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Christmas in August!

Hi! Sorry we're late with this but other events have kept us occupied. This is a review of the 1995 Holiday Festival On Ice which was held in Reno, NV. Christmas in August in Nevada is a strange experience, let me tell you!

Act I


Somewhere in my Memory -- Bette Midler
Choreographer: Lea Ann Miller
Skaters: Kristi Yamaguchi
Beautiful.

Opening Overture -- The Santa Clause
Choreographer: Lea Ann Miller
Skaters: Cast

Travatore -- Verdi
Choreographer: Natalia Ulianova
Skaters: Illia Kulik
This kid is good. A little stiff, but technically superb. Give him a little more time and he'll be wonderful.

Please Come Home for Christmas -- Sean Hosein
Choreographer: Sandra Bezic/Hough/Ladret
Skaters: Christine Hough & Doug Ladret
What can you say about Hough and Ladret? (hey, that rhymes!)

Three Hours Past Midnight -- Colin James
Choreographer: David Wilson
Skaters: Brian Orser

The Wedding Song -- Kenny G
Choreographer: Cindy Stewart
Skaters: Rosalynn Sumners
Beautiful. Ros never gets enough credit.

Jingle Bells -- Barry Manilow and Expose
Choreographer: Renee Roca/Gorsha Sur
Skaters: Renee Roca & Gorsha Sur
Well ... if I remember right this one was a little rough. It was a routine that they had only for this show and they should've spent more time on it.

Spring Breeze -- Takako Nishizaki and Gerald Garcia
Choreographer: Sandra Bezic
Skaters: Chen Lu
Her routines were nice, but not as good as they should have been. It was nice to see Chen Lu in person, but unfortunately this seemed to be one of her off nights, or she was very nervous.

True Companion -- Marc Cohn
Choreographer: Lea Ann Miller
Skaters: Jenni Meno & Todd Sand
Same ol' routine you've seen 'em doing all season -- and still gorgeous.

Doop Doop -- The Dance Light Orchestra
Choreographer: Sandra Bezic/Barry Lather
Skaters: Kristi Yamaguchi
Kristi, Kristi, Kristi ... hometown girl gets three routines and this has to be one of them. Some people can do "cute", some can do "funny". IMHO Kristi can't pull it off. The crowd loved it though.

O Come All Ye Faithful -- Michael W. Smith
Choreographer: Mary Scotvold
Skaters: Paul Wylie
Very inspiring number by our favorite ice dramatist.

Act II


There's Someone Who's Knocking -- The Salsoul Orchestra
Choreographer: Lea Ann Miller
Skaters: Elves with Attitued
Local kids & Kristi doing a slow chain around the ice. Santa loses his cap, two or three times. Kids try to stay upright. It was kinda cute, but they should've kept only to the kids that could actually stand on their own. Unless they did better the previous night I don't think you'll be seeing this. Now last year they had a single local kid do a rather nice little routine. Oh well.

My Sharona -- The Knack
Choreographer: Lea Ann Miller
Skaters: Christine Hough & Doug Ladret
New routine! Needed much more practice, but it looks like it could be a crowd pleaser. Look for it in the upcoming season.

Always -- Bon Jovi
Choreographer: Ilia Kulik
Skaters: Ilia Kulik
Again, this kid is going places. A bit too stiff yet, but he has all the technique he'll ever need.

The Last Emperor -- Original Soundtrack
Choreographer: Toller Cranston/Lea Ann Miller
Skaters: Chen Lu
Pretty, but again Lulu wasn't quite up to her normal performance.

Exercises in the Freedom of Love -- Freddie Mercury
Choreographer: Shanti Ruchpaul
Skaters: Renee Roca & Gorsha Sur
Not a new routine, so it was better than the Christmas one they did in the first half. But I guess I'm just not a Roca & Sur fan.

Summertime / Nice Work if You Can Get it -- Gershwin
Choreographer: David Wilson
Skaters: Brian Orser
Good, but not great number by Brian.

The First Noel -- Karla Bonoff
Choreographer: Lea Ann Miller
Skaters: Rosalynn Sumners
Ros! She has just been doing wonderful work since turning pro. (Not that she was really given enough credit during her amateur career.)

The Nutcracker
Choreographer: Lea Ann Miller
Three routines to a common theme.
To The Forest
Skaters: Jenni Meno & Todd Sand
Beautiful. A number clearly just for the show and they performed it wonderfully.
Candy Cane
Skaters: Ilia Kulik
Again, this kid is going places. And I'm really glad they didn't go for the obvious and give him the Russian dance.
Sugar Plum Coda
Skaters: Chen Lu
Very nice as well. The whole Nutcracker portion of this show was good from start to finish. If they cut any of this out of the broadcast you'll be missing something good.

Love Me Tender -- Amy Grant
Choreographer: Bob Paul
Skaters: Peggy Fleming
I'm glad I've had the chance to see Peggy Fleming skate in person. I've seen this routine on TV during the last season, but seeing it in person was still very special. No jumps, none of the flash that has become de rigeur today -- just simple, clean and elegant. Absolutely beautiful.

Prelude, Fuge & Riffs -- Bernstein
Choreographer: Mary Scotvold
Skaters: Paul Wylie
Hmpf. A technical showpiece. Great technical stuff, and Wylie did it all superbly, but no flow.

Let There Be Peace on Earth -- Dino
Choreographer: Kristi Yamaguchi
Skaters: Kristi Yamaguchi
If she can do stuff like this, why the heck does she bother with Doop Doop??? Oh well...

It's Snowing
Choreographer: Lea Ann Miller
Skaters: cast
Everybody comes in to do a last little step or two and take their bows. Pretty standard stuff.