As Seen on TV | Golden Skate

As Seen on TV

Joined
Jul 11, 2003
Men - Davydov's straightline footwork was the highlight of this and in fact the whole competition. I hope he gets into the Finals.

Ladies - Well, it's nice to see Julia being competitive. Emily has such a beautiful program to Sylvia, but it gives her trouble.

Pairs - Shen/Zhao looking grand but not much change of tempo to Thais.

Dance - Two bad dance teams, imo, getting medals for this %$@&!
The ballet music from Prince Igor, aka, The Polivetzian(sp) Dancers has many many changes of tempo. It is an ensemle piece with different warriors dancing to different tempos. The "Strangers in Paradise" number is a pas de deux of a mixed ethnic couple.

The music chosen by Dom/Shab has too many changes of tempo which they can not handle. IMO, it looked labored and sloppy.

The Americans with that Salute to Hollywood should have left it alone. Maybe Torvahl and Dean could have handled it. B&A could not, imo. Much to much bouncing around signifying nothing.

I don't see these two teams as competitives for the gold in the GPF which, unfortunately, they will be there by hook or by crook.

Joe
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
I thought Emily Hughes was the class of the ladies field, although her many technical mistakes prevented her from having a chance to win. She had more intricacy in her in-betweens than Nakano and way more than either Sebestyen or Xu. And she was even -- dare I say it -- quite graceful.

I thought Lysacek's performance was outstanding.

I quite enjoyed Domnina and Shabalin, especially him cavorting about as the Russian warrior-prince.
 
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SeaniBu

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 19, 2006
D&S Dance:bow: :love: Wonderful.

I think Tanith may have been a underling factor in what they decided to dance too. I like it even though it had been done, it is a nice break in the running themes that may be happening. Keeps a variety going IMO. I think her dress is too stiff.

Yukari was nice, but once they brought attention to the leg whip it was so present - like on her 3 combo and it only being on the loop. It just stood out. I don't see that as being a big problem but prefer the tighter leg positions.

Like the title to this thread. Seems like a good Idea.
 

dizzydi7

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 31, 2004
Julia's strong area is defintely her jumps. Impressive how high she gets in the air.

What a shame that Emily made mistakes otherwise I think she had the best program of the ladies.

Nakani is a beautiful skater but that leg wrap on her jumps really takes away from her skating. For me, it's just an eyesore that must go for me to become a real fan. She certainly is a lovely looking girl.

I like Evan's skate but for some reason he didn't seem thrilled about winning. That kind of surprised me.

Dizzy
 

seafoam

Rinkside
Joined
Sep 23, 2006
Julia's strong area is defintely her jumps. Impressive how high she gets in the air.

What a shame that Emily made mistakes otherwise I think she had the best program of the ladies.

Nakani is a beautiful skater but that leg wrap on her jumps really takes away from her skating. For me, it's just an eyesore that must go for me to become a real fan. She certainly is a lovely looking girl.

I like Evan's skate but for some reason he didn't seem thrilled about winning. That kind of surprised me.

Dizzy

Agree about Emily. And I've not been a huge fan of her skating, but she's growing on me this year.

I thought Evan's performance was underwhelming at this comp. Ditto at Campbell's. Not technically, but he just didn't seem "on" to me, like he usually is. He seemed awfully tired. But, hey--it was enough to win.

S/Z were :love:
 

JonnyCoop

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 28, 2003
My personal take:

MEN: There must be something about Sergei Davydov and me -- every single time he skates, I only end up seeing the last half of his program. I've NEVER seen him skate all the way thru for some reason. I found him a bit slow. I think Scott Smith needs a better program. Eman, as usual, did his "extremely interesting but a little on the weird side" thing that only he can do; very interesting program but I think we can award the Men's Rusty Hanger for 06-07 to him right here and now, because that was one dang ugly costume. Evan was terrrific, but he needs to either shave it off or grow it out; that day-old stubble thing just looks sloppy. If we are going to expect the ladies to go out there looking perfectly put together (and, as the Mira Leung thread indicates, we certainly are), we should expect the same out of the men. I would think Frank Carroll would say something to him about that.

LADIES -- I'm already giving Emily my annual, unofficial, "Most Improved" award. She bored me stiff all of last season, but her programs now have really improved and she's becoming fun to watch for me. MUCH more going on now than last year. Julia skated very well, but I had the usual complaint about her program that I always do with her, which is, her choreography is terrific but her expression is just nill; if she would sell the program, she could take the roof off the place. I found both Yukari and Binshu (or is it Xu??) to be a delight to watch (Xu could have used more choreography); I had never seen them before. Yukari's wrapped leg did not bug me as much as other skaters' wrapped legs do, because her jumps turn so quick in the air it's not nearly as noticeable as say, a Silvia Fontana.....

PAIRS -- Despite the fact that this still had a "first comp of the season we still need to iron out the choreography" look to it, it was still a FABULOUS program and if it looks this good NOW, by the time the Worlds roll around, they are going to have us in tears once again; just absolutely gorgeous. Tho blue is not Hongbo Zhao's color....... (Xue Shen looks gorgeous in just about anything....)

DANCE -- Neither D/S or B/A did it for me, quite frankly. I didn't particularly care for either of the free dances; D/S IMHO did not use the music very well, and B/A were just dull. However, given the choice between the two, I give B/A the edge simply because I did find their program a little more easy to take; I thought D/S had this "too much yet not enough at the same time" thing going. And God knows B/A's costumes were not nearly as ugly.

In general -- is it just me, or does it also seem to others that competitions that take place in China just seem to have a "low energy level" about them? There seems to be very little energy in the building among the spectators (I was amazed when they clapped along with Evan.) Granted, having the seats half a mile away from the ice doesn't help, but it seems to be more than just that. The last time the 4Cs were in China, it just seemed there was no energy in the building and it was reflected in the performances. I have heard from people who have been to China that it's a very low-key atmosphere, energy wise, and I wonder if this might have something to do with it... Any thoughts??
 

LimeZest

Rinkside
Joined
Oct 29, 2004
I'm not sure about this but chinese crowds are maybe more introverted and calm than north american ones. And you can always hear the 'oohhs'' and the ''ahhs'' when the skaters do a big WOW move like a throw triple loop.
 
Joined
Mar 14, 2006
But why so few people? I would have thought people would have been filling the house to see Shen and Zhao! (who were wonderful...:love: )
 

Dee4707

Ice Is Slippery - Alexie Yagudin
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
Country
United-States
But why so few people? I would have thought people would have been filling the house to see Shen and Zhao! (who were wonderful...:love: )
I think Terry Gannon said that the rink is very much out of the way

Dee
 

chuckm

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 31, 2003
Country
United-States
Many of the skaters seemed a little off because China is a LONG trip, especially for the US and Canadian skaters. The jet lag has to be horrific, even for the Europeans.

Julia Sebestyen's hair looked like someone dropped globs of bleach piecemeal on her head. I HOPE she is growing it out.
 

SeaniBu

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 19, 2006
Julia Sebestyen's hair looked like someone dropped globs of bleach piecemeal on her head. I HOPE she is growing it out.
Agree, Did not look like a very professionally done job. The one in the middle of the back, looks like they just smacked the sponge up against her head. But it didn't retract any enjoyment out of watching her. She was quite good!!

I think Terry Gannon said that the rink is very much out of the way
I remember them saying that too, also noting tickets were 12 USD, and made me wonder about public trans. Also the rink looked small, nice but small.
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
I think Julia got tired of being called "Grannyhair" on the Internet and tried to go with something more "damaged."
 

chuckm

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 31, 2003
Country
United-States
She could have immersed her head in a bucket of bleach, like Oksana Domnina. :biggrin:
 
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