scs
12-05-2003, 09:44 PM
I just returned from Bourne & Kraatz's show in London and will post what I can remember. I didn't make notes nor were programs available (at least we couldn't find any and we did not see anyone looking at them.) Beside the lack of a program, the only real thing I didn't like about the show was that there was no announcer, thus I (and the people around me) did not always know who was always skating as there were a few of lesser known skaters; I follow the Canadian figure skating scene quite closely, but could not identify all of the skaters. Please add on and correct me when I'm wrong. That said...
The show opened with tv footage on the video screen with clips from early in their career right up until the world championship. In between, snipits from interviews with different commentators (Tracy Wilson, Debbi Wilkes) and coaches and officials took place, all, of course, praising the stars of the show!
Towards the end of the video, Bourne & Kraatz appeared on the ice in brightly coloured outfits (yellow to an orangey-redy-pinky colour; his pants were red) and skated to upbeat, current music briefly (if you want the names of music, don't bother reading any further...I'm not good at identifying music!) Most of the cast then joined them, dressed in similar outfits. Brian Orser had a microphone and introduced the skaters on the ice; however, it was very unclear, at least to those of us in the nose-bleed seats (such as they are at the John Labatt Centre!)
A local, young ice dance team, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, skated first to a light rock and roll-y number. They were cute but also quite polished. I was impressed with their maturity and presentation.
They were followed by a single male skater who the people around me thought was Shae Lyn's brother (Chris?) He skated well but was clearly not at the same level technically as the others; his presentation, however, was quite good. I believe he's a coach in the area.
A very exciting ice dance team took the ice next. At first, the flaming red hair made me wonder if it was Marina Kllimova/Sergei Ponomarenko, but, even from as far away as we were, she was clearly younger and he, not as big. I will be thrilled if someone can definitely identify this team for me. From what I could tell, they were a senior level team; this first number may have been a free dance. My guess as to their identity by the end of the number was Chantal Lefevbre (with dyed hair...it didn't seem to be a natural colour even from far away) & Arseni Markov. If so...WOW!!...I can't wait until Canadians! (Rink rat at FSU has since confirmed that the team was indeed Lefebvre & Markov).
(From here, my recall of who skated when may not be accurate as I was more interested in enjoying the show than keeping track of who had skated.)
Another young male skater did a number. No clue as to who he was although he appeared to be a top level junior or mid range senior. Good presentation but nothing memorable. (NOTE: from rink rat's notes on FSU...was this Jayson Denommee??)
Josee skated one of her new numbers; she wore the bright green dress that I've seen in photos from the competition this past week. The reviews that I read indicated that she skated very well. I could not truthfully state that here. She stayed on her feet but was not doing triples and was wobbly on some of the doubles. As well, the music left the audience cold; it actually felt awkward for a few moments in the building IMO.
Mr. Orser was his usual showman/complete package self i.e., he skated solidly and sold his program. It is a newer number (I saw it in September at Dreams on Ice in Windsor)...music to do with the beach or sea or something like that! It's a very laid back and fun number.
The highlight for most of the crowd, besides the stars, was the last minute appearance of Elvis. Now, let me begin that I appreciate Elvis's technical ability and amazing accomplishments, however, I do not rate him as my favourite male skater (he's a ways down on the list) and I have tired of his exhibition numbers...you know the type...rock music...jump (even awesomely)...pump his fist...skate around...you get the picture. Expecting the same, I was pleasantly surprised and did thoroughly enjoy both of Elvis's numbers. This one was to some rock music and he did skate around and jump and pump his fist...but there seemed to be more...and was. He's added some cool moves that I can only describe as slide-across-the-ice-(intentionally)-on-your-leg-like-you-are-hydroblading. (Can you picture it?) My appreciation for Elvis has risen!
Bourne & Kraatz skated a new number in very glittery costumes. No clue as to the music but it seemed to me that the program was in line with the number that won the world title. Definitely not soft sweet or romantic or upbeat...more modernish.
Intermission (after only 40 minute of skating...I've been spoiled, I guess, and expected more!)
The second half started with a lovely group number (part of the cast) all in white to some nice gentle song...of course I can't remember the name...but I enjoyed it! Brian Orser did a good job choreographing!
The single guys each skated a program. One of the guys got the attention of many of the females in the audience with his black jeans and see through black shirt! The music sounded like Enrique Iglesias or some such singer. Very sexy...very well skated. Again, not technically equal to Brian (even with the spins and footwork), but he definitely sold the program!
Brian skated to his classic, "The Story of My Life". What more need I say (except that gone is the simple blue shirt, in is a vibrantly coloured, vertically striped shirt!) He is marvelous and the ultimate showman in my books!
Somewhere in there, the "other" ice dance team was back and skated what appeared to be an original dance. It was awesome!
Elizabeth Putnam & Sean Wirtz skated their exhibition number that I've seen somewhere (probably t.v.)...vocals...love song like...wore light blue/white outfits. I love their skating, but feel strongly that they need more advanced choreography in order to be a top world team. Their lifts, jumps and throws were strong.
Josee skated another new number in a black (cool) pantsuit. Much better received, although the quality of the jumps remained the same (I've seen Josee many times live and many times better than tonight...although she didn't fall!)
Shae Lynn and Victor skated two number this half. First was....RIVERDANCE!! It was great to see it back. Even if it was not a refined as they can do it (it's been awhile...I wouldn't have expected any better!), it was fabulous to see it live again. I don't believe that it was the whole competitive number, just the show version. It was introduced but a clip on the video screen of them doing it during a competition...it gave me chills!
Their second number I saw on t.v. this week on Kurt's Gotta Dance 3. Loved it. She's in the little pink dress and both Shae Lyn and Victor are very animated.
I know I missed something...it was a good show...shorter than I would have liked, but I could sit and watch for hours!
FYI...it was announced that tickets for the April 28(?) Stars on Ice show at the John Labatt Centre go on sale tomorrow morning. I wasn't planning to get tickets, but being at a show changed my mind!
A note to anyone going to the J.L.Centre...beware of the escalator in the north west corner of the building...on exiting, people seem to have difficulty moving away from the bottom of the escalator (and no security staff were around)...you can get the picture...a dozen people standing directly at the bottom, not moving...two dozen more coming down on a moving escalator...it was a tad painful (I was jabbed by knees, sharp elbows, and some wicked feeling purse as the escalator moved forward and those of us near the bottom had nowhere to go) while my friend was thrown to the floor from the crowd as it surged forward. Not a pretty sight...not a well organized exit. I'll make a phone call tomorrow (other exits up top were blocked off thus forcing a large number of people down one escalator or elevator), and will avoid the crowded escalator in the future!
The show opened with tv footage on the video screen with clips from early in their career right up until the world championship. In between, snipits from interviews with different commentators (Tracy Wilson, Debbi Wilkes) and coaches and officials took place, all, of course, praising the stars of the show!
Towards the end of the video, Bourne & Kraatz appeared on the ice in brightly coloured outfits (yellow to an orangey-redy-pinky colour; his pants were red) and skated to upbeat, current music briefly (if you want the names of music, don't bother reading any further...I'm not good at identifying music!) Most of the cast then joined them, dressed in similar outfits. Brian Orser had a microphone and introduced the skaters on the ice; however, it was very unclear, at least to those of us in the nose-bleed seats (such as they are at the John Labatt Centre!)
A local, young ice dance team, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, skated first to a light rock and roll-y number. They were cute but also quite polished. I was impressed with their maturity and presentation.
They were followed by a single male skater who the people around me thought was Shae Lyn's brother (Chris?) He skated well but was clearly not at the same level technically as the others; his presentation, however, was quite good. I believe he's a coach in the area.
A very exciting ice dance team took the ice next. At first, the flaming red hair made me wonder if it was Marina Kllimova/Sergei Ponomarenko, but, even from as far away as we were, she was clearly younger and he, not as big. I will be thrilled if someone can definitely identify this team for me. From what I could tell, they were a senior level team; this first number may have been a free dance. My guess as to their identity by the end of the number was Chantal Lefevbre (with dyed hair...it didn't seem to be a natural colour even from far away) & Arseni Markov. If so...WOW!!...I can't wait until Canadians! (Rink rat at FSU has since confirmed that the team was indeed Lefebvre & Markov).
(From here, my recall of who skated when may not be accurate as I was more interested in enjoying the show than keeping track of who had skated.)
Another young male skater did a number. No clue as to who he was although he appeared to be a top level junior or mid range senior. Good presentation but nothing memorable. (NOTE: from rink rat's notes on FSU...was this Jayson Denommee??)
Josee skated one of her new numbers; she wore the bright green dress that I've seen in photos from the competition this past week. The reviews that I read indicated that she skated very well. I could not truthfully state that here. She stayed on her feet but was not doing triples and was wobbly on some of the doubles. As well, the music left the audience cold; it actually felt awkward for a few moments in the building IMO.
Mr. Orser was his usual showman/complete package self i.e., he skated solidly and sold his program. It is a newer number (I saw it in September at Dreams on Ice in Windsor)...music to do with the beach or sea or something like that! It's a very laid back and fun number.
The highlight for most of the crowd, besides the stars, was the last minute appearance of Elvis. Now, let me begin that I appreciate Elvis's technical ability and amazing accomplishments, however, I do not rate him as my favourite male skater (he's a ways down on the list) and I have tired of his exhibition numbers...you know the type...rock music...jump (even awesomely)...pump his fist...skate around...you get the picture. Expecting the same, I was pleasantly surprised and did thoroughly enjoy both of Elvis's numbers. This one was to some rock music and he did skate around and jump and pump his fist...but there seemed to be more...and was. He's added some cool moves that I can only describe as slide-across-the-ice-(intentionally)-on-your-leg-like-you-are-hydroblading. (Can you picture it?) My appreciation for Elvis has risen!
Bourne & Kraatz skated a new number in very glittery costumes. No clue as to the music but it seemed to me that the program was in line with the number that won the world title. Definitely not soft sweet or romantic or upbeat...more modernish.
Intermission (after only 40 minute of skating...I've been spoiled, I guess, and expected more!)
The second half started with a lovely group number (part of the cast) all in white to some nice gentle song...of course I can't remember the name...but I enjoyed it! Brian Orser did a good job choreographing!
The single guys each skated a program. One of the guys got the attention of many of the females in the audience with his black jeans and see through black shirt! The music sounded like Enrique Iglesias or some such singer. Very sexy...very well skated. Again, not technically equal to Brian (even with the spins and footwork), but he definitely sold the program!
Brian skated to his classic, "The Story of My Life". What more need I say (except that gone is the simple blue shirt, in is a vibrantly coloured, vertically striped shirt!) He is marvelous and the ultimate showman in my books!
Somewhere in there, the "other" ice dance team was back and skated what appeared to be an original dance. It was awesome!
Elizabeth Putnam & Sean Wirtz skated their exhibition number that I've seen somewhere (probably t.v.)...vocals...love song like...wore light blue/white outfits. I love their skating, but feel strongly that they need more advanced choreography in order to be a top world team. Their lifts, jumps and throws were strong.
Josee skated another new number in a black (cool) pantsuit. Much better received, although the quality of the jumps remained the same (I've seen Josee many times live and many times better than tonight...although she didn't fall!)
Shae Lynn and Victor skated two number this half. First was....RIVERDANCE!! It was great to see it back. Even if it was not a refined as they can do it (it's been awhile...I wouldn't have expected any better!), it was fabulous to see it live again. I don't believe that it was the whole competitive number, just the show version. It was introduced but a clip on the video screen of them doing it during a competition...it gave me chills!
Their second number I saw on t.v. this week on Kurt's Gotta Dance 3. Loved it. She's in the little pink dress and both Shae Lyn and Victor are very animated.
I know I missed something...it was a good show...shorter than I would have liked, but I could sit and watch for hours!
FYI...it was announced that tickets for the April 28(?) Stars on Ice show at the John Labatt Centre go on sale tomorrow morning. I wasn't planning to get tickets, but being at a show changed my mind!
A note to anyone going to the J.L.Centre...beware of the escalator in the north west corner of the building...on exiting, people seem to have difficulty moving away from the bottom of the escalator (and no security staff were around)...you can get the picture...a dozen people standing directly at the bottom, not moving...two dozen more coming down on a moving escalator...it was a tad painful (I was jabbed by knees, sharp elbows, and some wicked feeling purse as the escalator moved forward and those of us near the bottom had nowhere to go) while my friend was thrown to the floor from the crowd as it surged forward. Not a pretty sight...not a well organized exit. I'll make a phone call tomorrow (other exits up top were blocked off thus forcing a large number of people down one escalator or elevator), and will avoid the crowded escalator in the future!