Compulsory Dance: Friday, Nov. 13th 3:00 PM EST

[**Carol**]

t]well B/A and K/N were the best here. Tanith and bed had some preatty nice scores and thank God he is in black!!
I wish I understand more about CDs

[Hsuhs]

Tanith and bed had some preatty nice scores

A long-awaited Freudian slip!

[**Carol**]

A long-awaited Freudian slip!

heh...sorry Tanith and BEN

[Wicked]

So glad Ben ditched the white tux. It made him look like an ice cream man.

Whenever I watch C&Z I don't notice him. I can't take my eyes off of Madison.

[~tapdancer]

Her line sings, that's one thing (Khoklova). I didn't like her dress at first, but once they started moving, I saw why they chose it -- it makes her movements that much more legible. His hair was a little bit like Kramer, lol (on Seinfeld). I preferred them to B&A. At this point with everyone singing their praises I guess I just have a blind spot for B&A.

So do I. But then again, I pretty much always have. I can see where B/A were the best of the field but they look the same as they always have to me. I simply don't get all the "oh they improved so much". I just don't see it and I probably never will. Course I've never thought they were ever bad...funny how everyone seems to forget about their past results...they are Olympic silver medalists for pete's sake. But suddenly the great Linichuk has turned them into the second coming. It's all just a big whatever to me. As far as K/N..."Her line sings"...I like that. I thought that dress worked really well for her. I don't care for her tutus. They were definitely better than all before them...the only thing that was so distracting in this CD is their height difference. It's just so noticeable to me this year.

[Dyan]

I hardly see anyone acting as if B&A are the "second coming." If anything, it's pretty nice as a B&A fan to see them getting some credit for their skating rather than the negative comments that have peppered the boards over the past couple of seasons. B&A are well deserving of some praise IMO. It's about time.

I do agree that B&A (even Tanith) were never that bad in the first place and people have tended to ignore their past results and some of their past programs when they say B&A have "remade" themselves. However, Linichuk & Karponsov have taken B&A back to their roots (Four Seasons, Alexandros, Un Vie da amour) and have done an excellent job finetuning Tanith and Ben's skating and giving them even more refinement and polish.

I'm one of those who never got K&N. That said I do think they have good basic skills even though for the most part especially in the OD and FD their skating is all about Yana's flexibility. I prefer R&S though even they also have room for improvement in their skating.

[sfgirl]

Tanith looks stunning, their dance looks more stunning. Clearly the best dancein this field even in my (no techninque)eye.

Absolutely beautiful. Both Tanith and their performance.

[Dyan]

I haven't had a chance to download any of the CD's (if any are even up yet) but I've seen pictures of B&A's CD costumes. Tanith did look gorgeous (wow) and from the practice pictures it looks as if she has a different FD dress as well.

I also thought Kim Navarro looked stunning in her CD outfit as well. It's too bad Universal sports doesn't show any of the CD's as the Golden Waltz is one of my favorites.

[legjumper]

It's too bad Universal sports doesn't show any of the CD's as the Golden Waltz is one of my favorites.

Universal Sports showed Belbin & Agosto's CD at the end of the Men's SP broadcast, so you can look for it on a repeat broadcast.

I can see where B/A were the best of the field but they look the same as they always have to me. I simply don't get all the "oh they improved so much". I just don't see it and I probably never will.

I think Belbin & Agosto are radically improved in their compulsories from when they were with Shpilband, and it stems from the improvement in their basic stroking technique. They are getting the same (or greater) speed as Shpilband's skaters but with less "work." Linichuk has also improved B/A's posture and carriage; they are much more organized and still and more matched in their upper bodies. B/A's free legs are also improved, with better extension and focus on leg line. If you watch B/A's Golden Waltz compared to that of Virtue/Moir's, you will notice that B/A tend to have greater extension, held longer, creating more of a highlight and a "picture." The overall effect of all of these improvements is one of greater unison, greater control, greater refinement, and greater freedom in their skating.

[dorispulaski]

The vids are up on youtube (for however long they last)

Belbin & Agosto
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGQzlvkhtJ0

Khokhlova & Novitsky
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuPGusuZPjA

Capellini & Lanotte
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50Ps7...eature=channel

Zaretski & Zaretski
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrTaZ_vIGWU

Navarro & Bommentre
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9veS...eature=channel

Gorshkova & Butikov
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBOJIvuWKkQ

Chock & Zuerlein
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ync85oyuWRI

And here's the IN article with interview from Linichuk:

http://web.icenetwork.com/news/artic...&vkey=ice_news

[Dyan]

Thank you legjumper and Doris.