We got here to Atlanta yesterday. The weather has certainly turned COLD enough for skating. We are sitting in section 102, in the handicapped seating. It's up 25 rows, but with the overhang, the view is unobstructed, if a little high. The rink food here is amazing and for once reasonably priced. There is a fish restaurant, an Italian restaurant, a diner, a kind of new ag-y place and even a Dunkin donut selling coffee refills for $1 each.
I went to some of the ladies, men and dance practices yesterday.
Michelle seemed very ripped, muscular and dangerous looking in a black sleeveless unitard. She skated Tosca all the way through, falling on the 3loop and deliberately doing a double lutz for the final lutz in the program. She had her hair long and loose, and I wonder if that is how she is going to have it in the LP. Sounds like a good look for the jump off the building ending. They were playing, "I can't dance, I can't talk, the only thing about me is the way I walk, and Michelle was dancing away to it, adapting her SL footwork sequence to it. I'd like to see her use this old song for an exhibition program. She landed a 3loop elsewhere during the session. On the whole, she seemed to be taking it easy.
Yebin Mok was there with Frank, and was having a very hard practice with lots of falls, but she seemed to be shaking it off and to be philosophical about it.
Sasha seemed tight and was skating rather slowly, which means that her tendency for wobbly landings was worse. However, she was holding it together well, and seems ready to roll. She was much much slower than Stephanie Rosenthal, a big girl, with tons of power and good skating skills and a lot of musicality.
Felicia Beck was not doing much. She seemed to have nice spins.
Amber was in good shape and was improvising nicely to the stuff the arena plays in the general warmup. She skated her routine quite well, but some of the jumps were not fully rotated, until a girl I don't recognize ran into her arm. She shook it off, and got back into the routine. She sure hangs on to those landings though.
Jenny Don looked larger and solider than I remembered, and frankly rather large for pairs. She was having trouble landing much in the way of jumps.
Bebe was full of beans, much bigger than last year, but in a good way, and seemed not to be suffering from her injuries earlier in the year. However, her landings kinda look like Sasha's these days. Not secure.
And that Susan McDonald can really spin.
I did not get to see Jenny or AP or Angela, because we went to lunch. I did see AP's mother. She had brough a little dog of some sort to the rink.
Edited to add:
The ladies' practice report on MKF says Angela had a great practice and her lutz, loop and flip are good. the salchow was not in evidence but she was in good spirits, they said, and signed autographs.
Jenny had a good practice, AP did not.
dpp
I went to some of the ladies, men and dance practices yesterday.
Michelle seemed very ripped, muscular and dangerous looking in a black sleeveless unitard. She skated Tosca all the way through, falling on the 3loop and deliberately doing a double lutz for the final lutz in the program. She had her hair long and loose, and I wonder if that is how she is going to have it in the LP. Sounds like a good look for the jump off the building ending. They were playing, "I can't dance, I can't talk, the only thing about me is the way I walk, and Michelle was dancing away to it, adapting her SL footwork sequence to it. I'd like to see her use this old song for an exhibition program. She landed a 3loop elsewhere during the session. On the whole, she seemed to be taking it easy.
Yebin Mok was there with Frank, and was having a very hard practice with lots of falls, but she seemed to be shaking it off and to be philosophical about it.
Sasha seemed tight and was skating rather slowly, which means that her tendency for wobbly landings was worse. However, she was holding it together well, and seems ready to roll. She was much much slower than Stephanie Rosenthal, a big girl, with tons of power and good skating skills and a lot of musicality.
Felicia Beck was not doing much. She seemed to have nice spins.
Amber was in good shape and was improvising nicely to the stuff the arena plays in the general warmup. She skated her routine quite well, but some of the jumps were not fully rotated, until a girl I don't recognize ran into her arm. She shook it off, and got back into the routine. She sure hangs on to those landings though.
Jenny Don looked larger and solider than I remembered, and frankly rather large for pairs. She was having trouble landing much in the way of jumps.
Bebe was full of beans, much bigger than last year, but in a good way, and seemed not to be suffering from her injuries earlier in the year. However, her landings kinda look like Sasha's these days. Not secure.
And that Susan McDonald can really spin.
I did not get to see Jenny or AP or Angela, because we went to lunch. I did see AP's mother. She had brough a little dog of some sort to the rink.
Edited to add:
The ladies' practice report on MKF says Angela had a great practice and her lutz, loop and flip are good. the salchow was not in evidence but she was in good spirits, they said, and signed autographs.
Jenny had a good practice, AP did not.
dpp
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