Philadelphia SOI
PosterBoy
Lorrie Kim wrote in message <7b59gj$cul$1...@picasso.op.net>...
> Warning: am not going to mince words. Will probably offend
>someone.
Thanks for the report, Lorrie.
Could you tell me seating capacity of the rink, and an estimate of the
attendance?
Many thanks, and
Cheers.
Lorrie Kim
someone.
The Russians kicked butt, and so did Yamaguchi. Bechke and Petrov
simply aren't human. Nothing on their bodies suggests flesh, only marble.
Standing ovation for them, including from me.
Kulik is definitely alpha male. Loose and confident. If he stays
on with SOI, it'll be his tour within the next couple of years. Despite
all the criticism that he needs a coach and choreographer, it looked to me
that he was on the right track, training himself to find his voice. His
swing program was full of the stuff that's hardest for him -- three
sitspins and a triple flip (as well as footwork, which he's good at but
which looked very fast and difficult), and I admired that. Elsewhere he
landed an enormous triple axel, and his double axels were maddening -- he
looked about as concerned as if he were clicking a ballpoint pen. In the
finale he performed some sort of forward tuck jump that appeared to reach
a height of three feet. We gasped aloud.
Yamaguchi's Tchaikovsky program might be the best thing I've ever
seen her do. She could have gotten silver at Nationals skating like that.
Her triple lutz and flip were perfect, without a hint of flutz or
underrotation. Her spins were creative, difficult, and beautifully held.
The breathy voice reading the poetry for her second number still annoyed
me, but the two programs held up well -- a toepick program and an edgework
program.
Gordeeva wasn't jumping well, but in so many areas she was the
best skater of the night. Best spins, best footwork, better speed than
anyone but Kulik.
Hamilton did fine, but for one reason or another my attention
isn't on him as it was a few years ago. Maybe I have just seen enough of
his skating. No triple lutz, but he looked crisp on every movement.
Steven Cousins did fine. Except for his triple lutz, which looked
like a junior lady's -- hunched, interminable entry. Landed, though. He
held his own as a performer.
Lu Chen looked like she'd rather be anywhere else, doing anything
else. I am truly sorry if her finances mandate this. For once Roz
Sumners didn't have the weakest performance in the show. Chen managed the
first two-thirds of a single axel, a single loop, and a double toe loop
(big applause) in "Black Magic Woman," which was worse than I expected.
I am sure this opinion will offend some, but I do not believe Meno
and Sand belong in this show. I don't think they're good enough as
performers. Their technique looked sterile to me and they added
absolutely no charisma or character to the ensemble numbers. Some will
say it's because of injury, but I've never seen an exhibition of theirs
that did anything for me, only competitive programs.
Roca and Sur lost me a little in their first number, but their
"Oye Como Va" pleased me and showed them both off, I thought.
As for Lipinski. If she was sick, it didn't show. But she was
not the star of the show, either. Her presence is still a little too
small to fill the arena at all times. I would definitely put her
presentation skills behind Naomi Nari Nam's, for the reason that Lipinski
is a little too cautious with her head and neck movements, and doesn't
have the fluid spine motions of a natural-born dancer, although I fully
expect those things to improve and I believe in time she will look like a
natural-born dancer. Yamaguchi's presentation was far ahead of hers.
Lipinski was hampered by less-than-great choreography in the swing
opening, did perfectly well in "I Could Have Danced All Night," and was
enormously affecting in the clown number. I do not understand criticisms
that the clown ensemble is bad. I was spellbound and could not take my
eyes off her the entire time. Excellent job. She landed perfect triple
toes, salchows, and loops.
I was really looking forward to seeing "The Second Element" live.
It was a mixed experience. On the one hand, it pointed out several areas
where I think she still needs to improve -- e.g., the way she commits to
her head movements, as I said earlier. On the other, it was so good to
see her tackling something so cohesive and ambitious that any nitpicks are
insignificant. Like Browning's "Antares," I basically believe in every
bit of the choreography except for one tiny moment: she holds her skate
behind her in a spiral (Chinese spiral?), and I don't understand why Lea
Ann Miller didn't have her do a traditional outside-edge forward or back
spiral instead, to go with the flowing-water theme. The bent-leg, held
spiral slowed her down and blocked the flow in a contradictory way.
The simultaneous highlight and lowlight of the show was the "are
you sleeping with her" quartet. The skating was every bit as sublime, and
the music every bit as tack-o-rama, as expected from television. I heard
more than one comment after the show from audience members, wondering what
ailed the person who came up with that theme. But Kulik's passion and
Gordeeva's combination of total-surrender poses and unbridled joy in her
return to pair skating were all undeniable and powerful.
It will be interesting to see how the cast will shape up next
year. I don't mean to sound cold, because there are so many reasons to
like these skaters as people, but from a show-biz standpoint, this year's
cast had a number of weak links. I hope Yamaguchi has plans to stay on
for a while longer, because her polish is definitely needed. As for Kulik
and Lipinski, I look forward to years of exciting improvements from them.
Lorrie Kim
lor...@plover.com
Lorrie Kim
PosterBoy <bra...@bigfoot.com> wrote:
> Could you tell me seating capacity of the rink, and an estimate of the
>attendance?
Sorry -- temporarily no web access -- you can search for First
Union Center in Philadelphia to find out, though. It's a big arena (site
of last year's U.S. Nationals) and the lower and middle levels were sold
out; the nosebleeds were respectably packed, though not sold out.
Lorrie Kim
lor...@plover.com
MKLove1234
>someone.
Lorrie, thank you for the report... You didn't offend me, at least :-)
--Michelle
Barbara Hoffman
>Bechke and Petrov simply aren't human...Standing ovation
> for them, including from me.
Absolutely wonderful. I hate the see them retire.
>If he [Ilya Kulik] stays on with SOI, it'll be his tour within the
>next couple of years.
Agreed -- he has the word STAR stamped on his forehead. Good programs, good
skating with excellent jumps.
>Yamaguchi's Tchaikovsky program might be the best thing
>I've ever seen her do...The breathy voice reading the poetry
>for her second number still annoyed me, but the two programs
>held up well...
Both programs were outstanding and beautifully performed. The woman who
read the poetry wouldn't have been my first choice, either.
>Gordeeva wasn't jumping well, but in so many areas she was
>the best skater of the night.
When watching "How Fragile We Are" in person, one can see how intricate the
choreography is. This didn't come across as well on television.
>Hamilton did fine, but for one reason or another my attention
>isn't on him as it was a few years ago.
Slight disagreement here. I really liked both of his numbers. Trust me,
the old boy's still got it. He deserved his standing ovation.
>Steven Cousins did fine.
One of my friends developed a massive-crush-at-first-sight problem. She
wanted to take him home.
>Lu Chen looked like she'd rather be anywhere else, doing
>anything else.
Unfortunately true. She did not skate well.
>...I do not believe Meno and Sand belong in this show. I don't
>think they're good enough as performers.
Call me easy to please, but I like Meno and Sand. I admire their smoothness
and flow.
>Roca and Sur lost me a little in their first number, but their
>"Oye Como Va" pleased me and showed them both off...
I enjoyed both numbers.
>As for Lipinski, if she was sick, it didn't show. But she was
>not the star of the show, either.
My friends thought Lipinski's "I Could Have Danced All Night" lacked
pizzazz. We all liked "Second Element" better. She was fine in the clown
ensemble.
>Yamaguchi's presentation was far ahead of hers.
Completely agree. After seeing both, I said that Lipinski should spend as
much time as possible watching Yamaguchi.
>I do not understand criticisms that the clown ensemble is bad.
I don't either. I do think it comes across much better in person than it
did on television.
>I hope Yamaguchi has plans to stay on for awhile longer
>because her polish is definitely needed. As for Kulik and
>Lipinski, I look forward to years of exciting improvements
>from them.
Yes and yes.
Barbara
"You can observe a lot by watching." - Yogi Berra
PosterBoy
Sophia Van and Greg Czaus
good one dozen. Disgraceful. I cab't belive they just sat there empty.
BTW - Go bechke and petrov
Sophia Van and Greg Czaus
>
>One of my friends developed a massive-crush-at-first-sight problem. She
>wanted to take him home.
Yeah an unfortunate souvenir not being offered! The closest thing were the
autographed photos for 20 bucks. Dangit I KNEW i should have bought the
autographed pic of B/P just for the last year.
Sophia Van and Greg Czaus
Lorrie Kim wrote in message <7b59gj$cul$1...@picasso.op.net>...
> Warning: am not going to mince words. Will probably offend
>someone.
Thank god someone else said it! At least I odn't feel bad for finding it a
disappointing SOI. I was more excited about my seats then the show at some
points.
> The Russians kicked butt, and so did Yamaguchi. Bechke and Petrov
>simply aren't human. Nothing on their bodies suggests flesh, only marble.
Yes, and their presence is Soooooo needed on SOI. Sometimes too many glitzy
routines. Not that it's bad since it keeps us WELL entertained but I think
we need to sit back sometimes and let our jaws drop at the beauty of
skating, slow classical music that isn't all about building up to jumps. B/P
do that for me!
> Gordeeva wasn't jumping well, but in so many areas she was the
>best skater of the night. Best spins, best footwork, better speed than
>anyone but Kulik.
Tell me about it. Wonderful to see TL and Katya spin. Now that's the way a
sitspin SHOULD be done.
> Lu Chen looked like she'd rather be anywhere else, doing anything
>else. I am truly sorry if her finances mandate this. For once Roz
Can you tell me more about this? I did notice that Lulu seems NOT into her
performance at all. Thought that she might have caught Tara's flu or just
touring fatigue.
> I am sure this opinion will offend some, but I do not believe Meno
>and Sand belong in this show. I don't think they're good enough as
>performers. Their technique looked sterile to me and they added
No I think they are not at all displayed in the best light, especially when
showcased in the same hour as B/P and Katya/Denis. Just showed up how MUCH
more they had to grow as performers and speed and fluidity. I kept wondering
when Jenni was finally going to look up at the audience.
> As for Lipinski. If she was sick, it didn't show. But she was
>not the star of the show, either. Her presence is still a little too
>small to fill the arena at all times. I would definitely put her
> Lipinski was hampered by less-than-great choreography in the swing
> I was really looking forward to seeing "The Second Element" live.
I thought that yes, TL is definitely hampered by her size. I dislike the
swing/Fair Lady routines where she's just STANDING there and posturing, it
just makes it worse.
loved the Second Element not necessarily for the entire package but teh
direction that it was putting TL in. Thinking about Tara Vs Oksana at 16.
One is still a child and the other a woman. To lock her into the pigtail
cute kid routine is to contradict the growth potential she has as an artist.
Second Element didn't have a single cute move (or pigtails thank god) but
really was a mature program a young woman would do i think.
>ailed the person who came up with that theme. But Kulik's passion and
>Gordeeva's combination of total-surrender poses and unbridled joy in her
>return to pair skating were all undeniable and powerful.
Oh My MY! I thought I was gleeful when I saw Katya THROW herself back in
pair skating when i saw NBC-SOI. In person, i felt chills at seeing her
smile in joy. Really , Katya was the star of that routine i think.
- Sophia
SIPAAMS
someone. >>
Not me! I thought that was an interesting report. Loved the part about Ilia
"clicking a ballpoint pen" - great image! Was this show at the Spectrum? (I
used to live in King of Prussia.)
Sophia Van and Greg Czaus
First Union/Corestates center where the flyers play. It was newly built a
few years back and has, get this, bathrooms between every other section
entrane. Whoo Hoo. Better yet, better seating plan. Still got nose bleed
section but even that is not as bad.
SIPAAMS wrote in message <19990226193016...@ng-fb1.aol.com>...
><< Warning: am not going to mince words. Will probably offend
>someone. >>
>
>
Louis Epstein
: In article <F7uHG...@news2.new-york.net>, l...@put.com (Louis Epstein) wrote:
:
: > SIPAAMS (sip...@aol.com) wrote:
: > : << Warning: am not going to mince words. Will probably offend
: > : someone. >>
: > :
: > :
: > : Not me! I thought that was an interesting report. Loved the part
: > : about Ilia "clicking a ballpoint pen" - great image! Was this show
: > : at the Spectrum? (I used to live in King of Prussia.)
: > Other references say it was at what is now the First Union center,the
: > newer arena.(First Union bank bought CoreStates,which had bought--barf!--
: > naming rights for the new arena...CoreStates was the successor to
: > Philadelphia National Bank,Meritor/PSFS,AND First Pennsy).
:
: Now there's the drawback when you allow your arena to be named after a
: bank...the arena needs to be renamed each time the bank gets bought up by
: a bigger bank...just watch, the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo will
: probably someday become the
: Big-Eastern-Bank-That-Swallowed-Up-Marine-Midland-Bank Arena...someday
: when Marine Midland gets bought up.
Is HSBC selling them?They have been part of HSBC's corporate family
for years.I have heard that HSBC is planning to use one worldwide name
soon(in Hong Kong they're the Hong kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation,
in the UK the Midland Bank,in the USA Marine Midland).
Jmpedlow
>: Now there's the drawback when you allow your arena to be named after a
>: bank...the arena needs to be renamed each time the bank gets bought up by
>: a bigger bank...just watch, the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo will
>: probably someday become the
>:Big-Eastern-Bank-That-Swallowed-Up-Marine-Midland-Bank Arena...someday
>: when Marine Midland gets bought up.
>
>Is HSBC selling them?They have been part of HSBC's corporate family
>for years.I have heard that HSBC is planning to use one worldwide name
>soon(in Hong Kong they're the Hong kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation,
>in the UK the Midland Bank,in the USA Marine Midland).
No, I don't think HSBC is selling them. (For now anyway.) I think that Marine
Midland is supposed to be changing its name to HSBC, but I hope that doesn't
mean the arena has to change its name too. We've just gotten used to the name
getting changed from the proposed name of Crossroads Arena-which I still think
would have been better. (Actually, most people in Buffalo now call it the
Marina, which doen't exactly give the bank the publicity it was probably hoping
for when they got the naming rights. :-) )
Janet P.
Barbara Hoffman
Jmpedlow wrote in message
>>Trudi Marrapodi wrote:
>> Now there's the drawback when you allow your arena
>> to be named after a bank...the arena needs to be
>>renamed each time the bank gets bought up by
>> a bigger bank...
>(Actually, most people in Buffalo now call it the
>Marina, which doesn't exactly give the bank the publicity it was >probably
hoping for when they got the naming rights.
In Philadelphia, the First Union Center (formerly the CoreStates Center,
site of 1998 US Nationals) is called the F U Center. This, too, doesn't
exactly give the bank the kind of publicity it was hoping for. When a bank
employee is asked where s/he works, the anwer invariably is "F U."
Trudi Marrapodi
> Trudi Marrapodi (trudiwan...@clarityconnect.com) wrote:
> : In article <F7uHG...@news2.new-york.net>, l...@put.com (Louis Epstein)
wrote:
> :
> : > SIPAAMS (sip...@aol.com) wrote:
> : > : << Warning: am not going to mince words. Will probably offend
> : > : someone. >>
> : > :
> : > :
> : > : Not me! I thought that was an interesting report. Loved the part
> : > : about Ilia "clicking a ballpoint pen" - great image! Was this show
> : > : at the Spectrum? (I used to live in King of Prussia.)
> : >
> : > Other references say it was at what is now the First Union center,the
> : > newer arena.(First Union bank bought CoreStates,which had bought--barf!--
> : > naming rights for the new arena...CoreStates was the successor to
> : > Philadelphia National Bank,Meritor/PSFS,AND First Pennsy).
> :
> : Now there's the drawback when you allow your arena to be named after a
> : bank...the arena needs to be renamed each time the bank gets bought up by
> : a bigger bank...just watch, the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo will
> : probably someday become the
> : Big-Eastern-Bank-That-Swallowed-Up-Marine-Midland-Bank Arena...someday
> : when Marine Midland gets bought up.
>
> Is HSBC selling them?They have been part of HSBC's corporate family
> for years.I have heard that HSBC is planning to use one worldwide name
> soon(in Hong Kong they're the Hong kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation,
> in the UK the Midland Bank,in the USA Marine Midland).
I wouldn't be the least bit surprised. Yeah, I expect someday people will
have to go see skating events at the HongKong Bank Arena of Buffalo...
--
Trudi
"If the Teletubby craze continues, it is inevitable that at some future date, there will be a Teletubby live show that will be scheduled to play at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena...probably on ice."
--Gene Gray, entertainment columnist, Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin
Louis Epstein
: << Warning: am not going to mince words. Will probably offend
: someone. >>
Trudi Marrapodi
> SIPAAMS (sip...@aol.com) wrote:
> : << Warning: am not going to mince words. Will probably offend
> : someone. >>
> :
> :
> : Not me! I thought that was an interesting report. Loved the part
about Ilia
> : "clicking a ballpoint pen" - great image! Was this show at the
Spectrum? (I
> : used to live in King of Prussia.)
>
> Other references say it was at what is now the First Union center,the
> newer arena.(First Union bank bought CoreStates,which had bought--barf!--
> naming rights for the new arena...CoreStates was the successor to
> Philadelphia National Bank,Meritor/PSFS,AND First Pennsy).
Now there's the drawback when you allow your arena to be named after a
bank...the arena needs to be renamed each time the bank gets bought up by
a bigger bank...just watch, the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo will
probably someday become the
Big-Eastern-Bank-That-Swallowed-Up-Marine-Midland-Bank Arena...someday
when Marine Midland gets bought up.
Lorrie Kim
Sophia Van and Greg Czaus <sv...@nni.com> wrote:
>
>> Lu Chen looked like she'd rather be anywhere else, doing anything
>>else. I am truly sorry if her finances mandate this. For once Roz
>
>performance at all. Thought that she might have caught Tara's flu or just
>touring fatigue.
Earlier this season, SKHazen posted that Chen might more or less
_have_ to skate these days to pay her bills. (In response to me saying
she looked so unenthused, I hoped she knew she could quit.) She's been
skating poorly all season. Even Sandra Bezic said so, and Bezic loves
her.
Lorrie Kim
lor...@plover.com
Louis Epstein
: >: bank...the arena needs to be renamed each time the bank gets bought up by
: >: a bigger bank...just watch, the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo will
: >: probably someday become the
: >:Big-Eastern-Bank-That-Swallowed-Up-Marine-Midland-Bank Arena...someday
: >: when Marine Midland gets bought up.
: >Is HSBC selling them?They have been part of HSBC's corporate family
: >for years.I have heard that HSBC is planning to use one worldwide name
: >soon(in Hong Kong they're the Hong kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation,
: >in the UK the Midland Bank,in the USA Marine Midland).
: No, I don't think HSBC is selling them. (For now anyway.) I think that Marine
: Midland is supposed to be changing its name to HSBC, but I hope that doesn't
: mean the arena has to change its name too. We've just gotten used to the name
: getting changed from the proposed name of Crossroads Arena-which I still think
: Marina, which doen't exactly give the bank the publicity it was probably hoping
: for when they got the naming rights. :-) )
:
: Janet P.
Personally,I don't think the companies should get their names on arenas
or stadiums unless they *own the buildings*.
Sophia Van and Greg Czaus
assume that SOI basically pays her room and board while on tour. And even
though i'm sure that China takes a huge chunk of her money for "taxes", i
can't see that lulu has the time to have moeny problems when she's so busy
skating?
Please write more. This is one of my fave skaters.
- sophia
PosterBoy
Louis Epstein wrote in message ...
Do you concede that the building owner has the right to sell/lease the
building name-rights to another person/company? And just don't like the
idea?
Or, are you suggesting that no such right should exist?
If we were discussing the new-name policy on USFSA building, I might
agree with you.
Cheers.
Louis Epstein
:
: Louis Epstein wrote in message ...
The right may exist in real estate law,but I would like to see measures
adopted to prevent its exercise.(Such as sports leagues forbidding member
teams to play in venues named for companies that do not own them).
: If we were discussing the new-name policy on USFSA building, I might
: agree with you.
In USFSA's case,I object to the title sponsorship of competitions.
US Championships Presented by State Farm would be OK,but "State Farm
US Championships" implies that it is only one of several competing
brands of US Championship.
: Cheers.