Preview and Virtual Program for the Free Dance; Oct. 23 1:30 am EST | Page 2 | Golden Skate

Preview and Virtual Program for the Free Dance; Oct. 23 1:30 am EST

dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Country
United-States
Congrats to all the medalists. So happy for the Shibs. Knew they would be competitive this season after I saw them in Canton six weeks ago. Their FD is a joy to watch. I&K looked shocked in the Kiss & Cry to find themselves off the podium. I&K are talented but their programs are blah. Also enjoyed D&W FD tango. Really difficult lifts - that's what I saw them working on mostly when I was in Canton. Nice to see the whole program. They are always entertaining. Programs are still a little rough, which is probably why Meryl commented that the FD was "a battle", but to be fair, they had very late start on their programs. Expect to see both routines improve as the season progresses.

Yes, this is what I felt. And I just realized, this is the first year that they haven't had the pressure of being the 2nd team (or not) to Tanith and Ben. Not only did they have so much more touring and TV and appearance stuff going on (and so, less time to work on their programs, not to mention choosing to drop the Amelie program)-they actually had the luxury of being able to do it without having huge worries.

And about I&K-it looks like they really didn't have time to prepare properly either, which I think is what Tarasova was getting at. With those lifts from Schindler, their FD has a comic ballet rather than a dramatick ballet flavor just now. However, I would expect them to have new lifts, as they promised at Russian test skate, before Russian Nationals. The program would them be much much better.

BTW, do you have any idea what their plan is to get up their tech marks in the GW?

just watched davis and white's FD and I really love it. Of course, I just always am breathless about their twizzles, overall speed and closeness, and precision. but for some reason I can't quite explain, i really noticed or got into the shapes they created this time. Really lovely. I am a little - i don't know - uncomfortable about that lift that ends up with Charlie holding her at the knees with one arm - all I could think was it felt strange at first and dangerous by the end. other than that, I really like this fd. can't wait to watch more of them.

That lift will look better when it's faster and smoother.
 

ImaginaryPogue

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 3, 2009
1. I/K had FIVE level two elements. Give one advantage they were supposed to have was their ease at creating level four elements (first level four FD last season), this is troubling for them.

2. One thing that bugs me (and I do it too) is the feeling of "oh, well, of course Davis/White will win now that Virtue/Moir are injured." They can beat V/M with V/M at the top of their game. Just wanted to toss that in their to combat the feeling of inevitability that surrounds how we're talking about them.. I don't like the SD (format more than anything), but the FD has loads of promise. As emma mentioned, they are interested in the beauty of their positions (something we didn't see last year, though Samson and Delilah had some of it). Can't wait to see where this goes. I really do hope they develop their "on-ice" personality more - this program demands it.

3. I don't like that the teams don't have to do a long lift now. It was particularly noted in Weaver/Poje's performance where he does a lift, puts her down, picks her up and does the rotational lift. Speaking of W/P, despite being really enthusiastic about the fact that they medalled (check the prediction thread to see how many thought the junior teams would beat them), I have to say I wasn't enthralled by this FD (haven't seen the SD yet). Poje is a wonderfully masucline skater and he presents Weaver very well, but it's so obvious she's channeling Shae-Lynn Bourne and in things like extension, posture.... that's not a good thing. This program has potential, though.

4. The Shibutanis are just marvelous. Again, he presents her so well, but she's so lovely (the growth spurt did wonders for her, didn't it?) and they match and this a lovely program for them.
 

missysays

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 8, 2007
That lift will look better when it's faster and smoother.

I hope so but...

The only way I can see it looking better is if she were more stretched out and less bent at the waist. But I absolutely do not want them to try that because one caught edge by Charlie or if his arm were to give way and down Meryl would go in a very unprotected position. (Even worse then the position that Marie-France Dubreuil was in when she fell from that rotational lift at the Olympics.)

I think they should re-think the whole 2nd part of that lift- the part where she goes sailing up to the position standing on his leg works with the music and is really nice, but the rest of the positions while incredibly difficult don't seem to have any real connection to the music.
 

blue_idealist

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 25, 2006
I missed Meryl and Charlie's FD for the most part because I was eating. But yay Shibutanis! And I'm happy for Weaver and Poje too even though I'm not sure if I like this program. I liked the Russians' program, even though I hated their SD. Not surprised that Davis and White won though. lol.
 

Tigger

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 18, 2007
CBC showed the top four of the FD's this afternoon and...

Loved Maia and Alex's FD and just how light on their feet they are. For those that saw it, did anyone else catch the "joke" and I'm thinking it was intentional too. Where the lyrics go "There may trouble up ahead..." what do they start right after that? Their twizzles. Dad thought I was nuts when I started laughing and he couldn't figure out what was so funny. After I explained it him, we both agreed that *had* be on purpose and a rather neat bit of poking a bit of fun at a portion of the FD that we fans all know can be a killer for a team if messed up. Congrats to them on their first Senior GP Medal!!!

I really enjoyed Kaitlyn and Andrew's FD. I think it's a perfect fit for them and that Kaitlyn makes a really great Satine. :D Some of their lifts were really spectatular, but I was really impressed by how comfortable w/the program they are so early in the season. Even w/the little bob and bobble here and there, it still looked to me more like a Mid Season performance than an Earlly one. Can't wait to see it improve as the year goes on.

Meryl and Charlie...I honestly am not sure what to think. It was good, but I can't quite put my finger on it. There just seems to be something missing and I don't know what. It didn't help they were tentative, which I get w/it being early in the year, but...I just don't know. I want to gush about it, especially as it's a Tango and that's my favourite Dance, but...There's just something not quite right and I don't know what that is. I am happy to see Meryl's costumes this Season are such deep colours, as I feel w/her skin colouring, light coloured costumes wash her out a bit. Glad to see that won't be the case this year.

THESEASON'S STARTED!!!THESEASON'SSTARTED!!!!THESEASON'SSTARTED!!!

:biggrin: :biggrin:
 

MissCleo

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 27, 2005
The podium is not exactly what I expected.

C/L: what a blah FD, so lame. I really wanted this to be good esp. since I've literally drooled over all of their FDs. Oh well, at least she still looks like an amazing diva.

I/K: It seems like they have their SD and FD mixed up. Don Quixote would have been an amazing waltz, the costume she wears for it even seems perfect for it. They might be able to develop Agony/tango better as a free dance. This was somewhat underwhelming, theyve been hyped up all summer, this was a bit of a let down. On the bright side, she's another amazing dark-haired diva.

Shibs: congrats, I only thought they had an outside chance of medaling. they definitely deserved this. very lovely skating. Such a wise decision to keep the dance simple, young teams tend to not handle elaborate themes well. Actually, most teams aren't able to handle elaborate themes well.

W/P: I knew they were going to hit this dance out of the park. Perfect choice of music. If Moullin Rouge was remade, these two could easily be recasted as the leads. (such handsome looking couple). Although it felt kinda weird to see dubreuil/lauzon lifts in their FD and SD.

D/W: expected a win. I appreciate that they really went for it, rather than just coasting. Not crazy about either the SD/FD. Usually programs have to grow on me, but I'm not that hopeful with these dances. Anyway, this dance is freakishly difficult and was skated well considering how this is the first comp of season. I'm expecting them to skate this so much better later on, cant wait.
 

silver.blades

Medalist
Joined
Jan 4, 2007
Country
Canada
I think that Meryl and Charlie's free dance is the perfect vehicle for them this season. It needs some work, but it's a program that can highlight their strengths, while helping them improve on their weaknesses. They've made improvements over last year in lines already, they're just missing the attack that they usually have.
 

sktgirl6

Rinkside
Joined
Aug 2, 2009
Weaver/Poje,,, it seems that every year they have the same lifts, why dont they challenge themselves with some new ones?
 

dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Country
United-States
Since D&W were skating in their old Tango OD costumes, I suspect that those aren't their final FD costumes...and I expect that they are not as far along in their preparation by GP as fans have come to expect of them. I'm merging the two FD threads BTW.

As to W&P's lifts, I don't know why couples that prefer to stick with tried and true lifts do that. The Kerrs do it too. Perhaps I'm spoiled by the Shpilband teams who have some new lifts (if not all new lifts) every year.
 
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La Rhumba

Supporting All British Skaters!
Medalist
Joined
Aug 9, 2006
Country
United-Kingdom
GB's Coomes & Buckland

Congrats to Penny & Nick on your GP debut. :clap:

Loving the new FD choreo'd by Philip Askew (a competitor himself in the 1990s). :bow:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9ggHFwz2dk

Haven't seen their SD, but this FD was one of the most entertaining in the competition.

Thought 8th place was quite harsh, they deserved higher IMO.

Doris, could I have your thoughts please, or am I being just a fan? :think:
 

La Rhumba

Supporting All British Skaters!
Medalist
Joined
Aug 9, 2006
Country
United-Kingdom
As to W&P's lifts, I don't know why couples that prefer to stick with tried and true lifts do that. The Kerrs do it too. Perhaps I'm spoiled by the Shpilband teams who have some new lifts (if not all new lifts) every year.

They've certainly created some gorgeous Lifts, but not all are entirely original. Igor & Marina aren't averse to checking the T&D archives (both for Lifts and musical inspiration!) ;)
 

rain

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 29, 2003
I had written a big long reply about how I wanted to like the free dances a lot more than I actually did, but then I lost the entire thing!

So the highlights:

I/K - have star quality. I can see what all the fuss is about. They need to be careful they don't become just another cookie cutter Russian ice dance duo.

Shibutanis: I thought their FD was rather old-fashioned looking and didn't love it.

W/P: another program to an overwrought musical seemed stale. Give me something out of the box that shows why they are different than other teams.

D/W: I wanted desperately to love the programs but didn't. I thought the SD was dull. They did not maintain the intensity needed for the tango throughout the dance and it lacked sensuality between the partners. I agreed with CBC commentator Kurt Browning that Charlie's mop of curls did not look tango-ish. He needed to slick it back. This dance may be better as the season progresses because there is a lot of good choreography in it. This early, though, they are clearly thinking through it, and it really hurts the performance aspect.
 

dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Country
United-States
Congrats to Penny & Nick on your GP debut. :clap:

Loving the new FD choreo'd by Philip Askew (a competitor himself in the 1990s). :bow:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9ggHFwz2dk

Haven't seen their SD, but this FD was one of the most entertaining in the competition.

Thought 8th place was quite harsh, they deserved higher IMO.

Doris, could I have your thoughts please, or am I being just a fan? :think:

A GP debut is always a big deal. However, didn't they skate at the Olympics last year?

While 8th may seem dreadful, they did not skate badly at all, though. The question is how high did you think they should have been placed? They certainly weren't as good as D/W, S/S, W/P, or I/K. I haven't watched the Reeds, or M/N yet, but here's what caused their placement:

1. They skated to a Disney cartoon movie score (despite the fact that it is darn good music) in suits that made it clear they were representing the 2 lions Simba & Nala, including a rubbing noses kiss (very cute). Unfortunately, this is not the way to cause the judges and other people to regard you as serious seniors. This will hit you in the PCS every time (and in fact, they were placed lower in PCS to M/N and R/R and C/L.

2. IMO, their best two lifts were the last 2 lifts, which were transitional lifts and so did not count (Sad but true) except towards PCS intangibles.

3. In front of the 2 noncounting lifts were 2 step sequences in which their edges were shallow, causing them to get level 2 on the circular step and level 1 on the diagonal step. This is a problem they can fix that doesn't show up that well to the casual fan. For a Level 4, all the turns must be done "correctly" and all the edges must be clear. If they're shallow, the tech group will cut you no slack. And IMO, this was a particularly tough tech panel. Plus the rules are tighter this year, too.

I can't tell you yet whether R/R and M/N should have been ahead of them. I need to watch the programs first.


D/W: I wanted desperately to love the programs but didn't. I thought the SD was dull. They did not maintain the intensity needed for the tango throughout the dance and it lacked sensuality between the partners. I agreed with CBC commentator Kurt Browning that Charlie's mop of curls did not look tango-ish. He needed to slick it back. This dance may be better as the season progresses because there is a lot of good choreography in it. This early, though, they are clearly thinking through it, and it really hurts the performance aspect.

A couple of points about this program. It is not meant to be an Argentine tango. It is meant to be a romantic tango. An observer should know this because there is no bandoneon in the orchestration, even if you didn't know the plot. It is about a movie, Il Postino, where a young postman seeks help from a poet so that he can get over his inability to communicate with his lady love, and use metaphor to help him do it. He marries the lady. Later he dies (the FD doesn't get that far).
 
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rain

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 29, 2003
A couple of points about this program. It is not meant to be an Argentine tango. It is meant to be a romantic tango.

No matter what type of tango it is, there should still be a sensuality and intensity and tension between the partners. Romance doesn't negate any of these things. In fact, a compelling romance requires all of the above. As to your further point about the film the music is from, I defy you to get the story of Il Postino from what they presented here, so I don't think it works on that level either.
 

KKonas

Medalist
Joined
Oct 31, 2009
No matter what type of tango it is, there should still be a sensuality and intensity and tension between the partners. Romance doesn't negate any of these things. In fact, a compelling romance requires all of the above. As to your further point about the film the music is from, I defy you to get the story of Il Postino from what they presented here, so I don't think it works on that level either.

It's not supposed to be a literal translation of the movie. Meryl picked the Il Postino music and Charlie picked the tangos. According to Charlie it's about all the ups and downs of a romantic courtship. He charms her, they fall in love, they have issues, they resolve issues. Do think they are stilll just working through the program since they are almost 2 months behind in training over everyone else they are competing against. The basics are there. Let's see what the program looks like later in the season.
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
Is it just me, or did Maia and Alex really grow up over the summer? They both look like the young adults that they are and not grade school children! So cool! I loved loved loved the simplicity of their free dance! :love:
 

rain

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 29, 2003
It's not supposed to be a literal translation of the movie. Meryl picked the Il Postino music and Charlie picked the tangos. According to Charlie it's about all the ups and downs of a romantic courtship. He charms her, they fall in love, they have issues, they resolve issues. Do think they are stilll just working through the program since they are almost 2 months behind in training over everyone else they are competing against. The basics are there. Let's see what the program looks like later in the season.

I never thought they were trying for a literal interpretation of the film, which was why I was surprised to see someone suggesting this as a reason for why it looks the way it does now. If you'll look back at my original post, you'll see that I state there's a lot of good choreography in the FD, but so far it lacks the presentation factor — basically, just what you've suggested. I hope it does progress to fabulous by the end of the season. But it is not there yet.
 

dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Country
United-States
Is it just me, or did Maia and Alex really grow up over the summer? They both look like the young adults that they are and not grade school children! So cool! I loved loved loved the simplicity of their free dance! :love:

Maia grew 3 inches in the last year. It's no wonder they look more grown up!
 

~tapdancer

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 18, 2008
I loved the Shibs! I actually adore both their programs and they look wonderful together...Alex is such a strong, smooth ice dancer and presents Maia so well. With two clean programs they will be a factor in every competition they are in. To win the bronze here was amazing considering the very disruptive fall in the SD. I'm so thrilled for them.

Of course, I was very excited for D/W's debut and they didn't disappoint me! (But then they never do, :)) I agree that their FD especially isn't quite there but wow, what difficulty and the potential for this to be an epic dance is there. I feel like I did for "Eleanor Rigby"...the first time out I could see it being great but was thrilled at the amazing FD it became by Nationals. This FD will work for them, it just needs more time and for them to get more comfortable with it so the expression can come through.

The other FD I really enjoyed was the British pair of C/B. I know it was a Disney song but I love "Lion King" and I thought their lifts and moves were wonderful. She's like a human pretzel! They may be a little unrefined but I had a good time watching that FD. :)

rain said:
I/K - have star quality. I can see what all the fuss is about. They need to be careful they don't become just another cookie cutter Russian ice dance duo.
To me they already are. I look at their faces and all I see is that Russian intensity. They have a lot of Russian ice dance history to emulate and they are already trying to live up to the hype. If they just settle down and use their obvious talent, things could go well for them. I, personally, would rather see the team of Bobrova/Soloviev be the Russian #1 for a bit, I/K don't need the pressure yet...they are just out of juniors, for pete's sake. Much as I adored D/W in their first year of seniors, they weren't ready for the top spot in US ice dance. But they got there. Slow and sure wins the race.
 
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