Senior Short Dance

[colleen o'neill]

maybe OT, but..cotillion..I loved Marrow and Stoll (and their costumes)..really looking forward to their development.

Thanks, Pogue.. Really, in my less than expert opinion, I do agree the margin between C/P and W/P should be close , just flipped the other way.

I really enjoyed Harvey / Gagnon and thought their program worked really well..risky and edgy ..but still waltzy. Don't know what to say about the marks, since I preferred their program over R/H's by miles. I know it's not about my preferences , so..

[dorispulaski]

colleen, I haven't yet seen C/P's dance-there was something wrong with the upload apparently, so I will have to wait another day. W/P's was clearly better than anything they've done this year. I love the program, to begin with, and this time they really skated it well. I particularly like the extra details they've put into the exit to the lift. And their costuming is impeccable

Some thoughts:
1. I do wish these teams came into the season better prepared, particularly Harvey/Gagnon, Paul/Islam, and W/P. They looked so much better here than in the fall.
2. I'm not buying the P/I wango. It drives me nuts that they are doing a Viennese waltz to a tango. They are lovely skaters, but when you're assigned an essay, don't hand in a short poem on an essay subject. Sometimes, you really need to just do the assignment. The assignment is to do a convincing Viennese waltz, which is what the Golden Waltz is. No it does not look better as a tango done with a waltz beat. For one thing, it makes it difficult for the viewer to assess the timing. For another, conveying waltz feel is part of the guidelines for GW. And there's something a hair odd about their feet.
3. Harvey/Gagnon-why weren't they prepared at Nebelhorn (bangs head). Then we would have been spared that not very inspiring program by Arnold/Trojek at Skate Canada. I like this program very much.
4. Ralph/Hill - has Kharis lost weight, or did that dress never fit properly? or was there no illusion fabric in the back of that dress-fabric was pouching along the top edge in the back. It was distracting. Again, I wish they had skated like that on the GP. I wish they had not gone for the TV costumes; I don't care if they reflect the original production (or one of 3 of the Cinderella productions). It comes off as cartoonish, a bit juniorish as a result, and distracts from the skating, which was very good.
5. Wing & Lowe are really moving into the coaching scene with a bang-novice champions, junior champions, and they are doing some good work with H/G, too.

Of course, these are very shallow comments. I'll have to watch the clips again to say anything intelligent. And I definitely want to see C/P.

[herios]

Some thoughts:
1. I do wish these teams came into the season better prepared, particularly Harvey/Gagnon, Paul/Islam, and W/P. They looked so much better here than in the fall.
2. I'm not buying the P/I wango. It drives me nuts that they are doing a Viennese waltz to a tango. They are lovely skaters, but when you're assigned an essay, don't hand in a short poem on an essay subject. Sometimes, you really need to just do the assignment. The assignment is to do a convincing Viennese waltz, which is what the Golden Waltz is. No it does not look better as a tango done with a waltz beat. For one thing, it makes it difficult for the viewer to assess the timing. .

I didn't find your comments shallow at all, Doris.
Mainly because I do agree with you. Based on their Nebelhorn results, I have not expecting Harvey / Gagnon to skate this well. They should have known that they have a chance to convince the federation of their potential internationally, so better to make the most out of it. They were unprepared there. Now I am looking forward for their FD.
I am annoyed as well by Paul / Islam's choice for their SD. I don't care if it is beautiful, stay within the boundaries and don't push it. At least not here in this segment. Otherwise I like them a lot and they are good competitors. They were so in synch throughout this dance, you couldn't pick on any sbs elements where they were off ever so slightly. They are equally strong.

I am so glad about the top 2 teams as they brought it on. No tension in their bodies and no nerves (at least doesn't show). I couldn't have separated them, so I am OK that the judges literally tied them (almost).

[skatingfan04]

Is it possible that Canadian dance has all of these teams plus Virtue & Moir? I'm blown away by how good that event was. Its not often that the top four teams skate completely mistake free.

Crone/Poirier: I though Vanessa looked lovely last night. This program has grown on me. They seem to be moving with a lot more flow than they were at the beginning of the season, and I think this was by far their best performance of the program. I'm happy to see them in first, but I still wish they would connect more with each other and the audience. Their expression still seems to be lacking a bit to me.

Weaver/Poje: Wow. I wish they could skate with that type of reckless abandon in every competition. They were absolutely on fire, and skated with elegance, style, speed and technical precision. I couldn't wipe the smile off of my face the entire program. I would love to see these two come away with the title, so I hope that they can skate the free with this same type of confidence.

Paul/Islam: Again, wow. There's really nothing to say. I never though anyone could turn a golden waltz into a tango, but it seems I was very wrong. They look like they've been skating together and skating at a senior level their entire lives. They'd be hard pressed to break into the top two here, but I get the feeling that they could become a real threat in the next cople of years. I hope that they go out on Sunday and really sell that stunning free dance of theirs.

Ralph/Hill: I've always loved this team, and I really think that they had a great skate in the short dance. It seems, however, that they have been outclassed by Paul/Islam. While I loved the whimsy of the Cinderella theme, I think it made them look a tad immature, especially when Paul/Islam came out with such a passionate tango. They're technical elements and expression were lovely, though, and I hope that they continue to improve. I think that P/I would have to make a significant error in the FD to fall behind these two.

It really was wonderful to see everyone skating what I though were their best programs of the year. It's nice to compare when everone skates their best. I can't wait until the FD!!!!

[colleen o'neill]

doris..really looking forward to your more detailed look at things. I think I know what you mean about P/I's feet, just now and then I find myself going wait a minute, what was that (very slightly) and I was wondering if it's the fact that they stay so close together, in spite of being together such a short time, that there's still the occasional tightness, or danger ( or something ) ? OTOH , they stay so close together..

Whatever the case, at Skate Canada they scored big in the FD, so if they skate that well again, I'm sure we won't see them fall back.

skatingfan.. I echo your sentiments re: R/H. They're so good in so many ways. I get very frustrated when they have these strikes against them that to my mind, would be an easy fix. (well, I think getting her to keep her shoulders down will take a bit of work, but it's do-able).

No ,Kharis' costume never fit all year, and neither did Asher's.There's been some improvement and refining (and they got rid of the tacky tiara ) but not enough. If they were copying some TV production, why ? It's seldom a good idea to echo that kind of thing too closely, the originals weren't designed to ice dance in, and in the case of Cinderella, were probably designed to appeal to a juvenile audience's idea of beautiful. Anyway, the story is so universal , no-one would mistake it for anything else if the costumes were more adult.

There was another Cinderella program ( to Prokofiev) lower down in the ranks that made the same mistakes. It was so over - designed and cluttered,there were enough design ideas for three costumes in it, but because it stuck to one basic colour, it was actually better than R/H's, and the military -style prince's costume was less cartoonish.

Sorry, I didn't start out intending to rant.

[emma]

great commentary/discussion! has anyone found links to videos of the top three (thanks in advance!!!)??

[ImaginaryPogue]

colleen? A rant about a Lane team? Never!!!!

Actually, on television, the differences between the top two are clearer. Those differences pretty much balance each other out. Crone/Poirier were On. Weaver/Poje were ON.

[skatingfan04]

Crone/Poirier were On. Weaver/Poje were ON.

Well put.

[colleen o'neill]

They were! Both ! ( ON that is.)
But when I mean to rant it's so much worse. And just to show I can be even handed in my ranting..I'm hoping H/G have changed their FD costumes, but since I saw them at practice, I fear not.( I know it's some sort of rags to rags story , but holy cow!)
Just wait...

[callalily]

Crone/Poirier were On. Weaver/Poje were ON.

That's how I saw it. If Weaver/Poje could skate that way every time out (freedom, confidence, attack, precision) they'd be moving ahead of C/P, IMO, since C/P's expression is still lacking, despite their technical skill.

[skatingfan04]

That's how I saw it. If Weaver/Poje could skate that way every time out (freedom, confidence, attack, precision) they'd be moving ahead of C/P, IMO, since C/P's expression is still lacking, despite their technical skill.

You took the words right out of my mouth, callalily

[Tigger]

Here's something I've been wondering...

When W/P did their GP assignments, their main coach was just a wee bit busy w/this little thing called Battle of the Blades, so she wasn't w/them at their events and also her time w/them over the Fall was also compromised. Fast forward to now. BotB is done and Shae-Lynn is now able to completely focus on her students she's coaching/working w/. I don't buy the entire "She's only a mentor to Kaitlyn and Andrew now..." thing that PJ was saying on Friday night, because if she wasn't still their coach, then why say she is in any interview W/P do?

Anyway...What I'm trying to say is how much having Shae back full time at the rink is part of what we saw Friday night from W/P?

Just tossing something out there I've been wondering about.

[ImaginaryPogue]

Because she's more famous that Carmalengo?