A substantial crowd filled most of the Tenley Albright Performance Center in Norwood, Massachusetts on August 15th for “Skating’s Elite Summer Sizzler”. Holding a public ice show alongside U.S. Figure Skating’s “Champs Camp” high-performance training was a smart marketing move for the Boston World Championships which will take place at the end of this season.
The show had much better attendance than the Cranberry Cup Challenger Series competition event held in the same venue the week before. These strong ticket sales bode well for Boston Worlds – although the much cheaper price ($32 for a ticket) may have helped.
Many (but not all) of the top US skaters skated their new programs or an exhibition. It’s not clear what the criteria were for the show, but some of the missing top teams were recovering from injuries.
USFS President Sam Auxier noted that this was the first time that U.S. Figure Skating has held an ice show as part of Champs Camp. The ticket proceeds go directly to the athletes’ training costs.
In addition to the top seniors, several young skaters were given spots to perform, including junior Patrick Blackwell – who included both a backflip and a “raspberry twist” in his opening surfing-themed number, and the Novice pairs champs Sofia Jarmoc and Luke Witkowski, who skated to a Barbie program.
Norwood-based Jimmy Ma skated his new short program, a mix of flamenco and club music. It was a classic Jimmy Ma program, and he dialled up the charisma (and flirting) during the step sequence, although he looked a little short of energy in his performance.
New dance team Annabelle Morozov and Jeffrey Chen showed their Star Wars program. It’s a strong concept, although they still look a little rough in their partnering and step sequences. Their rotational lift, however, was stunning.
Junior Sophie Joline Von Felton made her triple axel look easy, even under show lights. She also lived up to the energy of the “Sweet Dreams” program – which is almost as impressive for a junior skater.
Eva Pate and Logan Bye showed their new Rhythm Dance to Le Freak/Car Wash/Shake Your Groove Thing. They embraced the high-energy program, but with the plethora of arm movements, the disco started to seem a little frantic. Hopefully, they can sharpen the clarity of movements and find more variation within the music as the season progresses.
The short program to “Objection Tango” by Shakira is a great concept for Josephine Lee. Kaitlyn Weaver’s choreography brings out her star quality, and while she has weaker skating skills than some of her competitors, her presentation marks should be high.
Ian Somerville skated solo to a version of his and Emily Bratti’s Rhythm Dance to “Brick House” and “Daddy Cool”. It was very entertaining (but hard to judge from the solo). Two fun things were a kick away from the boards to start the choreographic rhythm sequence (is kicking the boards going to be a new trend?) and the ending headstand position.
Junior Logan Higase-Chen looked very solid in her jumps and was ready to compete in her short program.
Starr Andrews skated her “Alien Superstar” Short Program. She did an easy layout (3T-3T, 2A, 3S) but looked confident. There is truly no one else who can strut and perform like her!
The second half of the show opened with the Theater on Ice “Overture of Boston” unified team, which includes skaters with cognitive and physical disabilities. They had a very fun ’60s road trip-themed program.
Another unexpected treat was a solo program from Ashley Cain, who was one of the Team USA “alumni” participating in Champs Camp. She fell on the triple salchow in her “Footprints in the Sand” program but shone in her gorgeous spirals.
Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko also debuted their new Rhythm Dance. They took a different approach to the theme, going with the 50’s songs “I Wanna Make Love to You” and “Long Tall Sally.” They embodied the “social dance” theme and looked like young people having fun at a dance, with swing moves and fast footwork.
It was wonderful to see Alysa Liu skating again. While I initially assumed her program to Donna Summer’s “MacArthur Park” was an exhibition, she has since confirmed that it is her Free Skate. She looked prepared and relaxed and landed a high-quality triple flip.
Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov debuted their new short program, a very crisp flamenco. They performed a double twist and side-by-side double toes and fell on the throw triple loop. But the program concept is a great fit for them and makes the most of their classical pair lines and intensity.
Maxim Naumov skated to “Ants Marching” by the Dave Mathews Band. It is a fantastic exhibition, and I wish Max would use this kind of music for competitions since he looked so comfortable and happy skating to it.
Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea skated an “Uptown Funk” exhibition, full of ALL the crowd-pleasing pair tricks, and none of the more challenging jump elements.
It was a nice moment when Gracie Gold introduced Amber Glenn as “one of my best friends.” Amber’s exhibition to Olivia Rodrigo’s “Vampire” made the most of her abilities as a storyteller on the ice.
Jason Brown did a version of his Tarzan program (now confirmed to be his 2024/2025 Short Program). Although I’m still not 100% sold on the concept, it doesn’t matter; I’d enjoy watching Jason skate to just about anything, every single moment has such high quality.
Isabeau Levito skated her new short program. Although she fell on the opening triple flip and popped her axel, the program itself is gorgeous. It shows all her best balletic qualities, but more subtly and maturely than she has done in the past.
Ilia Malinin skated an exhibition to “Hope”. I actually loved this style for him; he’s bringing teen angst vibes with strong musicality, and mixing his triple jumps in amongst the steps, like choreography. I’m not so sure about the fake-rap lip-synching section, though!
Madison Chock and Evan Bates closed the show with their exhibition “Once I was Loved”. This program continues a trend of exhibition programs that I enjoy more than their competitive ones – with simpler choreography, the nuance of their emotional expression is beautiful.
I was surprised, given the promotion of the show, that so many of the top skaters did exhibitions rather than debut competition programs, but perhaps it was understandable after they skated the new programs for judges and the federation during the week. While I enjoyed many of the exhibitions, I’m eager for the season!
Hopefully, this summer exhibition was successful for U.S. Figure Skating and can become a tradition as part of Champs Camp, hyping up U.S. fans for the season ahead.
See more photos from “Skating’s Elite Summer Sizzler” in our gallery
