|
|
|
Review: Skaters, songs sparkle in 'Stars on Ice'
Choreographer/director and champion skater Kurt Browning got the most out of his star-studded cast in the 2012 version of "Stars on Ice," which traveled to Seattle on Saturday night.
| Source: |
Seattle Times |
| Date: |
February 26, 2012 |
| Author: |
Misha Berson |
Kurt Browning's legion of local admirers can tell you what a great
skater he is. But this Browning fan had no idea, before attending the
2012 Stars on Ice extravaganza Saturday night at KeyArena, what a
swell choreographer-director he is.
Browning whipped up this year's edition of the annual tour of figure
skating and ice-dancing champs into one of the sleekest, smoothest
shows in years for the franchise.
Instead of the usual canned jokes and the variable slapstick clowning,
Browning has imaginatively mined the strengths of his glittering cast
- including Olympic favorites Ilia Kulik, Sasha Cohen and Ekaterina
Gordeeva, and 2011 U.S. champion Ryan Bradley - with fresh, creative
routines well-matched to a vibrant score of pop tunes.
The opening program began with a vivacious Gordeeva vamping and
gliding to Captain & Tennille's cheese-tastic "Love Will Keep us
Together." And it heated up with Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman's
blazing rip through Imelda May's "Johnny Got a Boom Boom."
It's been a decade since Ina and Zimmerman won a World bronze medal,
but their thrillingly gymnastic pairing still thrills and is one of
the show's highlights - also displayed in a romp to Rascal Flatts,
packed with the pair's customary awe-inspiring, one-handed
lifts.
Also showcased is the supple prowess and spicy personality of Cohen in
two routines that suited her perfectly, including one to a haunting
tune from the Buena Vista Social Club.
Kulik (a solo skater married to Gordeeva) always brings it, and
delights in shaking up and modernizing his moves. One impressive new
move here is a leaping kick-turn used repeatedly in the show, to great
effect. And if his sparkly sleeveless-hoodie get-up in the "Love in
This Club" number looked kitschy, Kulik's ice variation to Usher was
stunning.
There's nice work, too, from Canadian champion Joannie
Rochette.
Bradley is a handsome fellow, with beautiful triple jumps,
breathtaking back flips and some intricate fast-footing in his
"Footloose" routine. Like Sinead and John Kerr, the Scottish
brother-sister European champs, he is new to Stars on Ice and while
technically strong doesn't exhibit the all-out, showbiz flair that
comes with more ice show experience.
Such crowd-pleasing flair is second nature now to the two senior
members of the cast, who remind us that great skating doesn't end at
age 40. The choreography for Todd Eldredge, in his pleasing numbers
from "Hello Dolly" and Lonestar, emphasizes his comic gifts and
unflashy warmth.
And along with getting the best out of his colleagues, Browning is in
excellent skating form himself, with an elegant rendition of "Feeling
Good" (to Adam Lambert's cover), and a delightfully whimsical skate to
the ubiquitous Jason Mraz hit, "I'm Yours."
Finally, I can't remember a recent Stars on Ice group number as
satisfying as the first-act closer to Adele's "Rolling in the Deep."
The drama and momentum of the song is fully realized in the power
lifts, solo takeouts and ensemble surges of the choreography. Thanks
again, Mr. Browning - and keep it up.
|
|
|
|
|
