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The Show - in Kim's Point of View
Not long after the practice ended (and the three of us were doing some shopping in Ketchum with a nice little Alexei "high", LOL) the rain miraculously stopped and the skies began to clear (yes, God DOES answer prayers). Dare we hope? We still weren't out of the woods yet (it was still many hours until the show) but our spirits were certainly lifted. As it turned out the rain did return but shortly before the show was to start the skies became blue again. The "SHOW WOULD GO ON". Now we could finally concentrate on seeing what we hoped would be "Gladiator" for the first time. We still had no clue what Alexei would be skating. We had not seen run-throughs of any program or heard a note of the music. Typical of Alexei, isn't it?---keeps you in suspense until the last second, LOL. We did get a little hint of what was to come at the indoor rink on the way to the show. Alexei was there warming up and, as Laurie said , looking very nervous and focused (AND gorgeous---love that freshly washed fluffy hair). He skated around a bit and then went over to the boards where he started looking through CD's. Laurie and I looked at each other anxiously---is he going to run through one? He popped a CD in for perhaps 3 seconds but it was enough for us to identify the "Gladiator" music. We were pretty sure at that point we were going to see it..... THE SHOW I'm sure there was a lot of wonderful skating at the show but unfortunately I was too nervous and COLD to enjoy it. All I could focus on was Alexei's anticipated appearance. After what seemed an interminable wait, it was finally his turn. We saw him come out and immediately recognized the black pants and sleeveless top he had worn in Germany for "Gladiator". We hadn't expected him to do that one first in Sun Valley though. It threw us a bit. Where was "Nutrocker"? The confusion continued when the music started. This was obviously something we hadn't heard before. The music was new age sounding----what WAS this? I couldn't talk to Laurie because I was busy shooting the action but I could sense her confusion as well. Then right after the death drop it all became clear. The music kicked into fast classical and we both realized at the same time we were looking at the new "Chopin" number. We were stunned. After all the talk about "Gladiator" the new SP had all but been forgotten. Now here he was debuting it in front of us. I won't go over the elements and such again because Laurie has already done that in her report but I echo her opinion that the number is MUCH different from "Nutrocker" and it is very much in it's raw form. Couldn't believe the amount of fast footwork in it. It's going to be a tough program once it's packed with the quad and 3axel combo. I think it has a lot of potential and believe it will suit Alexei once it's more developed (AND in it's eligible form). I also LOVE the beginning pose. Very, very, nice.... Well, after seeing "Chopin" for the very first time Laurie and I were obviously extremely excited and stunned. THEN we worriedly wondered: are we going to see "Gladiator" after all (Alexei always keeps us guessing, LOL)? We didn't have long to fret thank goodness. When we saw him come out for his second number we were confused yet again. This was not something we'd seen before. What was he wearing? It was Laurie who figured it out first. He's skating "Gladiator" and THIS is his costume. OMG!!!!! We were seeing the new costume for the first time. And what a costume it is. First of all, I LOVE the cut-outs. All down his right side---bare flesh ladies. And the right arm is left pretty bare too except for the material over his shoulder. I like the crisscrosses on the front too and even the covers to simulate boots are subtle. What is NOT subtle are the pants he wears. Ladies, we got EXACTLY what we asked for. I'll be surprised if he wears these (or is ALLOWED to wear these) for ISU competitions. Um...how can I describe them? How about tight-fitting, body-hugging, clings to every contour of his body (are we getting the picture here?). Add show lights to this mix and all I can say is WHEW!!!!!! OK, now picture Alexei at the beginning of the program on his knees and then slowly getting up while he's wearing these pants (and I hasten to add that we were all sitting to his right side when he began which means we were at a "profile" angle). Still with me? NOW picture Alexei simulating death by rolling over and over (at least 4 times) on the ice once again wearing these pants. Um, I'm sorry ladies.....Katia said she needed a tissue after seeing "Gladiator". "I" needed a cold shower (and remember it was pretty cold out there to begin with), LOL. Yep, I found the program to be pretty intense myself. Won't go over the other moves in the program since Laurie has already done that but did want to mention these two since they stood out in my mind for some reason. "Gladiator" is going to be an awesomely packed number technically once he gets all the jumps in plus the very difficult footwork. And I couldn't have been more thrilled to see a scratch spin at the end instead of the Martini (guess we had to concede the one in Chopin). It's going to be a great program for him, I think. It was also very sweet at the end when he came out and told the crowd he was glad to be able to skate for us. Getting to hear that nice Russian accent was a bonus. Did my best not to breach decorum too badly with the Gladiator costume. Hope I did OK Laurie. I think I got my point across (except hopefully to Anita, LOL). Kim |
