An Evening on Ice

I attended the third annual An Evening on Ice show this weekend in L.A. and wrote up a quick report on the action! I also took a few videos. Nick and Tricia Laroche always do a wonderful job with this show, which benefits the US Athletic Foundation. My report is after the videos:

Alissa Czisny

Adam Rippon

Jonathan Cassar

Vincent Zhou

Kimmie Meissner

Bebe Liang (skating to Emily & Sergei's song!) Douglas Razzano

Chelsea Liu & Devin Perini
  

Starr Andrews

Finale

The show began with a jazzy performance by Dyllan McIntee, Juvenile Girls Champion. I hadn't seen her skate before and I was impressed! Team Fusion, a synchro team, was next and they did a cute program with a Little Red Riding Hood theme that started with "She Wolf" by Shakira. Alexe Gilles followed and had some trouble on the jumps, singling all of them. Leah Keiser skated to "Stay" by Rihanna and looked really lovely! Douglas Razzano lightened the mood next, skating to "Don't Stop the Party" by Pitbull. I think he needed to let go just a bit more with the energetic music and really go to town with it. After Doug was Bebe Liang, and I was super excited that she skated to one of my favorite Alicia Keys songs, "Un-thinkable." She still has great presence on the ice. Vincent Zhou skated to what sounded like a Broadway number. His jumps were as impressive as always! Next was one of the highlights for me -Jonathan Cassar. He always entrances the crowd when he skates. Such beautiful movement and emotion. He is a true dancer on the ice. Tyler Pierce followed Jon and did a really sweet number to "I Wanna Hold Your Hand." The lone pair in the show, Chelsea Liu and Devin Perini, performed their short program and looked ready to compete. Their lift was very impressive. Closing out the first half of the show was Adam Rippon, and he was another of my highlights. He skated to Elliot Yemin's "A Song For You" and his skating looked so powerful and fast. We got to see a gorgeous Rippon Lutz, too!

Starr Andrews started off the second half of the show. I'd never heard of her, but I'm sure I'll be hearing more about her in the future! Her spins were awesome and so was her stage presence. Rachael Flatt was next, and her program to "Clair de Lune" might be the best program I've ever seen from her. From the layout it appeared to be her short program. She really felt the music and had some beautiful moments. I wish I would've recorded it! Derrick Delmore was another skater I wish I would've captured on video. He skated to "When I Was Your Man" by Bruno Mars, and he did some huge jumps and was flying across the ice. Next was Emily Hughes who skated to "Hallelujah." She looked like she enjoyed every second of the program. Polina Edmunds followed with a cute program that sampled a variety of music from show tunes to Michael Jackson. After her was Shotaro Omori. His Latin program was perhaps his new short? Courtney Hicks had some problems with her triple jumps, but she exhibited powerful skating between the jumps. Next was Kimmie Meissner, who I always love seeing on the ice. She skated to "In Your Eyes" and did a triple jump, which I hadn't seen her do in a show in quite awhile. Joshua Farris was supposed to follow Kimmie, but he couldn't skate because of illness. I was so bummed because he was one of the skaters I most wanted to see. The final skater was Alissa Czisny, and she skated to music from the soundtrack of The Notebook - beautiful music that I wish more skaters would use! Her performance was so gentle and flowing and lovely.

Skate America Nostalgia: Pittsburgh 2004

I had a lot of fun doing my U.S. Nationals and Worlds nostalgia series earlier this year, so I thought with Skate America coming up, I'd do one for that event, too. I started attending Skate America in 2004 and have missed only one year since then. The event doesn't have the intensity and special feel of Nationals, but it's always a fun competition!

Skate America 2004 in Pittsburgh was very exciting for me because it was my first chance to see international skaters in a competition setting. I was especially excited to see Brian Joubert, and when I spotted him in the stands, I raced around the arena to get a photo with him!

Michelle Kwan dropped out of the event, which greatly disappointed me, but we got to see Alissa Czisny's coming-out party. I'd seen her skate at Nationals and loved her balletic style, and it was such a treat to witness her beautiful, clean short program to The Mission. Angela Nikodinov won the ladies' event, and I remember the medal ceremony was delayed until Sunday because of the tragedy in the pairs competition. More on that in a minute...

Jennifer Don and Jonathan Hunt were one of the America pairs competing, and I'd been a big fan of theirs since 2003 Nationals. I thought they had a bright future... one of many failed American pairs I've had to experience disappointment with over the years! The clear favorites in the pairs event were the Russians Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin, but disaster struck during their free skate when Maxim lost his footing during a lift and Tatiana fell head-first onto the ice. Many minutes passed as medical personnel attended to her on the ice and then carted her off. It was the scariest thing I've ever witnessed at a competition. None of us knew how badly Tatiana had been hurt. We were all so glad to see her interviewed on TV the next day.

In the men's event, I remember Ryan Jahnke skated well and Evan Lysacek performed his Singin' In the Rain long program, which is my favorite program of his. Joubert won with his 1492 free skate for which he wore a rather garish costume (it looked like pleather).

In ice dance, Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto showed they hadn't lost any momentum from their fifth place finish at Worlds. Their gypsy free dance was one of the highlights of the competition for me. I could tell it was going to be a special program for them that year. Kendra Goodwin and Brent Bommentre had a big crowd of family and friends present since they trained in Philadelphia. I loved their Evita free dance, and I often wonder what would've happened if they'd stayed together after that season.

I don't remember a lot about the arena or the hotel except they were located within a short walking distance of each other. And there was pretty foliage in the area. We don't see much foliage down here in the Gulf South! That year was the first time I attended a Friends of Figure Skating reception, and I got to talk to Ryan Jahnke and Tanith and Ben. That was a fun afternoon!

After my experience in Pittsburgh, it was no surprise that I was hooked and wanted to attend Skate America again. Atlantic City in 2005 seemed difficult to get to, so I passed on it. That turned out to be a good decision since Hurricane Katrina hit in August 2005, and I was still exiled from home when Skate America rolled around. But I returned to SA in 2006 in Hartford, and there was some unforgettable drama. Read all about the early morning fire alarm and more in the next installment!