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Reported by Emma Abraham

All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission.

[originally published in Freestyle, Volume 4/Issue 4, Dec/Jan 1995]

hotel rooms Groningen[Thanks to too much traveling in too short a time], I felt like yesterdaystrash when I arrived in Philly, and finding that my roommate had not yetarrived, I headed over to the arena. No-one at the hotel could tell me whetherpractices were open, and so I wandered in and watched a few minutes of pairspractice. When I saw that there were no other spectators, I decided that if Iwas going to see any practices illicitly, and risk being ejected, Id rathertry the mens. I headed back to the hotel, met up with Carol, began the firstin a long series of run-ins with the not-exactly-four-star hotel, and had mymood altered for the better by a run-in with Alexei Urmanov, who I asked to signa photo Id taken at 92 Worlds. Even our inability to get into practices,no matter what we tried, failed to entirely dampen my mood. ( I did grow toresent this lack more later; Im unused to having to see performances"cold", without any idea of how the skaters looked in practice,what hes been working on, and an advance idea of the programs content. Andthe arena lacked any electronics, so I also had to do without the running timesfor the programs, which nearly drove me crazy.)

The first evenings program consisted of a compulsory dance, skated by onlythree couples as Punsalan/Swallow had to withdraw due to her bout with the flu.The only tango I remember clearly is that of Krylova/Ovsiannikov, which beganwith them back to back, whereupon she proceeded to wrap one leg around him--ahot start to a well-skated dance. They say Anjelikas new partner is astronger dancer than her last two--all I know is that he is extremelyattractive. And their marks of 5.3 to 5.5 were more consistent than Romanova/Yaroshenkosof 5.2 to 5.7, and higher than Roca/Surs 5.1 to 5.5.

Pairs were next up, and my favorites, Shishkova/Naumov, acquitted themselveswell in their OP to violin music, and got almost straight 5.7s. Meno/Sandsnew "Blue Danube" was lyrical and lovely, as usual, with him in a tuxand her in white lace, but I find them less than enthralling at the best oftimes, and even more so following the Russians. I did find their spiral footworksequence interesting. It was more violins for Ina/Dungjen, whose OP costumeswere quite similar to the "Far and Away" freeskate ones with theexception of color (these were navy rather than green). Their jumping was offthroughout the program, and they finished the night in 3rd. The youngUkrainians, Beloussovskaya/Potalov, skated to the music from "Spartacus"(or "Onedin Line," to British TV fans) and again showed promise. Theylanded their triple jumps, but just about everything else was off, from theiropening unspectacular lateral through their spins and footwork. Aside from oneScrooge who gave them 4.7/4.8, they did manage mostly 5.3s.

Everyone had been looking forward to Michelle Kwan during the ice make, butshe did the unthinkable and went straight down on her usually-solid openingdouble axel. Thud. Her combination, triple lutz/double toe, which followedimmediately, was fine, and the program was by no means a disaster with marks of5.1 and 5.6. (I must admit to missing some of it, because Todd was standing bythe skaters entrance with Nicole.) Nicole Bobek skated next, despite havingbeen attacked by a friends large dog just a couple of days before. Every timeI saw her in the hotel she looked exhausted, but she acquitted herself well inthe technical and landed her triple/double combination--not as hard as Michellesjump, but she still has the best spirals in the world. And her double axel waslovely. She was followed by Surya Bonaly (dressed in peach!) who touched herhand down on a jump to finish second to Olga Markova, the surprise of the event.Olgas silver metallic and black net costume was avante garde, as was herskating to "Harlem Nocturne." It was edgy and exotic and I thoroughlyenjoyed it. The audience favorite was Caryn Kadavy, who was lovely and gracefulas always, but failed to even approach the level of difficulty of the others.The audience objected vociferously to her marks; I was unsuccessful in myattempts to explain how the technical composition of a program could affect eventhe artistic score (which ranged from 5.1 to 5.9). It was a trademark Kadavynumber, but less difficult than some shed done in the last couple ofyears--more like an artistic, rather than a technical program. However, sheshould have gotten bonus marks for her purple dress with beaded bodice, whichwas easily the most beautiful costume of the event. But it was Olgas triplelutz/double toe and interesting choreography that took the evening, as I (atleast) thought proper.

Then it was time for the dancers again, and this years OD, the quickstep.Someone seems to have told the women that the optimum color was orange, sincetwo of the three of them chose that shade in which to skate (and theirrespective partners were both in black). I thought Renees dress, with itsstiff, beaded bodice and too-full shiny skirt make her look even more anorexicthan usual. Romanovas orange was more traditional to ice dance (rather thanRocas ballroom costume), as was Krylovas white and black. I found alltheir quicksteps acceptable (with a slight nod to the Russians, who used one ofmy favorite pieces of music, "Sing Sing Sing"), and all their scoreswere between 5.1 and 5.6.

Finally it was time for the men. I had been so pleased to hear of thelast-minute replacement of Candeloro with Mark Mitchell; Id just seenPhilippe, and had been worried that Id never see Mark in person again.Unfortunately for Mark, the warm-up proved to be a pretty fair barometer of theevening. Thered been a lot of fireworks, and a lot of screams for variousfavorites. Todd Eldredge and Viktor Petrenko attempted (and landed) the most;Scott Davis also jumped a lot, with less success; Alexei Urmanov was morereserved but pretty impressive. Mark didnt hit any of his axels in warm-up,and proceeded to wipe out on his opening one in the program. (Carol opined thathed have been better off not even attempting it.) He did look great in a redshirt and black pants, and used his 1993 OP, which I still like better than hismore "lyrical" (read "Strauss") numbers.

Alexei also used an old program, last seasons "La Dona eMobile." He double-footed his opening triple axel/double toe, but I foundmyself noticing that I liked the program a lot more in person than I had on TV.Yes, the gloves and costume were "over the top," but that goes withthe mood of the music. (I still find it interesting that he was considered tooconservative by the commentators at the Olympics. As Dick Button recentlypointed out, he is fairly "exotic" and by all accounts follows his owndrummer every bit as much as the others.) Anyway, Alexei has improved hisclosing spin; if he could just carry any speed into it, hed be okay. As itstood, the couple of botched jumps left him with technicals of 5.1 to 5.5,leaving plenty of room for the others to pass him.

Todds swing program is a great crowd favorite, especially when skated asperfectly as it was here. He was in total control from the moment he stepped onthe ice. I finally figured out what the pace and style and general attitude ofthis program remind me of: Orsers 1988 short program. The swing music, thefast footwork, the cocky attitude--theyre all there. When combined with theonly triple axel/triple toe of the evening, they were an unbeatable combination(pardon the pun). The audience started screaming right from the start, andrewarded him with a standing ovation when he finished.

Poor Scott Davis had to follow that with tired old "Zorba."Although hed decided to do fewer early-season competitions, he didnt lookat all rested (we later found out he was still recovering from an earlierinjury). Although the audience was very much behind him, he seemed a littlesluggish and, like Urmanov, double footed his triple axel. He also had a bizarreloss of balance coming out of his death drop, and touched his hand down on thedouble axel, leaving him in third.

The audience was ready for the last skater, Viktor Petrenko, in his black,with ruffled cuff and v-neck, and velvet trim. He used his "dancecontest" rhumba to good effect, and, if anything, seemed a little toopsyched. The triple axel would have been huge--if hed landed it. The musicwent out briefly near the end of his program, and seconds later he singled hisdouble axel. Cause and effect? Who knows? At any rate, the judges really landedon him, with one giving him a 4.3 and another 4.7! The rest were 5.0 and 5.1s.He and Mark were fighting for last place.

With our favorites in Dance and Man in first place, we retired (with a newfriend) to the bar, where we spent some enjoyable hours dissecting the evening,trading stories, and watching skaters--a very pleasant evening.

What to do the next day with practices being closed? My vote was for hangingout and watching skaters; Carols the more active type, so we went shoppinginstead. Many purchases later, we got back to the hotel rather later than wedwished, and went racing for the (slow) elevator. With our arms full and me onthe elevator, Carol and I would have been separated had not Alexei Urmanovkindly held the door for her. He smiled at her attempts to juggle several largebags, and she instantly became a fan. (If youve seen that charming grin,especially close-up, youll understand!)

Having dressed for that evenings reception, which Carol had been told waswith the skaters, we arrived at the arena to find out that wed been (onceagain) misinformed. If you thought Pittsburgh was bad you should have gone toPhilly. Just getting the appropriate tickets took an incredible amount ofpatience and persistence, as TicketMaster seemed totally unaware of the event,and unable to explain (or sell!) the tickets if they somehow managed to locatethem! Besides our little problem with the reception, others were told that thehighest price tickets included practices (they didnt!), it was difficult tolocate the t-shirt and programs included in the deluxe tickets, and to addinsult to injury, people from the upper levels were encouraged to come down tothe front for the freeskates (to make the event look better-attended fortelevision). Then the start of the final nights events was inexplicablydelayed for some time (after the dancers had been waiting to take the ice fortheir warm-up for quite a while), with no explanation ever given! The lastproved to be fortuitous, as it gave Dick Button the opportunity to start thewave! No, Im not kidding--he worked quite hard to get it started, and kept itupgoing for some time, joined by both Peggy Fleming and Julie Moran! It wasindeed a sight.

Finally, the Freedance did begin. Roca/Sur were first up, with Renee looking(if possible) even thinner than usual in her bondage attire (black, with lots ofstraps and studs). I found the program, skated to "Fever" and"Harlem Nocturne," more of an exhibition, rather than a competitiveprogram (which surprised me, given the ballroom nature of their OD). Romanova/Yaroshenkowere early favorites for the Ugliest Costume Award--his almost-kelly green suitwith its long, boxy jacket and baggy pants left us all wondering what theirmusic would be. But it actually went well with their Swing program. The bestcostumes were on the best skaters, as Ovsiannikov/Krylova did a flamboyant,dramatic flamenco in almost (but not quite!) conventional costumes in deep red,black and white with gold trim. I thought their marks of 5.6 to 5.8 a bit low! Ihope third time proves to be lucky for Anjelika--her new partner isstunning--and not a bad skater, either!

The drama in ladies mostly concerned whether Michelle could come back from4th place. She skated first, and although I wasnt fond of her purple costumewith pink sequins, I still like the program immensely, and she skated wellenough (one fall, when she doubled her triple loop, landed on both toe picks,then went down) to finish second in the freeskate, and third overall. This wasthe first competition Id seen her do without Frank Carroll, and I remainamazed at her poise, both on and off the ice. Caryn skated next, in a lovelyall-white costume with a sheer skirt, to "O Holy Night." Like her OP,the program was extremely beautiful, but very short on content, and confoundedthe judges attempt to score it, receiving 5.0 to 5.3 technically, and 5.3 to 5.7artistically.

Suryas bright rose dress was pretty (I found the skirt a bit too brief),but suffered from comparison to Caryn (before her) and Nicole (who skated next).She wasnt perfect (touched a hand down on a double axel with absolutely noset-up, fell out of a spiral), but did more than enough to win. I do like hervery French program, and hope she continues to work on its artistic content.There are several interesting sections in it, but she seems to be returning toher practice of doing absolutely nothing when setting up a jump.

Nicole looked quite subdued during her freeskate (she didnt smile untilthe last minute). As has often been the case, she had problems with her jumps(she fell on the opening triple lutz), but actually landed more (if not alwayscleanly) than she had at Skate America. However, she seemed unfocused,uninvolved somehow. Possibly the exhaustion had caught up with her? Hertechnical marks were better than Caryns and her artistic worse, so shefinished an eyelash behind Kadavy for last place. (Has anyone felt a sort ofWylie deja-vu, as we keep commenting on her beautiful spiral, only to followwith "Oh no" as she misses another jump?)

The pairs event was started by Beloussovskaya/Potalov, whose "West SideStory" program was not enhanced by their costumes: his a very latin full,white v-neck shirt with black pants and red cummerbund, she in a little dresswith white sequined spandex body and cream lacy skirt! They were, nonetheless,very entertaining and a good-looking couple. I hope to see more them in future.They were followed by Ina/Dungjens "Far and Away," skated muchbetter than had been their technical, but even the good marks they received (5.5to 5.8) couldnt move them from third position. I love their lift entrancefrom positions side-by-side with one knee on the ice. They continue to show theenergy and enthusiasm that made them so popular last year, but lack some of thepolish of the really top pairs.

Shishkova/Naumov did their usual program in their usual costumes, althoughEvgenia looked even paler than usual due to her newly-bleached hair. She doublefooted one of the side-by-side jumps, which the audience thought should havebeen reflected more strongly in their marks (5.5 to mostly 5.7s and 5.8s).However, the balance of the program was certainly of championship quality, andthey held first position. Meno/Sand, in deep green velvet, skated to "NessunDorma." (Enough, already, with "nobody sleeps." Id be happy if"nobody skates" to his music again!) The audience loved them, but theprogram looked a bit slow (and somewhat simple) to me at the time, althoughwatching on TV I dont know what gave me that impression. They did receiveexcellent marks of 5.6 to (one) 5.9, and finished a strong second. At my firstNationals, I saw Jenni in a green velvet dress and thought she was one of theloveliest things Id ever seen. Nothings changed in that regard.

I find it hard to imagine a nicer way to begin the final event of the finalnight of a competition than by looking at Mark Mitchell. Dressed all in blackwith a single line of silver beadwork, he skated his Rachmaninoff numberbeautifully, and this time landed the triple axel. Before we could recover fromone perfect performance, another followed as Viktor "saw" Marksaxel and "raised" it--just about to the ceiling. His was one of thehugest Ive ever seen--and after years of watching Boitano, Browning, Stojkoand Eldredge Ive seen some pretty big ones! Sitting down near the front madethe height even more evident. Id never seen his Olympic program live, and wasdelighted at this opportunity. I originally hadnt looked forward to seeingViktor at this event--Id liked little hed done recently, and categorizedhis chosen style as "smarmy." But this reminded me of why Viktor hadpreviously been one of my favorite skaters. It was clear that someone would haveto go a long way to beat this program with its elegance and technical strength,and the top guys only hope was that Viktor was having to move up from hislast place in the OP. His marks were 5.7 to 5.9--hard to beat.

Hoteles LeipzigI pitied Alexei following that, but he didnt seem especially nervous, allthings considered. He once again had a lot to prove, as he has had every time heperforms or competes since the Olympics. There were the required groans at hiscostume, which we found quite appropriate to his "Swan Lake" (blackpants, white shirt with very full dolman sleeves with flame-shaped black, grayand silver appliques). The new program looked rough, was far from clean despitehis great opening triple axel, and by comparison with Viktor, I found myselfoccasionally wishing hed tone down some of his arm movements--but he doesseem to feel the program, which I find very important. The marks left himclearly behind Viktor in the free (but ahead of him overall). There was plentyof room for Todd ahead of Alexei, less (but still enough) ahead of Viktor.

Without practices to watch, I could discern no changes to"Gettysburg," billed as a work-in-progress. The opening was certainlyskated better than it had been at Skate America, as he landed the tripleaxel/triple toe (which even Viktor hadnt done). And the split flip wasstarting to look better--Id rate it all the way up at "acceptable"now. But the rest of the program was not up to its usual standard, and I beganto wonder if Alexei would beat him. (The marks were so close I wasnt sure forsome time that theyd tied, so Todd held first place overall.)

Scott Davis had to skate last, and looked a little unnerved. The new program,to "Dick Tracy" and "Untouchables," showed some promise, andI look forward to seeing it under better circumstances--although I must admit tofinding it very unimpressive at the time; it was skated so badly that I couldntconcentrate on the choreography. I liked the "Dick Tracy" portionbest; it allowed him to show strength, whereas the "Untouchables"section suffered by comparison to Wylies grace. (The costume is black pantsand black button-down shirt, with pale grey tie and black beaded vest.) LikeNicole, he looked exhausted and unfocused, and his marks of 5.3 to 5.7 were thelowest of the evening.