"Gold on Ice" April 19, 2024 in Leesburg, VA featuring 3 World champions & a silver medalist!

[Sylvia]

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6AwPEzrfDA/ (Insta story recaps - opening clip from/credited to @Brooklet!)

"MORE highlights and recaps PLUS the full show will be released on our YOUTUBE channel"

GOLD ON ICE

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I hope they'll do something like this again, although I imagine this was essentially a replacement for the lack of SOI this year. Supposedly SOI is resuming in the U.S. next year, and if there is a show in the Baltimore/DC area, that's probably it for the area. If there isn't a show around here, I hope Ari will organize this again. He definitely had the right instincts and formula: bring the top NA stars from Worlds and the up and comers/nat'l competitors from the area, with a few crowd pleaser and novelty acts thrown in.

I believe that is the plan (another show in the future) and I think it's a positive development to have Zakarian organizing shows like this in the USA and promoting it extensively on social media.

 

[ice coverage]

... Pinel must have replaced Philip Warren who was advertised initially. Warren used to compete in the U.S. before switching to France (believe “Philippines” is an error?) and Ari Zakarian has gotten him gigs in many shows like Fantasy on Ice, Art on Ice, etc. ...

This morning Ilia posted a nice thank-you message to the audience, and Philip Warren is in the accompanying group photo.
Apparently Philip could not skate in the show because he got injured on site the day before , per his own Instastories and a supportive one from Ari. Philip is holding his crutches in the photo.

Ilia Malinin on Instagram: "Wow, the show @goldonice turned out so great! I wasn’t anticipating such a loud and enthusiastic crowd, which helped me realize what a significant accomplishment winning Worlds was. Thanks to everyone for making this night

1,181 likes, 19 comments - ilia_quadg0d_malininApril 21, 2024 on : "Wow, the show @goldonice turned out so great! I wasn’t anticipating such a loud and enthusiastic crowd, which helped me realize what a ...".

www.instagram.com

... Meet and greet was a bit chaotic with the line snaking around the side of the lobby and the skaters at a table in the corner. The line moved slowly, then as Gayo and I got up to the front, Ari Z started telling the skaters to be faster. ...

The chaos of the meet and greet comes across in this little video! (And I can see you two waiting in the long line.) https://www.instagram.com/p/C5_SdQcLa4C/?img_index=5 (The link has other good content from the show too.)
Glad that along with others, you guys had a good time. Thanks to everyone for the reviews.

Jordan/OIP filmed the show

Always happy when Jordan films.

 

[Frau Muller]

FYI, Philip’s bio in the booklet calls him “the spirit of the Philippines” - so they’re really driving home his Filipino background, whatever his US binds. Assuming he has Pinoy heritage? Hope to see him in a future show…just so they also bring back THE Fire Guy!

 

[Poptarts]

Who's saying that, Dave Lease? Most sections were nearly full, which was encouraging, esp since the show/tix sales were only announced 2 weeks ahead of time. The VIP tix were sold out and the sections in the center were filled except for maybe the top couple of rows. The empty areas were the sections on the far end, near the stage. The sections at the end behind the VIP seats were maybe half full.

I hope they'll do something like this again, although I imagine this was essentially a replacement for the lack of SOI this year. Supposedly SOI is resuming in the U.S. next year, and if there is a show in the Baltimore/DC area, that's probably it for the area. If there isn't a show around here, I hope Ari will organize this again. He definitely had the right instincts and formula: bring the top NA stars from Worlds and the up and comers/nat'l competitors from the area, with a few crowd pleaser and novelty acts thrown in.

It was actually a comment on his fb and another comment on Reddit!

It was such a good formula. There were people there super amped for the local skaters and us super figure skating fans.

 

[livetoskate]

My guess is that it appeared to be 85 or 90% full-- really great to see! Next time if any seats are unsold, they should give them away to skate school kids to energize them about skating. Also, most people had to pay extra for parking & bought food, so that would still increase the revenue. My other suggestion would be that they have more real food options the next time, since people like my friends and I didn't have time to go to a real restaurant beforehand. All they had at the snack bars were pretzels (surprisingly tasty), hot dogs, chips, $3 bottled water, & overpriced alcoholic drinks.

I'm still recovering from the long drives to & from Leesburg, but would like to mention how wonderful it was to see Ting Cui skate again! I wonder if she will compete next season?

 

[mtnskater]

I very much enjoyed the YouTube videos of this event! So big shout out and thanks to @Brooklet! Sorry I couldn’t be there in person, but since I saw most of the skaters live at Nationals and Worlds this year I don’t feel too deprived

From the videos I’ve viewed so far, I so enjoyed Isabeau and Polina. Beautiful, lyrical balletic skating. A treat for me anytime I see it. Still loving that Columbus designer dress on Isabeau and her finish, including the gorgeous layback. And Polina’s twizzles are killer. She looks great!

Chock and Bates had me choked up…almost bawling…with the beauty and emotion of that skate. Just wow. Simply devine.

Keegan amazing and death defying as ever.

Loved getting to see Ilia’s sister Elli (Liza) for the first time.

Ilia knocked my socks off at the Worlds gala with that powerful rap piece. He did it again.
His quad lutz was so high it looked like he might land in the audience.

I’m planning to watch more of the videos over the next couple of days. Glad everyone had a great time (except maybe PRlady ). And thanks for all of the reviews and behind the scenes info, etc!

 

[PRlady]

I very much enjoyed the YouTube videos of this event! So big shout out and thanks to @Brooklet! Sorry I couldn’t be there in person, but since I saw most of the skaters live at Nationals and Worlds this year I don’t feel too deprived

From the videos I’ve viewed so far, I so enjoyed Isabeau and Polina. Beautiful, lyrical balletic skating. A treat for me anytime I see it. Still loving that Columbus designer dress on Isabeau and her finish, including the gorgeous layback. And Polina’s twizzles are killer. She looks great!

Chock and Bates had me choked up…almost bawling…with the beauty and emotion of that skate. Just wow. Simply devine.

Keegan amazing and death defying as ever.

Loved getting to see Ilia’s sister Elli (Liza) for the first time.

Ilia knocked my socks off at the Worlds gala with that powerful rap piece. He did it again.
His quad lutz was so high it looked like he might land in the audience.

I’m planning to watch more of the videos over the next couple of days. Glad everyone had a great time (except maybe PRlady ). And thanks for all of the reviews and behind the scenes info, etc!

PRlady had a nice time, but her husband was bored and her guests knew so little I had to spend too much time explaining. Should have come alone.

 

[BlueRidge]

PRlady had a nice time, but her husband was bored and her guests knew so little I had to spend too much time explaining. Should have come alone.

not alone

 

[PRlady]

not alone

that would have been even better.

 

[Brooklet]

Apologies for the length of this post. I meant to write this a couple days ago but didn’t quite have the desire to retype everything that disappeared the first time I tried to write my review. So this will be an abridged version of that (and trust me, that’s a good thing) as there’s not a whole lot that I can add that hasn’t already been said.

First, I’m glad people appreciate the videos. In truth, I took some of them as a way for me to see better. As @Poptarts mentioned, the VIP seats weren’t the greatest if you weren’t in Row A. I’m actually a little annoyed at myself for picking the seats that I did. When I bought them, Row A was sold out. I debated between Row B or D. I ended up choosing D thinking that it might be easier to stand up, or kneel in my seat, without bothering anyone behind me. But ultimately, I think B would have been the better choice.

The VIP seats are one of my two complaints. There were 4 rows, but all on the same level. Which might not be a problem for tall people, but if you’re short like me then it was really hard to see. To be fair, they were set up in a way that allowed for people to move them around a bit in order to get a better line of sight. But if they do this again, I’d like to see them put the seats behind Row A on a bit of elevation. If they added even 2 inches to the height of Row D it would have helped. And I don’t think it would obstruct the view of the seats in the stands behind the VIP section any more than it was already obstructed.

So the videos - The first few I took with my arms raised uncomfortably high so I could actually see what was happening through the screen. Eventually, my husband and I got up and stood at the back left side of the section. There were a couple other people who stood for the whole show, and eventually a few more people stood where we were standing.

And that brings me to my second complaint: the sound system. The people speaking, and the music were really muffled. At first I just assumed that it’s a smaller rink and chalked it up to just not having the technology for a good audio system. But when my husband and I decided to stand, I worried that we were blocking someone’s line of sight behind us. I sent my husband out to gauge if we were standing in a spot that was blocking anyone’s view. At which point he discovered that the audio was only muffled inside the hockey glass. Apparently outside the glass everything sounded clear. I’m not sure if there’s ultimately anything that can be done about that, but it seemed like if they raised the speakers above the hockey glass it may have made the audio clear both inside and out.

In the end though, we had a great time and I have zero regrets about going. The atmosphere of the event was different from Stars On Ice. I don’t think it was just because of the smaller venue. There was a different energy. And it was a positive thing. I think bringing in performers other than just the stars helped with that atmosphere. I’ve been to quite a few SOI shows over the years. But I’ve also been to 2 exhibition shows in Europe (Music on Ice in Switzerland and the Europeans Gala from this past January). I think the easiest way to describe what I’m struggling to put into words is that this show had a more European vibe to it. With the theater on ice group, the fire guy, the young skaters - it just worked. I think it felt fresh, compared to what feels like a bit of stagnancy with SOI. Plus the audience was so enthusiastic. I was surprised at how loud the audience was! I definitely think a show like this could be successful if they make it an annual thing. It was truly an amazing lineup for such a small scale production. The skaters all looked like they were happy to be there which was nice to see.

I’ve seen people saying here and on other forums that the meet and greet was chaotic. I honestly didn’t think it was too bad. It was no more chaotic than some of the SOI meet and greets I’ve been to. Could it have been more organized? Probably. But it worked out fine in the end. Plus, all the VIPs were given free programs and we could take a free poster to get signed if we wanted to. The skaters were all chatty and super friendly. I had met some of them before, but this was the first time I got to meet Deanna & Maxime, Isabeau, and Ilia. And Donovan! I was so happy to see Donovan there. I’ll say this for the organizers: they knew who fans wanted to see. I also got Gracie Gold to autograph her book for me which made my night. I felt a bit awkward asking her to sign it since I didn’t notice anyone else with the book or anyone else getting anything other than a poster or program signed. But she was so sweet and kind, and now I just love her even more than I already did.

The price point for everything was perfect in my opinion. $120+fees for on ice seats, early entry to the arena, meet and greet, free program, and access to the bar & grill was an extremely good deal. Hopefully if the show does become an annual thing the price point won’t get much higher.



So all in all it was a great time!

 

[Sylvia]

FULL SHOW (uploaded on Gold on Ice's YT channel today, April 25): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwtp6Pkq6e8

"Gold on Ice !! Shot by Jordan Cowan from @oniceperspectives

Thank you to all the skaters and fans who helped make this show possible!"

 

[justtojoke]

Apologies for the length of this post. I meant to write this a couple days ago but didn’t quite have the desire to retype everything that disappeared the first time I tried to write my review. So this will be an abridged version of that (and trust me, that’s a good thing) as there’s not a whole lot that I can add that hasn’t already been said.

First, I’m glad people appreciate the videos. In truth, I took some of them as a way for me to see better. As @Poptarts mentioned, the VIP seats weren’t the greatest if you weren’t in Row A. I’m actually a little annoyed at myself for picking the seats that I did. When I bought them, Row A was sold out. I debated between Row B or D. I ended up choosing D thinking that it might be easier to stand up, or kneel in my seat, without bothering anyone behind me. But ultimately, I think B would have been the better choice.

The VIP seats are one of my two complaints. There were 4 rows, but all on the same level. Which might not be a problem for tall people, but if you’re short like me then it was really hard to see. To be fair, they were set up in a way that allowed for people to move them around a bit in order to get a better line of sight. But if they do this again, I’d like to see them put the seats behind Row A on a bit of elevation. If they added even 2 inches to the height of Row D it would have helped. And I don’t think it would obstruct the view of the seats in the stands behind the VIP section any more than it was already obstructed.

So the videos - The first few I took with my arms raised uncomfortably high so I could actually see what was happening through the screen. Eventually, my husband and I got up and stood at the back left side of the section. There were a couple other people who stood for the whole show, and eventually a few more people stood where we were standing.

And that brings me to my second complaint: the sound system. The people speaking, and the music were really muffled. At first I just assumed that it’s a smaller rink and chalked it up to just not having the technology for a good audio system. But when my husband and I decided to stand, I worried that we were blocking someone’s line of sight behind us. I sent my husband out to gauge if we were standing in a spot that was blocking anyone’s view. At which point he discovered that the audio was only muffled inside the hockey glass. Apparently outside the glass everything sounded clear. I’m not sure if there’s ultimately anything that can be done about that, but it seemed like if they raised the speakers above the hockey glass it may have made the audio clear both inside and out.

In the end though, we had a great time and I have zero regrets about going. The atmosphere of the event was different from Stars On Ice. I don’t think it was just because of the smaller venue. There was a different energy. And it was a positive thing. I think bringing in performers other than just the stars helped with that atmosphere. I’ve been to quite a few SOI shows over the years. But I’ve also been to 2 exhibition shows in Europe (Music on Ice in Switzerland and the Europeans Gala from this past January). I think the easiest way to describe what I’m struggling to put into words is that this show had a more European vibe to it. With the theater on ice group, the fire guy, the young skaters - it just worked. I think it felt fresh, compared to what feels like a bit of stagnancy with SOI. Plus the audience was so enthusiastic. I was surprised at how loud the audience was! I definitely think a show like this could be successful if they make it an annual thing. It was truly an amazing lineup for such a small scale production. The skaters all looked like they were happy to be there which was nice to see.

I’ve seen people saying here and on other forums that the meet and greet was chaotic. I honestly didn’t think it was too bad. It was no more chaotic than some of the SOI meet and greets I’ve been to. Could it have been more organized? Probably. But it worked out fine in the end. Plus, all the VIPs were given free programs and we could take a free poster to get signed if we wanted to. The skaters were all chatty and super friendly. I had met some of them before, but this was the first time I got to meet Deanna & Maxime, Isabeau, and Ilia. And Donovan! I was so happy to see Donovan there. I’ll say this for the organizers: they knew who fans wanted to see. I also got Gracie Gold to autograph her book for me which made my night. I felt a bit awkward asking her to sign it since I didn’t notice anyone else with the book or anyone else getting anything other than a poster or program signed. But she was so sweet and kind, and now I just love her even more than I already did.

The price point for everything was perfect in my opinion. $120+fees for on ice seats, early entry to the arena, meet and greet, free program, and access to the bar & grill was an extremely good deal. Hopefully if the show does become an annual thing the price point won’t get much higher.



So all in all it was a great time!

I agree with all of your observations! Like others in this thread, I hope they make it an annual thing.

What did the "bar & grill" have? I was chatting with some of the Theater skaters and they were chowing on Chipolte. Right before the show ended I saw some skaters with loaded plates that looked so good .

Just curious if it was a different option than the pretzel & hotdog window us non VIP plebians had access to.

Off topic:
Did I miss an update regarding why Bratti/Somerville didn't skate?

 

[Debbie S]

I agree with all of your observations! Like others in this thread, I hope they make it an annual thing.

What did the "bar & grill" have? I was chatting with some of the Theater skaters and they were chowing on Chipolte. Right before the show ended I saw some skaters with loaded plates that looked so good .

Just curious if it was a different option than the pretzel & hotdog window us non VIP plebians had access to.

Off topic:
Did I miss an update regarding why Bratti/Somerville didn't skate?

No update. I hope they are OK. It may have just been an issue with travel from MI...maybe they and their coaches decided it was too much...

Everyone had access to the bar and grill, not just VIPs. But I think pretzels and hot dogs (and $2 water bottles) were it. It didn't look like there was anything extra there after the show.

 

[justtojoke]

No update. I hope they are OK. It may have just been an issue with travel from MI...maybe they and their coaches decided it was too much...

Everyone had access to the bar and grill, not just VIPs. But I think pretzels and hot dogs (and $2 water bottles) were it. It didn't look like there was anything extra there after the show.

Whew okay, good to know I didn't miss any food options #priorities

Hmmm, I hope it was just a logistics things too for Bratti/Somerville.