Saturday, December 22, 2007

Saturday, December 15

This weekend is crazy!!!  After 8 years of doing the same Santa gig, I get to have two new changes!!!  First, during my routine I get to have a piece of added music, "Deep in the Heart of Texas."  My father came up with the idea, and I imagine everyone singing and clapping just like in PeeWee Herman's Big Adventure.  Then, David Kirby's daughter, Sarah, comes out as Mrs. Clause to jam it up with me for finale.  You can watch the video on my website: www.danhproductions.com - enter the site - hit journal - Mrs. Clause! or a directly on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxwSvv4XwOU

Well, I have to say I'm a bit bummed with the lack of response to the Deep in the Heart of TX part....so next week they want me to have 4 verses instead of 2, and we'll see if we can't get them Texans singing!  Mrs. Clause was a blast, fun to skate with, and a delight to all the kiddies.  Couple that with a new roof over my head for changing and Hanukkah Harry has had a rocking good year!!!!

Be well,

Dan

 

Sunday, December 9, 2007

Hello again!  So I flew in Saturday night and meet up with Joseph Sabovcik at the bar for some late night food and drinks.  He is one of the guys who skates the Sun Valley shows.    Now we have no idea who else is going to be skating at the show and will end up finding out when we leave tomorrow from the hotel.  I knew Jason and Yuka were going to be there, but that was all....

So the next morning I am pleasantly surprised to see Irina Grigorian and her husband, and my good buddy Mike Weiss!  Rock on.  So  the show went very well, over five thousand people there!!!!  This is the Honeywell Show...this big corporation that puts on an Xmas skating show for all their employees to enjoy.  So I jam out there as Santa, and yes it does bum me out a bit not to have the fireworks.  So Santa dipped, hopped, weaved, and jigged, but alas a level one was only obtained!!!!  See, I could of done a level 4, but that would require me to be slow and boring.  Mike admitted to me that when he took the 4 main things, rotation, turn, step, he would just do one of each in that order, then continue doing that all the way down the ice.  He started to get those levels called of 4, and said it was easier footwork, but getting level four has nothing to do with the music...so there you have it.  Hanukah Harry sacrificed a turn and step for a good old sprinkler and cabbage patch move. 

The routine just seemed ok, nothing great, but a Santa they never had before that could do backflips.  Then we all packed up and ran to the airport for our flights out.   Now that they have had a jammin', slammin' Santa, I'll be curious if they request it next year....

Be well

Dan

 

Sat, Dec. 8, 2007
(picture on www.danhproductions.com of changing area as scene from 2nd floor, under journal)

The special guest skater this weekend is Victor Petrenko.  So early in the morning I came down to the rink to help the four girls with the finale.  See Victor had an early flight and had to leave as soon as he was done...which means they sent out some extras to help Santa light the tree and then jam.  After a quick run through, I tried to convince David (the producer) to let me use his daughter Sarah next week as Mrs. Clause to jam around the tree with...I think it will happen! 

THEN, I get to the show and as you can see in the picture, my dressing room has a small roof to it!!!!  YES!!!  I now have a ten foot by ten foot space to change and chill out in without having to put the whole wig on.  See before I could only sit in a chair in that corner, and that was it, anywhere else in that cubby hole someone from the 3rd level could see me.  I can't tell you how happy I am now!  The show went really well, I kicked some butt with some good backflips, and off to the airport for AZ.  Till tomorrow....

Be well

Dan

 

Friday, Dec 7, 2007

This weekend Hanukah Harry will be performing not only in Dallas, but in AZ too! I have done this show a few times in the past. Honeywell corporation rents out the big venue and treats their employees to a skating show. The first year I performed, we all came out for the "grand" finale (only one routine per skater, a small cast, no intermission, and a little over an hour long). Well, in the middle of finale everyone in the audience was rushing out of their seats, and I remember thinking, "holly crap were we all that bad????" Not really...its just at the end of the show all the employees get these awesome presents for all their kids...the first year being those metal, fold up scooters called Razors. So this year I gave them the option of doing a little Santa action instead of my normal routines, and they accepted (without fireworks though). SO, Santa for the first time 8 years will have some kickin' different tunes to jam to in this performance. Jason Dungeon is going to be there who is now a technical caller in the new system. My goal is for Hanukah Harry to rip out a level 4 straight line footwork, most of it made up on the spot! I mean come on, I can skate dreadfully slow in order to do every turn known to mankind tens times!!! :) I'll keep you posted.

I get to the airport today and happen to be hanging out reading my mac magazine, drooling over a concept "Apple" Audi TT, and the agent starts to call people onto the plane. OK, your job is obviously in customer service, so you would think a nice disposition would be in order, yes? NO! First he is snapping on a guy who doesn't have his ticket out of the folder, and announces that to the entire audience on the loudspeaker. Then he tells this lady with a stroller that she has to have a "check it at plane side" ticket that she must walk ALL the way back to the counter to get...I MEAN COME ON!!!! I have been traveling for a very, very, long time and I can honestly say EVERY TIME they give those right there as you are checking onto the plane!!! And if that was the policy, then they should have given it to her in the first place!!! So then another family walks up (I assume they are related) that has two women, each with a massive push stroller that has two screaming kids in each of them. "How many do you have here??" asks Mr. Ticket Jerko. The first lady attempts to answer, but it becomes apparent real fast that Spanish is her first language. After abruptly asking again, do you know what Jerko does??? HE ASKS HER AGAIN IN FLUENT SPANISH!!!! I mean you bastard, was it really necessary to ask her the second time in english??? breath, breath, breath.... My only solace is knowing the universe does balance itself, and he will totally have this brought back onto him in spades...I have seen too many angry, negative people get what they deserve in my life to many times to doubt this. "SO YOU BETTER BE GOOD FOR GOODNESS SAKES...here comes Hanukah Harry, here comes Hanukah Harry...."

Be well,

Dan

 

December 2, 2007

Is it that time already?

I walk into the outfit room, gather together the beard, gloved, fat suit and think to myself, "didn't I just skate this gig a few weeks ago?" Man has time flown by. I can't believe this will be my 8TH!!! year as Hanukah Harry.

This weekend we have two shows, and I had the privilege of skating with my favorite skater, Dorothy Hamill. She looks good as always and entertained the audience. Randy Gardner was there for a visit as well as her friend Tim. We enjoyed a nice wine tasting of the Peggy Fleming brand at David's house. Hmmm... a pretty boring update, I know...but wait for next week, it gets better, it always does....

Dan

-----

Hello...what were you thinking?

Sometimes your brain just isn't working when it should be. As you know, I have been skating this gig for 8 years. I grab all my gear, throw it into the massive blue bag with my skates, and away I go. Never thought to myself, "hmm, does this blue bag look a little light?" Oh heck no! So I get in Friday night around 9pm, get to the room and now I notice it. Where the bejezus is the fat suit part of SANTA???? OY VEY!!!! Ok, ok, be cool man, we can fix this...breath, breath.

So the next morning I go down to the ice surface for a rehearsal with the little girl who is the guest skater this week that can also do a backflip. Its 9 a.m. now, show is at 5 p.m. The people who run this gig, David and Holly Kirby are awesome people, and David is away this weekend. So I ask Holly if there is a fabric store around because I wanted to grab some more stuffing for the suit...not a lie really, but I didn't want anyone to stress. So she drove me over Joanne fabrics to snag the padding. 10:30 a.m. I am back to the hotel, and now need to get two unitards (looks like a girl's bathing suit) one small, one large, stitch them together, shove the padding in between, and I'm set.

Now I walked to the other mall, about a mile, and check out the stores. NOTHING!!! Oh sure, I could buy something like it, but its lady's lingerie with big old cups on it...yes I dress in drag all the time in my routines, but I have to draw the line somewhere right?!? I walk across the street to Target and resign myself to the fact that it will have to buy a tight shirt, big shirt, and biker shorts. Back to the hotel at 1 p.m.

I grab my handy dandy sewing kit and get started. 2 p.m. I'm all set. So Santa did OK this time around, his fat seemed to shift from a droopy butt to a hunch back, but only if you studied me from all the years of doing it, you wouldn't know. WHEW!!!! Won't be making that mistake again. So afterwards went out with Holly, her daughter, and few others for dinner. We ended up stopping to watch the public skating and watched people take some pretty nasty falls and wondered why it was that more people didn't get their fingers chopped off by another skater after they have fallen and decide to just sit there for a while. No thank you. Till next week,

Be well,

Dan

 

October 12, 2007

Jimmy Fund

For those of you who do not know, this is what this show is all about:

" An Evening with Champions is a student-run organization dedicated to fighting cancer by raising money for the Jimmy Fund, the fundraising arm of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. By organizing a world-class figure skating exhibition at Harvard University we aim to unite skaters, fans and volunteers in the quest for the cure."

www.hcs.harvard.edu/~ewc/index.htm

Today started off with an early drive to the airport. After parking the car, I loaded my luggage into the shuttle and waited for the driver to pick up a group of 10 people got that were quite interesting to say the least. The guy sitting next to me reminded me of Larry the Cable guy. He was cracking me up the whole time with everything he had to say. I would say each pant leg was bigger than my waist, and he was using a cane with bandages around his shin. Turns out he was shot last night...couldn’t figure out if he did it himself by accident or what, because he said he, "went back and got that gun later and is now locked up in his safe with all the others." Ok then...

The flights were uneventful and I made it to the dormitory around 3:30p.m.. Paul Wylie was hanging out in the big dinning hall with his wife and a few skaters. So I sat around eating and working on the computer for a while. They have me staying in the Masters house, which is this massive 3 story building that just rocks. On our floor is Dennis and Melissa, the Protopopov’s, and then Ben and I. Oh yeah, this is just one small wing that we are in that share a bathroom. There are other hallways with sections on this floor too!

At the rink the assistant choreographer grabbed me to show me the opening and finale. Well, there was a 3hr rehearsal earlier that day that I was on the plane for. The steps are pretty basic, but holly smokes there is a lot going on. I never heard the music on the loud speaker, and oh yeah, never even heard the music for the finale really at all. Meanwhile, what I didn’t know is that they had never had all the skaters off the ice and run the opening with everyone skating out. So why is that a problem? Well, we start on 1 of the 3rd count of 8. Yeah... everyone didn’t get out there in time, we are all sort of looking around at each other wonder what do we do? So we did the standard “step clap, step clap” through pretty much the ENTIRE opening! It was a disaster...to be fair, a disaster in our eyes as skaters, but fine for the onlookers. So the first show I dig into my pockets and what do I find, a bunch of big fat doubles. :) Eh, well ok, lets get that out of my system!

The next day was the best. We had the wonderful opportunity to skate with the Jimmy Fund kids. Man, my back is a bit sore, but that totally doesn’t matter. To grab some of these little kids (and some probably too big for me to do what I was doing) and zip them around the ice, hold them up so they can fly like super man with the ice zipping by 2 feet under them...very cool. You know when they are smiling and laughing asking to go faster that they feel truly alive by the same feeling that makes all of us life long skaters feel that way too.

SO, now I start to spread the word to all the skaters that we are going to go out on the ice early while they are doing introductions so we can get in our places ASAP and count out loud so we can all start on time. Now, we all still don’t totally match, but gosh darn it, it was a 100% better than the other day and we did pretty darn good! So this time I reached into my pockets and 2 triples were in there! You can view this video at the top of this page. Now I need to work on the speed of my spins....

OK, Santa is up next and I’m still working on next year’s COI’s new number...stay tuned!

 

Be well,

Dan

 

September 26, 2007

Well, here we are at the bitter end.  Sun Valley in September isn't a hopping town!  I had two decent shows, a fun week, and happy to be home.  If you go to the journal section and read this on the www.danhproductions.com website, you can watch a small video  of what a Hard Day of Work it can be in Sun Valley.  (Actually, I get a hard time from some of my buddy's who are mad that I get to ride the Harley all the time and skate the shows on Saturday only, so I had to prove to them it isn't all fun and games!)  You can also watch the same video (better quality) on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6JsJRTEU2c

My next shows coming up is the Jimmy Fund in Boston, Santa in Dallas, COI later in on, and I will always keep you posted on new things coming up!

Till later,

Dan

 

September 5, 2007

Just when you think the good times couldn't better...

The show this weekend went well, this time with Sasha as our guest performer.  The night before Marci and I went to Twin for the state fair and watched the rodeo.  Man those guys are CRAZY!!!  I mean think about it.  What was the first guy on when he thought to himself... "hmmm...why don't I hope on that mean looking bull, give him a swift smack on the butt to really get him angry and see how long I can ride him."  Yeah, I prefer to be the modern day cowboy...a Harley man.

Then the next two days, Sun and Monday, we went on the boat with Rich at Redfish.  A good time was had by all!  The picture above is J.J. from the week before who managed to get up on the surf board for the first time.  It cracks me up because he was so shaky  getting up and all of a sudden he smoothed out and gave us the pose above.

I now have my last shows this weekend, one on Saturday and a private show for St. Clair Oil, then back home.

Till later,

Dan

 

August 30, 2007

Good times, good times....

First, the show was just ok, I think I was nervous that Simone was there!!!!  Then Sunday we drove to Boise with Frank, Simone, and her husband Marc to hang with Rich on his boat for Monday.  The entertaining part was watching J.J., Rich's friend, get up on the surf board for the first time!!!  You can check out all the new photo's in the photo section under Sun Valley 2007.  (www.danhproductions.com )

As you can see in the pictures, the sky is blue except for over Sun Valley!  This was taken on our way back from Boise.  So far outside has been smokey in the morning right after the coffee club, but lets up later on.  In fact I landed a triple axel outside with a hand down Wed!!!!   Oh yeah baby!

Take it easy...

Dan

 

August 23, 2007

So do I say kiss my grits and shoot fire?!  The Boise state fair was pretty fun, with a ton of exhibits and some CRAZY people watching!  Charlie Daniels band was pretty cool.  The guy reminds me of uncle Jessie on the Dukes of Hazzard!  One of the guitar players did a sweet version of the William Tell Overture and an instrumental version of our Nationals Anthem.  He finally ended with Devil Went Down to Georgia which has to be his Mrs. Doubtfire!!!!  "OK, we have to get out of here and on the road, but we made some promises and remember you can't have the devil without god...."  and he did not dally on the lyrics or tempo one bit!  Good times, good times....now for the 3hr Harley ride back to Sun Valley through the mountains....and back to the nasty ash in the air...I hope it is all gone by the show!

Till then, be well.

Dan

 

August 19, 2007

Here I am for the third show out here in S.V.  John and Kyko were the guest skaters this week.  So there is a fire near here in Warm Springs, and I got some amazing shots on my way to the show.  You can see a few more of them in the photo section of Sun Valley on the production site.  The show went ok, still this second number jumping issues, yet finally hefted myself over the gal on the train tracks this week.  I may go to the Boise state fair and see the Charlie Daniels band.

Dan

 

August 15, 2007

Surfing Boise:

What an amazing time!!!! This last show we had guest skater Todd Eldridge who is a really good guy to hang with. A professional through and through, he performed well and received a warm welcome to SV. Afterwards, I took off to Boise to meet up with my good buddy Ryan Gilbert and Rich Reese. I was introduced to wake surfing and wake skating (?) for the first time. You surf the wake on a huge surf board and a smaller board that has no bindings. Rich's boat I guess didn't have the proper wake that would allow for surfing without the rope, but I had a BLAST anyway!!! Got up each time with no problem. Earlier in the week SV had a fashion show, which highlights clothing from local stores. The adult coffee club has a wonderful woman named Marie. This year she came out to visit but was unable to skate for some health reasons, but that didn't keep her out of the show! As you can see I dressed the roll of her skating butler and had a great time! (see www.danhproductions.com to view Marie, myself, and some surfing!)

Till the next adventure!

Dan

 

 

August 6, 2007

The PFSC had a seminar out here in SV, and one of my favorite, classy dames I know, Janet Wright was here.  NOW, you have to know I hold her in the highest regard...why is that?  Well, if you notice in the picture, I'm sitting (proper term is female dog) on my bike with her in front, and you have to know I would NEVER do that for ANYONE!!!  

Be well,

Dan

 

August 5, 2007

YES!!!! I have arrived!!!! For those of you who have never been to Sun Valley, make sure you visit it once in your lifetime. I can't tell you how nice it is to escape from reality and live in the fantasy world of SV for a month.

However, I don't want you to think this is all fun and games out here. First, every Saturday night I have to skate the show with 2 numbers. For Sunday thru Friday I have a very rigorous schedule. First, I join the coffee club with the adults in the morning and skate around with some cool people. Then I have to ride the Harley around town, through the mountains, or anywhere else the wind takes me. Now that can be very exhausting!

The first show went very well, Tappin' with Bob was clean, yet the Superhero has to get his jumps a bit better. I'm pretty excited because I understand Simone Grigorescu is coming for a week. I haven't seen her in years, and yes, she is the one who choreographed Tappin' with Bob ten years ago.

Also, I want to thank everyone who sent me their most memorable routines. I working hard and hope this routine will come together well and be worth doing on COI next year. Until the next update...

Be well,

Dan

 

June 23, 2007

HELLO EVERYONE!!!  OK, here is your chance to help me come up with my new show routine for next year.  I want everyone to email me their most memorable skaters doing whatever they remember the most.  For example.... Johnny Weir and the swan, Michelle Kwan and her spirals, Rudy Galindo's YMCA, Torvil and Dean's Bolero.  So it can either be a specific move that they do, or program they skated to.  I have an idea, and you can probably guess a bit at what it will be, but I need to see if I can get enough ideas for it to work. Please email your ideas to:

dan@danhproductions.com

Thank you and I will keep you posted!!!

Dan

 

June 22, 2007

Yes, the last show of COI has come and gone. I have to say it was a blast this year and we all had a lot of fun. I totally kicked butt on the last performance, drove the airport and took the redeye home. I promised Ben to work on my guitar...and of course now I have to come up with a new routine....

No rest for the pro skater! I came home and skated in the DSC ice show.  I skated my Doubtfire routine because the ice surface is cut down pretty small, and there is no way the SuperHero routine would look good.  It was just so/so, with Sat nights performance having a rough go of getting the Cartmen Jacket off, and then the wig of coming off with the hat...which of course had to be quickly put back on...blech what a mess!  So for Sunday I skated Tappin' W/ Bob and did much better.

Now is the final push to get the Harley up and on the road.  This bike is going to be sweet!  The picture is John grinding down part of the '92 frame to accept the modified '04 tank.  The final picture will be revealed soon (yet come on, final?  we all know that there is always something I'm going to add/delete on the bike!!!)

Till then...

Dan

Be well.

Dan

 

June 2, 2007

I have been super busy doing some video editing of a project of mine.  Also, my jumps have been poo-poo lately, so I have been in a funk!  But then came Fresno, and the jumps came back with a vengeance and I can finally hold my head high!  :)  I amazed that the tour is almost over.  With all the breaks in between it feels like we haven't even really got started.  With Elvis gone, my roommates switch off between Vladimir (big acrobat guy) and Petrenko...both who are great.  Had a good two days off in West Hollywood and ate at an AMAZING Thai restaurant.  I can now see that I will have this damn permanent bald spot on my head from the scar...sort of like a reminder, "hey dummy, don't pick on your prop!"  (picture on www.danhproductions.com) Still happy though I got full range of movement back since the one injury 3 years ago.  Just to think all that cash wasted on chiropractors, and all I needed to do was to fall on my head!  Ok, 2 more shows left, then back home to DSC's shows.

Be well.

Dan

 

May 20, 2007

Ahhh....the quest for a clean skate still.  You go home, train hard, skate clean, come back and the first show is blech!  The remedy from Ben and Gwendal?  Don't train, then you won't ever be disappointed!  :)  So San Jose didn't get one of my better skates, bummer.  Then off to Sacramento.  Now, I have been neglecting my guitar training and have promised Ben that I would practice everyday during the last part of tour.  As you can see Superman plays a mean axe!  (picture on www.danhproductions.com, journal) Then after the show Baldwin, Rena, Shizuka and myself went over to Jon Jackson's restaurant, Bacar, 448 Brannan....AMAZING!  The place was sooo cool and the food was awesome.  Probably the best steak I have ever had.  OK, until "I've got blisters on me fingers,"  

Be well.

Dan

 

May 18, 2007

I had a nice break before the finale end of this tour. I checked in to my 4 1/2 hr flight the night before and got my exit row window seat. As I was walking down the aisle with Ben Agosto behind me, I noticed that someone was in my seat. Now there are 2 exit rows, mine being the back one, and currently nobody was in the full row in front. After asking the man which seat he was in, the row in front, I stupidly decided to take that one in stead. NOTE: First exit row seats do not recline! Strike number one.

A guy sits down in the aisle seat, and shortly after a 5'6", goofy looking mid 20 to 30's girl stops in front of him. I'm on the phone as she asks him to change with her female companion, who is across the aisle in a middle seat. He declined seeing as he paid extra for the exit row and aisle seat. She then says in frustration, "well I'm sorry in advance because I'm not a good traveler on planes," and sits down. Don't worry, getting close to strike number two, and there are more than 3 strikes in this inning!

The doors close and we end up waiting for 20 minutes before we take off. At first the crying begins with the hands on her face. STRIKE TWO! Then comes the leg bouncing and foot tapping....STRIKE THREE! Finally around 20 minutes she is quit, since we aren't doing anything. Then we take off and nothing....so I'm thinking OK, just the anticipation.

Now the B*&^ leans over the guy and talks every now and then to her buddy in other center seat, totally invading his personal space. Drinks come, and as the stewardess is passing it to me, she doesn't even lean back or anything. I have reach way over her, hoping that it drops on her head. STRIKE FOUR

Now after 2hrs comes the rocking back and forth. She has gone to the bathroom a few times, not asking the guy if she can get buy to at least give him a chance to get up out of her way. The ODD thing is if she speaking to her friend or the stewardess, completely polite with a tone as if nothing is wrong. Next thing I know she is leaning over with her head between her knees rocking and tapping away. OH did I mention my freaking light isn't working so I'm reading in the dark???

Then I'm thinking what the heck is that smell? She hits the light to call the attendant, and low and behold she trades a very FULL BARF BAG for an empty one. STRIKE FIVE, GET ME OFF THIS PLANE!!!! Uhm, hello, if I'm that sick, you better believe I would be holed up in the bathroom.

Moral to this story...make the guy in your original seat move!

Why is it always me??

Be well.

Dan

 

 

May 13, 2007

Our first show was on very small ice.  Now, the hard part about this is that the width isn't very wide, but still it is longer than what the width would normally be.  So at first you have to get up speed to make it to the other end, but then as soon as you put curves in and the sides with lights on the ice comes up super fast!  The show went well with nobody falling off into the audience.

Now comes MN.  Wow....couldn't have skated worse!   Well, I guess I could have and missed both axels, but at least did those.  Boot just felt off, but hey, no excuses eh?  OK, last break until the last run of tour.

Be well.

Dan

 

May 12, 2007

Wednesday was the day I stepped onto the ice with a new brand of boot in years.  Joe did a great job in mounting the blades, and no adjustments were necessary.  I skated a clean program except for sal, but a smooth and welcome transition it was.  My feet and ankles are happy, and for the first time in a long time the boots didn't have to be cut out, rolled, sewn back together to adjust for feet issues.  Hopefully the Jacksons will last and new pairs will be just as good!  

As always, when you have something else to focus on other than jumps, new skates, I skated very well in the Columbus show.  I was bummed that my muscles seemed to be a bit leaky and not pumped up as much.  So the next show in Chicago I took the valves out, readjusted the balloons, and WHABAAM!!!  Massive muscles that stayed inflated the whole time!  On this show however, I did feel a bit off in the boots, top a bit loose, bottom a bit tight...and the last double axel landed and then I hopped around in a 360 with my hand down...almost like a staccato solo death spiral.  I laughed, the audience laughed...so it was all good.  Of for another break again!

Be well.

Dan

 

May 2, 2007

Please forgive me for taking so long to update this past weekend's shows. It was very odd, because this weekend Irina, hoop girl, wasn't there for medical reasons...she is totally ok, just had to take the weekend off. This is the first time in 7 years that I have not performed my duties as Hoop Boy, and it was rough! I did my best and got through all three shows with no problem.

Shizuka and Kimmie were not there because of the Japan Open, so we had Peter and Naomi skate. Great people, and I really miss having them on tour. Peter is by far one of the most amazing skaters I know. He can do a simple one foot exercise with doing a loop, bracket, pull repeat that just blows me away! The picture on the website here is Irina doing her catwoman number that has her rolling in this wheel of death...at least that is what I call it!

We were also lucky enough to have Victoria Petrenko, Victor's 9 year old daughter skate a routine with her daddy. The audience dug it, and she was really good. Heck, at that age I would have been FREAKING out being in front of all those people!

Everything is going well on tour. My neck is a bit stiff, but I can't complain too much. My head has healed well and the hair has grown over it all. My latest issue is that my graff skates finally gave out on my again!!! The quality has not been there the last few years with heels falling off, one to two month break down time, and just lots of things to pad around.

I finally had enough Tuesday when it was tagging me on the right tibia where I broke it in '98, so I called up my buddy Joe Frei at Brian's Sports and moved into a Jackson boot. NO, not the hinge. Needless to say the next day I had minimal pain, just sore from the old skates, and could do the triples needed for the show. Hopefully they will hold up much better than the Graff. Bummed, because I have been in them for close to 10 years with great success at the beginning. I leave tomorrow for Columbus and Chicago's shows.

Till then, be well.

Dan

 

 

April 22, 2007

I have to tell you it seems to take more out of you when you fly back and forth for the weekend then doing 5 shows in a row! I have to say I was a bit tired near the end of the Boston show...complete with barely eeking out the 2nd double axel, slip on the edge to the applause of the audience...I'm glad I can fall funny too! :)

You may be asking what the heck is that photo? (on journal section of www.danhproductions.com) That is the finger of Gwendal showing you how amazingly tough our job is in the finale.

Besides pushing these big boxes around on the ice, they have lights inside of them we have to flick on. We work our fingers to the bone, risking carpel tunnel to make sure those lights flip to white on the right cue in the music.

Ben Agosto admitted to me that our finger training to switch them on just right is harder than any of his Olympic training to date! Who knows if we can make it through the end of tour, only time will tell. Till next weekend...

Be well,

Dan

 

 

April 20, 2007

Ahhhhh.....today was a very good skate! The audience was very receptive and I got a great hand. My good buddy Ben video taped the program, so you can see that on the video section of the website, www.danhproductions.com. I have also added a photo section and believe there are to be more photos added to this website too. Took out 7 of the 8 staples today and amazingly no brains fell out, so I guess I'm good!

Be well,

Dan

 

 

April 15, 2007

Philly

Nothing too exciting to report today...blech of a skate, but I made the flip! Fly home tonight, have a few days off, do some training, and start kicking some butt Friday in Detroit!

Be well,

Dan

 

 

April 14, 2007

So last we left off I had 6hrs of sleep, a neck that wasn't in too bad of shape, and a head filled with staples. A light breakfast, some hot tea, the appropriate phone calls to make sure people knew I was ok, and off to D.C . we went.

I'm cracking up with all the people that first ask if I am ok, and then say, "well surely you aren't going to do the backflip over the doll today..." Uhm, yeah, of course I am. What? Am I suppose to now put this "big" deal on messing up this one time and make it a major issue like I'm going to now be afraid? H^LL yes I'm doing it! I went out for the 10 minute practice and did one backflip marking that I'm picking soon enough.

I skated the show pretty well, still too straight a take off for the sal (yes Mitch...same error), but TADA...cleared the doll with no problem! My wound does ache a bit when I land, and I'm icing my neck, but I'm in decent shape all in all.

We have Philly tomorrow, and then a few days off. OH, and for any of you that was at the first show and not happy that I wasn't in the autograph line (a person today in the line attempted to 'dress' me down for not being there the day before!!!) I skipped the line to get to the hospital. I felt some satisfaction when I told that person that fact and stuck my nasty frankenstein like bald spot in their face... :).

Be well,
Dan

 

 

April 14, 2007

OY VEY!!! We had a great audience in Richmond, VA for the opening show. I go out to skate my number. Great laughter when I show up as Batman and spin around with the doll. Nice double axel, good response when I become Wonderwoman. Nice triple toe followed by a wanky double sal. Eh...first night, no worries. Pump up my muscles, great audience response! Good double axel, and now we come to the backflip over the doll. I have been backflipping over objects for over a decade. I have literally flipped over people, an aerobed, mop buckets, probably well over 200 times. Tonight...I FREAKIN picked too late! So what does that mean? Well, no ice to launch me into the air. No firm pick, no height, no time to complete the backflip. The effect?

First the doll gets pushed back. Then I flip only a half rotation, and KLONK right on my noggin! My neck compresses, I'm doing a head stand!!!! and the rest of my body finishes the rotation laying on the ice. I'm thinking, "son a ?!$%, I picked too late!" Then since I'm suppose to skate forward and trip and fall on the girl, I quickly crawl over and lay on top of her. I'm guessing half the audience thought it was planned that way? I jumped up and took my bow to a pretty decent hand. My good buddy Gwendel picked up my gear on the ice and I skate off. Eric Lang, our personal trainer was there in a flash and the paramedics to access the damage. I could tell I was bleeding and made sure they did their best to protect my Superman outfit! :)

Eric did his best to patch me up so I could run out and do the hoop number and then the finale. Sure everyone was worried and didn't want me to skate if it was a problem. I'm thinking, "OH H%LL NO! I'm finishing this show! If I'm not blacking out, going into convulsions, and not bleeding like crazy, there is no reason why I shouldn't't do my job...especially if there is no workers comp!" (just kidding about the last part Tommy! although not a bad idea....hint, hint...but such is the life of professional skater and I would choose no other life!)

Finish the show with 2 more backflips in the finale, pack up and off the hospital. 10:30 pm arrival time, done by 2 am. Blech! Eric came with me and made sure everything was OK. 8 staples, and tetanus shot later, I'm ready to go. So they put this bandage on me that goes from under my chin up around the top of my head. Then I told them my neck was obviously sore, so here comes the neck brace! Man I felt and looked like a dork! We walk back the 6 blocks to the hotel with Eric joking around saying if we run into anyone I'll be like, "I just got shot in the head, like I'm afraid of you?? Bring it on!" I slept with the neck brace on, which I must say my neck is sore, but not too terrible. We'll see what happens today!!!! I can tell you one thing, I'll pick much early for the backflip this time!!!!

Be well,

Dan

 

 

April 12, 2007

"What in the HECK is that a picture of," you may ask?

Well, that would be one part of my finale outfit. We are doing a James Bond theme, and I am Dr. Evil/Dr. No all in one. Yes, that little cabbage-patch doll is "mini me" that is attached to my leg, and the cat is attached to my neck.

I'm bummed they changed the part where I jump up onto this box, were I would attempt it a few times, knock into the box, which gives off this LOUD satisfying "BONK" when mini me's head cracks against it. Oh well...

Things are going well, getting use to jumping in the spots, as well as the extra bulk and weight of these Superhero outfits on top of each other. Till tomorrow!

Be well,

Dan

 

 

April 1, 2007

Where do I even begin? Well, first thing first. I just got the outfits Friday night. I normally would skate a few times in them to work out the bugs before skating in a show. So my plan was to wake up and make it to DSC to try it out in the morning before anyone is there. Since I can't sleep, at 4 a.m. I roll out of bed and get things ready. I arrive a bit after 6 a.m. to the rink with Marci and realize that there was the high school competition already in full swing.

We drive to Royal Oak and Berkley ice arenas, both closed. Finally we show up at Birmingham rink which is open, and I am able to jump on the small studio ice. Batman doesn't come apart at all...back is velcroed over the front...wrong way. HOURS later of taking off and putting onto the right side, it is semi ready. Lots of issues with the outfit, but should be able to be addressed before leaving for tour next week.

I arrive at SCS around 7pm (up since 4 a.m. and only a 40 min nap under my belt) and get ready to skate. The number went off pretty well for the first time EVER being run with outfits. The Batman of course didn't pull quick enough and I was late for Wonderwoman. So after watching the number on video, I see that I will try a few changes:
1) some sort of mask for Batman
2) some sort of wig for Wonderwoman and bigger breasts
3) sound effects louder, more spaced out for muscle blow ups...and rotation to reveal pumped up arms to sides of audience

At the end of the number I flip over the damsel. Meanwhile I'm thinking, "where the heck is the Batman outfit???" And sure enough, it is on the OTHER SIDE of the damsel!!! So I just had to go for it...backflipped, landed seeing that my hands were hitting the outfit and not my blades! As I stood up though the outfit got dragged and then ended up caught a bit under my skate, and THANKFULLY I didn't go down!

In any case, look for this on the video section of my other site. I will put up the whole background and description, and throw on this first time skate at SCS until I get a good version skated/taped to throw up there!

In the meantime, be well!

Dan

 

 

March 30, 2007

This update has been a long time in coming! I am happy to announce (and sweating bullets!) that tomorrow night, March 31st, 2007 I will debut this program at the St. Clair Shores Ice show at 7:30pm. (I believe I am opening the second half.) This new program has been years in the making, I just did not know how to do some of the special effects. So if you are in the area, please stop by and check it out. You never know, heck I don't even know, if an outfit will fall apart, or not come off on time, or my C02 cartridge explodes on me!!! I will explain more about this number soon, and eventually will tape it on tour to put up on the video section of my other site! For more info about the show tomorrow, you can check out the club's site: www.scsfsc.org

For those of you who don't know, St. Clair Shores is where I trained for many years. They supported me through 2 World Teams, and was always there for me. After making my first World Team, members of the club drove to the airport holding up signs to welcome me as I got off the plane from San Jose. I appreciate this opportunity to test out my new number at their show. Thanks guys!

Be well,

Dan

 

January 2, 2007

Happy New Year everyone!

Sorry, Hanukkah Harry got really busy with the holidays. The last three shows went really well. Hopefully next year I can come up with some other cool music for Santa to jam too. I love peaking through the curtain to wave to the little kids before they run out to skate. One asked where did I get "those," pointing to my firework attachments. "I had my elves make 'em." I love it how they just smile and nod, I mean come on, how can you not believe Santa???

So my only story to really tell you about was my last 3 flights heading out to Dallas. Flight number 1 started with a woman who sat next me who smelled like you wouldn't believe...I swear I thought I was going to pass out!

Flight number 2, this 20 something year old kid sat next to me with nothing to do I guess. I mean come on, 2 hr flight, bring something man! So first comes the leg bouncing up and down, the ENTIRE time, creating more turbulence to the plane then normal. THEN, he is looking at the Sky Mall mag and the other one
that comes in your seat pocket, you know that has no information except for movies on the international flights and diagrams of the airports you can visit. Imagine if you will, he would look at one page, and then frantically flip to another one 1/4 of the way through, hold a few seconds....OK now frantically flip to another like you realized you missed something. Yes, those 2 magazines, the entire 2 hours. G-d help me, I wanted to kill him.

Finally flight number 3. Everything appeared to be going so well. Girl next to me had her lap top on watching a DVD. I closed my computer as the stewardess passed us the drinks (me being on the isle.) I saw her attempt to have the can and her drink sit next to her computer by me. Thankfully my
Spidey Senses were tingling, and I waited to put my lap top back onto the tray...which of course in less than the time I would have had it down over goes the can of coke. A bit on her computer, on her, and down the side between us...nothing on me or the lap top...a bit of spray to my tray table, but YES it was empty!

Travelers beware....

Be well,

Dan

 

December 2, 2006

Hello everybody!  This week Sasha Cohen was the guest skater.  If you are reading this on the web, you can see the wires getting attached to my skates.  I first put on the fat suit, run the wires from my wrist down my back, and then slip on the rest of the outfit.  The assistant attaches the matches to the wires and tapes everything down.  Nice how they get the safety goggles and nothing for me, eh?  This small corner is all I can stay in while dressing...if I step out any farther then people on the 3rd and 4th level can see an undressed Santa. Therefore, I have to throw everything on so I can walk around and warm up.  The flame retardant spray leaves an icky residue which always gets on your hands when dressing.  HOWEVER, I am totally ok with this...I will take icky residue on my hands over being on fire any day.  The show went well and a good time was had by all.  Till next week!

Be well,
Dan

 

November 29, 2006

WHEW!!!  OK, if you have heard about the programs, but never had the opportunity to see them or know the background of how I created them, well you do now!  I have added a skating video section on the http://www.danhproductions.com where you can watch all my show programs (well most of them).  You need to have Quicktime in order to view them, and if you don't, do not worry!!!  On that page gives you a link for the free download of Quicktime.  Hope you enjoy, and please let me know if there is something you think I can do to improve the site, etc.

Be well,

Dan

 

November 26, 2006

Today went much better! Santa had a lipo suction...I so felt like Dr. 90210! This time all the fireworks went off on the tree was good. But I must say that Santa was not very smooth with the groove today...had the moves, but to some beat that wasn't playing over the loud speakers! I was happy to run into the Container Store today, wish they would have them in Mi. Now I have a slick case with foam inside to house the new kick butt firework mounts! Well, we'll see if Santa can have a new music routine for next week...have to see what music I can come up with and if the rink likes it or not. Till then, hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Dan

 

November 24, 2006

Hello everyone, Santa (Hanukkah Harry) is back! This year I'm totally pumped because my good buddy John helped me make a new rig to hold the fireworks. Before, it was a thin piece of metal that clamped to the back stanchion on the blade, and then 2 tubes were mounted on either side of the outside of the boot...limiting how far I could roll my ankle for a very shallow lean. Not to mention the "boinging" effect whenever you put walked or jumped. Now, both tubes are mounted UNDER that blade, with a cool one locking screw to make the sucker unmovable, and capable of full edging. John let me work the lathe, and eventually I'll make him teach me how to

This week the guest skater is Kurt Browning. The only bummer about this show is that it is very difficult for me to watch anyone skate. With many people around, I have to watch how close I get to them as I walk around "backstage." See, the firework switch is on my wrist, and if it gets knocked by mistake, then grab a fire extinguisher! :) There was some concern from the pyro guy that the new rig because of the angle of fire being out on an angle might spray me when I turned and fire off another firework (I have 4 attached to me.) Well, I knew it couldn't be that big of a difference from the other rig of spraying...and sure enough, WENT ON WITHOUT A HITCH!

Afterwards, I felt that the beard is a bit too long and also needed to be tighter. I first couldn't find the "Trade Secret" in which I got my haircut from this one woman a few years back. I walked into a "Toni Guy" and asked if they could cut the beard, but somewhere that kids couldn't see....this a huge open layout and very busy. Well, they went around asking, and you know how you just get that bad feeling? They took so long I was able to just walk out with no worries. Then I happily spotted the newly moved "Toni Guy" and got my beard trimmed! Yep, standing in the back bathroom with the door shut is sure to be her dinner conversation of the night. Hopefully, I will feel a big difference.

For all of you reading this on the fan site of http://www.figureskatersonline.com, you can also read this on my companies website now too, (www.danhproductions.com) complete with a picture for each entree (man I really dig my mac). Both sites have different information, so please continue to visit them both!

Till tomorrow,

Dan

 

 

October 30, 2006

At first I thought NASCAR was going to preempt the show. With the VCR at home on a timer, armed with my sony dvd recorder hooked up in Canada for a visit, I started to watch the show.

I was surprised to see things in a different order, and some numbers completely cut. Joseph the Zombie, and Rory the witch, and Shae the cat was totally left off. I have to admit that I didn't skate the number as well as I have been practicing it...which makes me wish they showed the other number, "Devil with the Blue Dress On." Imagine me dressed as the nun with the whole makeup and horns, and then to become the big breasted blue dress devil. At least I was entertained.

I had the beard grown and ready, but the makeup artist had a long beard and mustache to glue on...now that I have seen it, I think I preferred my own facial hair better. And let me just tell you something...I am totally not that fat!!! :) Tv and those tight, sparkly red pants packed on the pounds eh?

In any case, next show is Hanukkah Harry Thanksgiving thru Xmas. Will keep you all posted!

Be well,

Dan

 

August 16, 2006

HEY!!!!  It is still the first half in our last show in Vegas.  I just
wanted to let everyone know I not only skated clean, but skated a
strong clean program!  YEAH BABY YEAH!!!  I promise by at least Tue of
next week I'll send out a wrap up.

Be well,

Dan

 

August 13, 2006

Hello to everyone!

Thank goodness we are almost done!  So I came back from our last break
with a vengeance, skating some really good clean programs...yes an
occasion mess up, but nothing too terrible.  Yesterday they nominated
me for the weakest link, which was a totally bogus, damn Russian block
voting...I totally had way less errors then a few which I won't
mention any names....so today in the finale for my backflip part Ben
is handing me his rock climbing helmet which is sooooo lame looking,
and I have to wear it for the black flip.  :)

Today I was bummed, doubled both toes....blech!  But I have to admit I
have been getting really good responses with this number.  Thank you
Mr. Dick Button.

OK, have to run out and be hoop boy...then off to Vegas for the last show.

I promise to write some more later!
Dan

 

July 27, 2006

Early in the morning starts off with a GREAT breakfast joint that Sasha found. After breakfast, the group (Stephan, Gwendel, Eric, Sasha, and Ben) went off to rock climb in what turned out to be a small gym. I went to meet up with Surya and Rudy to see the movie about the SuperX girlfriend.

I guess there is only one cab company in town. The 30 minute wait became close to an hour. Turns out the man who owns it has the attitude of, "we will get there when we feel like it." We were then told by the bellman that it is usual that sometimes they make stops for whatever reason while on YOUR run! So at least we were prepared when he had to stop at the local bus station to drop something off. Then when I asked if we could make the movie that started in 5 minutes, he said, "hold on to anything strapped down, because here we go!" His foot hit the floor, the engine roared to life, and we must have went from 5mph to 40mph in about 30 seconds!

Thankfully we made the movie on time, and thankfully they came to pick us up when we scheduled it. The movie was pretty funny and worth going to. Then we got on the bus to go to the airport and it chugged up hill about 2mph with 4way flashers to get there. ahhh....off to Seattle with malls, and plenty to do!

Be well,

Dan

 

July 25, 2006

ahhh....

So Colorado Springs was really tough...the altitude. On the second pass of the footwork that was suppose to be faster....well....let us just say thank goodness I made it till the end without passing out! Passed by without being the weakest link now, so yeah for me. It was great to see my good buddy Ryan Jahnke and his wife.

Here we are in Billings with absolutely NOTHING to do....I mean there is nothing here. The audience is great, but you know its rough when you are hoping the show will start already and we are still an hour away. Tomorrow we might do some rock climbing or see a movie...something to take away the boredom!

Thanks for the great audience Billings! :)

Dan

 

July 23, 2006

Gosh...freaking...%$^*((*&&* ARRRGGGHHHH

So this is by no means an excuse. Crappy Graff boots came off after a month...they get sent back...second pair a month and a bit later, they come off...now back on tour with originals fixed with awesome orthodics like I use to have (long story why I didn't for a few years) so a bit to get use to.

Yesterday I doubled the first toe, and now we are back to the weakest
link...yep, nomination for me. So my task today...triple flip in the program, which I haven't done for how many years now? In practice I rotated about 4 with 2foot landing and 1/2 turn cheat. Ok, I can handle that at the very least. Go out and focused, ready, and...... SINGLE!!!! I can't describe to you how amazingly angry I am with that!!! T.sal but shaky, db axel and t.toe, a bit shaky...but for the love of all that is good, at least over rotate a double flip and fall...but don't do a single.....GRRRRR.... I bet I'm the weakest link now for EVER.....

oh yeah,
be well
Dan
grrrr.........

 

July 22, 2006

Yes…the long awaited updated that I just have not gotten around to. I will try to keep it under 20 pages!

1) Tour is going well…with many breaks. Right now we just finished Kansas City and don't stop till the end in Vegas. Stephan Lambiel has joined us, and I really like his number! He has this spin in the middle that keeps changing legs and goes on forever doing different positions. Pretty kick butt.

2) 4th of July we had a fun picnic complete with an adult slip 'n slide. Imagine a massive blow up thing, 2 tunnels running along side each other with a 2 foot wall on either side, arches above it showering water down on you, and a wall at the end to make sure you hopefully don't flip off the end. Of course Gwendel and I had to do it a million times in a row, trying different methods, including standing up the whole way and surfing it.

3) The darkside…yes I went to it…I bought a MacBook Pro…but it turns out Window's P.C. is truly the dark side. With my handy manual, Dean Moye (mac expert on tour which I used only 20% of) within less than a week I'm completely changed over and rocking. I am very fluent in the windows world, and it amazes me that for steps 1 through 10 in Windows…it only takes step 1 and step 10 on a mac…2-9 are totally skipped! There is no defraging, firewall and anit virus updates. No required driver installation, just plug it in and it just knows…Somethings hangs up? The program can be force quit, but the whole system never crashes and need to reboot the entire computer. The ease ability is amazing…ah the true light side…yoda would be proud! I finally understand why the mac people cry out that Bill Gates is the devil…turns out he is really Darth Vader!

4) BYE BYE AOL!!! Remember just recently the man who tried to quit aol, they gave him a massive hassle and he taped it? Well, mine wasn't as bad but still cracked me up.

"I want to cancel my account."
"Of course you do sir, you have dial up, you need to change to hi speed."
"Well I did, the company I work for has it free at work and provides
it in my home for free."
"Well, that is fine, but it is only $5.00 to keep hi-speed aol service at your house."
"Sorry, I can't afford it and need to cut back in my budget."
"But you spend that money somewhere, you have to keep it."
"No, I'm not paying for anything, the company is, so where am I spending that money? Plus if I can't pay my mortgage payment, lose my house, then for sure I have no high speed!"
"Yes but with windows explorer you NEED our virus and firewall protection sir."
"I use Mac with Safari"
"Oh…well then the only reason to have aol is just for fun then. No problem sir, we will cancel your account, but for free we let you use the webbased email and keep all your screen names."

OK, the funniest part of the whole story is that at first I need to pay $5 a month, and at the end it is free?!?! Bye, bye aol, you can kiss my ass!

5) The guitar has been going slow, super busy, but this last month on tour Ben and Gwendel have promised to kick my butt into gear. My goal is to become proficient to jam well during next year's tour!

6) My skating seminars went really well! I had to cancel the last one due to low enrollment, but hopefully I can make it back to TX soon. Look for more update on my company website beg of September, when I'm done with tour and can focus on that.

OK, till next time!

Be well,
Dan

 

May 20, 2006

URGH!!!!! For the love of g-d, a few days off should not make me feel as if I haven't skated for 10 years!!!! Audience was good, enjoyed it, but skated like crap! Oh, you are too tight in the practice and popping, so ease up...then go out to skate for the show, ease up, opps, pop now cause you aren't pulling in enough.... GRRRR!!!!! Gonna snap. 

EXTREMELY happy that I got to see my Harley uncle and his beautiful daughter. Had a great time! Off to Nashville..... 

 

Dan

 

May 16, 2006

Hello everybody! We have way too many days off!  Ben, Gwendel, and myself and gone through both season 1 and 2 of "24."  Now we have to wait for Ben to actually go home to snag his season 3 which won't be for like a month now!

The shows are going well with a pretty decent turn out.  I do find it tough to stay in shape skating wise with so many days off. So what is new?  Well, guitar lessons are coming along with Ben and my "Guitar for Dummies" and the 1st grade book.  Getting pretty good at "wish you were here."  I have to say I miss hanging out with Elvis!!!!  I haven't seen one movie yet on tour, and if he was here we would have had at least 5 under out belts by now! 

In any case, we have 3 more shows until a nice 2 week break!  Up soon, a two day break in Atlanta...hopefully the two malls near by won't take away too much of my money! 

Be well,

Dan

 

May 9, 2006