Domnina/Shabalin vs. Khokhlova/Novitski

After watching Khoklova & Novitski's FD at TEB, I found myself asking the same question I was asking at Worlds -- why do Domnina & Shabalin seem to be getting the big push for Vancouver when Khoklova & Novitski are so much better? I suppose one could argue that the basic technique of D/S is better -- but beyond that, I personally find the overall choreography and highlights of K/N to be far superior and almost always interesting; they certainly seem to have a much better understanding of the music they skate to than D/S. And IMHO K/N have that dramatic, expressive quality that we have come to expect from the Russian dance couples over the last few decades. I think they come much closer than D/S to continuing the tradition of Bestemianova/Bukin, Klimova/Ponomarenko, Usova/Zhulin, etc, in that regard.

Could it be that perhaps K/N would be the top Russian couple if CoP were not in place, would they perhaps fare better under the old system?

Thoughts??

Hmmm, I think it is because Domnina/Shabalin were there first, they developed into a somewhat competitive team first. So even though the two teams average out to the same age, they were investing a long term plan for Domnina/Shabalin first and thus they are the priority. I also think they have the more highly regarded coach in Russia of the two teams.

K&N are still relatively new on the scene; it was actually a bit of a surprise when they won the bronze at the 2005-2006 Russian Nationals and got to go to the Olympics. Domnina and Shabalin, I think, have been the Russian #2s since Lobecheva and Averbuch retired. I think K&N are younger than D&S as well. The same old currents that are helping D&S to the top are holding K&N back; they're supposed to "wait their turn" and possibly persist until they win the gold in Sochi(You know that one's going to a Russian team, barring extreme events).
Personally, I'd prefer it if they entered Vancouver as favorites for the gold. They would never have been made to believe they could get it without being the best, and they would do their level best to earn it fair and square. D&S...there's a definite danger of them turning complacent.

I like K&N better. I also like the theory that D&D were around first, so they're getting the push upwards. The next couple of seasons will be interesting.

JonnyCoop said:

why do Domnina & Shabalin seem to be getting the big push for Vancouver when Khoklova & Novitski are so much better?

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You're kidding right? I'm not a D/S fan but they're Torvill and Dean next to K/N who are either acrobats or jumpless pairs skaters. Their OD last year didn't look like any kind of dance and their OD this year doesn't either.

Mafke said:

Their OD last year didn't look like any kind of dance and their OD this year doesn't either.

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I disagree with this. I think half of their OD last season was very tango-like, something I noticed more seeing it live in Warsaw. The other half, not so tango-like. But there were many couples who kept up the tango parts until the elements, so a pretty big chunk of their programs weren't tango-like, either.