Predictions for pairs

netnuts · Dec 12, 2007

Found these home made videos at Cup of Russia. The advantage of these videos is that you can really see clearly who's faster and who's slow...

You can see K&S were really very very slow and pretty rusty...Even S&S were kind of slow, maybe it's because of their choice of music... Not very impressive...

K&S
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5v4HiMJFyM

S&S
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oNNJOgxfGI

Yu Na Kim
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk4bhRlRj1A

On the other hand, singles skaters were much faster with good flow. Yu Na Kim!!!

Joesitz (RIP) · Dec 13, 2007

Wouldn't you say Kawaguchi and Smirnov are clones of Berezshnaya and Sikhilaruze? Or should I say B&S wannabees? Nothing original.

Joe

KMK0902 · Dec 13, 2007

cassieandcheetah said:
Hey, I actually meant that about the Russian Team, not about Jessica and Bryce. I actually like the young Canadians a lot, but I do however thing they need to be faster and develop more finesse in their skating. But they have a lot more of the "overall togetherness" as I described it than Kawaguchi and Smirnov, so yes, I actually do agree with you!

OK, that's funny! Now, I'm the one who has to agree with you; K/S have NO chemisty and I find it very prominent in their "Love Story" program. The story
(Love Story) is about toghetherness, and I guess I find with their choice of music very unfortunate.

K

cassieandcheetah · Dec 13, 2007

Joesitz said:
Wouldn't you say Kawaguchi and Smirnov are clones of Berezshnaya and Sikhilaruze? Or should I say B&S wannabees? Nothing original.

Joe

IT's funny because I felt the same and commented on it on this thread:

http://forum.hdldemo.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18287&page=2

cassieandcheetah · Dec 13, 2007

KMK0902 said:
OK, that's funny! Now, I'm the one who has to agree with you; K/S have NO chemisty and I find it very prominent in their "Love Story" program. The story
(Love Story) is about toghetherness, and I guess I find with their choice of music very unfortunate.

K

chuckm · Dec 13, 2007

I have to agree about K/S's 'Love Story'. If I didn't recognize the music, I might have thought it was a dramatization of "Lolita", because she looks like a pre-pubescent girl.

Execution: slow. Chemistry: nil.

slutskayafan21 · Dec 13, 2007

I hate Kawaguchi/Smirnov's Love Story. It is just a terrible rendition even when they skate it clean like Cup of Russia. As much as Sale/Pelletier are one of my least favorite teams of all time, their version makes me grudingly concede Sale/Pelletier did an absolutely sensational job interpreting that music and carrying across the theme of that music. They are also slow as molasses. I thought they showed more promise last year then they do this year.

escaflowne9282 · Dec 13, 2007

Joesitz said:
Wouldn't you say Kawaguchi and Smirnov are clones of Berezshnaya and Sikhilaruze? Or should I say B&S wannabees? Nothing original.

Joe

They look nothing like B&S to me at all, B&S were jawdroppingly fast, according to Peter Carruthers even moreso than Rodnina and Zaitsev. B&S also had much better lines ,posture, extention,skating skills, and were more stylistically matched /very classically Russian. In fact, K&S look nothing like any of Moskvina's other Russian pairs either, even the ones like Bechke and Petrov that I didn't care for . I will admit, that they do look like they are trying to channel the Dmitriev- B&S look, but IMHO that's just Moskvina's choreo.

K&S are intriguing and , they have a nice array of technical skills, but I'm not sure they are correctly matched. She is very cute and has a quirky style and worked very well with Markuntsov. In contrast, Smirnov seems more elegant, and it doesn't really work our that well. When they try something cute ( like their original SP for this season) he looks out of place, and when they try something elegant, her lack of balletic/classic dance training really shows. I'm interested in seeing what they become, when and if they finally get a cohesive style

Joesitz (RIP) · Dec 14, 2007

escaflowne9282 said:
They look nothing like B&S to me at all, B&S were jawdroppingly fast, according to Peter Carruthers even moreso than Rodnina and Zaitsev. B&S also had much better lines ,posture, extention,skating skills, and were more stylistically matched /very classically Russian. In fact, K&S look nothing like any of Moskvina's other Russian pairs either, even the ones like Bechke and Petrov that I didn't care for . I will admit, that they do look like they are trying to channel the Dmitriev- B&S look, but IMHO that's just Moskvina's choreo.

K&S are intriguing and , they have a nice array of technical skills, but I'm not sure they are correctly matched. She is very cute and has a quirky style and worked very well with Markuntsov. In contrast, Smirnov seems more elegant, and it doesn't really work our that well. When they try something cute ( like their original SP for this season) he looks out of place, and when they try something elegant, her lack of balletic/classic dance training really shows. I'm interested in seeing what they become, when and if they finally get a cohesive style

I was not clear. I did not mean a mature B&S - just an attempt to copy their style and nuances. I think Moskvina's working in that direction. But I agree with many who think they are not suited to each other. Your comments on the differences in the SP and LP may well confirm they are not suited for each other. Maybe at season's end there will be some changes in partners.

As to your second paragraph, I don't see anything intriguing about them. Their technical is the same as all the other Pairs except of course the technical of S/S; Z/Z; P/T, and even D/D. I believe they could win over Mc/B if that is so important Mc/B are brand new not only in Seniors but also in forming the Pairs just before Juniors. K/M have already been to last years Worlds!!

Joe

chuckm · Dec 14, 2007

I agree they are mismatched. Yuko has amazing flexibility, but the poses she gets into, especially the full-split on the lift, are just plain ugly. Meanwhile, he has a smooth, classic style which makes her look more awkward by contrast.

But I don't see this pair splitting any time soon. They are being pushed by the Russian fed, IMO to fan the flames of rivalry and keep Mukhortova/Trankov hard at work toward the 2010 Olympics. That way, if at the last minute Yuko balks at giving up her Japanese citizenship, the Russians will still have a competitive team for the Olympics (at least a much better one than they've had since TT/MM retired).

escaflowne9282 · Dec 14, 2007

Joesitz said:
I was not clear. I did not mean a mature B&S - just an attempt to copy their style and nuances. .
Joe

OK , I completely misunderstood then , sorry. but as to their styles not really matching that well as of yet. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvTThssWpPY this was their original SP, she looked cute , but he just looked completely lost.

Predictions for pairs

netnuts

Match Penalty

Joesitz (RIP)

KMK0902

cassieandcheetah

cassieandcheetah

chuckm

slutskayafan21

Match Penalty

escaflowne9282

Joesitz (RIP)

chuckm

escaflowne9282

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