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Ice Age broadcast - April 11th

The theme was jazz music. I was very happy about this theme because I figured I'd know most of the music, and I did, LOL. Also, I figured the storylines would be easy to understand, and they were, although I'm not too sure the nuances of "Fever" were really understood by the choreographers since it was played as a medical theme, LOL. And Irina and Gediminas' black face number wanted to send me screaming from the TV.

The judges were the usual ones they've had since the resumption of the show - Tarasova, Anton, Piseev, Totmianina, and the celeb/winner of one of the previous seasons, Ingeborga. She's the most generous with her marks, and well she should be, LOL.

Once again, the lovely Anastasia is inexplicably dressed in something odd and unflattering (to me, anyway), pink top, black midriff, purple skirt - Marat is in tie and tails, with le fake moustache. And, as usual, LOL, playing with the props.

In performance order:

Alexei & Valeria - eek! I was not prepared for them to be the very first couple and had to scramble to the VCR to start the tape, LOL. Luckily, they start with the draw first so I didn't miss too much. The contest is between Alexei and Valeria and Ksenia and Povilas. I'm not too worried since Alexei and Valeria are at the top of their game right now and the judges historically mark them higher, but, still, Ksenia and Povilas are tremendous performers. The profile was funny, Alexei even speaking English at the beginning, I guess forgetting where he was momentarily, or maybe just to amuse fans, LOL. Their relationship is clearly excellent (in contrast to some of the other pairings, LOL, where the tension is obvious), and they are peaking at just the right time. And the performance - ah! I loved Valeria's blue dress, she looked beautiful and wonderful, and Alexei looked nice in what by comparison is a plain white dress shirt and black pants. I can see why the costumers went that route, but I would have preferred something more of course, LOL. They start off with Valeria in a coat, mooning over a poster of a man in a trenchcoat, looking for "The Man I Love." Alexei finally appears from behind the prop, and here we go. It was a wonderful performance, full of nuance, charm, and exquisite skating. Wanting to liven up the ending, they insert some fast swing music ("Sing, Sing, Sing," I think) and there is some excellent footwork and moves. The lifts were great, the whole atmosphere of the program was great, and good job, Mr. Averbukh. Judges gush, Alexei looks pleased, LOL, and there is one hilarious moment in the after skate interview where Anastasia starts to sing "The Man I Love" and Alexei starts to look incredulous when she keeps it up, LOL. Marks: 12.00

Alferova/Vanagas - hard act to follow, but they manage. Cute and quirky program to familiar sounding jazz scat music, colorful costumes look like they are from early sixties. Anton calls it interesting and avant-garde, although he was the only judge to give them a 5.9. Marks 11.98.

Navka/Kolganov - the profile is absolutely hilarious, Vadim being a natural clown and comedian. Navka always strikes me as being a bit self-absorbed, but if anyone could bring her down to earth, it's this guy, LOL. Program is just up their alley, and well it should be, given the choreographer was Zhulin. Music again sounds familiar, but I don't know the title. Maybe it's part of the lyrics about "History Repeating?" Lots of fun, playing on good times and high spirits, interesting and intricate moves, and the judges like it, too. Marks are 12.00.

Drobiazko/Miller - and Navka/Kolganov will be a formidable pair to compete with, so Averbukh pulls out all the stops. Very dramatic and compelling program to "Blues for Klook." My only gripe is I find this particular music to have a naturally humorous twang, and so I found it jarring with the theme of the program, which was two souls in the desert, dying of thirst, no water. At the end, after it's too late for the lady, the rain comes. Tabloids had it that Margarita was injured by the force of the water coming down, but she seemed perfectly fine and chipper in the Kiss and Cry. Marks are 12.00.

Gordeeva/Beroev - Lovely program to "My Funny Valentine" by Dinah Shore and Andre Previn. Egor doesn't do much but look handsome and play a stable partner in this one, while Katia was simply outstanding and you couldn't take your eyes off of her. Every move a delight and perfect. But I expect no less, LOL. Marks are 12.00.

Petrova/Tszyu - well, competing against Katia and Egor they are already in trouble, but I thought the program was nice. Skating to "Sir Duke" (the announcer said it was Stevie Wonder, but I'm not so sure he was the singer in this version although Stevie's is the original), it was lively and well done, but I think this pair has plateaued after a wonderful beginning, and Tszyu doesn't fail to remind that he is a boxer and not a skater. He's trying hard, though. If the judging was purely on how far a celeb has come from the beginning, I think he'd have to win. Marks 11.86.

Babenko/Kostomarov - Alena playing a nurse and Roman the ailing patient and skating to "Fever." Good work, both of them putting on a very good performance, Alena playing her part as well as she always does and Roman just being plain great as always. I'm not so sure they understand the theme of the music, but it was fun to watch. Marks were 11.98, the one 5.9 from Piseev.

Friske/Marinin - once again, it's obvious that while Marinin is an excellent pairs skater, the real gelled pair was Friske/Novikov. Maybe it was the romantic angle. And the costumers must secretly dislike Zhanna since she typically gets the low end of their designs, LOL. This time it was an unflattering, way too tight, emerald green satin dress. That said, it was a lively number to Sinatra's "Fly Me To The Moon," with Marinin in particular having fun and being comfortable with this style of music. Surprisingly, not Friske's best work, and she looked a little clumsy in the overhead lift, and I think the judges remembered that. Marks were 11.84.

Now we have the "Time" news program break.

Lobacheva/Shevelkov - skating to "All That Jazz" from the musical Chicago. Irina looking very elegant in a fire engine red slinky dress, but with inexplicable red leggings that I thought detracted from the overall look. I would have been very happy with this dress without the leggings, LOL. There was one elaborate and cool move where Irina slides down Shevelkov's body and ends up in the splits over his skates. But there were some shaky moments on Shevelkov's part (I think he was nervous from the disastrous fall last week), and the judges put them danger of elimination. Marks were 11.82.

Slutskaya/Taranda - oh, gosh, I just don't understand this Russian fascination with performing black face numbers. And there is no doubt they are amazingly popular - the audience was in total hysterics and the judges were standing at the end. But to my American sensibilities - eek! Well, I was just cringing during the entire number. And I adore Irina. Anyhoo, Irina was dressed in a short, plum lame dress, plum boots, afro wig, and well-padded from top to bottom, and they made the most of that padding throughout the number. Gediminas played the nebbish professor type in a sweater, smitten with this hot stuff he meets in a bar. Marks were 12.00.

Arntgolts/Staviski - skating to Michael Buble's "I'm Feeling Good" or "It's a New Day" or whatever the heck this song is called, LOL. Okay, I loved this. Yes, Olga is not her sister, but it's such a joy to watch Maxim in his element. He did his best to cover up her flaws, and she did fine considering that she's brand-new to the project whereas the others have been skating all season long. It's an impossible and unfair situation to overcome, but the number was lovely, anyway. Marks are 11.72, and they for sure are in big trouble with elimination.

Strizhenova/Tikhonov - skating to another familiar but not identifiable (to me) jazz instrumental and dressed in black with red scarves and trim. Serious, dramatic, they are compelling in these numbers, and this was no exception. Marks 12.00.

For the most part, a great show. Most of the couples are doing really, really well. All that non-stop practice and performing really pays off. They are mostly looking extremely good, well-matched, comfortable with each other by now, and skating like it. It makes for a very enjoyable viewing experience, and there is simply no comparison to it with any other skater/celebrity shows. They simply demolish the competition.

This is the first show where eliminations come into play, and the bottom four pairs, after the scoring between the pairs over the last few weeks since the continuation has been taken into consideration, are vying for audience phone and SMS votes to be saved. The bottom four pairs are: Lobacheva/Shevelkov, Arntgolts/Staviski, Friske/Marinin, and Petrova/Tzsyu. I'm not sure whether one, two, or three pairs can be saved - I just know that these four are in danger and the audience needs to vote.

Laurie

Taping day! And according to the Russian girls this is the finale. Not sure what they plan to show for the next taping, but supposedly the results are decided from these performances.

From the Quiet Haven forum:

Petrova & Tszyu won the last spot from audience voting and were able to compete in the finals today.

The theme was open choice. Cell phone operators were threatened with expulsion, LOL. (Like that worked )

Alexei and Valeria skated to Laura Fabian's "Je T'aime" and Valeria even sang a bit herself during the number. They got 12.00, supposedly a very nice performance.

Music sample:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gm5S43YC2uo

Rest of marks I know so far:

Gordeeva/Beroev - 12.00 (might have skated to Queen - slight stumble from Beroev)
Slutskaya/Gediminas - 11.86
Alferova/Vanagas - 11.92
Petrova/Tszyu - 11.78 (Tszyu might have had a fall)
Babenko/Kostomarov - 12.00
Drobiazko/Miller - 11.88 (skated to Memorial - Tarasova reportedly not pleased)
Navka/Kolganov - 12.00
Strizhenova/Tikhonov - 11.94

Laurie

(edited for stupid spelling mistake )

Here's an article on the show with a photo of Alexei and Valeria:

http://vrn.kp.ru/daily/24278/473594/

>>
"Ice Age" already once nearly ended: even at the end of December it was declared that on the new-year's night they will show the finale of the show. But then, "by the numerous requests of viewers," it was decided to prolong the project. 12 star pairs, after a small interruption, returned to the ice and also for almost two months gladdened us by their appearances. Moreover, they competed with a new system - pair against pair.

And here now participants leave for the finish line. In the leaders, duets Valeria Lanskaya - Aleksey Yagudin, Tatiana Navka - Vadim Kolganov and Ekaterina Gordeeva - Yegor Beroev. In these pairs are 12 marks. But here lock the table of the project Olga Arntgolts with Maxim Staviskiy, Maria Petrova with Kostya Tszyu, Zhanna Friske with Maxim Marinin and Irina Lobacheva with Vladimir Shevelkov. They collected the smallest quantity of scores (6- 7 marks) and they must leave the show. However, viewers can save one of the lagging pairs with the aid of SMS voting.

As a result, this Saturday on the ice will remain exactly nine pairs.

They will show their most killer numbers, and judges will arrange them in order on the basis of their preferences. Theme this time the organizers did not declare, but participants decided to dedicate their appearances to love…

The received table yet will not be final. Spectators within a week will return their votes. And they will also arrange the pairs in the places. Then the sums of the judges' voting and the audience voting will be combined, and on April 25 will be named the troika of the prize-winners of the project. If suddenly results in some duets prove to be identical, then nevertheless audience voting will be decisive. Last word is from us - the happy possessors of television sets. And this is correct.

"Ice Age," Saturday, 19.00 and 21.15, Channel One.

TO VOTE

The voices of the viewers start daily and twenty-four hours to the gala-concert itself. In order to vote, it is necessary to send SMS with the number of the pleasing duet, or to call.

Short number for the SMS- communications in the territory RF - 7777
Short number for the bells in the territory RF - 0718
Short number for the SMS- communications from the countries of the CIS - 4446

List of participants and their numbers for voting:

01 Maria Petrova - Constantine Tszyu
02 Ekaterina Strizhenova - Aleksey Tikhonov
03 Xenia Alferova - Povilas Vanagas
04 Alena Babenko - Roman Kostomarov
05 Valeria Lanskaya - Aleksey Yagudin
06 Tatiana Navka - Vadim Kolganov
07 Zhanna Friske - Maxim Marinin
08 Irina Lobacheva - Vladimir Shevelkov
09 Ekaterina Gordeeva - Yegor Beroev
10 Margarita Drobyazko - Dmitriy Miller
11 Olga Arntgolts - Maxim Staviskiy
12 Irina Slutskaya - Gediminas Taranda


Pairs Marks

Valeria Lanskaya - Aleksey Yagudin 12
Tatiana Navka - Vadim Kolganov 12
Ekaterina Gordeeva - Yegor Beroev 12
Margarita Drobyazko - Dmitriy Miller 11
Xenia Alferova - Povilas Vanagas 10
Irina Slutskaya - Gediminas Taranda 10
Alena Babenko - Roman Kostomarov 10
Ekaterina Strizhenova - Aleksey Tikhonov 10
Irina Lobacheva - Vladimir Shevelkov 7
Zhanna Friske - Maxim Marinin 7
Maria Petrova - Constantine Tszyu 7
Olga Arntgolts - Maxim Staviskiy 6
>>


Laurie

Ice Age broadcast, 4/18/09

Well, the broadcast yesterday seemed interminable, LOL. Nine performances shown over three plus hours (I think it was closer to four!) - way, way too much chit-chat and endless commercials to fill up the extra time. They would have been better off just adding musical acts or guest star exhibitions. Otherwise, it looked like exactly what it was - the producers trying to fill up all the time and not having enough material to do it.

But the performances that were shown were very good, and the lighting and production values were excellent, as always.

The usual judges were present (have to say I really like this idea of having the same judges each week, plus having only one "celebrity" judge on the panel, and even she had had skating experience on the show), and it was nice to see Anastasia back to her elegant self in a royal purple satin halter top type dress. Marat also looked very nice in a pale lavendar suit.

The "Time" news broadcast intermission even had a feature on British singing sensation Susan Boyle, complete with a mention that she would be on the Oprah Winfrey show. You know you've really "made it" when the main Russian news channel is promoting your upcoming appearance on an American talk show, LOL...

They made a big production over Tatiana Navka at the end, with Piseev presenting her with some kind of object in a small velvet box (ring? medal?), and Kolganov singing to her while she skated around him. Maybe it was her birthday? Whatever, she seemed delighted at all the attention, LOL. And I wanna know why other skaters didn't get this same kind of extremely elaborate treatment on the broadcast itself, LOL...

I think this was the skate order...

Slutskaya/Taranda - 11.86 - Okay, this was a serious program for once, and they were not rewarded by it from the judges - guess they much prefer the comical numbers. And I have to say I would agree! While I might roll my eyes at some of the over the top themes they've chosen, it is clear that this couple primarily shine as light-hearted, humorous performers, and the angst of a very dramatic program is just not going over. Anyway, kind of a slow paced number to "Moonlight Sonata" - pretty music and pretty skating, but not compelling.

Strizhenova/Tikhonov - 11.94 - Skating to "My Sweet and Tender Beast," this was a lovely number, exquisite gray costumes, and very pretty and romantic. This is the type of number they do best and they did it again this time.

Lanskaya/Yagudin - 12.00 - Skating to "Je T'aime," this was a dramatic showcase for Valeria, complete with acapella singing towards the end. The skating itself was very fine from both partners, with cool moves and lifts. This wasn't my favorite number of all they've done - maybe a little too overwrought for me, but that's sometimes the case with Averbukh choreographed programs, LOL. But it was worthy of a finale. Alexei was very playful and impish in both the profile and the after skate interview. I wouldn't be terribly surprised if he also did some silent eye rolling over the histrionics since he has a low tolerance of that himself, LOL.

Gordeeva/Beroev - 12.00 - Lovely number to Queen's most excellent "Who Wants to Live Forever?" Fine performance from both of them, Katia is exquisite as always. They didn't seem to push the envelope in this one, but that was probably wise for a finale performance.

Alferova/Vanagas - 11.92 - Kind of over the top number - I knew it was Averbukh's from the get-go, LOL - lots of mist and drama, LOL - but very pretty skating, lovely costumes. The moves were all beautiful, but I think this couple particularly shine at the more quirky, clever numbers instead of pretty-pretty. But, still, very nice.

Petrova/Tszyu - 11.78 - Again I'm left with the feeling that this couple has lost their spark somewhere along the way. Maybe it's just that no one can keep up the kind of progress they were making, week after week. Kind of humorous, gentle number, but nothing outstanding. I guess there were some technical mistakes, but I don't really remember.

Babenko/Kostomarov - 12.00 - Outstanding number in for sure "Matrix" costumes and to music I presume is from the "Matrix" soundtrack, but it's not the usual one you see on the ice, LOL, so I'm just guessing on the music. Perfectly in character all the way through, great moves. I really enjoyed this.

Drobiazko/Miller - 11.88 - Huge mistake to skate to "Memorial" - again, I knew this had to be an Averbukh program because Zhulin would have anticipated the peril, LOL. The number itself was fine, but, again, you simply do not perform to music Tatiana Tarasova associates with "her" skaters, LOL. Of course, she didn't think it was up to par. But, to be honest, it was not their best work. I think more romantic music would have suited better, and this is a very romantic, passionate pairing.

Navka/Kolganov - 12.00 - Simply gorgeous, filmy sapphire blue dress on Navka - don't even remember what Kolganov was wearing, LOL - and a very strong number to Rachmaninoff. One of the few dramatic numbers that I think worked for this couple, but it was not over the top - choreographed by Zhulin, and he did an excellent job. I think, though, that he understands Navka the best, having worked with her for so long and so knows what to showcase in her skating and what not. Really nice number. I would have given them perfect marks, too.

So - take away all the chit-chat, and the skating all by itself would have been great. And it was!

One more broadcast left, I guess. And I'm guessing that it will be exhibitions only since I think these were the last "judged" performances.

Laurie

The returning skaters/celebrities for the next (and supposedly last) season aren't going to get much rest, LOL. Rehearsals start up again in July according to the Ice Symphony site.

Laurie

Okay, the top (big) video is working now (I have no idea how to direct link to it from my Mac - my usual methods don't seem to be working, LOL) - and it's showing the podium winners, and interviews.

Edited to add: now five of them are up, including Alexei's "Bumbarash."

http://www.1tv.ru/ice2/

Laurie

IceGladiator has put up her youtube videos:

Alexei - "Bumbarash"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnD-Di50r1w

Alexei & Valeria - profile
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUIUQXwF_oY

Alexei & Valeria - "Il Maestro di Violino"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9RNrkc4nCI

Crowning of the winners
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4j9Wp6fM3Rw

From DianaIceGladiator:

Interview with Alexei
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fC8eRhNdnss

Laurie