I attended the Stars On Ice show in Sacramento, CA for the first time on January 9th, 1999. I was lucky enough to get on-ice seats (Thank you ARCO Arena!) after our original seats gave us an obstructed view of the ice. Needless to say, that just made me all the more excited and I think I really annoyed the people sitting next to me because I wouldn't shut up :)
Anyways, the first person to come out was Steven Cousins, who did a little routine thing with a hat while the announcer told us all the usual annoucements about no flash photography (people did it anyways) and no throwing flowers. It was pretty cute and a very original way to get us to listen to the announcer.
After awhile, out comes the skaters (except Tara and Ilia). They skated to "Rock This Town" by the Brian Setzer Orchestra, basically doing a warm-up as they skated around and around on the ice. Got several grins from skaters (especially from Denis Petrov. Wow...what a guy!!!!) Each of them was announced in a sing-song kind of way, sort of hard to understand, and the appointed skater would do a spin or a jump or whatever they wanted. Ilia was given a special intro, skating to "Jumpin' Jack" by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy *lol*. He did very well and got a lot of applause from the audience. The other members of SOI skated off the ice as Ilia did his program. Got such a kick out of watching Scott and (I think) Steven "bust a move". Cute! Kristi was next to us and she pretty much imitated Scotty and Steven. After the program, Scotty began to talk and asked if they had forgotten anyone, which of course led several little girls in the front row to yell "Tara!". She was finally announced and skated to "Jump, Jive, an' Wail" by the Brian Setzer Orchestra. She did a good job and was well-received by the audience. (One guy yelled out, as she was leaving the ice with the whole arena silent, "We love you Tara!")
Next came the Muse program, with Steven (I affectionately gave him the title of "Painter-Boy" because he wore white overalls and carried a paintbrush), Lu Chen, and Rosalynn Sumners. From what I can remember, one of the girls skated out and captured Steven's attention and flirted with him, then out came the other who also flirted with him. The Muse parts were basically intros into the next program, which in this case was to Renee Roca & Gorsha Sur's "I Never Loved A Man/Please Accept My Love", by Aretha Franklin and B.B. King.
They did a great program and got a big applause from the audience. I myself clapped wildly and cheered for them for my friend April :) The audience always seems to love the lifts and spins they did and every one of them got applause. Overall, a very nice program.
Katia Gordeeva came out next, skating to "Fragile" by Jesse Cook and Holly Cole. I am amazed at how little she is! She did a very nice job, with just a slight bobble on a jump at the end of the program. Got a huge round of applause.
Scotty came out next, with wild appause from the audience. Love the outfit! He is such a comic and the audience just loved him. He skated to "One Week" by Barenaked Ladies. He did a wonderful, perfect program, with no mistakes, as far as I could tell. Got a wonderful applause from the audience but, strangely, no standing ovation.
Next came Tara, skating to "I Could Have Danced All Night" by Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner. Her skating was very good and she got many squeals from those little girls in the audience. I really am amazed at how she fits in with SOI. They didn't make her too cutesy, although they made *such* a big deal over her during the introduction. Got wild applause from the audience.
The Muse aka Steven comes out again with Elena Bechke and Denis Petrov *sigh*. I can't remember the details on this program but it was the intro to Kristi's program. The great thing was Steven skated off the ice just before Kristi came on and he just happened to skate into our corner of the ice! I think I spent most of Kristi's program staring at Steven :)
Kristi skated to the Violin Concerto by Tchaikovsky. It was a very good, serious program. She had a little problem on a jump but otherwise was perfect. Got a great round of applause from the audience.
Out comes Ilia, skating to "Seisouso" by J. Corcoran. Strangely, I can't remember much about this program. It was really good though, and he got a nice round of applause from the audience.
Next is the entire cast, skating to "Nosing Around" aka the Clown program. I really enjoyed the program, thought it was cute. Scott and Kristi were fooling around and Scott kept poking Kristi's "big" (stuffed) butt and giving us grins (he was right in front of us). He's such a cutie :) Lulu was walking around us, trying not to trip over our feet as she collected the props left behind by the cast members. Got several smiles from her. She's so short! *lol* Liked the "flying" Tara part, couldn't even see the wires! The audience loved it.
Intermission. They randomly picked a name and awarded some lady a SOI jacket (not fair!). Watched the lighting guy change a light and small-talked with him for a minute. The zamboni didn't get any applause (at COI the zamboni usually got applause).
Here comes Steven again, "painting" the ice, as each skater comes out and runs over his polished ice. He just looked SO crushed as they wrecked his ice. I believe this was the program with the black lighting and the skaters wore white, which made them look like they glowed (everyone in the audience with white on glowed too). It was pretty neat! The audience loved it.
Steven does his "Invisible" program, by the Hackers. This was his only solo program. The black lighting continued, appropriate with his program title. He did a great job and got a great round of applause, whistles (one from me, when he was standing right in front of me), and screams. His spins looked especially neat with the black lights, as it looked like he was only a sweater and pair of pants.
Rosalynn is next, skating to "After All These Years" by Anne Cochran. She did a good job, no problems that I could tell of. She was warmly received by the audience.
Elena Bechke and Denis Petrov were up next, skating to "Eva" by Andrei Petrov (any relation to Denis?). They did a fantastic job! Denis came out right behind us :)
Loved the program (and Denis *lol*).
Renee and Gorsha were next, skating to "Black Magic" by Santana. Did a wonderful job and got lots of applause (especially from me for April) :)
Lulu came out next and skated to "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen" by Santana. This program was sure different from what she usually does. Lots of swinging her hips and dancing on the ice. I guess I'm used to the "wholesome" Lulu but this was something new to experiment with. She bobbled a jump but otherwise did a good job.
Jenni and Todd were next up, skated to "Europa" by Santana (must be a popular group with SOI). The crowd just loved their death spiral, got many "Ohhhs" from everyone. Lots of applause.
Steven the Muse came out next. Basically introduced the "Four Corners" routine with Ilia, Katia, Elena, and Denis.
I liked this program ("Four Corners in case you forgot :) by Adam Cohen). Ilia and Denis were cute as they tried to decide between Katia and Elena. I really liked how Ilia and Katia did pairs moves, that was something new to see. They really did a great job!
Steven came out again, as the Muse and once again introduced Kristi's program and also came back into "my" corner again. Some girl took a picture of him just as he was about to step onto the ice, he didn't look all that happy about it.
Kristi came out and skated to "The Ink Dark Moon", which was really a narration by Jane Luk. It was a nice, more serious program. The audience loved it and she got a great round of applause.
Ilia was up next, skating to "Noise" by A.K. Nadeau and D. Waters, Z. Mark. This was a really great program, very suited to him. He really worked the crowd with the clapping bit and is quite the actor! I was pleasantly surprised :) He did a great job and the audience gave him a huge round of applause.
Tara was next, skating to "Second Element" by Sarah Brightman. I don't remember much about this program but she really was very good. The audience just loved her.
Scotty was the last solo performer of the night. He skated to "Keepin' The Customers Satisfied". It was a great program! He fell but was right back up on his feet in no time flat, assuring the woman in front of him he was fine. He really worked the crowd with this program and he got what he wanted. This time he got a standing ovation and I could just tell he was soaking it all in and he just loved what he was doing. It was so neat to see him just standing there with his arms out grinning ear to ear. He is truly "skate god for life".
The closing cast show was to "Face the Face". The skaters were just flying around the ice, holding hands. It was great to see! The most impressive part was when the program was over and every skater went to the audience and shook hands and talked to them. I got to shake Jenni and Todd's hand which just made my night :) It was really neat to see them interact with us.
So that was it. I was so sad to see it end. I just loved the show!!!! I was really impressed with everything, I highly recommend going to see it. I can't wait until next year!
