Figure Skating: Stars on Ice 2004 -- Time to see this show!

This year's Stars on Ice underwent a show makeover. With new management, the show promised to be a spectacular production.

Created and directed by Christopher Dean (1984 Olympic Gold Medallist with partner Jayne Torvill), and produced by Scott Hamilton (1980 and 1984 Olympic Gold Medallist), Stars on Ice not only had an amazing team behind the scenes, it also boasted an incredible cast of champions new and old.

The freshest faces on the tour were the most recent 2002 Olympic Champions -- Alexei Yagudin, co-medallists Jamie Sale and David Pelletier, and Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze.

Also on had was six-time U.S. National Champion and 1996 World Champion Todd Eldredge, as well as tour veterans included World Champion Yuka Sato, World Silver medallists Jenni Meno and Todd Sand, and World Bronze medallists Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman.

In addition, revered skating legends like Scott Hamilton, Kurt Browning, Ekaterina Gordeeva and Oksana Baiul would guest star at certain tour locations.

There was much anticipation for an unforgettable production, but this year would also be a test of the new cast and the new creative team. Based on the first production, the future of Stars on Ice looks bright!

I attended the Stars on Ice show in San Jose, CA, and the guest stars at this show were Kurt Browning and Oksana Baiul. Backstage, before the show, the stars relaxed by playing soccer and holding a ping-pong tournament. Oksana Baiul and her fiance, Eugene Sunik, walked down the hallway kissing. Kurt Browning warmed up while listening to his music on his Discman.

The arena itself was about two-thirds full, and filled to about three-quarters capacity after the show began. The audience chattered excitedly about how they thought the new show would fare.

The theme of the show was "Time." In choreography and versatility, the pairs had it all. There were four pair teams in the cast -- Yuka Sato was the only permanent single lady, but could skate both pairs and singles -- and there were two men. Therefore, the production was mostly centered around group numbers, capitalizing on the pairs.

San Jose was only the eighth stop on the tour, and it was obvious at some points that the skaters were still working out some of the minor kinks in the choreography.

ACT I

Opening Number -- Sunrise, Grand Canyon Suite: All the skaters (except for the guest stars Kurt Browning and Oksana Baiul) skated together in synchronized choreography. The men performed death drops and jumps, while the pairs performed lifts and death spirals. David Pelletier fell but quickly recovered as the opening number came to a close. The skaters were then individually announced to warm applause, and then skated off the arena.

Kurt Browning -- Moondance: Wearing a casual black button down shirt and black slacks, Browning skated almost as if on air. He, seamlessly and effortlessly, performed footwork and triple jumps. Browning's first number was casual, fun, and lighthearted. It was a great way to draw the audience in.

Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman -- Look at Little Sister: This rock number allowed John Zimmerman to show off his fun side. Usually Zimmerman is a very romantic skater, but he really let loose in this piece and skated with abandon and fun loving recklessness. Their performance was filled with stunts and tricks, which showed off their fire and great rapport with each other. They have grown as artists since turning professional while maintaining technical proficiency, and have a bright future in the professional ranks.

Yuka Sato - Misty: Sato's performance to "Misty" was soft, quietly sentimental. She had an off-night technically, falling on her triple loop and doubling a few jumps afterwards. However, Sato's quality on the ice is unquestioned and she set the mood for romance.

Jamie Sale and David Pelletier -- Come Away with Me: Sale and Pelletier's rapport is uniquely their own, romantic and sensual, secure in each other and at ease with the audience. Sale and Pelletier have improved even more since turning professional, making wonderful use of transitional lifts and detail. With the music, they created the feeling of peace and seclusion, as if they were in their own private island, living a fantasy.

Todd Eldredge -- Flamenco: This is quite a departure for Eldredge, very different from his usual themes to movie soundtracks or classic music. Eldredge made excellent choreographic use of the music, as well as utilizing the ice surface.

Oksana Baiul -- Ain't It Funny: Still a Latin beat, Baiul skated to J.Lo's music, as if to entertain younger audiences. Artistically not her best program, it was entertaining. She performed in such a way that made you want to get up and dance with her. Baiul was so excited after her program that she tripped while curtseying!

Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharudlidze -- Let Me Fall: Who better for this elegant pair to skate to than Josh Groban? Groban's deep and rich voice allowed Elena and Anton to skate more confidence than ever since turning professional. They have truly come into their own and found their comfort zone. Berezhnaya and Sikharudlidze drew gasps from the crowd as they performed their signature tricks, including a "Leap of Faith," where Elena jumped and dove headfirst towards the ice, saved by Anton. Done in perfect timing to the lyrics of the song. Their performance exuded trust in each other and a deep sensuality.

Alexei Yagudin -- Memorial: Yagudin is a phenomenal skater and truly believes everything he does on the ice. However, this performance looked unoriginal. The music was exactly the same as the long program of 1994 and 1998 Olympic Champions Grischuk and Platov, who were also coached by Tatiana Tarasova, Yagudin's coach and choreographer. That may be coincidental, but even some of the program components were the same. The starting position of both programs is kneeling, and slowly rising while backing up; some of the footwork sections and twizzle sequences are the same; and even the ending poses are exactly the same, running forward and ending in a knee slide. Yagudin performed extremely well, no doubt, and the music and choreography are as powerful as Yagudin's passion, but creatively, the program is a disappointment.

Cast - TGIF: The cast came out to close out the first act. First, all the men but Yagudin entered, dressed in workmen's clothes. They then stripped into chic and colorful suits, and were joined by the ladies, who flirted with them. The men showed off by doing pair elements with each other. They lifted Eldredge and did pair spins with each other. The men were then joined by Yagudin, and they all hammed around for the ladies. The ladies then came together with the men and paired off. Todd Sand slipped and fell in the confusion. He then proceeded to flirt with both Jenni Meno AND Jamie Sale. In the end, both women left him. It was a humorous highlight and a great close to the first half of the show.

ACT 2

Todd Eldredge, David Pelletier, Alexei Yagudin, John Zimmerman -- Work'n Time: The four guys came out dressed in custodial clothes. It was quite amazing how these beautiful men could lose all cool once they slapped on plain old workmen's clothes. The performance was VERY cute and innovative. The men skated with a sweep as his "partner," and the sweeps provided them opportunities for hydroblading, interesting positions and shoot the ducks. They even paired up and used the sweeps as a means to lift each other. Pair skaters Pelletier and Zimmerman did the lifting, while Eldredge and Yagudin were spun around and lifted. All-in-all, very creative use of props and themes!

Jenni Meno and Todd Sand -- Shall We Dance?: The number started with Jenni and Todd giving a brief narrative of their life together (they are married to each other). Their performance was very romantic but they always skate to these types of romantic programs, man meets woman they get married. As professionals, they seem to be stuck in an artistic rut. Instead of growing as artists, they overemphasize their romantic relationship with each other instead of capitalizing on it in order to explore other styles.

Todd Eldredge -- When You Come Back to Me Again: Classic Todd Eldredge. Eldredge also showed off his technical prowess, performing a triple axel with two other triples.

Yuka Sato, David Pelletier, Todd Sand, John Zimmerman -- Timely Advance (Sunscreen): This group number was skated to a rhythmic monologue about little life lessons, such as "Wear sunscreen," "You are not as fat as you think," and "Don't read magazines, because they will only make you feel ugly." The monologue was funny and allowed skaters to perform stunts such as a group death spiral.

Kurt Browning -- Ding Dong Daddy: Kurt performed his second number to swing music. Browning is a great dancer and fully maximized on his talent. The choreography was so smooth and very continuous, performing dance and footwork at the same time, and then suddenly, a triple jump out of nowhere.

Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharudlidze -- Kalinka: Skating to traditional Russian folk music, Elena and Anton showed off numerous stunts and footwork. The audience loved this number, but to me it seemed like they were being stashed into an overly typical role -- The Russian team skating to a Russian folk number. Culturally patronizing.

Oksana Baiul -- Swan Lake: This piece is a tribute to Baiul's masterpiece short program at the 1994 Olympics. Wearing a white tutu, Baiul used her arms very lyrically and she looked like she was flying across the ice. The crowd was very appreciative of her extremely moving performance.

Alexei Yagudin -- Ain't That a Shame: Wearing a tank top and tight jeans, Yagudin made an attempt at this dance/rock number, perhaps to pander to younger fans. Skating? What skating? This program was a waste of his talent as a skater and an artist. All he did was posture and flex. It was as if he was skating to, "Who da Man?" Yagudin even fell during one of his flexing sequences. He improvised to make it look funny and the audience laughed. "Ain't that a shame," to take a beautiful and gifted artist and turn him into a flexing, posing ham?

Jamie Sale and David Pelletier -- Ballroom: Skating as the best ballroom dance champions of the universe in their final farewell performance, this was the funniest individual performance of the night, one of the definite highlights. The music was interspersed with dialogue that represented what was going on in their heads. "Ewww, what did he have for lunch?" Jamie's character complained after getting up close to David's character. "UGH, what did SHE have for lunch?" David lamented during a lift. There were three major dance beats -- waltz, tango, and Latin medley. Jamie and David hit every beat of every dance. Not only did Jamie and David perform great tricks and choreography, they showed off their great comic quality.

Finale -- Time: The whole cast came out for the finale, and this was very much like the opening. A nice closing to a great show.

This year's highlights were the group numbers, especially the men's group number where they skated with sweeps, and the pair performances by Berezhnaya and Sikharudlidze, and Sale and Pelletier. If anything, I thought that the extremely capable men were somewhat forgotten in the production. Alexei Yagudin, especially, was at times reduced to a teen idol icon, and he is so much more than that. Transitions into different performance utilized themes of time and rhythm, giving continuity to the production.

Overall, Stars on Ice 2004 was a wonderful show and I truly enjoyed watching the show. The lighting effects added greatly to the theme of time and created wonderful moods for each performance. The continuity and unity of Stars on Ice is what makes it one of the most prestigious figure skating productions.

For information and tour dates, visit Stars on Ice web site at http://www.starsonice.com/home/us.asp