Pairs SP

[ArtistryOnIce]

Nice elements from Stolbova / Klimov but what exactly was this version of Bolero ? :(

[sequinsgalore]

Stefania BERTON / Ondrej HOTAREK (ITA)

Music: Harlem Nocturne by Earl Hagen and Dick Rogers
Demasiado Corazon by Willy Deville

They placed 5th last year

3T - nice
2FTw
Li
3LoTh - also solid
PCoSp
SlSt - he falls during some steps
FiDs

Shame about the fall...

Score: 54.38 and into 3rd

[tulosai]

I actually rather like this Italian team- I don't think I've seen/paid attention to them before. They seem to be having fun out there, though there's lots of room for technical improvement. Pity about his fall. That death spiral was LOW...

[sequinsgalore]

Mari VARTMANN / Aaron VAN CLEAVE (GER)

Music: Sarabande by Georg F. Haendel (modern arrangement)

This is their Euros debut.

3T
3FTw
3STh - twofooted
Li
PCoSp
SlSt
FiDs

Solid skate.

Score: 52.00, and into 6th

[Medusa]

I love Berton/Hotarek, but that was a huge mistake and it took him hours to get back into the program. I thought they could grab the bronze here without any problems, but they made it extra difficult for them now.

[sequinsgalore]

Vera BAZAROVA / Yuri LARIONOV (RUS)

Music: Tosca by Giacomo Puccini arranged by Maxime Rodriguez

They are the reigning bronze medalists

3T
3FTw - high!
3FTh - almost hand down
FiDs
PCoSp
Li
SlSt

They should go in second easily.

Score: 66.89, new PB, and into 2nd

[tulosai]

B/L are actually becoming one of my favorite teams. She is such a ballerina- perfect posture, perfect pointed toe. They also I think skate with a lot of emotion. Now that they've fixed their issue with the side by side jumps I think they could really be contenders if they would slightly up their technical content. I truly enjoy watching these two.

ETA: WOW they decimated their seasons best.

[Mirunna]

Gorgeous performances from all 3 russian couples. Especially loved Vera and Yuri. There is something about her, you can't take your eyes off her. I would have them closer to Tatiana/Maxim, who were also great but not perfect. Special mention to both french couples - they were amazing. Can't wait to see the final!
(still missing Aliona and Robin :( )

[snowflake]

Thanks sequinsgalore for the pbp, as I couldn't watch it all. Happy for the French teams. Never heard about Popova/Massot before. I'll watch their SP on youtube. Ouch for the Italians :( Congrats to the Russians

[waltzjump]

Italian Tv broadcast said that Hotarek is back from a bad flu, and had little training time right before the Championships.
Hotarek himself also said that his neck tie was fluttering over his eyes during the footwork, and he couldn't even know where he was on the rink! :-)
If you watch the video, at the preparation for the steps you can actually notice him trying to tuck his tie into his shirt.

[blue_idealist]

Didn't get to see this live but watched the top 5 performances. Bazarova/Larionov are growing on me a bit although I previously disliked them. They seemed really great at this event, better than I'd seen them before. I'm starting to love Stolbova/Klimov too, and V/T were great as always. No comment really on Berton/Hotarek or Hausch/Wende, pretty good skating but nothing spectacular/out of the ordinary today..