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Figure Skaters Online<\/em>\u00a0attended three shows on this tour–Portland, Maine (April 15), Pittsburgh, PA (April 27), and Chicago, IL (April 29). Website administrator Gina Capellazzi and Team FSO writer Maura Sullivan Hill shared their thoughts about and reactions to this year’s tour from the latter two cities.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n After stops in Allentown and Hershey, the Stars on Ice<\/em> tour made its final Pennsylvania stop by visiting the Steel City on April 27.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Pittsburgh hasn’t been a stop on the show’s schedule since the 2014 Olympic season so there was much excitement among the young skaters from Pittsburgh and surrounding areas, and figure skating fans as they entered the PPG Painters Arena for the show.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In honor of the recent Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, this year’s tour was aptly titled “Celebration” and contained video clips from each of the cast members about their favorite moments participating in the Olympics.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What was special about this season’s tour is it gives fans the opportunity to see a cast full of Olympians perform many of their Olympic season programs. The show versions of the competition programs may include fewer technical elements, but it is still a treat for fans to see these programs live. Even though I had seen Nathan Chen<\/strong><\/a>‘s “Nemesis” short program twice in person this season (Skate America and U.S. Championships), I was still excited to see it again.\u00a0Watching it this time around was different because I got lost in Nathan’s performance,\u00a0especially his exquisite step sequence. It was something that I overlooked throughout the season, as like many, I was caught up focusing on Nathan’s quadruple jumps. “Nemesis” was the last program of the show before the cast finale and it was great to see Nathan really get into the choreography of the program and skate it without caring about marks and placement.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Another real thrill for fans was getting to see Ashley Wagner<\/strong><\/a>‘s La La Land<\/em> free skate. Because Ashley skated to her Moulin Rouge<\/em> free skate for the Grand Prix season and didn’t debut this program until the U.S. Championships in San Jose in January, we really didn’t get to see the full potential of the program this season. The beauty and delicacy Ashley brought to this performance, along with a bit of playfulness and fun during the “Someone in the Crowd” section, was a delight to watch. This program really highlighted the greatness in Ashley’s skating, and had me personally wishing we had gotten to see more of this program on the competitive side this season.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n There was a lot of cheers and screams from fans inside the PPG Painters Arena for Jason Brown<\/strong><\/a>‘s “The Room Where It Happens” Hamilton<\/em> program. Unlike his competitive program, Jason came out unrecognizable with a black cape over his head, but then quickly got into his Aaron Burr character, delivering an energetic performance and showing off his incredible flexibility including a huge split jump in the middle of the program.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Another highlight was seeing Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani<\/strong>‘s “Fix You\/Paradise”\u00a0medley.\u00a0 The two combined what they say is their two favorite competitive programs–Coldplay’s “Fix You” from 2015-2016 season when they won their first U.S. title and the World silver medal, and “Paradise,” also by Coldplay, this season’s free dance with which they won two Olympic bronze medals. Of course, the crowd went crazy during the duo’s signature element, the twizzles, which were as sharp and in sync as they were at the PyeongChang Olympics.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The other Olympic season programs performed were Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue<\/strong>‘s sultry free dance to “Across the Sky\/Caught out in the Rain,”\u00a0Bradie Tennell<\/strong><\/a>‘s magical “Cinderella” free skate, and Adam Rippon<\/a>‘s<\/strong>\u00a0“Let Me Think About It” short program which had fans dancing in their seats to the club-vibe program.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Stars on Ice<\/em> also allows the opportunity for fans to see new show programs choreographed exclusively for the tour. Given the limited schedule between Worlds and the start of the tour, many selected music and choreographed the programs themselves, like Nathan Chen’s “Back from the Edge” program [click here to read FSO’s recently published interview with him<\/a>].<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In addition to performing her “Body Language” program, choreographed by Christopher Dean, that she had skated earlier in the season,\u00a0Mirai Nagasu<\/strong><\/a> debuted a new show program to “No Good Deed” from the ever-popular Broadway musical, Wicked<\/em>. It was something different for Mirai, portraying the wicked witch of the west Elphaba, but the crowd, who seemed to be familiar with the hit musical, was definitely into it and you could hear some singing along.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Fans of the hit movie\u00a0The Greatest Showman<\/em> were treated to two numbers from the soundtrack. Karen Chen<\/strong><\/a> skated a beautiful program to “Never Enough” by Loren Allred, which included her exquisite spiral. Bradie Tennell<\/strong> skated to the uplifting anthem “This is Me,” which was used for promotional commercials for the Olympics.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Meryl Davis and Charlie White <\/strong>showcased two different styles of programs. Their first, a medley of a cover of The Beatles’ “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “Hold My Hand” by Jess Glynne, was a fun and lighthearted number that had the audience clapping along to the music. For their second number to Sia’s “Elastic Heart,” the 2014 Olympic champions used a long red scarf, which drew the audience in to the pure elegance and passion of the program.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When it comes to the group numbers — the six men (Brown, Chen, Donohue, Rippon, Shibutani and White) skating to “Feel It Still” by Portugal. The Man was entertaining to say the least. I have particularly liked “the men only” group number in SOI over the years because it gets the guys out of their element and doing something contrary to what we are accustomed to seeing from them.\u00a0 The fun footwork throughout the program brought back memories of one of my favorite Stars on Ice<\/em> programs–“The Walker” program from 2014 that featured White, Jeremy Abbott, Joshua Farris, Brent Bommentre, and Ryan Bradley.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Another delightful group number was “The Shape of You” which featured Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue, Meryl Davis and Charlie White, and Ashley Wagner and Nathan Chen. While I enjoyed the performances of the two ice dance teams, the highlight of this group number for me was seeing Ashley and Nathan skating together. They both looked like they were truly enjoying themselves out there (and I was wishfully thinking it could be the start of a new partnership!).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Personally, my favorite group number was the finale, where the skaters performed to “You Will Be Found” from the Broadway musical, Dear Evan Hansen<\/em>. At the beginning of the number, the cast came out in black, skating to solemn lyrics like, “Have you ever felt like nobody was there?\u00a0 Have you ever felt forgotten in the middle of nowhere?” Then as videos of fans sharing why they love the Olympics and their favorite Olympic moments played on video screens in the corners of the rink, the cast re-emerged in all-white costumes as the music swelled into an uplifting score with lyrics like, “Even when the dark comes crashing through. When you need a friend to carry you. And when you’re broken on the ground. You will be found.” Watching the skaters together, I couldn’t help but think how every one of them out there on the ice likely could relate to this song in their own way. While their stories may be different, each has faced challenges during their respective careers. Yet, they have all managed to overcome them and reach individual milestones, and the finale of the show embodied their collective celebration.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n It was a hometown show for 2018 Olympic bronze medalist Bradie Tennell<\/strong> and 2014 Olympic bronze medalist Jason Brown<\/strong> at Chicago\u2019s Allstate Arena on April 29, 2018.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The theme of the 2018 Stars on Ice tour is Celebration<\/em>, and the cast set the tone right out of the gate with an energetic opening number to P!nk\u2019s \u201cRaise Your Glass.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The skaters performed with freedom and enthusiasm, with all the pressures of the Olympic season lifted. Many performed versions of their Olympic programs, and video screens positioned at the corners of the rink displayed interviews with the cast sharing their favorite Olympic moments.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tennell skated an abbreviated version of her \u201cCinderella\u201d Olympic long program, along with a number in the second half set to \u201cThis is Me\u201d from the film, The Greatest Showman<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n During a t-shirt giveaway in the second half of the show, Brown announced that he had suffered an ankle injury at the previous night\u2019s show in Detroit, but emphasized his excitement to perform in his hometown of Chicago, even at limited capacity. He performed his two programs without jumps and sat out the group numbers.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Brown performed his short program to \u201cThe Room Where It Happens\u201d from the Tony Award-winning musical Hamilton<\/em>, including a new extended intro, wearing a black cape and playing the role of the ambitious Aaron Burr. When he shed the cape and transitioned into the start of the short program, the roar of the crowd was so loud it drowned out the start of the music. Ever the professional, Brown didn\u2019t miss a beat and still delivered the program with his trademark energy, flexibility, and fast spins.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Overall, the technical content in the show was strong, and the skaters didn\u2019t hold back after a long season. All the ladies included multiple triple jumps and double axels in their programs, and 2018 World Champion Nathan Chen<\/strong> performed a quad toe in his program in the first act, set to \u201cBack from the Edge\u201d by James Arthur. He also included three powerful, impressive triples when he performed \u201cNemesis,\u201d his Olympic short program, to close out the solo performances in the show.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The ice dancers also didn\u2019t shy away from including difficult twizzle sequences: 2018 U.S. Champions Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue<\/strong> included their usual competitive twizzle sequence when they skated their Olympic free dance, and the 2018 Olympic Bronze Medalists Maia and Alex Shibutani<\/strong> performed their trademark fast twizzles sequences in both their programs. They brought back last year\u2019s short dance, \u201cThat\u2019s Life,\u201d and also skated a medley of their 2016 \u201cFix You\u201d free dance and this year\u2019s \u201cParadise\u201d free dance.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Stars on Ice is famous for its group numbers, and this year\u2019s show did not disappoint. The girls number in the first half, \u201cDream,\u201d featured beautiful spirals from the ladies of the tour: 2017 U.S. Champion Karen Chen<\/strong>, 2018 Olympic Team Bronze Medalist and 2008 U.S. Champion Mirai Nagasu<\/strong>, 2018 Olympic Team Bronze Medalist and 2018 U.S. National Champion Bradie Tennell, and three-time U.S. Champion and 2016 World Silver Medalist Ashley Wagner<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\nPittsburgh (Gina)<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nChicago (Maura)<\/h3>\n
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