Stars on Ice Review - San Jose, CA - Jan. 14, 2001

I keep meaning to take notes, but I guess I never get around to pulling out my pen and paper, so this is just from memory.

I seem to always have trouble remembering the intro. In the intro, the women where there black and sheer striped outfits. The men wear black pants and a colored shirt. Two are wearing green shirts, two are wearing this pinkish, magenta colored shirt, and two are wearing blue shirts. Kurt is wearing a blue shirt. They start out in a circle with men and women alternating. Then they form a line and move toward the far side of the rink while dancing. Then there is a lot of lunges on the far side. it seems a big theme of this number if to mix and match couples. At one time, ilia lifts kristi, and denis lifts jenni? Then later they form this line where kurt at first is at the end of the line and does not have a partner. Then they pass the girls and gorsha is left at the other end without someone. he sort of does this i-m-so-sexy wiggling as he skates to the end with kurt. then they pass the girls again and ilia is left without a partner. he sort of just crosses his arms and watches. then this breaks up. later they form a line at the entrance and they cast is still except yuka who starts by touching the person next to her. basically they start moving when the person next to them touches them. in this they inlcude a bunch of small lifts and rotations. finally, they end in a circle again with the women leaning out. then they annouce each of the skaters. the applause is pretty tepid until Kurt is introduced, and then the cheers get louder and louder. Scott comes out and does his I feel good number. The little boy in the white sweater seemed a little older than the previous ones. He goes up to Scott's shoulder. Anyways, this kid was better than the others too. He did a spread eagle, and a pretty decent sit spin.

New Moon, Old Moon: This program has a lot of edges. pretty simple edges and mirror skating. the women wear these white dresses and the men wear white shirts with tan pants. What I mean by edges is that they seem to do a lot of simple edging, like forward and backward inside and outside edges in semi-circles or circles. it is quite fluid and pretty. in it, kurt does a couple of half loops and then this magnificent leap--perhaps a falling leaf? (i noticed this more in the oakland show). Kurt also does a double axel and a spread eagle into a 3-sal in this program.

higher: I like steven cousins, but i don't like this program very much for him. I don't think it shows off his talents as much as the program from last year. steven landed a nice triple lutz in this program right on our end.

desert rose: it really like this song and i think kristi is really graceful, but this program just has way too many gratuitous arm and hand movements. if it had less and had somethat coordinated more with the music, it would be a lot better. i just feel the arm movements are distracting and i end up watching her arms instead of her skating. she did land a solid triple lutz at the beginning and did a small fist pump.

drive/driven: this is a good program for ilia. it reminds me a lot of the tango program two years ago. he does this great semi-slide move where he changes from going forward to backwards which i think is great. he also does this thing where he is skating then falls into a split (still moving on the ice) and then sort of pushes himself back up just using the strength in his legs. he also did a triple lutz, (or was it a flip?) and two double axels (one from a lunge position).

double bogey blues: i liked seeing this from a little further up. i didn't notice the lights before where they sort of form a golf course (a water hazard, and a couple of sand traps). the popping golf club thing worked this time. He hit his triple lutz and was really happy about it (some hand pumps). after he did his back flip over the golf bag, he made a motion near his head, like "phew, that was close" i guess his head was a little closer to the bag than usual.

everything must change: beautiful program with many nice lifts and interesting positions. like the two one handed spin/lifts that they do. one is where he has his left arm under her knees and slowly lets her down to the ice. the second is one where she is actually draped on his arm, but his arm is fully extended. another interesting move is where she is doing the splits (a picture of this is in the program).

Nyah: I'm so happy to have seen it from different angle this time. the opening is certainly more powerful from this side. the arm in the spotlight is terrific and really sets the tone of the program. I also love the movements he makes towards the spotlight on the side. there is a lot of footwork as well as some very ballet-type of moves, like the two straight up leaps in the arabesque(?) position one leg back, the other the one leaping off the ice, and arms above the head. there is also a lot of turning, though not technically spinning, because he strikes a lot of different poses and none for more than a single revolution. the crowd got into clapping fine. i have decided though that aside from speeding up the pace of his skating, he doesn't really keep his moves to the beat of the clapping. perhaps a little at the begininning of the clapping, but not much after that. the thing i like best about this is they way he holds himself (body positions, posture). it's very much like dance--which i am liking more and more these days. (if only someone else would be interested!) it's a great look for him and i am looking forward to seeing it on a&e.

dance with me: i like this program, esp the swishing part to the beat at the beginning. what i noticed this time as well as a little in oakland is that it doesn't seem to follow kurt's program as well. like they are both dance numbers but in completely different ways. so if they just dimmed the lights completely, i think that it would work better than connecting the two programs with kurt clapping around tara. because then you sort of expect another powerful piece and you get this pop song...anyways, tara has really improved her artistic ability the last few years and makes this program really fun to watch.

tunnel vision: they are pretty good about being consistent with the lines. :) new things: the frozen position of the cast is a little different than before. kristi is in about the same position, but kurt is not pointing his finger anymore, he's got both hands on his head. steven is still frozen with both arms out to the side, slightly raised. scott does go over and say something about how great it was to see them in these funny positions. he imitated steven and also added, "bet the raiders could have used a few more of these today" (because the raiders game probably just ended before the show. they lost to the ravens 16-3 in oakland). i am sure kurt said something funny here, but i can't remember. after tara says that the cast is boring, kristi and yuka start dancing. kurt does a few dancesteps but i can't remember what. steven is hilarious with his running man and arm movements. so while the shaft thing is going on, gorsha is actually rounding the rink with his skate guards on... he climbs up part way on our aisle and picks this woman, stands her up and tries wrapping his sweater around her. then he picks her up and swings her around. scott says "put her down!" i didn't realize before that kurt was the one who said that scott said that tara couldn't date until she was 32. also when ilia is doing his romeo thing, kurt is clowning around with scott, sort of exaggeratingly mimicking ilia's movements. this time when kurt did his solo dance thing, he was on the other side of the rink, which i think is the same side he did it in baltimore...so i am guessing in oakland, he purposely danced on the side with those people they all knew.

both sides now: this is a beautiful piece, but i don't think i like it as much as most other people. i love pairs skating and all the innovative lifts and spins you can do. i also understand that they have this number in so that denis can have a program in the show (which is cool because i really like denis). but this program just doesn't flow very much to me. i feel like i am watching a pairs program on steriods where there is no in between stuff, just pairs trick after trick. denis is really strong though to lift jenni and krsti in quick succession.

terminator: this was pretty good. pretty much everything worked this time. my favorite parts are still when steven, ilia and kurt get a lot of speed and slide on the chairs without their feet (steven, facing backwards leaning bck, kurt sort of with both legs bent but one extending more, and ilia pretty much completely horizontal) and the part where the men do these nice squatting outside spread eagles and then kurt and ilia turn them into inside edges. it was also nice to see this program from the right side where they face you at the end. then you can see steven's expression and the look on kurt's face when he reaches for the chair he is expecting to get, only to find that there is no one there. too bad this program is so short. it looks like it would be so much fun to perform!

moanin: nothing new to report about this. though i like tara's pink dress. it's quite bright, but i like the contrast between it and ilia's costume.

take my hand: i really like the song and yuka does a good job with it.i'm another person who hopes yuka joins the cast permanently. she was having an off night though. she had some pretty shakey landings.

don't fence me in: kurt didn't have a good night with this one. he missed the triple axel, but he went for it. i think he almost landed it though (even if he fell completely). he sort of played it off like he made some butt rubbing motions. later in the show he also missed the second jump of his triple toe combo. i couldn't tell if he was going for another triple or double because the landing on the first was really low. i think he went for a second triple and just fell completely (it might have been a double, but since he fell, i assumed it was a triple). then when he got to the part where he does that squat spread eagle, he didn't shake his shoulders like usual, instead he kept his shoulders straight and made some movements like he was brushing the ice shavings off his butt. then i think he looked over and grinned at the on ice audience there. i like this program more the more i see it. like that part in the beginning where he does that abrupt turn with his two hands shaped like guns drawn and his legs in a bow-legged position is really cute. and i love the part where he has to smush his hat on his head so it won't fall off when he does his series of 4 double axels (which he hit tonight, as well as the 3-sal).

let 'er rip: i'll admit, i wasn't watching kristi again. i was too busy watching kurt. at first he was playing tired and saw an open on ice seat so he sat in it, i think talking to the people sitting there. then kristi was coming by, so he got up and squatted on the ice to try to lasso her in.., after that he didn't go that much, except pull in his rope and skate along the edge of the ice.

sin wagon: this is a cute number. it seems like kurt has a really good time in this number. it's quite high-energy. and i love the part where they stand in a line and sort of do these bow-legged foot-stamps.. and then they sort of swing their heads around when they turn around (to rubber band twang sounding music).

i can't make you love me: jenni and todd wear pink. on jenni it looks really nice, on todd...it looks like it is a different shade and not quite as nice. though i see why pink is chosen; i think it suits the program. they do a whole bunch of lifts, like usual one they do before the flip out dismount, but they don't do that dismount. they also do one (i think) where he holds her up by her back. towards the end there is a lift where he holds her by her legs and her neck above his head and then lowers her so she is almost upside down. then brings her head up so he is sort of cradling her. they also did a throw jump--double axel maybe? i missed the entrance.

rockit: i still don't like this number as much as the other one. it is growing on me though. like the part where he coordinates the stages in which he gets up out of a split with the music. but again this program shows the strength ilia must have in his legs to do all the tricks (esp the one where he slides down the length of the rink on the sides of his boots--how does he keep from just falling into a split on the ice?!). in any case, it was very creative, and it's great to see ilia exploring so many different types of programs.

tiny dancer: i can't help it, this program was just not very interesting to me. i think a lot of it has to do with me not really liking the music. i guess tara does okay with it. like swinging her arms above her head with the music works well.

my way: the woman behind me thought this program was hilarious. it's pretty funny, but i've seen it a lot and i think it is less amusing the more you see it (which is often true of comedy). scott only tried a double lutz in this program.

hmm..again i have trouble remembering the finale. kurt comes out with renee and gorsha. and he is part of a line where they all hold hands and dance like they did in the opening. i remember that the next group of people included yuka and ilia and denis. i think denis lifted yuka and then transfered her to ilia. later the four of them (with scott) do these flying camel spins. then come steven, and meno and sand. after a whip, scott goes flying into the tunnel. and then the rest of the cast comes out (minus tara). they do a bunch of stuff but i really can't remember much of it. it all seems a little messy though. then tara and scott come out and i don't remember, but they end in a circle with their arms raised (i think this is the official ending position of soi shows?), then they all back up and scott skates saying bye to the skaters. he goes to shake kurt's hand first. he acknowledges tara and kristi, todd and jenni.