Anyone going to "Ice Chips" show in Boston?

[Sing_Alto]

Just curious. I'd love to read a review of the show(s) after the fact. Hint, hint... :mrgreen:

[Trillian]

Hmm...that was the plan, but now that I think of it, I'm not sure I'll get there. I'll try to make it, though, and if I do, I'll definitely review it!

[BringontheRain]

Most likely. I was supposed to go Sat night but my event at Worcester is that night. But I plan on going Sunday now :)

[Zoomana]

I am going Sunday. Does anyone know Jenny Kirk's injury (she is listed as withdrawn/injured). I hope she gets well soon!

[DancerFan]

Anyone??? Please?!

[BringontheRain]

Trying to remember ... I didn't take notes

Janessa Cammarata did an awesome feature, she did 2flip, either 2loop or 2lutz and axel. She just looked really strong and older too

Stevie Carriere did an awesome 3toe in his feature

Curran Oi did 2 2axels

Katie Thordason did a nice 3toe, stepped out of 3sal

Louann Donovan skated to "Underneath Your Clothes" did 3toe 3toe, 3sal and one other jump, nice spins

Brian Boitano skated to "If I Could" powerful, somewhat boring however

Chenjiang Li did his short I think, it was ok

Kristin Tudisco did 3sal and 2axel, okay program

The Ice Theatre number was cool

Juliana Cannarozzo skated to a slow female ballad, did 2axel, 2flip and one other jump, nice program

Kylie Gleason & Taylor Toth did one of their programs, she is tiny ... they were good, did sbs 2lutzes and flips(she stepped out), throw 2sal and 1axel. Unison off on spins

Melanie Drogseth skated to music from Mulan, nice skater, stepped out of 3sal

Samantha Cepican & Phillip Lichtor did their freedance or OD, nice

Loren Galler-Rabinowitz and David Mitchell did one of their competitive programs, it was great

Scott Smith, skated to "Black Balloon" nice, expression is improving

Linda Fratianne didn't jump ... 'Wind Beneath My Wings"

Chengjiang Li did a comedic second number

Brian did "Hernandos Hideaway" it wasn't that great IMO ...

If you want details on anything specific I'll see what I can remember

[jkl]

Brian Boitano "boring" ?? Wow, I am surprised to hear that one.

[BringontheRain]

I was surprised I found him to be boring, I dunno if it was the music choice or the fact that I have seen so much skating this weekend, but his programs didn't move me at all ... he is extremely powerful though and has nice jumps ...

[Zoomana]

Just some thoughts from Sunday (and in no logical order):

Team Boston (Adult Masters Syncrho) was great. Only eight ladies but they did a very nice and clean performance. I'm wishing I could afford to join the team!

Team Boston (Intermediate Synchro) had a very difficult and energetic program. A few stumbles, but I could hear Dickie Button in my mind saying, well, the program was so intricate, a few mistakes are nothing. Very entertaining and the team shows a ton of progress.

As usual, the kids numbers were very cute and well-costumed. My only complaint is that I know most of the kids out there, but I don't always recognize them with all the costuming/wigs/amount of activity going on! But definitely entertaining.

Chenjiang Li was awesome. On TV I have always liked him for paying attention to the whole package (esp. spins), but in person I liked him way more. Very engaging to the audience, radiated happiness, and great speed and footwork. Nice spins and huge jumps. I'm feeling dumb for wondering, but I THINK he did two quads in the second number. But his triples are so "easy" that I really couldn't tell. Anyway, I can't rave enough. First number was his short and was nice. Second half-serious, then half-comedic (complete with weird outfit) was just stunning to Shakira. Moves I haven't seen him do that much of in competition (i.e., split jumps) and general eye contact/goofing with the audience (including butt wiggling), yet at no point did I feel like, that's stupid, over the top, or what is he doing. All I could think was fun, fun, fun, I'm a fan for life.

Brian Boitano was okay. Like Bringontherain said, a teeny bit boring. I respect his work ethic, what he's done for the sport, etc. But just not my cuppa tea. First number ballad, very sweepy, but the music put me to a snooze. Great Tano Lutzes and spread eagles throughout. Second number to Hernando's Hideaway was very well-choreographed to the music, though a bit posey, but it did draw my attention. The only weird thing I noticed live (my first time seeing him live) is the weird way he builds up speed for crossovers/spread eagles, getting almost squatted. But to quote Dickie yet again, this is nit picking. He's not 100% what thrills me in a skater, but he's obviously into it and I liked the vibes flowing from him and the positive energy. Also, his death drop is the best. He was skating in a dance position with Vicky Devins after the show, that was a nice sight! I also noticed Li giving him a nice hand at the end.

Linda Fratianne was very nice, but all I could think of was Ice Capades. Glitzy costume, pretty lady, nice layback, flow and moving around, but no jumps. I would have at least liked to have seen a waltz jump, someone of her great skating caliber could have made that jump look as good as a double. A lot of the audience didn't seem to recognize exactly who she was, at least the younger crowd. I guess not one of the more famous Olympic medalists? I don't know and can't relate cause I'm a junkie, I knew exactly who she was! But I wouldn't have recognized her on the street. She's very pretty and young looking, but her hair is a lot longer than I remember.

Still wondering about Jenny...hope she's okay...

Scott Smith was awesome. He still reminds me of Paul Wylie. His new situation in Boston is obviously working wonders, not just for the jumps. His artistry, posture, and general look of well-being are so much improved. I remember him at Easterns in Marlborough a few years back and thinking, wow, this kid has talent, but what is he doing with it in competition? If he stays injury-free and keeps at it, I hope he can do big things. He is so much improved in every way and I really enjoyed his performance. Star smiles.

Loren Galler-Rabinowitz and David Mitchell were simply one word: breathtaking. I am definitely not into ice dance/I'll admit it/I can start snoozing watching it on Worlds on TV. But they did their competitive free, and I didn't even blink, never mind snooze. This is the best program I have ever seen them do, everything is so musical, the lifts are so right for the music, and their speed is amazing. Dramatic without over the top. Wow. Honestly, I would have had this free dance first at Nationals, no offense to the other teams, esp. L&T, who skated to my all-time favorite metal ballad and who I adore!

Samantha Cepicon and Phillip Lichtor were also a very enjoyable ice dance team to watch. He has a lot of personality, and they are both very energetic. Same as to Devins and O'Keffe. Honestly, I enjoy seeing teams who are "dancing," not just doing highlights with weird hair and weird rag-like/fake flesh/fill in the blank over-the-top clothes.

Louann Donovan looked very solid spin-wise and triple-wise to a countryish song but I was afraid her outfit wouldn't last the performance! Very skimpy bikini-like ensemble!

Juliana Cannarozza showed a very soft side to her skating which I have never seen. I don't recall the song, but this program suited her very well, and I want to borrow that double axel, great technique! I am not usually into the female soft ballad thing (esp. considering the huge quantity of same which appeared in this show), but she really seemed to feel the music.

Melanie Drogseth was also very gentle and flowing, as usual. I would like to see her skate to heavy metal or techno just once, though! Joking aside, the quality in her overall skating is very obvious.

Anyone know what happened to Jason Wong? I hope he's not injured again!

Kristen Tudisco did a techno-sounding version of (I think) Time to Say Goodbye. I really liked it. Her performance ability in terms of reaching out to the audience is really improved in the past two years, and she radiates a confidence now. I like her skating a lot.

Peter Kozodoy was essentially a highlight in a group number, but his performance actually got a bigger hand (I think) than even Boitano's! And, no, I'm not his sister, mother, etc., I don't even know him. Seriously, he skated so well with the music and performed, I was very impressed, and I've seen him around the scene for quite awhile now. Every beat of the music had a move that went so well with it. Individual elements (spins, jumps) were just gravy, I'm very technically focused with skating and I can't even remember them because I was actually just enjoying!

Aziz & Shnapir were very good with their pairs elements, a nice solid feel to their skating and look very well-matched size-wise and talent-wise.

Gleason & Toth were also awesome, especially the throw jumps.
I am always impressed with the confidence they radiate and her small power. She looks a lot younger than she really is (12). In fact, several people didn't believe the program book to be correct. But I think it's obvious by looking at her face and the mature style she and her partner present. I really like this team a lot.

Erica Archambault was another no-show due to injury (I'm assuming), hope she's okay, she's a really sweet girl.

This turned out a lot longer than I thought, but that's how I get when I start typing. Enjoyed the show a lot, and Cheesecake Factory after made it an afternoon!

[Sylvia]

Originally posted by Zoomana
Anyone know what happened to Jason Wong? I hope he's not injured again!

I read that Jason performed in the Saturday show. I assume he and Jessica Houston may have left on Sunday to travel to Slovenia for the Triglav Trophy competition.

Thanks for your review!

[snoopysnake]

There is a review of Ice Chips along with some great photos on Skateweb (frogsonice.com)

Brian Boitano is NEVER boring to me! Only thing I don't like is seeing him smoking a cigar in the Hernando's Hideaway number. It's obviously part of the character and fits perfectly with the lyric, but I hope it's not an off-ice habit for Brian! I want to see him healthy and still skating when he's as old as Shep and Emily Holt (55 consecutive ICE CHIPS performances)! I quite enjoyed the blue velvet trousers Brian wore in the Ray Charles number!

Jason Wong was only listed for Saturday performances in the program; he must have had some kind of schedule conflict for Sunday. He fell a couple of times on Saturday, but looked healthy. Maybe in 20+ years we'll be seeing Jason as the "elder statesman" headliner.

[Alexeiskate]

I saw Linda Fratianne's picture on SkateWeb and she looked out of shape. That was suprising since she looked really tiny when I saw her in the audience at the recent Worlds. It's also weird that her costume and hairstyle have pretty much remained the same since she turned professional 20 years ago. I used to like Linda's skating a lot but it's kind of sad to see her being stuck in some type of a time warp.

[snoopysnake]

At this point, I think it is nice to see her on skates at all. She is about 41-42 years old and raising a young daughter and is not consistently touring,vs. say, Dorothy Hamill. Ice Chips is more traditional and old-fashioned than most other ice shows and it's a treat for a lot of the audience to be able to see the "veterans".

[Trillian]

Originally posted by snoopysnake
Jason Wong was only listed for Saturday performances in the program; he must have had some kind of schedule conflict for Sunday.

He was presumably traveling to the Triglav Trophy in Slovenia, along with clubmate Jessica Houston who also didn't skate in the Sunday show. Jason was second behind Jordan Brauninger in the junior mens event there, and Jessica won the novice ladies event ahead of the two girls who beat her at nationals. :)