Rose pudding and skating show in Tallinn
Part 2
by EMJO and Susanna
Photos © EMJO
EMJO: Rennik/Saks: She is very flexible, which they took advantage of and used just in a good way. They have the potential of being really good. They are a promising pair.
Susanna: Federica Faiella and Massimo Scali skated one of their competition programs for this year. I liked when they used his flexibility in the choreography and her strength; she lifted him. Tishler/Mytnik: There was no skating in this number but there was no need since the tricks were so good. EMJO: Incredible moves and lifts. I kept on saying OMG or oh dear during most of their performance. Susanna: Andres Reklys skated with fire to James Bond ;) Nice Russian split jumps too. EMJO: I loved his juggling with fire. He has charisma. |
EMJO: Domnina/Shabalin. She started on the ice alone and at first I couldn’t find him; he sat on the boards very close to us. It was a playful program. I liked it.
Susanna: Alexei,
Anton, Ilia, were fun and hilarious, what else can
I say. Anton was such a clown and Alexei looked like a little
unruly boy with the clothes, the wig and the facial expressions.
All three did side by side double jumps. First Alexei and
Anton did an encore and then Ilia. Fast footwork with sparks
came from his skates. |
Susanna: Elena Sokolova skated to Mambo Italian in a beautiful maroon dress. Again her smile lit up the arena. As an encore she did three triple axels in a circle.
Petrova/Tikhonov
skated to a playful jazzy kind of song. Wonderful lifts. For
the encore they did a headbanger and they show how it should
be done! The sparks coming from Maria's skates when she landed
a throw scared me at first. I was not prepared. |
Susanna: Drobiazko/Vanagas’s Pirates is a little theatrical piece. It is actually sad they won't compete the next season.
Elena/Anton’s Chaplin, to me was an excellently choreographed program. It combined elegance, seriousness and fun and brought out all that from the skaters. Maybe I'm the only one who didn't think it was so fun when Elena skated out with the rose and missed giving it to Anton. I saw this as the more serious part (I think of the movie where the girl is blind and Chaplin plays a murderer). The next part I must confess I watched Elena more, though Anton was so good in the fun part. This program brought out the playfulness in Elena. I would like to see even more of this side from her. EMJO: Watch the video I made here!* |
Susanna: Alexei’s
Sway started on the ice. At the end of the program he had
sparks coming from his skates as he did a spin. The step sequence
was fast, and in the encore even faster. The crowd liked it.
I have seen better performances of Sway, but still there is
the combination of power and softness in his skating and that
is what I like. |
Susanna: Navka/Kostomarov skated to Austin Powers, a fun program.
We Are the Champions finale; all skaters came out and were introduced
again.They all skated around the rink and waved and it was over.
At last some thoughts about the show in general. The pairs have
included more pair elements this year in their programs and I really
liked it. Here they do encores and you are allowed to throw things
on the ice for the skaters. They even sold roses at the arena. This
was nice I think. The crowd warmed up for the second act and in
the first act for numbers they knew like Winter and Carmen and for
some special skaters too. The only complaint I would have about
the show is that it was too short.
Emjo: Well this was a wonderful trip. I don’t have much to add, cause I think Susanna catched our impressions in the review really well, but what I missed in the shows in the US was natural here, like the encores, the flowers, an overall more relaxed not so strict feeling. Everything felt easier. Ilia Averbuch as MC seemed to connect very easily to the audience and had them in his hands. I really enjoyed the beautiful city Tallinn and the great skating show. The only two complaints I have are: First, that there was only one show and not two as originally announced. |
I would have liked, and had planned to see one show without taking photos, which is very different and actually be able to have seen more and therefore have some more detailed “real” comments but that is my own choice so I shouldn’t complain I guess. And second, the extremely early flight back so I could make it to work.
How about the Rose pudding or the show? What was best? We can’t choose because the taste is so different …but we liked and can recommend both!
* For the videos be sure to select the smaller image for the best quality (this icon in the lower section of the player )