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Canadian Stars on Ice Review - Toronto, ON - Apr. 30, 2010
written by Andrea
I just returned home from our trip to Toronto. I went to the show in
Toronto last night and thought I'd just do a quick report for you
all. I attended the show with my husband who had never been to a LIVE
figure skating show ever before. He did enjoy himself, and I will
honestly say when I had asked him on the car ride home today, who he
enjoyed the most, he did say that Kurt was awesome - that he is very
'steady on his feet' when he skates (I quote because that is exactly
what my husband said) and he really does entertain you when he
performs. He also really enjoyed the pairs (S&P and D&L) and overall
he wished there was more group #'s since he liked those the
best.
Having said that .....
I have always gone to CSOI in Hamilton over recent years. I only had
attended 1 CSOI show at the ACC and that was back in 1999. Ever since
then I had always gone to Hamilton to see the show. This year I
decided to see the show in Toronto. We had excellent seats - sitting
in Section 101 - Row 8 which ended up to be 4th row instead. Our seats
were right near the far end, near one of the side enterances and I do
want to say that during the show, many of the skaters were standing
there to watch performances throughout the night. Kurt was there,
watching Jeff skate during the 1st act.
The crowd in Toronto is a bit different than in Hamilton. At least
that is the vibe I got being there. I found not as many people like to
give standing O's in Toronto. Those who wanted to stand which was
random and skatered throughout the arena, did, but not the entire
arena at once. In fact, I don't recall a FULL standing ovation for any
of the skaters, only at the end of the show. Not sure if its like this
during all stops in Toronto each year, I just got that vibe from the
crowd.
The last time I had gone to see CSOI was in 2008 during the LIVE & IN
COLOR tour. I didn't go to last year's show but had read many reviews
about the lighting and how there was very little of it. I wasn't
really sure if this was going to be the same case this year, and
before this year's tour started, many questioned the same
thing. Having seen this years show, overall I had thought the show
very good. They didn't hold back on the lighting etc.... which added a
lot to many of the skaters performances throughout. Of course the cast
was a bit 'smaller' than what I am used to, but being it an Olympic
year, and a LONG season for many of the skaters, it was really
refreshing to be able to see our best Canadian figure skaters perform
all in 1 show.
Opening Number - I really liked how they introduced each skater and I
liked how things flowed throughout the opening number. Loved the music
chosen and the costumes that they had on.
After the opening number Kurt came out and did his duties as MC. Of
course while out of breath, Kurt managed to joke to the audience about
just that. He then introduced Joannie at this point and the show
continued.
I'd love to really go into detail on each skater, but since this is a
Kurt List, I will keep most of the focus on Kurt of course
.....
We didn't see Kurt next on the ice, until it was his time to skate,
which was "That's Entertainment..." I've got to say I LOVE that he
brought back this performance - one of my all time favorites from
Kurt. I will say that in some sections his energy isn't as quick as it
use to be back when he first skated this number.Footwork to me was on,
I did or don't think I saw any stumbled from Kurt during his footwork.
But overall its just as entertaining as ever to watch. How could you
not smile when he does the little skate down the ice to Wizard Of Oz
(one of my favorite moments in the program)
During the group number before intermission I LOVED the concept of the
group number they did, and the music that was chosen were all
excellent choices. Loved the costumes as well. The skaters were
definitly out to "Rock The Runway ..." and it showed. Boys
VS. Girls. Was great. Kurt was his funny self. One point he was in the
middle and Joannie & Cythia (I think) were at his side, as they were
skating together on the ice strutting their stuff.
The beginning of Act 2 is where Jeff & Kurt came out on the ice, mics
hooked up - and began to start the 2nd half of the show. Kurt was 1st
to come out, to say to the audience that we are a really good looking
crowd with the house lights on - and joked saying he really doesn't
say that in ever city - pauses and says ' well not ever city ....'
Then Jeff came out, and then talked a bit. They both did a little plug
about Sears etc... and then they started to explain the concept of
what they are about to do. But they said they were killing some time,
just talking because they were waiting for another skater. But Jeff
decided they should start without him, and just as they were about to,
out comes Shawn. I'm not sure if that was part of the act or not, but
got the crowd going anyways laughing because Shawn joked that he was
just trying to decide what washer he was going to buy from Sears or
something .... The concept of "War" was interesting and it was a great
little fun piece that was done at first with Kurt, Jeff & Shawn. A
little bit of follow the leader - then Joannie came out and joined in
on the fun (she did not have a mic) It was a great way to start the
2nd half of the show.
Kurt's 2nd solo performance was to "Luck be a Lady" It was great
seeing this LIVE - to actually see close up how difficult it is to
figure skating with hockey skates. Kurt brought a lot of his charm and
pizaz to the performance.
The finale for the show was to "I've Got The Music In Me" and it was
another great number, highlighting all the skaters etc.... Of course I
was sad that this was the end of the show - and really wanted the
group number to be a bit longer but it had to come to an end.
I have to say that I really did enjoy the CSOI show this year. I
didn't walk out of there disapointed. I was happy to finally see LIVE
skating again, since it had been a while.
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