What will the 2011/2012 season bring us in ice dance?

**dorispulaski** · 10-17-2011, 03:39 AM

Yes, I noticed the costumes, too. It's nice to see some dancers these days taking a chance and going for light humor and quirkiness rather than angsty drama, or young love & romance or (this year) old standards. It's a nice change.

**NorthernDancers** · 10-17-2011, 10:29 AM

Originally Posted by ImaginaryPogue

I. VII. NorthernDancers, what about the current standard of GOE application and PCS do you feels is poorly structured? Using S/Z as the example (heh), they were considered to have “good” PCS. Not Very Good/Superior/Outstanding. Good. Were they “on” more? How would you compare the elements? Do you think the program (SD) was as well choreographed? Did they make any errors? More two-foot skating? Well, someone correct me, but isn’t the cha-cha more on two feet than the rhumba, and doesn’t it take up more of a program? If both teams were perfect, what would the ideal score separation be? They received no +3s nor anything in the 9’s for PCS (they got five scores 8.00 or higher, but four were from one judge ). You really do seem to implicitly be returning to the days of 6.0 (the top scores should be for the top skaters), an idea I find troubling, especially considering how you’re expressing it.

IX. NorthernDancers, one thing you’re neglecting to mention is that those skaters who stuck it out and developed as seniors simply didn’t have the junior grand prix circuit to develop on in the first place. Victor Kraatz was twenty when he paired with Shae-Lynn Bourne. At that point, V/M and D/W had already been together 11+ years. How many people in the top ranks of ice dance are in their thirties? Not many. No, of course not many.

My concern is when I see the judges score sheet for S/B from Italy with 8's an 7's in the PCS, and those are more or less the same marks the Shibs got on their PCS in Finlandia. To me, those teams are not the same quality of skating. On paper it actually looks like S/B beat the Shibs. I don't think that is right at all. When S/B step up to Senior, will they continue to get those marks and find themselves on the podium or top 5 at Worlds? Or do they take a bit of a hit on their PCS once they step up to Senior, now they are compared with other Seniors? Again, I don't consider any of the current Juniors in the same league as V/M, Shibs, D/W, W/P, P/B, etc.

Very good point on some of those teams not having the opportunity to develop as Juniors first. That being said, we have a very young field, and in the past we saw teams skate into their 30's on a more regular basis. And they did their best work then.

**chuckm** · 10-17-2011, 11:38 AM

STEPANOVA / BUKIN are only 15 and 17, and there are lots of Russian Senior teams vying for a berth at Worlds. I suspect S/B will stay Junior for another season or two, just like Monko/Khaliavin did.

**dorispulaski** · 10-17-2011, 11:45 AM

Quite often, junior dancers are over scored. A seamless transition to seniors is not assured, even for high scoring juniors.

I&K have not made the huge splash in seniors that they were expected to, for example, or that their PCS as juniors might have predicted.. C&P and Samuelson & Bates came apart over the strain and difficulty of moving to seniors. That can still happen even in these days of COP.

It is hard to know how Stepanova & Bukin or Zhiganshina & Sinitsin will place. For one thing, the pattern dances are harder at seniors, so the kids are apt to take a hit at first, particularly on Finnstep, Golden Waltz, or Tango Romantica. Even the rhumba is not a gimme. I'll be interested to see how Monko & Khaliavin make the transition this year.

**herios** · 10-17-2011, 12:17 PM

Originally Posted by dorispulaski

I'll be interested to see how Monko & Khaliavin make the transition this year.

Me too. Let's not forget, they stayed one more year in juniors and they could get into the mix and dispatch one of the top 3 teams.
The wait your turn theory is pretty much obsolete these days