Evening With Champions Report
An Evening with Champions
So I met up with eachpeach, yodante, bulldogfaith, buranko and Buranko's fun friend to see the benefit show "An Evening with Champions" last Saturday night. Here is our story:
I was the first to arrive at the arena so I sat at a picnic table. Much to my surprise I recognized my new Facebook and Twitter friend, Tim David (@TimDavid_Sk8, follow him he's super friendly) was at the table next to me with a friend. I introduced myself and we chatted about how confusing driving in Boston can be when Oksana Baiul walked up to him and said "The show is postponed until 7:30". I think she said some skaters were still arriving. Then Oksana turned to me, stuck out her hand, and said "Hello, I'm Oksana". I shook her hand and said "UHHHH YES I KNOW!" :D :D
After my friends showed up we sat and watched skaters go in and out of the door to the Arena. Simon Shnapir spent about 20 minutes talking on his cell phone, and Tim took some photos of Oksana with Shawn Sawyer to twitpic. Sure enough his photos showed up on twitter a few minutes later. Here is my creeper shot of Tim and Oksana (who was actually wearing a warm up jacket with her name on it ;-D)
It was a total hot mess trying to get into the arena. Mobs of Korean skating fans to see Yuna- only a couple of doors open- really late showtime- mobbed concession stand and bathrooms SIGH we finally got to our seats and were pissed off to see the hockey boards were up. GRRRR!
But the show was fabulous. These are my photos. It's a new camera and my first time shooting figure skating so I apologize for them being dark, blurry and not centered. I took LOTS of photos and they are all here and here on my Flickr.
Opening number:
Alex wore his Boston Bruins t-shirt!
eachpeach was so excited to see Jason Wong skating. Jason works as a coach at Skating Club of Boston now.
Harvard sophomore Blake Rosenthal skated next. She's cute as a button and skated beautifully even though her hair came loose. Blake enjoys reading, listening to music, and relaxing at Starbucks
I screamed my head off when Dean and Charlotte came out in their Austin Powers costumes. Fun, groovy choreo and finger guns- I LOVED IT.
Blurry, but look how freaking flawless Charlotte is
And her face is absolutely stunning OMG
Braden Overett performed a HILARIOUS comedy routine to Carmen with a fake pompadour hairpiece and a rose. Braden is also in the process of launching a designer sports-clothing line for figure skaters, Veretto Sport.
Yasmin Siraj skated next and she was tiny and speedy. It was impossible to photograph her, as she zoomed around. From the program: Yasmin is also an award winning classical pianist and has twice performed solo at Carnegie Hall. Yasmin loves to volunteer at food pantries and blood drives... WOW
I was kind of whelmed to see Shawn Sawyer (with a mohawk) skate his Mad Hatter program. The crowd loved him, he has such a presence on the ice. And yes he lifted his foot up to his head O__O Shawn enjoys listening to techno music and watching Survivor and Everybody Loves Raymond. He would also like to further pursue his artistic talents in oil paintings.
Oksana Baiul skated next, and she came out in an Oriental costume with huge hot pink fans. We giggled a bit at her GREAT REVEAL when she threw off the robe...and had a gauzy gold costume underneath. But she DONUT SPINNED #likeaboss and landed a double jump and it was so awesome to see her. Oksana launched her clothing line with huge success called the Oksana Baiul Collection...Oksana can be found on the ice training at Westchester Skating Academy preparing for her upcoming professional comeback..."
She also was LOL QUE when interviewed by Paul and Emily after her skate. LOL! I love her SFM.
Then it was intermission and I checked out the charity auction items. There was a signed Johnny Weir Poker Face art piece:
And a gorgeous Team Japan wall hanging I was dying to buy but LOL Mr. Crossthefingers would be like WTF if I brought it home so...
Also a signed Yuna picture.
As I headed back to our seats I saw Jason Wong chatting in our section. So of course I whipped out my phone and texted eachpeach to say "JASON WONG IS AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS". Immediately I see yodante whip her head around to look and the girls came up. Here is Peach being whelmed while meeting Jason :D
And she got a photo with him. He was really sweet <333333
After intermission, skating legends Ludmilla and Oleg Protopopov, aged 75 and 79, floated around the ice in an elegant dance. They were etherial and beautiful, smiling at the crowd and I enjoyed their skating so much. They have performed at EWC for 20 YEARS, except last year when Oleg had a stroke (sob). This was their first performance since his stroke.
Next came Gretchen Donlan and Andrew Speroff. I saw them at Ice Chips, and remember them because Gretchen is gorgeous and looks like a young Audrey Hepburn IMO. Their costumes were elegant, and I especially liked Andrew's black velvet onesie tuxedo. They took my breath away.
LOOK. AT. HER. BACK. MUSCLES. GODDAMN GODDESS
The adorable Alexander Aiken was next. Paul Wylie trains him. He had some trouble with jumps, but he skates with energy and enthusiasm and has the face of a pixie.
Christina Gao had the biggest smile on her face when she skated. She was super fast and confident on the ice. "In her spare time, she enjoys reading, shopping, and hanging out with friends. Christina lists Yu-Na Kim as her favorite skater. aww
Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir seemed to me (although I know nothing about pairs lol) to have difficult lifts. There were lots of OOOOHS and AHHHHHS. Or maybe that was just me. Marissa and Simon appeared in the 2010 film The Cutting Edge: Fire and Ice as the Richardsons.
When I saw Stephen Carriere skate his ex program "Mr. Cellophane" at Ice Chips I fell in love with the program. When I saw he was going to skate it, I took a ton of photos. After his competitive skating career, he is interested in working as a physiotherapist in sports medicine as well as in fashion photography.
There's this part where he crashes into the boards and it was right in front of us :D And he even spent a few moments to fix the light the string of lights he had knocked loose when he crashed, before taking his bows.
Queen Maia Shibutani came out, along with that guy she skates with, and SHE WAS SO PRECIOUS. Their Glenn Miller swing number was entertaining from start to finish, and not boring at all. They smiled, danced, and she even did the splits. I loved it!
LOL Ross Miner looks unimpressed xD
When Maia took her bows it was really cute because she skated in front of Alex and went down on one knee like a curtsey. She did this in all 4 directions. Love her <333
Ross Miner was next. He looked to be in great form. He first performed at EWC when he was 7 years old! Good luck at Skate Canada, Ross!
Finally Yuna Kim came out. bulldogfaith started ~shaking and crying~. I'll spare you lots of photos of her because there are a million better quality ones from the show. Actually I gave eachpeach my camera so she took these photos. I took video with bulldogfaith's camera so she could watch Yuna with her eyes. I thought she was going to pass out from excitement when Yuna came onto the ice. BULLDOGFAITH WAS TOTALLY WHELMED.
Photos here by eachpeach taken with my camera :D
SHE DID A LOT OF HAIR WHIPPING LOL
Someone threw her a teddy bear.
Lol I love this photo of Yuna's hand. And the teddy bear. Peach you win at life for this photo OK?
Finale to Edge of Glory. I had to get last photos of my Dean and Charlotte <333
Thank you sign for Yuna
THE RECEPTION
So after the show there was a reception for certain guests who had supported the Jimmy Fund (cancer research). We had to leave the arena, walk across a bridge over the Charles River and find this building on the Harvard campus. "Hors d'oeuvres" were to be served. The room was in an impressive brick building, all wood paneled with fancy chandeliers. We were highly amused by the 3 tables of food. Bertucci's restaurant (YUM) had donated pasta, salad, rolls and butter. Also there was a table with waffles, chocolate sauce and bowls of M&Ms.
We were starving and we hit the food with enthusiasm. They also had some beer and wine \o/. bulldogfaith was like "Thank you I would love a bottle of beer"!
Skaters started trickling in. I had the feeling most of the people there wanted to see Yuna. As for me...I jumped at the chance to congratulate Stephen Carriere on his medal at Oberstdorf. He was so gracious and kind, and we talked for a while about Nebelhorn and how exciting it was that he made the podium. He is going to have a really long season. But he assured me he is feeling healthy. I LOVE HIM, OK?
Meanwhile, the other girls found Ross Miner. eachpeach says "OKAY CAN I JUST SAY THAT ROSS IS FANTASTICALLY BEAUTIFUL IRL"
And they found Shawn Sawyer (You can now follow him on twitter BTW at @SawyerMadHatter!!)
Also Oksana Baiul. eachpeach says "EVERYTHING IS OKSANA AND NOTHING HURT"
I found my new BFF Tim David and got a photo with him
The EWC organizers had blocked off a section of the room to take photos of each "family" with the cast. It was a total mess for a long time as those poor skaters had to stand forever to be positioned for the photo. Then they had to stand there and smile for over an hour it seemed while people took turns getting a photo.
GOD BLESS YOU, PATIENT, FLAWLESS PEOPLE FOR DOING THIS TO SUPPORT PEDIATRIC CANCER!!
Yuna got the seat of honor in front. buranko's friend ran immediately to sit next to Yuna and he leaned over as far towards her as he could. LOLOL! Also I love the faux serious faces by Ross Miner and Andrew Speroff...A+++ trolling of the family photos!
I then decided to stand on a table and take creeper photos of the skaters with my telephoto lens.
CREEPER PHOTOS BY crossthefingers
Silly Oksana
FLAWLESS GORGEOUS LADIES
MY BEAUTIFUL DEAN AND CHARLOTTE
SIMON - YOU ARE SO TALL - I'M SORRY ABOUT THE RED EYES
BAMF SHAWN SAWYER WITH THE BEAUTIFUL GRETCHEN
YUNAAAAAA HOW IS SHE REAL IDEK
And then it was midnight and the skaters must have been exhausted. Oksana Baiul graciously stayed at the reception after photos and posed with anyone who wanted a photo, plus she signed things until everyone had left. She was such a sweetheart.
Thanks everyone for your time <3333 Full size of these plus more photos on my flickr. -SKATING BROS ARE THE BEST BROS, I LOVE YOU GUYS ♥ ♥ ♥
So I met up with eachpeach, yodante, bulldogfaith, buranko and Buranko's fun friend to see the benefit show "An Evening with Champions" last Saturday night. Here is our story:
I was the first to arrive at the arena so I sat at a picnic table. Much to my surprise I recognized my new Facebook and Twitter friend, Tim David (@TimDavid_Sk8, follow him he's super friendly) was at the table next to me with a friend. I introduced myself and we chatted about how confusing driving in Boston can be when Oksana Baiul walked up to him and said "The show is postponed until 7:30". I think she said some skaters were still arriving. Then Oksana turned to me, stuck out her hand, and said "Hello, I'm Oksana". I shook her hand and said "UHHHH YES I KNOW!" :D :D
After my friends showed up we sat and watched skaters go in and out of the door to the Arena. Simon Shnapir spent about 20 minutes talking on his cell phone, and Tim took some photos of Oksana with Shawn Sawyer to twitpic. Sure enough his photos showed up on twitter a few minutes later. Here is my creeper shot of Tim and Oksana (who was actually wearing a warm up jacket with her name on it ;-D)
It was a total hot mess trying to get into the arena. Mobs of Korean skating fans to see Yuna- only a couple of doors open- really late showtime- mobbed concession stand and bathrooms SIGH we finally got to our seats and were pissed off to see the hockey boards were up. GRRRR!
But the show was fabulous. These are my photos. It's a new camera and my first time shooting figure skating so I apologize for them being dark, blurry and not centered. I took LOTS of photos and they are all here and here on my Flickr.
Opening number:
Alex wore his Boston Bruins t-shirt!
eachpeach was so excited to see Jason Wong skating. Jason works as a coach at Skating Club of Boston now.
Harvard sophomore Blake Rosenthal skated next. She's cute as a button and skated beautifully even though her hair came loose. Blake enjoys reading, listening to music, and relaxing at Starbucks
I screamed my head off when Dean and Charlotte came out in their Austin Powers costumes. Fun, groovy choreo and finger guns- I LOVED IT.
Blurry, but look how freaking flawless Charlotte is
And her face is absolutely stunning OMG
Braden Overett performed a HILARIOUS comedy routine to Carmen with a fake pompadour hairpiece and a rose. Braden is also in the process of launching a designer sports-clothing line for figure skaters, Veretto Sport.
Yasmin Siraj skated next and she was tiny and speedy. It was impossible to photograph her, as she zoomed around. From the program: Yasmin is also an award winning classical pianist and has twice performed solo at Carnegie Hall. Yasmin loves to volunteer at food pantries and blood drives... WOW
I was kind of whelmed to see Shawn Sawyer (with a mohawk) skate his Mad Hatter program. The crowd loved him, he has such a presence on the ice. And yes he lifted his foot up to his head O__O Shawn enjoys listening to techno music and watching Survivor and Everybody Loves Raymond. He would also like to further pursue his artistic talents in oil paintings.
Oksana Baiul skated next, and she came out in an Oriental costume with huge hot pink fans. We giggled a bit at her GREAT REVEAL when she threw off the robe...and had a gauzy gold costume underneath. But she DONUT SPINNED #likeaboss and landed a double jump and it was so awesome to see her. Oksana launched her clothing line with huge success called the Oksana Baiul Collection...Oksana can be found on the ice training at Westchester Skating Academy preparing for her upcoming professional comeback..."
She also was LOL QUE when interviewed by Paul and Emily after her skate. LOL! I love her SFM.
Then it was intermission and I checked out the charity auction items. There was a signed Johnny Weir Poker Face art piece:
And a gorgeous Team Japan wall hanging I was dying to buy but LOL Mr. Crossthefingers would be like WTF if I brought it home so...
Also a signed Yuna picture.
As I headed back to our seats I saw Jason Wong chatting in our section. So of course I whipped out my phone and texted eachpeach to say "JASON WONG IS AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS". Immediately I see yodante whip her head around to look and the girls came up. Here is Peach being whelmed while meeting Jason :D
And she got a photo with him. He was really sweet <333333
After intermission, skating legends Ludmilla and Oleg Protopopov, aged 75 and 79, floated around the ice in an elegant dance. They were etherial and beautiful, smiling at the crowd and I enjoyed their skating so much. They have performed at EWC for 20 YEARS, except last year when Oleg had a stroke (sob). This was their first performance since his stroke.
Next came Gretchen Donlan and Andrew Speroff. I saw them at Ice Chips, and remember them because Gretchen is gorgeous and looks like a young Audrey Hepburn IMO. Their costumes were elegant, and I especially liked Andrew's black velvet onesie tuxedo. They took my breath away.
LOOK. AT. HER. BACK. MUSCLES. GODDAMN GODDESS
The adorable Alexander Aiken was next. Paul Wylie trains him. He had some trouble with jumps, but he skates with energy and enthusiasm and has the face of a pixie.
Christina Gao had the biggest smile on her face when she skated. She was super fast and confident on the ice. "In her spare time, she enjoys reading, shopping, and hanging out with friends. Christina lists Yu-Na Kim as her favorite skater. aww
Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir seemed to me (although I know nothing about pairs lol) to have difficult lifts. There were lots of OOOOHS and AHHHHHS. Or maybe that was just me. Marissa and Simon appeared in the 2010 film The Cutting Edge: Fire and Ice as the Richardsons.
When I saw Stephen Carriere skate his ex program "Mr. Cellophane" at Ice Chips I fell in love with the program. When I saw he was going to skate it, I took a ton of photos. After his competitive skating career, he is interested in working as a physiotherapist in sports medicine as well as in fashion photography.
There's this part where he crashes into the boards and it was right in front of us :D And he even spent a few moments to fix the light the string of lights he had knocked loose when he crashed, before taking his bows.
Queen Maia Shibutani came out, along with that guy she skates with, and SHE WAS SO PRECIOUS. Their Glenn Miller swing number was entertaining from start to finish, and not boring at all. They smiled, danced, and she even did the splits. I loved it!
LOL Ross Miner looks unimpressed xD
When Maia took her bows it was really cute because she skated in front of Alex and went down on one knee like a curtsey. She did this in all 4 directions. Love her <333
Ross Miner was next. He looked to be in great form. He first performed at EWC when he was 7 years old! Good luck at Skate Canada, Ross!
Finally Yuna Kim came out. bulldogfaith started ~shaking and crying~. I'll spare you lots of photos of her because there are a million better quality ones from the show. Actually I gave eachpeach my camera so she took these photos. I took video with bulldogfaith's camera so she could watch Yuna with her eyes. I thought she was going to pass out from excitement when Yuna came onto the ice. BULLDOGFAITH WAS TOTALLY WHELMED.
Photos here by eachpeach taken with my camera :D
SHE DID A LOT OF HAIR WHIPPING LOL
Someone threw her a teddy bear.
Lol I love this photo of Yuna's hand. And the teddy bear. Peach you win at life for this photo OK?
Finale to Edge of Glory. I had to get last photos of my Dean and Charlotte <333
Thank you sign for Yuna
THE RECEPTION
So after the show there was a reception for certain guests who had supported the Jimmy Fund (cancer research). We had to leave the arena, walk across a bridge over the Charles River and find this building on the Harvard campus. "Hors d'oeuvres" were to be served. The room was in an impressive brick building, all wood paneled with fancy chandeliers. We were highly amused by the 3 tables of food. Bertucci's restaurant (YUM) had donated pasta, salad, rolls and butter. Also there was a table with waffles, chocolate sauce and bowls of M&Ms.
We were starving and we hit the food with enthusiasm. They also had some beer and wine \o/. bulldogfaith was like "Thank you I would love a bottle of beer"!
Skaters started trickling in. I had the feeling most of the people there wanted to see Yuna. As for me...I jumped at the chance to congratulate Stephen Carriere on his medal at Oberstdorf. He was so gracious and kind, and we talked for a while about Nebelhorn and how exciting it was that he made the podium. He is going to have a really long season. But he assured me he is feeling healthy. I LOVE HIM, OK?
Meanwhile, the other girls found Ross Miner. eachpeach says "OKAY CAN I JUST SAY THAT ROSS IS FANTASTICALLY BEAUTIFUL IRL"
And they found Shawn Sawyer (You can now follow him on twitter BTW at @SawyerMadHatter!!)
Also Oksana Baiul. eachpeach says "EVERYTHING IS OKSANA AND NOTHING HURT"
I found my new BFF Tim David and got a photo with him
The EWC organizers had blocked off a section of the room to take photos of each "family" with the cast. It was a total mess for a long time as those poor skaters had to stand forever to be positioned for the photo. Then they had to stand there and smile for over an hour it seemed while people took turns getting a photo.
GOD BLESS YOU, PATIENT, FLAWLESS PEOPLE FOR DOING THIS TO SUPPORT PEDIATRIC CANCER!!
Yuna got the seat of honor in front. buranko's friend ran immediately to sit next to Yuna and he leaned over as far towards her as he could. LOLOL! Also I love the faux serious faces by Ross Miner and Andrew Speroff...A+++ trolling of the family photos!
I then decided to stand on a table and take creeper photos of the skaters with my telephoto lens.
CREEPER PHOTOS BY crossthefingers
Silly Oksana
FLAWLESS GORGEOUS LADIES
MY BEAUTIFUL DEAN AND CHARLOTTE
SIMON - YOU ARE SO TALL - I'M SORRY ABOUT THE RED EYES
BAMF SHAWN SAWYER WITH THE BEAUTIFUL GRETCHEN
YUNAAAAAA HOW IS SHE REAL IDEK
And then it was midnight and the skaters must have been exhausted. Oksana Baiul graciously stayed at the reception after photos and posed with anyone who wanted a photo, plus she signed things until everyone had left. She was such a sweetheart.
Thanks everyone for your time <3333 Full size of these plus more photos on my flickr. -SKATING BROS ARE THE BEST BROS, I LOVE YOU GUYS ♥ ♥ ♥