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 photo © Michon Halio
 
 
 

-May 1st-

   Book News!  Tai and Randy's book, Forever Two as One, is in publication and will be released in October.  The cover price will be $59.95 and is a coffee table-style book with over 100 photos and comments by Lisa-Marie Allen, Jef Billings, Emily Bindiger, Robin Cousins, Mabel Fairbanks, Linda Fratianne, Scott Hamilton, Sarah Kawahara, Christopher Knight, John Nicks, Michael Rosenberg, Ken Shelley and JoJo Starbuck.

    Tai and Randy will be featured on the E! True Hollywood Story on February 6th, at 7 pm CST.  Don't worry if you can't watch it then because it will be repeated on 2/7 at 8 pm and 2/10 at 7pm.  You can also watch On Thin Ice on 2/11 at 2pm on Lifetime.

    On the 8th, they will be in Atlanta, GA for the National Association of Homebuilders convention and will be skating a show there at 10:30 am.  From there, they will travel to Salt Lake City, UT for the Olympics.  They will be attending the Men's and Pairs events as well as functions for Sports Illustrated.

    While in SLC, they will doing a personal appearance and autograph signing at the Meyers and Frank Department store on the 14th.

    Randy just finished choreographing an episode of Strong Medicine guest starring Oksana Baiul.  It is airing this month on Lifetime.  Check your local listings for time.  He also choreographed an episode of Ally McBeal, where Ally has a dream sequence of being a skater.  This will air in January on Fox.

 IFS is once again hosting a cruise on the Explorer of the Seas, Royal Caribbean Cruises.  This cruise will set sail in October of 2002 and details are available on their web site.  Randy will once again be the skating coordinator.

    Also, in the current issue of IFS, there is a recap of this year's cruise, with pictures of Randy.  Check it out.

    Randy and Tai will be skating a convention show in Atlanta for the Homebuilders Association.  It will be on February 8, 2002.

    Tai has a new web site that you can access here.  It features an online store that sells her Little Wing Creations as well as many other things.

    Randy just returned from the second annual IFS cruise.  Read more about it at their web site.

    Tai and Randy are among the skaters that will be performing in "The Best of America" at Madison Square Garden on October 5th.  The show is to benefit the USFSA Memorial Fund, which gives financial aid to young skaters.  More information on the show is available here.

    Tai has taped an infomercial for The Balance Bracelet, which is currently airing on television.  She will also be taping one for G.N.R. Power Vitamins in July.  Finally, she has taped a episode of "The Test" which will air sometime early this month.  Check you local listings for air dates and times.

  Here's a review from Randy's latest choreography project, Footloose on Ice:

Footloose' shines with precision
Published on:Saturday, March 24, 2001 By Kathryn Martin for The Sun News
Photo by Charles Slate

"Footloose on Ice," starring Nancy Kerrigan, plays Tuesdays through Saturdays at The Ice Castle Theatre in Myrtle Beach. It takes more than talent to make it to the top of the Olympics heap: it's the relentless drive for perfection that turns a gifted athlete into one who brings home the gold, silver or bronze. So it should be no surprise that two-time Olympic medalist Nancy Kerrigan's new theatrical production, "Footloose on Ice," could easily be renamed "Perfection on Ice." Every detail in this glittery, action-packed extravaganza has been polished to a perfect 10. For starters, producer Jerry Solomon (who is also Kerrigan's husband) and director/choreographer Randy Gardner have assembled a powerhouse of talent for the cast, and not just skating talent. Unlike ice shows which loosely graft a story line and a musical score over a series of ice routines, "Footloose" is a dramatic theater work - almost a ballet with dialogue - that calls for serious acting ability. And this cast delivers. Those who come for the axels, Lutzes and triple toe loops won't be disappointed. Headlining the production, of course, is Kerrigan, known for her precise and artistic skating. Co-starring is two-time National Champion skater Scott Davis, a charismatic leading man who's also a dynamo on the ice. Fourteen fine actor/athletes fill out the ensemble in style. Surprisingly, "Footloose" is truly an ensemble piece, rather than simply a vehicle for Kerrigan. Gardner's choreography (with an assist from dance choreographer Cindy Stuart) offers ample opportunity for all the cast members to shine. Of particular note is a stunning pairs-skating performance by longtime partners and World Champions Anita Hartshorn and Frank Sweiding. In facial moves and gestures, they provide a range of expression from comic to dramatic, and their skating offers plenty of heart-in-the-mouth moments, as well. Based on the mid-1990s Broadway stage adaptation of the 1984 film starring Kevin Bacon, "Footloose" is the story of Ren McCormack (played by Davis), a Chicago teen who moves to an ultraconservative small town that's all but run by a local minister, the Rev. Shaw Moore (Ryan Hunka). Central to the town's rigid behavior code is a ban on dancing, enacted in the aftermath of a tragic auto accident in which Moore's own son was killed. Not surprisingly, the ban weighs heavily on the town's young people, among them Shaw's own rebellious daughter, Ariel - played in deliciously bad-girl fashion by Kerrigan. Almost against his will, Ren is thrown into a battle of wills against Shaw's authority at the same time he is drawn to Ariel. It takes an act of faith and an opening of hearts to overcome the impasse, but not before plenty of sparks have flown - literally and figuratively. In fact, with the show's constantly changing sets, high-tech lighting and special effects, one frequently has trouble knowing where to look. It starts with the show's intricate and high-energy choreography, enhanced by a parade of colorful '80s-style costumes, and sets that glide up and down from the rafters in the blink of an eye. Meanwhile, gymnast Sergey Ryzhov performs eye-popping stunts around the perimeter of the ice. And just when you think there's nothing more they can do onstage, they move the action into the theater - dancing up the aisles on skates. As for special effects, there are supergraphics done with lighting, fog and fireworks, and a dazzling scene where Davis appears to set off sparks from the blades of his skates. Or how about a skater (Benjy Oberman) who makes his entrance on a motorcycle - while wearing skates? Sound is crystal clear and balanced. And though the cast performs to a prerecorded musical score, the songs are so flawlessly lip-synched by cast members that it's virtually impossible to distinguish them from a live performance. Stage management is just as polished, with entrances and exits as well as complicated set, costume and lighting changes executed in flawless precision. In short, it's a production that shouts first class in every detail, one that will leave theatergoers feeling they got their money's worth and more.
INFO : "Footloose on Ice"
When | 3 and 8 p.m. today, 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays with 3 p.m. shows Tuesdays and Saturdays, through August 31
Where | The Ice Castle Theatre, Fantasy Harbour, off U.S. 501 behind the Waccamaw Factory Shoppes, Myrtle Beach
How much | $12-$33 236-2200
 

     Tai is featured in a infomercial for the Ultima Ultrasonic Toothbrush.  It is currenly being aired on television. She is also taping an infomercial this month for a vitaimin supplement.

I added another fact to the Fun Facts page.  Enjoy!

  Quite a few have been inquiring about Tai and Randy's Book, Forever Two as One, which was originally anticipated to be released this fall.  The release date has been moved to 2001, but no specific time has been determined.