The Bottom Line
Pros
- This ice show included many figure skating champions.
- Live and beautiful music were part of the show.
- Brian Boitano's skating was strong.
- The entire cast was made up of excellent figure skaters.
Cons
- This ice show was boring at times.
- The show did not appeal to younger audiences.
Description
- Produced and directed by 1988 Olympic Champion Brian Boitano
- Olympic pair skating champions Jamie Salé and David Pelletier were part of the cast.
- Male single skaters included U.S. Champion Michael Weiss and British Champion Steven Cousins.
- Only one female single skater was featured. It was mentioned that Amber Corwin was new to the professional skating circuit.
- World Ladies Champion Yuka Sato and her husband, Jason Dungjen, also participated.
- World Professional Champions Elena Leonova and Andre Khvalko were part of the cast.
- Skate America silver medalist Ryan Jahnke made his professional debut in this show.
- The show was designed to showcase the musical talent of the Irish musical group "Celtic Woman."
- The show was filmed and performed live at the Budweiser Events Center in northern Colorado on December 16, 2006.
Guide Review - Guide Review : "Brian Boitano Skating Spectacular" - New Year's Day 2007
The "Brian Boitano Skating Spectacular" was shown on NBC on New Year's Day, 2007. The ice show included excellent figure skaters, including Olympic and World ice skating champions.This show was Brian Boitano's eleventh year of performing and directing his own television special. The show was centered around the musical group "Celtic Woman." The group performed and sang on stage as the skaters performed.
All the figure skaters in the show performed very difficult skating programs individually, but the entire cast also performed as a group in many of the numbers throughout the show. One of the most amusing numbers was when all the male skaters in the ensemble skated together in Scottish kilt costumes.
It was very moving to see three married pair teams skate together as a group. There was mention of their love for one another before the actual skating began.
Each skater was interviewed off the ice. A very touching moment was seeing Ryan Jahnke and his wife, Tashiana, share their love and support for eachother.
Two-time U.S. Men's Champion, Michael Weiss, dazzled the audience in two numbers. The highlight of both routines were spread eagles on "The Freedom Blade" and back flips on the ice.
World Champion in singles, Yuka Sato, skated pairs with her husband, Jason Dungjen. Brian Boitano explained that it was his idea that began the married couple's pair skating career as professionals.
No ice dancers took part in this show. That branch of figure skating would have not fit in with this group. There were more male single skaters participating in this event than female single skaters.
Although this ice show may not have appealed to young audiences, it had an intellectual and beautiful quality to it. The high quality skating and beautiful music made the show an enjoyable experience for the audience.
