Stars On Ice 2018 Tour - US

georgia said:

Chicago show as I saw it
Quick report from the first half in Chicago...the boy is killing it. So much passion . Quad toe was just amazing!
Ashley is phenomenal! Like a totally different skater.
Adam looks more than fine.
Jason did not attempt any jumps. I hope he is ok.
Audience went crazy when Adam was announced. But then they got crazier after Nathan skated!
Second half
Nemesis was perfect! Smooth like butter. Perfection and Amazing ..
I am a little disappointed with the dance teams. I mean, they just came back from the OG. Why they don’t skate with their heart, and out of their comfort zone?
Mirai had some sweet moments. She is introduced as the triple axel queen. The couple next to me went nuts every time she landed a jump, thinking they witness the triple axel miracle..lol
I thought Bradie looked more refined and into it compare to Nationals.Of course she skated in front of a home crowd.
Both Bradie and Karen had falls.
Nathan skates, like he doesn’t want to miss a moment, and he is using his time to practice too. Why else he takes chances with quads in small ice surrounded by people in chairs? He will come out of SOI more mature as a skater, and with spins to die for.
I loved the closing number and the boys number.
I wrote about queen Ashley, Adam and Jason already( I hope he will be ok soon).
Go and see the show. I usually never go to ice shows but this year you can really see some decent skating, even quads..

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Thank you for posting here as well as the fan fests.

I will say, I had a completely different experience with the ice dancers, I went in with no favorites and no preconceptions, and could not have come away more impressed with Meryl and Charlie and their commitment to performance and showmanship. Of course, their OG was a bit farther away.

I'm also sure you didn't mean it this way, but I would not laugh at persons attending a show who think that Mirai is doing 3As. Those are precisely the people we *want* attending shows. There is nothing like live skating, and these new fans will hopefully return for comps, watch more on TV, who knows, maybe even post on GS? If figure skating is restricted to those who already know it, then IMO it will diminish more than it even seems to be doing now....

Also, I was impressed that SOI appeared to want to embrace all fans. I care very little about quads even at comps, but it was cool to see in the context of a show. As well as Jason and Adam just owning the room through the force of their performance skills. Something for everyone :yes:

Of course I did not laugh in their faces! I just got a kick out of it! Also I totally agree with you that Meryl and Charlie ,favorites of mine are totally awesome!
It was late for me last night to mention names of the other 2 teams and I referred to them as the couples who JUST came back from OG. I too love the sport but I am not holding myself responsible for USFSA’s or SOI’s success. But again I got a kick of the nice people next to me who were thrilled to see Mirai landing maybe three triple axels, Not! Sorry but I still think it’s cute.

georgia said:

Of course I did not laugh in their faces! I just got a kick out of it! Also I totally agree with you that Meryl and Charlie ,favorites of mine are totally awesome!
It was late for me last night to mention names of the other 2 teams and I referred to them as the couples who JUST came back from OG. I too love the sport but I am not holding myself responsible for USFSA’s or SOI’s success. But again I got a kick of the nice people next to me who were thrilled to see Mirai landing maybe three triple axels, Not! Sorry but I still think it’s cute.

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Glad you explained; I don't hold any one person responsible for USFS success I just think it's great that people are enjoying themselves, and whatever they think is wonderful is what they think is wonderful. Good for them:agree:

We had a great time at the show in Hershey, overall it's a great tour. The group numbers are great, espeically that finale- tears just thinking about it. We just posted our review and it has pictures from a couple of group numbers and pictures of Ashley, Nathan, Jason, Karen, Adam, Meryl & Charlie the Shib Sibs. Plus there's a few pictures with Adam, Jason, Bradie and Nathan after we did an interview with Zach and Madison (that'll be up in a couple of days). http://thehesaidshesaidexperience.com/2018/05/stars-on-ice-2018-celebration/

My only complaint was that some costumes had way too many gemstones. They were shining too bright under high contrast stage lighting. It was distractive and painful to watch that I had to look away once in a while to rest my eyes. Well it might be just me since I haven't seen anyone else complaining

hesaidshesaidxp said:

We had a great time at the show in Hershey, overall it's a great tour. The group numbers are great, espeically that finale- tears just thinking about it. We just posted our review and it has pictures from a couple of group numbers and pictures of Ashley, Nathan, Jason, Karen, Adam, Meryl & Charlie the Shib Sibs. Plus there's a few pictures with Adam, Jason, Bradie and Nathan after we did an interview with Zach and Madison (that'll be up in a couple of days). http://thehesaidshesaidexperience.com/2018/05/stars-on-ice-2018-celebration/

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In the first photo, Ashley's arm and back positions are just gorgeous. Wonderful photos thank you for sharing.

Thank you! I thought the same, she really steals the show during group numbers.

Just saw the show in St. Paul. I have to admit I got teary-eyed after Ashley's LaLa Land. She would have gone to the Olympics had she kept that as her long program. And she is a spectacular performer.

I loved the guys' number, so clever with that 50s look. But the best moment for me was when Charlie spun Meryl (with silk) out into a spiral that ran almost the length of the arena -- spectacular!

Here's our interview with Hubbell & Donohue from the Hershey PA show. We talked about Stars on Ice and their skating of course, and a few other things too. They were so nice. And their free dance is even more intense in person. http://thehesaidshesaidexperience.com/2018/05/madison-hubbell-zachary-donohue-interview/

OMG the Anaheim show was sooooo good! Absolutely fantastic!
My skater - despite being seriously tired since it was so far past his normal bedtime - was totally transfixed and awed. He loved every moment.

Seeing these skaters up close their talent really stands out. And their personalities seemed to come through so well with the stress of competition off their shoulders. It was really a lot of fun to see. And the crowd was wild!

Yes! Anaheim show was fantastic! And very well attended. I was happy to see that there were almost no empty seats.

Favorites of the night:

Ashley Wagner La La Land, I about cried and gave a solo standing ovation
Jason Brown Can't Stop the Music (that says a lot because I don't like the song) with no jumps
Ashley and Nathan pretending they're ice dancers in the Ed Sheeran piece
Nathan Chen Nemesis
Adam - everything
Shibs - LP

Jason did no jumps in both prgrams. Anyone know if he's injured?

^ Jason sprained his ankle a few weeks ago. He’s been off and on doing jumps since then.

Mrs. P said:

The Shibs have been just as busy as Adam. They joke about the fact they can have a week where they're in a different city everyday. They've had press interviews and been at various events also. And they are probably not getting much sleep either. Anyone notice a difference in their skating skills?

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I agree that Adam's SS are not his strong point but know that his DWTS partner travels with him on the SOI tour so they can practice every minute he is not skating.

Mrs. P said:

^ Jason sprained his ankle a few weeks ago. He’s been off and on doing jumps since then.

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Thanks. He didn't need to do one jump. He is so incredibly engaging that the jumps are unnecessary.

Ashley's IG story has a series of posts with Jason talking about their "redemption" return to SAP Center, where obviously neither made the Olympic team. I thought it was good for them to talk about something that was hard for both of them.

I hope they nail that "redemption selfie!"

Mrs. P said:

Ashley's IG story has a series of posts with Jason talking about their "redemption" return to SAP Center, where obviously neither made the Olympic team. I thought it was good for them to talk about something that was hard for both of them.

I hope they nail that "redemption selfie!"

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I was wondering about that when I finally realized San Jose (duh), particularly after Jason’s heart tugging vlog last week about the end of his season. I also saw a few weeks ago Ashley address her emotions about getting back on the ice in SOI.

I sure hope SOI in San Jose helps as well!:hap85:

I attended my first SOI on Friday in Phoenix. The venue was only half full, but the skaters were fully on and gave a rousing performance. I was more than pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable the show was. It really does make a difference, seeing them perform live, without the stress of the competition. You can feel the joy, exuberance & passion coming through and I was especially impressed with Jason and Adam, even if I already expected both of them to shine as performers. Same with Ashley. And Mirai was skating like a new person, so beautiful. The ShibSibs were even more enjoyable in person. Even Bradie put on two really great performances. Karen, please fix your boot issues so you can show us that wonderful performance magic of yours in competition. If anyone still has doubts, please don't hesitate to grab your ticket. The cast really delivered!

Forgot to add the highlight of seeing Nathan perform "Nemesis" live in his cute little black shirt and his "Back from the Edge" number. Just those alone are worth the ticket price.
And of course, seeing my favorite skating to "Take On Me".

I attended today’s show in San Jose - my first SOI show and I really enjoyed it very much!

I shared my thoughts about Nathan in his FF - but he was amazing

Biggest cheers for the night for sure went to Adam’s Let me Think about It. People were really going crazy and I heard many ‘ADAM!!!’s. His performance quality and spins were great - and couldn’t tell he’s been getting so little sleep lately. He also did a special mother’s day shoutout from the microphone backstage before the boys number. He is GORGEOUS in person.

Zach and Madison - they were really beautiful in person and they skated very well - and with convincing passion that didn’t look overdone

Shib Sibs - I had chills during their Coldplay program - really very beautiful and was so exciting to see them doing twizzles like 10 ft. away from us.

Meryl and Charlie - Elastic Heart was so beautiful as well, looked seamless ... Meryl is just pure elegance and grace and Charlie was great too and very charming.

Jason - I would say second loudest cheers for the night for his Trolls program - amazing performance quality and it looked like he was having so much fun. Great cartwheel too - and I really hardly even noticed that he didn’t do jumps in this program. Jason did a shoutout (while Zach was throwing out 2 t-shirts signed by the entire cast - wish I got one!) to vote for Adam and Mirai tomorrow for DWTS - so they can make it to the finale!

Karen - I liked her Never Enough program, she was really feeling the music and was lovely to see. She fell in her second program - but recovered quickly. I didn’t see it - but my friend said she also slipped in the finale and Jason gave her a hand to get back to her feet.

Mirai - I think she is showing improved performance quality too - maybe DWTS is helping? And like Adam - she wasn’t really showing her minimal sleep.

Ashley - she was so radiant!! Performance quality - really amazing and loved her La La Land program. Her dress for this was so so pretty and is one of my all time favorites. Loved her and Nathan in the Shape of You ice dance routine as well.

Vincent - I shared my thoughts in his FF - but his Take on Me program was super fun and the audience went crazy for his cantilever.

The biggest surprise for me was Bradie! Everyone I know was like - Bradie is really gorgeous!! She looks so pretty in person and her long limbs are lovely. I actually really enjoyed her Cinderella program - and thought the ticking clock section in particular was done with great musical timing and looked very convincing. She skated with a sense of ease and confidence - great jumps too. I can definitely see why she is currently the US top ladies skater.

It was really a great show!

SOI in San Jose was my first skating show ever and it was definitely everything I expected it to be! (Lots of my thoughts echo oatmella's thoughts in her review ) Also, this is gonna be super long so feel free to skip!

Vincent - What a fun way to open the show after the group number! I wish he skated a number in the second act, he gestured for the audience to cheer a couple of times and boy was the audience happy to deliver!

Karen - I'll never get tired of watching her beautiful spins and spirals. Never Enough was so graceful and elegant and Blow Your Mind was so sassy and playful. She fell on a jump in her second program but got back up so quickly and the crowd cheered extra loud when she landed her next jump

Jason - THE most entertaining on the ice, the crowd was so loud and engaged during both programs, but especially during Can't Stop the Feeling. I went to the show with friends who knew next to nothing about skating, but all left as Jason fans He didn't do any jumps, except for a single revolution jump that he landed with his left foot (he did this right in front of the section I sat at). Wishing him a speedy recovery!

Adam - Wow, I thought I might go deaf with how loud the crowd was cheering during Let Me Think About It. The Mother's Day intro he did before the guys number was so funny!

Nathan - I enjoyed both his programs so much, but was especially impressed by Back From the Edge because it felt like he was having more fun and was more relaxed than with Nemesis (also, finally got to see the opening pose for Nemesis since TV cameras seem to love cutting it off )

Bradie - I really enjoyed This Is Me and it felt like she really connected with the music, jumps were great, spins were great!

Mirai - Love love loved both her programs! Body Language was so smooth and fun and flirty and she timed her first jump just in time with the music (also was in front of the section I was at!)

Ashley - Really knows how to engage with the audience! her La La Land program was mesmerizing, I wish we got to see it more during the past season. Also her costumes are so beautiful!

Maia & Alex - The crowd went insane during their twizzles (and basically whenever they did anything). The guy sitting behind me was super into it and it was amazing to hear a grown man fangirling so hard

Madi & Zach - Have amazing chemistry and I loved their choreography. Their lifts were probably my favorite ones out of all the dance pairs.

Charlie & Meryl - Hold My Hand was so fun! Someone in the audience picked up Meryl's skirt after she threw it and one of the crew guys had to ask for it back LOL, it took a while for him to get it back. Elastic Heart is a masterpiece and was more beautiful than on camera (and I thought it was already pretty beautiful on camera) :luv17:

Girls Number - So beautiful, seeing everyone do layback spins in unison was pretty magical

Boys Number - So much fun! The audience loved it, especially the part where they help each other onto the ice in a line

The Shape of You program was actually pretty cool and not as cringeworthy as I was expecting from everyone's reviews

I was not expecting the short group number from Maia, Zach & Madi, it was interesting to see Maia and Zach dance together for a little bit.

Finale - I loved how they incorporated the fan videos into the program! Also Jason was so preoccupied with meeting and taking pictures with the audience on the ice he almost missed the cue to get back to the group number but luckily Ashley gently tugged him away and they quickly got back into place

Side note, has Zach considered a career as a baseball pitcher after skating because he threw those t-shirts so dang high, I swear the second one almost reached the upper bowl LOL

SOI Special to Air on NBC4 (LA)

FYI, Hetty Chang of NBCLA tweeted the following on May 12th:

Reunited with our Olympic superstars! A few selfies & photos before they hit the ice for #StarsOnIce. Stay tuned - working on a special to air later this month on NBC4. The special will be posted to http://www.nbcla.com after it airs on Channel 4 NBC LA. She will tweet out the link.