numbers were fine enough. Katia had the only fall of the night on her double axel. She was definetly not smiling during this number. That is until the end when she passed Kurt and burst out laughing.
The Show must Go On. OK, I admit it. I didn't like this number when I saw it on TV. I thought it was silly and much too long. But in person it comes across much better. He had the audience eating out of his hand as always. He got a standing O as did the cast at the end.
My only complaint is that the whole thing was over too soon. And unlike my VCR, I can't rewind it and watch it all again.
After their bows the cast shook hands with the on-ice folks. It was an upbeat, energetic show, with everyone giving 100%.
Truly a special group of people.
1997-98 Reviews | SOI Reviews | SOI Programs | SOI Links | Stars on Ice Official Page Joelle's Skating Pages
