5/12/06 in Raleigh, NC
General Comments: This was my second time seeing COI; I saw the 2004 tour in DC. This time I had great seats- front row at the side where the skaters came out. I kept getting distracted at the end of numbers looking to see who was coming out next. I would like to send a shout out to whoever had the pink sign for Sasha. They were also one of the first ones standing up for her at the end of her number. The arena was sadly only about 2/3rds full. The audience was respectful but not very loud except for when Michelle came out. Sasha and Michelle got partial standing ovations for their numbers and there may have been people standing up for Evgeny; I can’t remember.
Opening Number: The loudest applause went to Michelle, Evgeny, Sasha and Tanith and Ben in that order. Typical COI opening but I was so excited that all of these famous skaters were so close to me. Sasha is even tinier and more radiant in person. Johnny Weir is also a lot shorter than I thought he was. When he came out before his solo he was warming up right in front of me and my mom whispers “He’s so little!” He seemed pretty tired though; in fact the whole cast seemed a little run-down and there were several I’m tired mistakes throughout the show but that’s to be expected after an Olympic season. They are all still so amazing live. Sasha skated to “Don’t Cha” by the Pussycat dolls and did an ina bauer and her Sasha spiral.
Rudy Galindo: Love him. So full of life and such a great performer. He had my mother in stitches. Missed one of his triples which I think was a triple toe and put a hand down on another but he didn’t miss a beat.
Surya Bonaly: Great jumps and of course the back flip is always a sight to behold but the quality of her skating such as edges and run-out just pales in comparison to the other skaters. Great energy though.
(I’m not sure about the order of the rest of these skaters.)
Victor Petrenko: Can’t remember much about his program. I believe he stepped out of one jump but I’m not sure.
Johnny Weir: Skated to “My Way”; the lyrics really summarize the season he’s had this year which is obviously why he chose it. He looked wiped but all of his jumps were solid except for the lutz right in front of me which may have been doubled. I really enjoy his skating; very fluid and lyrical.
Dan Hollander: The premise of his program was a free skate at the 1994 Olympics with Dick Button commentating. Dick Button (I think it actually was him on the recording) would say something like he needs to “win over the French judge” or do something a little faster and Dan would immediately do so. Very entertaining and well performed.
Tanith Belbin/ Ben Agosto: I love them and was so excited they were performing since the program said they were only doing select cities. They performed their original dance from this season. I don’t know much about ice dance but they are such brilliant performers; absolutely captivating.
Marina Anissina/ Gwendal Peizerat: Skated to music from Star Wars and had light sabers that they battled with at the beginning. Exquisite skating and I loved Marina’s dress- very Padme-ish.
Intermission
Irina Grigorian: She’s entertaining but I prefer the performances of the elite skaters more. Dan Hollander was adorable as her “Hoop Boy” though.
Evan Lysacek: I became a big fan of his after his heroic free skate at Worlds moved me to tears. He is just adorable as was his program. The other skaters had a few bobbled jumps in the first half that were mostly tired mistakes. Evan, however, took a really hard fall on his triple lutz/ double toe. He had it but just slipped off the edge on the landing. He was grimacing as he skated away but more of in a “I can’t believe I just did that” manner than an “in pain” manner. The rest of the jumps were beautiful and the audience really enjoyed the program.
Vladimir Besidin/ Oleksiy Polishuk: Were announced as the “fastest acrobats in the world” and then proceeded to do everything really slowly which became really grating after awhile. The audience loved it though.
Irina Slutskaya: Skated to “Hey Big Spender” from Sweet Charity. Flawless jumps and great energy. Her beillman is even more incredible live. She has such a beautiful smile. Someone on the other side of the rink from me was waving a Russian flag for her.
Tatiana Totmianina/ Maxim Marinin: Was really looking forward to this program since I’ve great things about it. They skated to “Music of the Night” and I love the Phantom of the Opera. I was disappointed that they used the movie version instead of the Broadway Michael Crawford version because I despise Gerard Butler’s voice but that’s a whole other fandom. The skating was exquisite and they were much more expressive than I’ve ever seen them in competition.
SASHA: Was waiting at the edge of the ice while Tatiana and Maxim finished their program and got on the ice immediately after they were done and did a few waltz jumps to warm up. I was so transfixed by her being so close that I almost forgot to clap for Tatiana and Maxim. Her skating was flawless, beautiful, exquisite and any other complementary word I can think of. My favorite part was when she did her change of edge spiral and then leaned forward into a forward charlotte right in front of me. I also heard people around me going “Wow” when she did her back charlotte and her forward scratch spin at the end of her program. The guy next to me was taking pictures of her with his cell phone. She got great applause and a partial standing ovation from me, the people with the pink sign, the people going “Wow” behind me and a few others.
Evgeny Plushenko: Like Tatiana and Maxim he’s much more expressive here than in competition. I loved it when he skated to the sides of the rink and stared down whoever was in the front row. There was really good footwork and his jumps were effortless. It’s easy to see why he’s Olympic Champion. I loved the music too.
Michelle Kwan: First of all she looked gorgeous. Her hair looks so pretty long and I loved her dress. Her entrance onto the ice sounded more like the Second Coming of Christ than of an introduction of a figure skater. She and Sasha are some of the few skaters that can get away with jumpless programs. Than again I have the feeling Michelle could just stand in the middle of the rink and still get applause. I remember her having better extension on her change of edge spiral but the skating was beautiful. She doesn’t have as much flair as Sasha does but is more classically elegant.
Closing number: I did not like the costumes at the beginning but I really enjoyed the moving arches and the white costumes at the end. I had a hard time recognizing Michelle because I don’t remember the last time I saw her with her hair in a ponytail. Sasha opened up on a triple Salchow but she did a beautiful spiral and forward scratch spin as the entire company came back on for the ending. All in all, a great show.