Review: New Stars on Ice showcases Canadian, Russian pairs who tied
| Source: |
Omaha World-Herald |
| Date: |
February 6, 2003 |
| Author: |
Jan DeKnock |
Usually in a post-Olympic year, the headliner in a prestigious
skating show like Smucker's Stars on Ice is the woman who just won the
gold medal - especially if she is an American woman.
In past shows, those stars have been Tara Lipinski, who turned
professional immediately after grabbing the gold in 1998, and Kristi
Yamaguchi, who won the big prize in 1992.
But something strange happened after the Salt Lake City games of
2002. All of the top women, including golden girl Sarah Hughes and
bronze medalist Michelle Kwan, decided to stay in the competitive
ranks.
What's an ice show to do for new star power? In the case of Stars
on Ice, which visited Omaha's Civic Auditorium Arena Wednesday night,
the answer was easy: Bring together the two gold-medal pairs who made
headlines during last year's ugly judging scandal.
Luckily for skating fans, the convenient casting was not just a
show-biz device.
Throughout Wednesday's show, the two pairs - Elena Berezhnaya and
Anton Sikharulidze of Russia and Jamie Sale and David Pelletier of
Canada - showed, in very different ways, why both set the standard for
gold-medal quality.
The Canadians were in the spotlight early in the first act, using
effortless lifts and a soaring throw triple jump to punctuate the
hep-cat rhythms of the pop classic "Come Fly With Me." The Russians'
solo turn came in the second act, in an Elvis Presley/Marilyn Monroe
medley that showcased Berezhnaya's impressive grace and flexibility.
And what of the singles stars? With Lipinski still out with an
injury and Yamaguchi now retired, the role of diva again belonged to
Katarina Witt of Germany, who won her gold medals back in 1984 and
1988. The veteran skater, performing a soulful solo to Barbra
Streisand's "The Rest of Your Life," showed she still can command the
ice with her style.
Despite the array of fine skating talent, the Arena was only half
full, possibly because the ticket prices ($34 to $82) made this one of
the more pricey shows to play in Omaha.
However, the enthusiastic audience made up in noise what it lacked
it numbers. And these fans were knowledgeable, with many cheering just
as loudly for the inventive footwork of Kurt Browning and the virtuoso
spins of Todd Eldredge as they did for showy triple jumps.
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