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2005 Mariposa GalaShowcasing the Past, Present, and FutureAugust 4, 2005 Barrie, Ontario, Canada   
The best thing about living on the south side of Chicago is that Midway Airport is just up my street. Granted, it's roughly 14 miles up my street, but that's just a minor detail. Midway Airport happens to be a hub for Southwest Airlines, and Southwest Airlines made my trip to the 16th Annual Mariposa Skating Charity Gala possile. For under $100 and a ticket donation from a dear friend, I was able to fly to Detroit, drive to Barrie with a friend, attend the gala, drive back, and fly home to Chicago - all without even taking a day off of work. The whirlwind trip did not disappoint at all, as the show was dynamic and absolutely stuffed with incredible talent. It's rare to see so many amateur competitors showing off their new programs at the same show as seasoned professionals, and that is why the Mariposa Gala is one of my favourite shows to attend. This was my second gala, the first being in 2003, and while it's hard to compare the two experiences, I might have to give this one a slight edge. Opening the show with the national anthem was a ten-year-old boy named Alexander Fanone. I believe that Kevin Frankish, the host of the show and a local television personality, said that he was the youngest boy to be given a scholarship to a certain conservatory in Toronto. Though physically disabled and of small stature, his voice filled the arena. The opening number was a mixture of group choreography by Steven Cousins and a series of spotlights for the skaters to be introduced. It had been put together just that afternoon and all of the skaters did a fine job, giving the crowd a taste of what they were to expect. Salé & Pelletier were originally slated to open the show, but instead, Joey Russell appeared at centre ice. Later, we found out that Jamie Salé had suffered a minor reoccurrence of a shoulder injury a couple of weeks ago and they were just playing it safe. Joey was an unexpected treat for me! He delivered a well-developed character performance to "Mr. Cellophane" from the musical Chicago. At just 17 years old, the teen is far ahead of his peers in terms of interpretation and he has solid technique to back up his artistry. Fourth on the junior level at Canadian Nationals last year, I expect to see great things from him in the future. Following a symbol of Canada's bright future was Brian Orser, undoubtedly one of the most recognizable figures of Canada's past. He performed a program that he used last year to Josh Groban's "Mi Mancherai." The music, soft and pure, provided a perfect backdrop to the beautiful way that Brian moves across the ice. I'm still perplexed as to why he wore a brightly coloured striped shirt for this number, but that was fairly inconsequential. He was introduced as "Mr. Triple Axel," and while we obviously didn't see any of those that night, the program featured a beautiful delayed axel. Every summer, skaters from around the world come to participate in the Summer Skating School at Mariposa, benefitting from training under Doug Leigh's program. One of the skaters who spent the summer in Barrie this year was Martine Zuiderwijk, reigning national silver medalist from the Netherlands. Skating to a salsa-themed number that I did not recognize, she proved to be quite a treat for the audience. If her presentation continues to develop, I would not be surprised if she became a much more recognizable name, at least in Europe. Unfortunately, Hugh Yik did not skate, but was introduced to the crowd as having an injury. I was fairly disappointed - I really enjoy his skating and since he's not as visible as the big names, I was looking forward to seeing one of his programs. I wish him a speedy recovery and hope to see him at Nationals in Ottawa. Next to skate were Joanna Lenko and Mitchell Islam, probably my biggest discovery of the evening. I had never seen them skate before and I really enjoyed their presentation and energy as they skated their original dance. The silver medalists from last year's novice level in Canada, I look forward to seeing them again later in the season at nationals. They have a great chemistry with each other, especially for being so young, and though their elements were simpler than the other dance teams that performed, they did not carry the appearance of novice skaters at all. If they can get through the next few years together, they could have a wonderful future. Steven Cousins was next on the program, but next on the ice were Meagan Duhamel & Ryan Arnold. After making history during the short program at nationals last year as the first pairs team to complete side-by-side triple lutzes, they proved to a supportive audience that they have been working on developing better as a pair and I definitely saw some upgraded elements in their short program to "Quixote" by Bond. Meagan held on to the landing of the throw triple salchow, the lift was of a higher difficulty and quality than we saw last year, and Ryan used a spread eagle to enter the death spiral. It wasn't my favourite performance of the night by far, but they skated solidly and sold the Spanish flavour reasonably well. Jeff Buttle's first performance of the evening to the "Ave Maria" program that he débuted last year at the gala at nationals could have been completely magical, if only he had skated to a recording. Instead, the young boy who sang the national anthem also provided vocals for Jeff. While the national anthem was just fine, his "Ave Maria" was much too immature for the musician in me to be able to enjoy. Instead of noticing Jeff's smooth edges and elegant movement, I was desperately wishing that I could crank the pitch in tune, throw in some dynamic contrast (the volume level of the vocals), and edit all of the improper phrasing. Alexander is a talented young singer and I am not necessarily criticizing him, but he is young and cannot help being young and I question the decision to use him to provide live vocals for Jeff. The artistic skating portion of the first half was closed by Steven Cousins, who gave a beautiful performance to John Mayer's "Come Back to Bed." Although I'd already seen this program several times on the Stars on Ice tour last spring, it still had a captivating effect on me. When Steven skates more serious programs, he takes on the character completely and while he's not disengaging the audience by any means, he seems to be completely absorbed in the program, pouring his soul into something that we're all fortunate enough to witness. The international results that he lacks in comparison to the rest of his professional peers, he more than makes up for by being, hands down, one of the best performers in figure skating. To close the first half, two synchronized skating teams performed. The first was Black Ice, the Canadian senior champions, and while I don't know very much about precision skating, I thought they were excellent. The steps they were performing looked difficult in a large group, and they moved together very well. The second group was the Ice Men, a group of guys who did a spoof on precision skating set to disco music. At first, I was very skeptical, but then I realized that while they were joking around, they were obviously well-rehearsed and very talented. Two of the guys even pulled off a throw triple salchow! I wasn't the only one who was fascinated by them - the audience was with them the entire way, and when I looked to my left, I realized that most of the skaters had come through one of the tunnels and were watching and laughing as well. It was definitely a good way to end an act, leaving us ready for an intermission, but excited for more. Tugba Karademir, Turkish national champion and a world competitor, opened the second half with "I'm Just a Girl" by No Doubt. It was an enjoyable program and she has all the makings of a good performer, but she doesn't engage her face. I spent most of the program hoping that she would smile, or make some sort of change in her blank expression, but I don't think she ever did, until she was bowing. I was incredibly excited to see the next performer. Chris Mabee is among my favourite skaters and his free skate at Canadians this year was definitely on my highlights list. He performed what I believe was his long program, set to music from Pearl Harbor. Instead of using the love theme as the crux of the music, his selections were focused on jazz tunes, along with some of the score from the battle scenes, I believe. While the program is still new and in its early stages, I found it to be incredibly entertaining. I wasn't really evaluating it from a Code of Points standard, but he sold the concept well and I definitely look forward to seeing him use it this year. I did not attend any of the junior events at Nationals this past year, so I had never seen Allie Hann-McCurdy and Michael Coreno. I'd definitely heard about them and while there are teams from last year's junior circuit that I prefer more, they were nice to watch. Their original dance uses "Sway" by Michael Bublé and that really got the crowd involved with their performance. They had a lot of sass, but nothing about their dance stuck out as being particularly difficult or innovative. I do think they will have good luck with it this season, though, because they fit into the rhythms well. I didn't really believe Takeshi Honda was actually going to skate until the music began. It's clear that he is still on the road to recovery, but his short program to Prokofiev's "Romeo & Juliet" was delivered with confidence and a spark of hope. While he did not have the jumps that he used to excel at, it seemed that he is skating with more emotion than before. It's almost like two long seasons of struggles have made him appreciate his time on the ice, and that is coming through in his skating. No doubt about it, Lauren Senft & Leif Gislason had the strangest performance of the night. It wasn't by any fault of their own - before they began, Kevin Frankish selected a fan from the on-ice seats and put her...well, on the ice! They sat side by side in folding chairs while Lauren and Leif skated their original dance around them. I spent most of the time hoping that they wouldn't collide, and the rest of the time wondering why they were sitting there in the first place. Lauren & Leif skated very well, with definite improvement apparent since last season. They were very smooth, especially in their rhumba section to Chris Isaak's "Besame Mucho." It's worth noting that the program states that Ben Ferreira was an Olympic team member. I think I missed that Olympics, but all right! Ben skated to "She's Hot to Go, She's Ready" by Lyle Lovett. I've always had a soft spot for Ben, and while I enjoyed the performance, I'd love to see him explore some other genres of music. So many of his programs in recent years have been jazz-based and it's starting to seem stale. I think he has a ton of interpretation capability and want to see him take on a brand new character - I think he can handle it. Joannie Rochette is a true joy to watch. Her stroking is effortless and she sails around the ice, never appearing to be skating between elements, but rather to be weaving a story around the ice. I saw her skate to "I'm Changing" by Jennifer Holliday during the Canadian leg of the Stars on Ice tour, but since she only did a few stops, I was not surprised to see her use it again. It's a great program for her - a real coming of age song, and she has really come into her own during the past year. I can't wait to see what next season holds for her. Nobunari Oda was next, coming off of a thrilling season that included a Junior World title. I read somewhere that his music is Rossini's "Barber of Seville," and that seems right, but I can't say that with certainty. It didn't have the character that last year's short program to "Mario Brothers" music did, but he is certainly capable of developing that aspect as the season progresses. "I Want You to Want Me" by Letters to Cleo was the backdrop for Jennifer Robinson's performance. She used this on the Stars on Ice tour as well, and I think that it's one of her better programs from years past. Although there is a lot of standing and posing, she keeps the crowd involved and entertains all the way through to the end, and she still hasn't let her triple lutz fade from her repertoire. It may have been two-footed, but not many women attempt it in show programs in the eligible ranks, much less as professionals. There's no denying that Megan Wing & Aaron Lowe are my favourite dance team. In fact, I wasn't even planning on attending the gala until I heard that they were going to participate; their addition to the cast list added enough tally marks in the "pros" column for me to invest in a 24-hour adventure out of the country and back. They skated to "Crazy" by Julio Iglesias and, much like every time I see them skate live, they made me fall in love with them all over again. No one delivers a program with the fluidity, confidence, unison, and character that these two have. Never a foot placement wrong or an arm movement not meaningful, they set a mood right from the start and carry it through to the final lingering note of the music. I can hardly wait to see them début their competitive programs in two weeks! In sharp contrast to the program before him, Jeff Buttle treated the audience to the début of his short program to an original version of the jazz standard "Sing Sing Sing." The music experiments with variations and Jeff experimented with different types of movement. Although it's not very polished yet and is undoubtedly a work in progress, I see incredible potential in this program and believe that it will be a great vehicle for him in the follow-up season to his silver medal at worlds. Finally, Salé & Pelletier were introduced with a brief retelling of their engagement story (but really, is there anyone who doesn't know it?) and met with thunderous applause. They chose to skate to "Who Wants to Live Forever," I'm told, because it's the easiest on Jamie's sore arm. And although I've seen it live so many times before, it's still as entrancing as ever - even when David falls on a crossover at the very beginning of the program! By the end of the performance, everyone had forgotten about the minor misstep and they received the more enthusiastic ovation of the night, by far. They're still definitely Canada's sweethearts. To close the show, Brian Orser skated one more time to Accidentally in Love by the Counting Crows. It's a fun, energetic song and he spiced up his skating with a crowd-pleasing back flip. He's such an echanting skater and in a light-hearted program like this one, he really relates to the audience and I definitely think that he was the right skater to close a great show. $84 to fly to Detroit & back, $45 on gas to Barrie and back, and about $10 on food throughout the day...I'd say that the show was well worth it! And what's a better way to kick off the skating season than a trip with nine of your friends? Photos are available to be viewed on Imagestation. [Registration required, but it is quick, easy, and free.] Archives -- Contact -- Features -- Guestbook -- Links (c)2004-6 Melanie L. Hoyt All rights reserved. |