Vancouver Gala Comments -- Inherently a spoiler
barb
invited to perform at the Gala. Be warned.
No shows: Yagudin, which I pretty much expected, and Berezhnaya & Sik.,
which I didn't.
Opening:
Group of young BC skaters -- and the angry God of Xotica was back once
again. Most interesting part of this was seeing the video montage
played on the screen -- started out with pictures from this year, but
then moved back in time and cut in clips of many past performances. It
was a bit like a quiz show -- quick, in under a second, who is that?
Cute footage of coaches reactions rinkside during competition, trying to
add a little english to their skater's performance.
Sandhu. Techno music. Black satin or leather pants, sports shirt. I
personally think that this guy looks way cooler in this style of costume
than in his competition choices. Really nice footwork sequence, lots of
audience connection. Boy can this guy dance. I hope he can really
build on this year.
Nikodinov: Some kind of country-influenced music ("Touch Me".) White
halter dress. Again skated liked she belonged out here. You really
notice how she takes her time and finishes everything. No rushing.
Really nice looking sideways-leaning spin, and closed with her gorgeeous
layback.
Drobiazko/Vanagas . Aqua chiffon for the both of them -- ok on her, but
I don't think that it was really him. Cool starting lift where she is
on her back on his back. Very soft and dancey routine. They really
dance, moreso than any of the other couples. Again a very cool move at
the end that involved him sliding down the ice.
Honda. In a Hawaiian shirt and black pants. Cutting loose. Really.
Salsa music -- featured the lyric "Mambo, mambo lei" quite a bitl. I've
never seen him do anything but serious, but this was a cut up. He's a
ham and I never knew it.
Totmianina & Marinin: Burgandy velvet jumpsuits with stained glass-like
insets running up the length of one side. Choral music -- latin or
italian? Not all that different than a generic competition program.
Ok.
Butryskaya: Dark teal or blue sparkly dress with diagonal inset of nude
fabric running the length of the torso. Soprano "Aahing" music. Pretty
and soft, not very memorable.
Bourne & Kratz: Mack the Knife. Enough said. I do think that they
manage to spend less time looking at each other than any other dance
team in the top six.
Goebel: American Pie. Did his 4Sal. Crowd really got into his
footwork. You can see his carriage improvements even more clearly when
he's not competing, though I'd give the deathdrop up as a very bad thing
if he's going to round his back that much.
Petrova & Tikhonov: Won the blecherous costume award -- canned pea
grean velevet jumpsuits. Sad violin music -- sounded like mournful folk
music; a good .match for the sadness created with that color choice.
Starts and ends in a praying position Otherwise none to memorable.
Hughes: Black sparkly sleeveless jumpsuit. Bye Bye Blackbird. Weird
false ending -- twice, first into something that sounded vaguely spy
music like. Ended in a split. From a choreographic perspective I'd
avoid this false ending -- the audience didn't react all that well and
when the end finally came we all waited a moment to see if that was
really it.
Lobacheva & Averbukh. Male rock ballad. Included the phrase "Northern
Lights." Not a particularly interesting or memorable performance.
INTRERMISSION
Li: A competitive style program with a GREAT spiral where he holds his
free leg to the side right next to his head and showed more flexibility
that most of the ladies. Ended the program in a front split on the ice
-- and the guy next to me went "oh" -- and not in a good way. This is
one happy camper -- he danced on and off the ice and even ended the
afternoon by throwing a wrapped bouquet of flowers into the audience.
Jennifer Robinson. She was the skater who looked least appropriate --
her skating is quite a few notches down from all of the others we saw
today. Bluesy number "Put a spell on me" not especially well suited to
her.
Eldredge: 1492 Exhibition. Great 3 Axel -- and I think it might have
been the only one during the whole exhibition. Standing ovation for a
really wonderful performane. Majestic music just suits him.
Shen & Zao. Blue/white mottled jumpsuits. (Think spongeware.)
Moonlight Sonata alternating with a rock version. Nice reception but it
didn't do a lot for me.
Slutskaya: Blue jumpsuit with deep V of nude fabric down the torso.
Techno music. Nice crowd reaction. Nice spins. Really nice spins, and
a nifty footwork sequence.
Annasina & Peizzerat: black pants, she's wearing a striped sparkly top.
Music was "Susannah" -- really terriffic show routine -- got about the
best crowd reaction of the whole gala. They relate to each other, play
off each other, and connect with the audience. If they are on the SOI
tour with this it is going to be a showstopper.
Kwan: Long sleeved gold sparkly dress. "Beautiful World." A really
nice performance to music that I really don't enjoy. Followed it up
with the opener to the East of Eden exhibition through the spirals. I'd
have much preferred to see that again and consign Beautiful World to the
archives.
Fusar-Poli & Margalio Routine with the black hats, really nice straight
line footwork sequence. Followed it up with a segment to "Putting on
the Ritz." I have absolutely no problem with their win, but I will say
that from an exhibition effectiveness standpoint Anasinna and Peizzerat
win hands down.
Plushenko: I do wonder what ABC is going to do with this. Red
leather/vinly jacket, gold crop top, black pants. He's the new
inheritor of the Phillipe Candeloro?
Viktor Petrenko wiggle and grope mantle -- but he managed to upstage
even Phillipe. When he takes off his jacket to reveal the muscleman
puff suit underneath and then begims groping his crotch to great acclaim
you get the pretty clear idea that this exhibition has nothing much to
do with skating.. Then he strips off the pants to reveal gold lame
briefs and we're treated to more of same. The crowd went absolutely
nuts, though I thought that the combination of muscular top/scrawny
bottom made him look more like Popeye than Arnold.
Sale & Pelletier: Soft french song; "Cha Cha D'Amour" was a featured
lyric. They just flow in a way that Shen/Zao don't. You can really see
the pro potential here -- they are my early pick for the first pairs
addition to the SOI cast after the Olympics no matter who wins. Great
connection with each other and the audience. Really gorgeous inverted
lift.
The finale featured a synchronized segment with the skaters in skintight
jumsuits with hoods, in the colors of the Olympic rings. They never
mentioned a team name, and there were a lot of skaters out there so
perhaps it was more than one. Very cool -- I wish they'd had a full
synchro performance at the end rather than just these tidbits. (I'd have
given up Jennifer Robinson for that in a heartbeat.)
The ladies were quickly (really quickly) introduced and did simultaneous
spins. Then the dancers were quickly announced and you could see the
ladies suddenly looking somewhat disconcerted to have four high level
dance teams skating around at high speed with no clear exit strategy for
the gals. They looked around and at each other, then made a break for
it as a group over to one edge of the arena. The guys came on and then
the pairs -- each of the ladies threw her partner. Then the announcer
asked all the skaters to gather under the scoreboard. At that point the
fireworks started (quite literally) and it was a sight to see. I've
never seen fireworks indoors -- I didn't know they could DO that. The
scoreboard turned out to be the protected zone as hot sparks drifted
down onto the ice and sparklers and fireworks continued to go off over
the rest of the surface. Several really nice cascades (waterfalls) of
white. We've had fireworks every night after the event, but I never
expected see any during the exhibitions. A nice ending to a really
wonderful week. As far as I'm concerned they could name Canada
permanent host of Worlds -- they do a really bang-up job of it.
Well that's it from Vancouver. Tomorrow it is back to Colorado, but it
sure has been fun. Sorry for all of the typos -- I'm used to quite a
different keyboard and am pretty much out of time. So be it.
Cheers,
Barb K.
Shillelagh
"barb" <bm...@qwest.net> wrote in message news:3ABEBA76...@qwest.net...
> Warning: This is inherently a spoiler since only the best skaters get
> invited to perform at the Gala. Be warned.
>
> Sandhu. Techno music. Black satin or leather pants, sports shirt. I
> personally think that this guy looks way cooler in this style of costume
> than in his competition choices. Really nice footwork sequence, lots of
> audience connection. Boy can this guy dance. I hope he can really
> build on this year.
He sure can - and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for his development
>
> Plushenko: I do wonder what ABC is going to do with this. Red
> leather/vinly jacket, gold crop top, black pants. He's the new
> inheritor of the Phillipe Candeloro?
Yee Gods - I haven't seen the program yet - don't want to, the still
pictures are bad enough. What ever happened to skating with class???
> Sale & Pelletier: Soft french song; "Cha Cha D'Amour" was a featured
> lyric.
I'm just guessing here - their exhibition number in Winnipeg was "La Vie en
Rose", but what you're describing could also be "Chanson D'amour". Were
they wearing burgundy velvet costumes?
They just flow in a way that Shen/Zao don't. You can really see
> the pro potential here -- they are my early pick for the first pairs
> addition to the SOI cast after the Olympics no matter who wins. Great
> connection with each other and the audience. Really gorgeous inverted
> lift.
I'm hoping they'll skate at the Canadian SOI THIS year......
>A nice ending to a really wonderful week. As far as I'm concerned they
> could name Canada permanent host of Worlds -- they do a really bang-up job
of it.
Awww, what a nice thing to say. I wouldn't mind every 2nd or 3rd
year......
> Well that's it from Vancouver. Tomorrow it is back to Colorado, but it
> sure has been fun.
As a Canadian, I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. I'm sure the exchange rate on
the dollar didn't hurt either. (smile)
Fiona McQuarrie
barb <bm...@qwest.net> wrote:
: Warning: This is inherently a spoiler since only the best skaters get
: invited to perform at the Gala. Be warned.
: No shows: Yagudin, which I pretty much expected, and Berezhnaya & Sik.,
: which I didn't.
: Opening:
: Group of young BC skaters -- and the angry God of Xotica was back once
: again. Most interesting part of this was seeing the video montage
: played on the screen -- started out with pictures from this year, but
: then moved back in time and cut in clips of many past performances. It
: was a bit like a quiz show -- quick, in under a second, who is that?
: Cute footage of coaches reactions rinkside during competition, trying to
: add a little english to their skater's performance.
The people near me were confused as to why e.g. Rudy Galindo was in the
montage when he wasn't competing! I also thought it was kind of mean to
"showcase" the BC skaters when a good portion of their program was
standing still while the video played.
: Nikodinov: Some kind of country-influenced music ("Touch Me".)
I believe this was (shudder) the dreaded Celine Dion (that song about
being the one who loves you more).
: Drobiazko/Vanagas . Aqua chiffon for the both of them -- ok on her, but
: I don't think that it was really him. Cool starting lift where she is
: on her back on his back. Very soft and dancey routine. They really
: dance, moreso than any of the other couples. Again a very cool move at
: the end that involved him sliding down the ice.
They got a standing O.
: Hughes: Black sparkly sleeveless jumpsuit. Bye Bye Blackbird. Weird
: false ending -- twice, first into something that sounded vaguely spy
: music like. Ended in a split. From a choreographic perspective I'd
: avoid this false ending -- the audience didn't react all that well and
: when the end finally came we all waited a moment to see if that was
: really it.
I agree about the false ending. I also hated the music. It sounded like it
came from one of those 1950s lounge music albums with a tiki god and a
drink with an umbrella in it on the cover.
: Annasina & Peizzerat: black pants, she's wearing a striped sparkly top.
: Music was "Susannah" -- really terriffic show routine -- got about the
: best crowd reaction of the whole gala. They relate to each other, play
: off each other, and connect with the audience. If they are on the SOI
: tour with this it is going to be a showstopper.
This was a delightful number. Gwendal looks hot in that sports jacket!
I'll call him on that cellphone any time :)
: Fusar-Poli & Margalio Routine with the black hats, really nice straight
: line footwork sequence. Followed it up with a segment to "Putting on
: the Ritz." I have absolutely no problem with their win, but I will say
: that from an exhibition effectiveness standpoint Anasinna and Peizzerat
: win hands down.
Well, I still have a problem with their win. At the end of Saturday
night's event, someone threw a bunch of pieces of paper from the top of
the balcony. Apparently they were messages asking people to protest the
dance results by standing and turning their backs to the ice when FP/M
came on. No one did that I could see though.
: Plushenko: I do wonder what
ABC is going to do with this.
Red : leather/vinly jacket, gold crop top, black pants. He's the new
: inheritor of the Phillipe Candeloro?
: Viktor Petrenko wiggle and grope mantle -- but he managed to upstage
: even Phillipe. When he takes off his jacket to reveal the muscleman
: puff suit underneath and then begims groping his crotch to great acclaim
: you get the pretty clear idea that this exhibition has nothing much to
: do with skating.. Then he strips off the pants to reveal gold lame
: briefs and we're treated to more of same. The crowd went absolutely
: nuts, though I thought that the combination of muscular top/scrawny
: bottom made him look more like Popeye than Arnold.
I thought this was a hilarious program, and at least he chose a song (Tom
Jones' "Sex Bomb") that justified taking his clothes off - unlike
Phillipe, who strips no matter what he's skating to. I also thought the
muscle suit was a really good play on Evgeni being skinny little Chicken
Boy.
: Sale & Pelletier: Soft french song; "Cha Cha D'Amour" was a
featured
: lyric. They just flow in a way that Shen/Zao don't. You can really see
: the pro potential here -- they are my early pick for the first pairs
: addition to the SOI cast after the Olympics no matter who wins. Great
: connection with each other and the audience. Really gorgeous inverted
: lift.
: The finale featured a synchronized segment with the skaters in skintight
: jumsuits with hoods, in the colors of the Olympic rings. They never
: mentioned a team name, and there were a lot of skaters out there so
: perhaps it was more than one. Very cool -- I wish they'd had a full
: synchro performance at the end rather than just these tidbits. (I'd have
: given up Jennifer Robinson for that in a heartbeat.)
Part of the synchro team was Pacific Ice, the competitive team that
skates out of the CFSA BC Centre of Excellence. They're very good.
: The ladies were quickly (really quickly) introduced and did simultaneous
: spins. Then the dancers were quickly announced and you could see the
: ladies suddenly looking somewhat disconcerted to have four high level
: dance teams skating around at high speed with no clear exit strategy for
: the gals. They looked around and at each other, then made a break for
: it as a group over to one edge of the arena. The guys came on and then
: the pairs -- each of the ladies threw her partner. Then the announcer
: asked all the skaters to gather under the scoreboard. At that point the
: fireworks started (quite literally) and it was a sight to see. I've
: never seen fireworks indoors -- I didn't know they could DO that. The
: scoreboard turned out to be the protected zone as hot sparks drifted
: down onto the ice and sparklers and fireworks continued to go off over
: the rest of the surface.
Chicken Boy fell down, pretending to be hit by falling sparks, and Irina
S. dragged him by his legs out of the centre and then stepped over him. It
was great.
Several really nice cascades (waterfalls) of
: white. We've had fireworks every night after the event, but I never
: expected see any during the exhibitions. A nice ending to a really
: wonderful week. As far as I'm concerned they could name Canada
: permanent host of Worlds -- they do a really bang-up job of it.
I agree, only because then I could go for cheap every year! :)
Cheers, Fiona
Ruth Lafler
Fiona McQuarrie wrote:
> : Drobiazko/Vanagas . Aqua chiffon for the both of them -- ok on her, but
> : I don't think that it was really him. Cool starting lift where she is
> : on her back on his back. Very soft and dancey routine. They really
> : dance, moreso than any of the other couples. Again a very cool move at
> : the end that involved him sliding down the ice.
>
> They got a standing O.
Well deserved. They were fabulous.
> : Annasina & Peizzerat: black pants, she's wearing a striped sparkly top.
> : Music was "Susannah" -- really terriffic show routine -- got about the
> : best crowd reaction of the whole gala. They relate to each other, play
> : off each other, and connect with the audience. If they are on the SOI
> : tour with this it is going to be a showstopper.
>
> This was a delightful number. Gwendal looks hot in that sports jacket!
> I'll call him on that cellphone any time :)
I liked this routine, as I did B&K's Mac the Knife. Better than their LPs.
>
>
> : Fusar-Poli & Margalio Routine with the black hats, really nice straight
> : line footwork sequence. Followed it up with a segment to "Putting on
> : the Ritz." I have absolutely no problem with their win, but I will say
> : that from an exhibition effectiveness standpoint Anasinna and Peizzerat
> : win hands down.
>
> Well, I still have a problem with their win. At the end of Saturday
> night's event, someone threw a bunch of pieces of paper from the top of
> the balcony. Apparently they were messages asking people to protest the
> dance results by standing and turning their backs to the ice when FP/M
> came on. No one did that I could see though.
>
> : Plushenko: I do wonder what
> ABC is going to do with this.
>
> I thought this was a hilarious program, and at least he chose a song (Tom
> Jones' "Sex Bomb") that justified taking his clothes off - unlike
> Phillipe, who strips no matter what he's skating to. I also thought the
> muscle suit was a really good play on Evgeni being skinny little Chicken
> Boy.
The funny thing is, he isn't skinny little chicken boy any more. He's both
taller and broader through the shoulders than most of the other guys. Very
surprising to me when I first saw him on the ice with the other guys at
practice. You wouldn't think he's a lot bigger than Yagudin, for example.
> : The ladies were quickly (really quickly) introduced and did simultaneous
> : spins. Then the dancers were quickly announced and you could see the
> : ladies suddenly looking somewhat disconcerted to have four high level
> : dance teams skating around at high speed with no clear exit strategy for
> : the gals. They looked around and at each other, then made a break for
> : it as a group over to one edge of the arena. The guys came on and then
> : the pairs -- each of the ladies threw her partner.
I thought this was really cool!
> Then the announcer
> : asked all the skaters to gather under the scoreboard. At that point the
> : fireworks started (quite literally) and it was a sight to see. I've
> : never seen fireworks indoors -- I didn't know they could DO that. The
> : scoreboard turned out to be the protected zone as hot sparks drifted
> : down onto the ice and sparklers and fireworks continued to go off over
> : the rest of the surface.
>
> Chicken Boy fell down, pretending to be hit by falling sparks,
Actually, I think he was miming one of the fireworks going off being a gunshot
> and Irina
> S. dragged him by his legs out of the centre and then stepped over him. It
> was great.
I love silly little improv bits like that.
> Several really nice cascades (waterfalls) of
> : white.
Lovely!
> We've had fireworks every night after the event, but I never
> : expected see any during the exhibitions. A nice ending to a really
> : wonderful week. As far as I'm concerned they could name Canada
> : permanent host of Worlds -- they do a really bang-up job of it.
>
> I agree, only because then I could go for cheap every year! :)
>
Add me to the list. It's much cheaper and more convenient for me to come to
Vancouver than, for example, to Washington DC.
--Ruth
Mrsfrz
>> could name Canada permanent host of Worlds -- they do a really bang-up job
>of it.
I'll second that. I just love Canada. In all my travels, I have nothing but
good things to say about the Canadian people. Everyone was so gracious, even
the workers with the most menial jobs. As soon as I got on the plane to come
home, I encountered the type of people I am all too used to. I hate to say
this, but I don't think they were from Canada. Don't get me wrong, I love my
country, but I think we could use a few pointers from north of the border.
Thank you Canada for some wonderful memories.
Susie in Austin
Toodles
Mrsfrz <mrs...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20010329224515...@ng-mr1.aol.com...
Smallovian Insider
writes:
>: Hughes: Black sparkly sleeveless jumpsuit. Bye Bye Blackbird. Weird
>: false ending -- twice, first into something that sounded vaguely spy
>: music like. Ended in a split. From a choreographic perspective I'd
>: avoid this false ending -- the audience didn't react all that well and
>: when the end finally came we all waited a moment to see if that was
>: really it.
>
>I agree about the false ending. I also hated the music. It sounded like it
>came from one of those 1950s lounge music albums with a tiki god and a
>drink with an umbrella in it on the cover.
Hughes' false endings make the program seem to go one three times as long as
it should (if it's anything like the two versions of this program she's skated
throughout the pro-ams this past season). I beg for it to be over, and still it
goes on. The kid is fine for the first musical cut, but then it looks like
begging for ovations.
Peg
reply to p.egl...@aol.com [re move the obvious ext ra dots]
==
@>--\-Any request to delete this post is a forgery-/--<@
Skating is skating, not dance. Dance is wonderful, but different.