|
After seeing Champions on Ice at the Verizon Center last Saturday, it is hard to imagine how America could forget the tradition, which is arguably one of the most competitive on Earth. After all, in what other sport does one Olympic hopeful hire someone to incapacitate his or her competitors with a baseball bat? Fortunately for last Saturday's audience, Champions on Ice was not a competition at all.
The Champions on Ice tour features individual and pair medalists from the US Championship, World Championship, and Olympics. The tour allows skaters to show their skills and creativity without requiring an act that tells a story. Champions on Ice typically begins with a short, introductory skate from all performers, moves on to individual routines and closes with a finale in which all skaters work together to tell a story.
This year's U.S. silver medalist, Ryan Bradley, began the individual skates with a mariachi/disco routine in which he landed both triple and double jumps with ease. Alissa Czisny, the ladies bronze medalist, followed Bradley's act with several technical difficulties, recovering awkwardly from an almost-failed triple to fall while attempting a second later in her routine.
Rudy Galindo took the ice after Czisny, making both her and Bradley's routines look like the work of amateur leaguers. The current U.S. and World Champion - and former partner of Kristi Yamaguchi - landed triple jumps and back flips easily and seamlessly without making the momentum-building glide that gives away the skater's intent. The crowd was wildly enthusiastic after the charismatic Galindo left the ice. One would imagine that this larger-than-life act would be difficult to follow, but Dan Hollander was up for the challenge. Clad in a Batman costume and carrying a damsel in distress (blow-up doll) tied to railroad tracks, the beginning of Hollander's routine included double and triple jumps to the tune of Enrique Iglesias' "Hero." The music then changed to the song, "I Need a Hero," and Hollander stripped away the dark knight persona to reveal a Wonder Woman costume. When the music changed a second time, the recipient of the '96 and '97 U.S. bronze became Superman, skating to the tune of Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl."
