Canadian SOI Pages on AOL
Here's some stuff taken off the Canadian SOI Pages on AOL. Thanks to
Andrea for getting these. The first details the opening night
of the Chrysler SOI tour in Halifax. The second one explains a lot to
those of you who have read the AOL Chat Transcript and were trying to
figure out why Kurt was answering questions you never saw, or
mentioning people you didn't recognize.
Opening night was a great success in Halifax. Here is an overview of
how things went...
Well our first show is now over and this is a major relief to the
skaters and choreographers! It was a long and very busy week of
rehearsals in Halifax. You could actually see the skaters take their
first breath once the opening number was over!
The Halifax audience was extremely loud and very enthusiastic. We
had a very full house and the atmosphere was electric.
The opening number is an impressive mix of skating, sound and lights.
The audience clapped almost all the way through it.
Shae-Lynn & Victor received two standing ovations - one as they took
to the ice to perform Riverdance and the other when they had finished
skating it. Shae-Lynn said it was very surprising because the ovation
was so, so long. They expected to see a reaction from the crowd but
nothing like that.
Katia, Kurt, Brian, Josee, Steven, Elena & Denis all skated
incredibly - I think they even surprised themselves! Isabelle and Lloyd
provided the thrills as usual and their part in the Fun & Games number
was hilarious. No doubt that as they perform the show more often the
characters will develop - I'm almost a little nervous because it has the
potential to make the skaters on the ice laugh harder than the audience.
Jayne and Chris...well what can you say....they are remarkable. We
are lucky to have them involved in the show once again.
Soccer is the off-ice warm-up for the show. Unfortunately the guys
have not figured out that having Shae-Lynn on their team guarantees the
pre-show win. She is fierce and very competitive .... but all she has
to do is smile and the guys give in to her tactics....a very smart lady!
The 8,069 people in attendance at the Halifax Metro Centre certainly
got their monies worth. The show is two hours and twenty minutes long
and it moves very quickly. The music is amazing, the light show is like
none other and the skaters are ..... well simply talented.
Wendy
The Chrysler Stars On Ice Team
It was a dark and stormy afternoon (no, it really was!) in Halifax, as the
plane touched down. John, the intrepid AOL Canada Promotions guy (that'd be
me), was there to coordinate our chat with Canadian skating superstar, Kurt
Browning. I will admit something to you right now, I have never been a huge
figure skating fan, but I have great respect for anyone who can balance
better on ice than I can on dry ground.
Walking to the Halifax Metro Centre, I was able to experience the wonder of
an oceanside province first-hand. In other words, I ended up drenched from
the rainfall. Never-the-less, Halifax is a beautiful city, and I enjoyed what
little I could see of it through the fog.
I arrived at the Metro Centre early to ensure all the connections were in
place, the computer was working, and that I had in fact flown into the right
city! Thankfully, all of the above turned out to be true, so I was able to
cut out early and watch Kurt, Josee Chouinard and Ekaterina Gordeeva as they
practiced for the Stars on Ice tour. The one thing that stood out in my mind;
this being a practice, I expected to watch everyone collapse onto the ice in
awkward positions but, amazingly, I did not witness a single missed jump.
After the practice, I headed back to the hotel, but I'll spare you my
adventures with the mini-bar and jump ahead to the chat.
Kurt sat down after splashing some cold water in his face (he had just
returned from competitions in Germany that morning, and went from practice to
a jog.. he was obviously tired!), I gave him a few last minute instructions,
and we were underway. David, the Stars on Ice production manager joined
members in the chat rows as Kurt responded to questions on stage. Every now
and then Kurt would lean over to David's screen to see what was going on in
the chat row, and on occasion we'd grab a question from there and answer it
on-stage.. much to the thrill of the members involved.
Kurt covered everything from his favourite routine, to his experience with
The Tragically Hip, and his marriage proposal (You can see the transcript at
Keyword: Stars on Ice). Participation was terrific.. and everyone involved
had a great time! So much so, in fact, that Kurt stayed on-line for about 45
minutes after the chat answering IM's and E-Mail from you, his loyal fans!
Even comandeering the keyboard when my hands got tired, and displaying his
own typing skills.
A great time was had by all, and if you missed this chat, be sure to keep an
eye on AOL Live so you don't miss another important event!
Regards,
John vanSuchtelen
AOL Canada Promotions
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