Champions on Ice

Report by Natasha: August 9, Nashville, TN: Evgeni was the last to skate in the opening number. He looks so great with his hair longer again and it looks even more blonde. Must have been all that California sun. He skated out on the ice really fast and then did that cute belly slide, smiling the whole time. His "Carmen" is just absolutely amazing. This is the 4th time I have seen him perform it and he always has such fun with this program. He skates out to the ice and strikes his gorgeous opening pose and the mood is set. He opened with a quad ( I think; it is so hard to tell as he does it so fast ) and his hair spun out so long and perfect. He then does some fancy footwork with dazzling twists and turns with a bit of a devilish attitude thrown in----a triple---some more intricate footwork and another triple. Then he slows down to do the hip wiggle part of the program and really connect with the audience. The audience's at all the shows I have been to really do get into the spirit of Carmen. Evgeni has that wonderful personality on the ice that makes him a true artist and it is so great to watch as people realize--- hey this guy is really something!!!! His diagonal footwork sequence that covers the whole rink is so fast with intricate twists and turns.---The only word to adequately describe it is breathtaking. His closing spins were very fast and well centered and he got very low to the ice. Very loud applause and several groups standing ( including us, of course) In the finale Evgeni fell on his jump and then he just lay all the way down on the ice for a few seconds. Then he got up smiling and waving to the crowd. It was really cute. He looks so happy and relaxed, even after performing at every show during this long tour. He seems very strong and confident and ready to kick some butt this season. At the end of the show he skated over to me to get his presents. He said "thank you" to all his fans who sent them. He is simply the greatest!!! Photo © by Natasha