COI Review

[USA]

Just wondering if anyone has a Champions On Ice review of the skating and show from Boston or the other ones that have taken place already...??

Any information would be appreciated.

[Figureskates]

I attended the COI Boston on Sunday afternoon. I went after working a nightshift and getting about 2 hours sleep so I don't remember specific music they. Below is a review I wrote for another board.

All this aside here goes....

First of all, and my wife agreed, the skaters were all really enjoying themselves and that was reflected in their skating.

At the beginning was an award for Michelle for winning Woman's Olympic sportsperson of the year. My camera was working then and I got a few shots.

Here goes in no particular order...I am going by the program I have in my lap, and I cannot remember everyone's music...sleep deprivation will do that to you

Jennifer Kirk: The hometown favorite and it is nice to see how she has matured both as a skater and as a young lady. She gave a vigorous perfomance from beginning to end. She sure has a lot of stamina and I liked her performance.

Michelle's was definitely one of the crowd pleasers. Great clean jumps and of course her signature change of edge spiral was a definite crowd pleaser. I think though her long hair gets in way. It wrapped around her head a few times and I would think be very distracting.

Sasha. Sasha is really beginning to grow on me. Besides her beautiful jumps and spirals, she was really in tune to song from My Fair Lady, and she was loving every minute of it!!

Plushenko is another of my favorites. Beside his jumps, I am still amazed by his down the ice footwork...fast clean, and mind blowing.

S/Z: This is the first time I have seen them live. TV does not do this couple justice. You think it looks high on TV on how Zhao tosses her the air....see it live! Also the distance she achieves on her throw jumps is equalling something that has to be seen live. Definitely a crowd pleaser.

Timmy: I was somewhat disappointed. I have seen him live at Lake Placid over the past few years and I thought this performance was not up to the usual Timmy standards.

Elana Sokolova: Kind of a lackluster performance. I don't know whether she is suffering from an injury or not but she didn't seem to have the fire she had at COI last year. However, she is still very light on her skates.

T/M: She has let her hair grow out. They gave a good performance but I think they were not up to their high standards. She stumpled a couple of times which just isn't her. All in over, the lifts were as good as ever.

Suguri: Another skater I have not seen live before and I really liked her performance. This girl literally floats across the ice. She is so light on her feet that she just floats down on her jumps. Another skater who TV does not do justice.

Stojko: Another high energy performance. I enjoy the energy.

Galindo: For a person who has had hip replacement, his energy is amazing. He wasn't quite up to full power yet but he had some good jumps and a fantastic spin. I am glad he is on the road to recovery.

K/D: I have always enjoyed their skating and they did not disappoint this year.

Petrenko: A different variation on his performance in that he didn't skate with a prop this year...unlike the dog and the woman in previous years. Still has the jumps and footwork.

Philippe: A Samurai theme for him this year. His usual interaction with the audience and of course, the shirt eventually comes off. My wife and I enjoyed it. He had some impressive footwork this time around.

Surya: First of all, I have always liked Surya and had a chance to meet her a few years back. The big difference this year is Surya is really getting more graceful. In the past she let the gymnast come through and she muscled her way through her program. This year, she just flowed. She had great jumps which were a lot lighter than in years past. She has definitely softened her lines over the years and she did her signature flip. The crowd responded very well to her performance.

Irina Slutskaya: If she is suffering from any medical problems, she sure wasn't showing it. She was having a great time and did a good program. If I remember correctly she did bobble one jump, but hey, she looks healthy...I hope she stays that way.

Weir: He has really improved over last year's COI. I did see him at Lake Placid in November and I think he is more confident now than he was at Lake Placid. Good clean jumps and impressive footwork.

B/A: This is the first time I have seen them live. They did a Green Acres number and it was well recieved by the crowd. This is one of the few pairs, in my mind, that feel the music and skate to it.

Dan Hollander: Another funny performance and I won't say anything more because I really don't want to ruin it. It is fun to be surprised.

Nicole Bobek: Still my favorite (does my bias show?). yes she has implants but they look good on her. While she did only doubles, she did seem to be enjoying herself and I think she seems to be happier with herself. Whether due to the implants or not, who knows. She still has a killer spiral in my book.

Besedin and Polishchuk: You will like this!! They do some amazing moves and unlike the last couple of years, they really skate hard. I won't say anymore because I don't want to spoil it.

Irina Grigorian: I don't why but I kept thinking our own Yaz on skates. She combines bellydancing with skating and I wish I was 1% as flexible and coordinated...Hey Yaz, you moonlighting and not telling us?!?!

If there was anyone else, I am drawing a blank right now (senior moment). I liked the finale. It was different in years past and gave each of the skaters a chance to be highlighted in a group number.

Well that's it from here. I hope you all get a chance to go. My wife and I both felt that this was one of the better COIs we have been to and we have been going since 1998.

Please pardon any mistypes or misspells. I bet I didn't get them all!!

[Ximena]

Thanks a lot for the review of COI, oh to see Plush skating to Queen!! (I know he is useing "I was born to love you") I wonder if he would at least do it once on TV.

Let's cut some slack to Timmy, he hasn't been training for a quite some time, if I'm not wrong he just start practicing again less than a month ago, boot problems

[Figureskates]

Let's cut some slack to Timmy, he hasn't been training for a quite some time, if I'm not wrong he just start practicing again less than a month ago, boot problems

No slam at Timmy intended. I just didn't mention he had had problems with his boots in the past, as I had noted problems some of the other skaters had had. One can be disappointed in a performance based on previous personal performance attendances and should not be misconstrued as a slam. There are times when I am disappointed with my own figure skating but I am not slamming myself.

Edit for spelling....

[Meredith]

I attended the COI Boston on Sunday afternoon. I went after working a nightshift and getting about 2 hours sleep so I don't remember specific music they. Below is a review I wrote for another board.

For a sleep-deprived spectator you did a magnificent job.

S/Z: This is the first time I have seen them live. TV does not do this couple justice. You think it looks high on TV on how Zhao tosses her the air....see it live! Also the distance she achieves on her throw jumps is equalling something that has to be seen live. Definitely a crowd pleaser.
Aren't they a sight to behold, though? It's gratifying to hear they were well received by the Boston crowd.

Thanks for taking the time and trouble to post your recollections, Figureskater.

[Schmeck]

Figureskates, thanks for the great review (and for not spoiling some surprises!)

I was so excited that COI was not scheduled in Boston on the same evening as SOI in Portland for once, and yet, I couldn't get to COI again, because my daughters' skating show had to be last weekend instead... :evil:

Anyways, someday I will get to see SOI and COI (I'm tempted to go north or west to catch COI!) during the same calendar year, LOL!

[snoopysnake]

I too saw the COI in Boston...my favorite was the finale to Rhapsody in Blue which was brilliantly choreographed..if you know this music well, you will experience many thrills as you see who is skating to each segment...Shen and Zhao, Phillippe, Michelle, Evgeny, and Johnny were especially well used.

BTW, I attended Marshall's invitational in Providence last night and saw Johnny Weir in the lobby of the Westin Hotel...I went up to him and told him how much his performance moved me and he seemed quite pleased.

Another performance at COI Boston was Grushina and Gonchorov the Ukranian ice dancers. With the loss of Lang & Tcherneshev and Bourne & Kraatz (not to mention the Russian teams who no longer skate), the show has a dearth of ice dancing this year. I am also surprised that no US pairs were included.

Re: Michelle's hair, I thought she looked very lovely with her long hair flying. She has truly beautiful hair and I hope she does not cut it again. Her magic aura was "on" in every segment.

Sasha truly found a signature number with My Fair Lady. She was absolutely enchanting. I look forward to seeing her portray other characters...I think playing a role like this brought her closer to the audience.

I liked Jenny's vivacity very much. I hope she picks more sassy numbers like Chicago.

Fumie was exquisite skating to an ocean theme. She was like a delicate little music box dancer. TV does not do justice to her beauty.

It was heartwarming to see Rudy and Irina back on the ice and there was a warm glow between each and the audience.

Not to slight any other performers (especially Viktor and Evgeny) but I am more bowled over by Shen and Zhao every year and they had another masterpiece of a performance in this show. This number alone, plus the finale, make this year's COI a bargain at twice the price. If you possibly can, see COI this year!!! Don't miss it!

[gardana]

Did anyone go to Simsbury?

[7302005]

How do I find out which skaters are going to be in which cities. The "promo" ads for our city only mentions Hamil, Kerrigan, Kwan, Goebel, Galindo, Besedin and Polishchuk and Irina Grigorian. Since I went to Grand Prix final, US Nationals and Stars on Ice this season, I am trying to decide if I can go to COI. I don't want to go if I can't see some of the skaters mentioned by figureskates and I am not in a large area like Boston, so it is entirely possible that some skaters would not be here....

[dalayna]

MK fell on her y spin at Marshalls. What is up with her? It's like watching someone slowly implode.

[NJSk8Fan]

Denisel, check out the Champions On Ice website. You should find all the info you need there--sounds like you are seeing "Tour II"...which if I'm reading the COI site correctly doesn't seem to have as many skaters as "Tour I".