Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Lights! Music! Ice!!!

Stars On Ice
Honda Ponda
Anaheim, CA
Saturday, May 12, 2018

Yes, I know that's not the actual name of the venue, but that's what I call it, so there you go.

When I heard that the 2018 Olympians would be participating in Stars On Ice, and they would be performing on a day I was actually available in May, I knew I had to go.  Who better to bring with me than my mom on Mother's Day weekend?  I couldn't leave out my dad, of course.  The rest of the family had an early dinner with us for our Mother's Day celebration, then we headed out to Anaheim for the show.  Parking took a while, as did the line to enter the building, so this is a note to self:  pay for premium parking next time, especially if Mom doesn't have her placard to park in disabled spaces.  (She was OK, but I felt bad because the parking was far).  The lines were so long that they delayed the start time for a few minutes.  We made it to our seats during the opening number.

Our seats were in section 222, row S, seats 4-6, so we had a good view.  I wasn't as cold as I thought I would be.  Isn't this the same ice they use for hockey games?  Because I'm cold at those, even when I'm wearing a couple of layers of clothing.  I wasn't sure I would get any good pictures, but I did!  So my thoughts are interspersed with captions in the photos below.

Karen Chen skating to "Never Enough"
from "The Greatest Showman"

Mom wasn't familiar with Karen Chen because she wasn't
in the top groups that aired on NBC.  Mom also hadn't
watched the other skating competitions this year, I guess.

I wasn't able to get a good picture of Jason Brown performing his Hamilton routine.
  He fell at one point, but it matched the lyrics so well that it seemed deliberate.  

Mirai!!!  I'm glad that she and Adam still tour with SOI
even though they're currently dancing on "Dancing With the Stars".

Her confidence shows now as she does Queen's "Body Language",
as well as later on, with "No Good Deed" from "Wicked".
She was wearing a cape from the latter, but took it off soon after
she started.  I didn't get any good shots during that piece.

One of the gals in my row commented that she didn't do a triple axel
when the announcer had just called her "The Triple Axel Queen".
Girl, do you realize that she needs to TRAIN to do that, and
she's kind of training for a dance competition on the days she's not performing?

Maia and Alex Shibutani performing "That's Life",
by Frank Sinatra and Jay-Z

I love the Shib Sibs!  This is the piece they performed
during the gala events this year, and it's fun to watch.

Bradie Tennell in the group number "Dream",
sung by Priscilla Ahn

She's such a pretty ballerina in this piece.

Mirai in "Dream"

Spin, spin, spin, spin!
Beautiful laybacks from Karen, Mirai, Bradie, and Ashley


Adam Rippon after performing "Remedy" by Adele

He is LOVED, and deservedly so.
 
I also like the shadow effect on the ice.

Bradie performing her long competition program,
 "Cinderella" by Patrick Doyle

Before every performance that they had done for competition,
each athlete was shown on the big screen,
talking about their Olympic experience.  Nice touch.

Nathan Chen performing "Back from the Edge" by James Arthur

I like this music!  Very fitting for him.

Aw, look how happy he is when he bows for the fans!

Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue perform their
competition program "Across the Sky / Caught Out in the Rain"
by Ring ' n' Bone / Beth Hart

I like this action shot.  I couldn't get a shot of their
sexy vibe, but it was sexy!

Ashley Wagner, mid-jump,
performing "I Am Here" by Pink

Oh, that's why the lights on the ice were pink!  Duh.

Meryl Davis and Charlie White performing
"Hold My Hand" by Jess Glynne

They are just the BEST!  

Group number: "Shape of You"

I loved this piece.  They were all so cute with each other,
at times trading partners, and look!
Nathan and Ashley are dancing together!  


I have a ton more pictures of these two during this piece
because they were in front of us and just so darn cute!

Boys watching girls talking

May I have this dance?
(Sorry I cut you out of the picture, Zach!)

Yes, but only if you dip me!

Jason Brown performing Justin Timberlake's
"Can't Stop the Feeling"

He has sooo much fun out there.  Here he is doing "the worm".

I love his energy, and his smile, and his skating.

Guys doing group number of "Feel It Still"
by Portugal. The Man

Dig their hats!

Adam is back, slaying "Let Me Think About It"
by Ida Corr vs. Freddie Le Grand

I mean, come on!  He killed it, and we ate it up.

The Shib Sibs, performing their competition piece,
"Fix You / Paradise" by Coldplay

Mid Twizzle shot!  Their forte.

Meryl and Charlie performing Sia's "Elastic Heart"
The red sash around her waist was actually quite long and wide,
and they folded it different ways.
  I could totally see this as a color guard thing in drum corps.

Nathan performing his competition piece, ironically named
"Nemesis" by Benjamin Clementine.

I love this shot because it shows off his balletic training.
I mean, how do you point your toes in skates?

Mid Quad (Toe?) from the Quad King

Last number: "You Will Be Found" from
"Dear Evan Hansen"

I love this song!  

Meryl and Charlie had the most time in the spotlight,
of course!

Ooh, rainbow of spotlights!

Bye, Stars!

Thank you for the great show!!!

I waved back at them even though they weren't waving at me.
I'm such a dork sometimes.  OK, a lot of times.
I purchased a program because they were out of the Nathan Chen autographed photo.  That's OK, because I'd like for him to personalize it, although I don't know when that will ever happen.  I thought of getting Mirai's, because ARCADIA!   But I figured the same thing above about Nathan's autograph.  I would love to meet them, and I'd probably gush all over the place.  Oh, from the ShibSibs, too!  And Meryl and Charlie!  Do you now see why I ended up not buying any?

I liked all of the music they used.  We had a great time, and although it was a long walk back to the car, my parents were troopers and still drove home that night after we returned to my place.  

Thanks for the fun, Mom and Dad!


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