PSOI 2006: From Mr. Sheffield to Mr. Shaggylicious, Extraordinary!

The show was set up like SOI shows mostly are, with an opening, cold spots, an additional groupnumber and a finale. The theme song of the main sponsors Proximus has always been cleverly worked into the program, and this year it was more creatively done than ever. Remixed it was integrated with group choreography and with a skater who also plays the piano. Could it get more exceptional than that? Imagine the dreamy notes of Wim Mertens' Proximus theme being played on the grand piano by Romain Gazave while most of the cast gathered around him.

But it wasn't the only exceptional program displayed in this show. How about Mr. Kevin van der Perren to Tango de Roxanne? We've seen Kevin perform tangos before, but I dare say never with this much passion. There was intricate footwork and hydroblading and a nice scratchspin; we don't get too many of those in competitions anymore. The music and lyrics perfectly portrayed by Kevin, who seems to grow more and more into an artist each time we see him. Wearing his new short program costume, which oddly fits this program as well, the agony over his Roxanne practically jumped off his face. Exquisite!

Margarita Drobiazko and Povilas Vanagas' "Hey You" by Pink Floyd, was another exceptional, perhaps even edgy, program. The car sound at the beginning created a romantic rockballad atmosphere, and ended as energetic dance music. And the program looked just as different as music sounds. Margarita and Povilas have obviously spent a lot of time finding movements to fit the music, and they couldn't have done a more perfect job. There were exceptionally loud, well earned applause for this couple and their 'really must see' program.

Jozef Sabovcik, who followed her performance, is also very energetic, not that that should come as a surprise to anyone. Skating to "DOA" from the Foo Fighters, he managed yet another awesome rockperformance, playing the air guitar and having so much fun you can't help but clap along. His Russian splits are about the highest we've ever seen and he still does double Axels.

Isabelle Pieman's second performance to Céline Dion's "I am alive" proved that she certainly is alive. And she not only looked flashing, but also skated that way and she pulled it off well!

Next to all this energy there was also room for something different, and with Brian Orser in the house you're sure to get that. Brian wasn't only the choreographer, but also a regular castmember. His first performance, "Night and Day" by Michael Bolton, was jazzy, yet romantic and enchanting even though his moves are still explosive, as mentioned above. Brian's been around for a while and his skating is pure quality with perfect edges and balance. His footwork is amazing and it was easy to tell that he still enjoys being out there. His costume and looks kinda reminded some of us of Mr. Sheffield (from the Nanny) but were also classified as real American, while Mr. Sheffield actually is BritishÂ… well let's just say all the good stuff in the show messed up our brains.

Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin's first program unfolded the story of Christine and the phantom (last year it was Drobiazko/Vanagas). Dressed in white they turned this powerful music into a program that was everything a skating fan could possibly want. The choreography was superb, the people beautiful and the skating divine. The audience was in awe over the high lifts and throw jumps and the applause afterwards were deafening. The enthusiastic audience left us wondering if Tatiana and Maxim didn't actually beat the loudness of applause Kevin got. But according to the applause meter it wasn't soÂ… Which might need an explanation.