2000 Hope and Heroes Benefit
I'll start this review with my thoughts about Sarah's performances.
In the first half, she performed her new long program to Don Quixote. Her dress is red with black near the top--it is very similar to the dark blue dress she wore for Swan Lake except for the colors :) I can't remember all of the jumps. I know she landed a big double axel in the beginning and she also two-footed 2 of her other triple jumps. Overall, it looks like it's going to be a great long program for her this season. I'm sure it will improve as the year goes on and she'll probably be trying some triple/triple combos like last season. Sarah looked really happy out there on the ice and that was good to see.
In the second half, she did her new short program to Rachmaninoff's Vocalise. She wore her dress from Serenade Fur Klara/The Prayer from last season (which had me worried at first that she might not be doing her new short program ;). Anyway, it was a wonderful performance--much better than Don Quixote IMO. She landed all of her jumps--which I think were the same from last year: Double Axel, triple lutz/double toe combo, and a triple toe at the end. She had great spins and spirals and did a new spiral where she held her knee (like Nancy Kerrigan used to) only she held underneath her knee instead of on top of the knee. It was a great program and she got a lot of applause from the crowd :)
At the end, all of the skaters came out again and did a little something. Sarah did an illusion spin into a *really* fast scratch spin. I don't think I'd ever seen her spin that fast lol.
Other things that stand out in my mind:
Michael Weiss: He was very shaky in his first program (which I think was a new one). Then, JoJo Starbuck (the host) informed us that he had been icing his ankle all morning long and was in a great deal of pain. He came out in the second half and skated a STUNNING number to The Lord's Prayer. It was one of the best programs I've ever seen him do. He got a HUGE crowd reaction. Later, I found out that he has a sprained ankle, but he still wanted to perform--how great is that. He earned a lot of respect from me with his performance. I just hope everything heals quickly and he can have a good season.
Vladimir Besedin & Alexei Polishchuk (the acrobats): They were absolutely hilarious! They did a routine to Swan Lake with these tutus with feathers on and were so funny! In the second half, they did a bull-fighting program where Vladimir was the bull and Alexei was the matador. The costumes were absolutely perfect (I hope my pictures come out). They really got the crowd involved in the show.
The rest of the skaters were wonderful too. Elena & Anton performed their new Chaplin number and also their Smooth exhibition from COI. Kyoko Ina & John Zimmerman were great to watch, except they had a weird fall in their death spiral, but were both laughing afterwards. All in all, it was a great show!! I'll have my pictures up as soon as possible.
