Virtue and Moir News

flaneur · Aug 12, 2013

The SP is in pretty good shape for early August. I was a bit skeptical when I first heard the music selection (I tend to prefer skaters sticking with just one song through a program) but I think it flows well and the vocal play between ella fitzgerald and louis armstrong will highlight V/M skating being a partnership of equals.

One thing I wonder about is whether the lift at the end is the final lift or is it a place holder for the actual lift.

Olympia · Aug 12, 2013

This short program is sounding more interesting by the minute.

ice coverage · Aug 12, 2013

Virtue, Moir debut jazzy quickstep in Quebec
Radford, Duhamel pay tribute; Castelli, Shnapir rock Santana

By Klaus-Reinhold Kany and Lynn Rutherford, special to icenetwork.com
(08/12/2013)
http://www.icenetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130812&content_id=56737924&vkey=ice_news

The excerpt below includes a little news about Virtue/Moir's FD:

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir arrived with a dual purpose: perform their free dance before Skate Canada judges and officials, and test their short dance to quickstep and foxtrot rhythms in competition.
They accomplished the first early Saturday morning, when they displayed their free dance, set to selections from Russian composers Alexander Glazunov and Alexander Scriabin, in a private monitoring session.
"We wanted opinions on [the music] we chose, because it has never been used in ice dance before," said Marina Zoueva, who coaches the skaters in Canton, Mich. "I wanted to see the judges' expressions before competition. They were very favorable; they think it is very suitable and a good style for them."

Note that they showed their FD privately on Saturday morning, i.e., not long before competing their SD on Saturday mid-afternoon.
The next time we see them skate their SD, presumably they will do so with fresh legs -- which can only increase the quality of their perfomance.

Macassar88 · Aug 12, 2013

Scrufflet said:
Oh please let's not do the Tessa-is-overweight thing again! I remember how shocked I was at seeing both Tessa and Meryl at the 2010 Olympics. Both looked gaunt, as if they could snap so easily. They both have more meat on their bones now and I am glad of it. And why does it have to be the woman who must get smaller? Are the guys ever encouraged to bulk up?

Also remember that a woman with more strength/muscle can actually make it easier for the guy in spite of the extra weight because she'll be able to hold herself in ways that will make it easier for him to stay balanced.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/17/sports/olympics/17icedancers.html?_r=0
Remember this article about Tanith from the NYT where she talks about how Linichuk had her gain 10 pounds so that she could have more power in her skating. She also said that the extra weight from muscle helped her be more stable in lifts.

Mathman · Aug 12, 2013

Macassar88 said:
Also remember that a woman with more strength/muscle can actually make it easier for the guy in spite of the extra weight because she'll be able to hold herself in ways that will make it easier for him to stay balanced.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/17/sports/olympics/17icedancers.html?_r=0

Remember this article about Tanith from the NYT where she talks about how Linichuk had her gain 10 pounds so that she could have more power in her skating. She also said that the extra weight from muscle helped her be more stable in lifts.

http://img2-2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/020221/15118__anissina_l.jpg

KKonas · Aug 12, 2013

Mathman said:
http://img2-2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/020221/15118__anissina_l.jpg

LOL. I spoke to A/P about this lift at the time they were doing it. All they said was that it took more of his strength than hers to accomplish this lift.

NorthernDancers · Aug 13, 2013

Oh PULEEZE! I'm so tired of the weight discussion. For any of us who have had the pleasure to meet Tessa and Scott in person, neither of them are fat in any way. Tessa is one lean, strong young woman. (Anyone see those pictures for that sports magazine earlier this Summer?) There is no amount of weakness in her body at all. She also is perfectly sized to Scott. (Anyone remember that beautiful picture where they are in their black Pink Floyd outfits and lunging perfectly in sync? There have never been such perfect lines - legs, bodies, arms. And I think she was wearing heels next to Scott in the bridal magazine pictures, and was not taller than him.) Scott is very strong, and very well built. And yet he can move like no other male dancer. They have an advantage by being closer in height. It's part of the secret sauce of their exceptional skating. It's what makes what they do ice dance and not pairs skating. I'm not a fan of too thin skaters. That used to be Tessa, and I have to think it might have contributed to her leg issues. It was Tanith at one point, as stated above. I still think its Meryl. And its way too many pair skaters.

aftertherain · Aug 15, 2013

I wonder if they're still like this.

http://ohyeahvirtuemoirgifs.tumblr.com/post/15247862873/x

Finnstep · Aug 15, 2013

aftertherain said:
I wonder if they're still like this.

http://ohyeahvirtuemoirgifs.tumblr.com/post/15247862873/x

Love those gifs! :love:

I would love to see a moment like this again in Sochi

ice coverage · Aug 30, 2013

We now have absolutely official confirmation that Virtue/Moir will compete at Finlandia Trophy, Oct 4-6

:

https://www.facebook.com/finlandiatrophy/posts/495839230507457 (Aug 29)

Fringe benefit for V/M: skating their Finnstep in Finland. :yay:

Olympia · Aug 30, 2013

golden411 said:
We now have absolutely official confirmation that Virtue/Moir will compete at Finlandia Trophy, Oct 4-6 :

https://www.facebook.com/finlandiatrophy/posts/495839230507457 (Aug 29)

Fringe benefit for V/M: skating their Finnstep in Finland. :yay:

Great news! It should be wonderful to behold. (Fingers crossed that some generous soul will put it on YouTube.)

dorispulaski · Aug 31, 2013

People who went to Finlandia have been generous in previous years. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they will be again this year.

Skater Boy · Sep 1, 2013

I wonder if they have worked on their technical elements and found a way to regain their pc advantage over Davis and White or is it really game over for this pair and they are stuck with silver. I still think they and Davis and White are by far the best dance teams. The battle for the bronze is fierce - France, Italy, Canada 2, USA 2 and 3 and Russia 1 and 2.

dorispulaski · Sep 1, 2013

At this point, both teams get extremely high, nearly perfect PCS, so neither can have much of an advantage by their own efforts-the other team has to do something that makes their PCS lower than it was last season. The rules on PCS have not changed, so one or the other would have to have a real stinker of a program choreographed to get significantly lower PCS, if they are skating well.

Probably the issue is, as it has always been in the SD era, which of the 2 teams hits all the points in the pattern dance (Finnstep) this year and really nails the feeling of quickstep.

Last year, V&M had a strong disadvantage due to their program design in the SD which clearly was a waltz with the Yankee Polka shoveled into it. By world's, the transition in and out of the polka was smoother, but the dance still did not really fit the polka mood. Meanwhile, D&W's Giselle was really exactly what an SD should be. The previous year, D&W went with a club Latin program, which similarly was not all that well received by the judges, who appeared to want a traditional rumba, not a club rumba, while V&M had a better (and really nice) Latin program, and more importantly, it was much more what the judges expect and want in a Latin program. In both years, the team that lost the SD clearly knew they had problems, because they tinkered a lot with the program during the season.

So no, of course, V&M are not doomed to second place. Their quickstep SD looks very, very nice, so they won't be having the problem they had with the polka.

Olympia · Sep 1, 2013

Man, if ever a tie for the OGM were warranted, this is it. If all goes well, we should get to see agonizingly splendid skating this winter. It's going to be even closer than the Battle of the Brians and Michelle vs. Tara.

dorispulaski · Sep 1, 2013

Yes, I hope so! I love agonizingly splendid skating!

Skater Boy · Sep 1, 2013

Well we did have a tie in 2002

.... I would add G and G and M and D in 1994 warranted two golds and Witt and Manley - because I think Witt was held up in the school and short and could have been knocked down a notch or two which would hae allowed Manley to win - or rather Ito could have been marked higher.

Skater Boy · Sep 2, 2013

Do V and M have any chance with Davis and White's convincing 2013 wins. Have they lost it? They used to beat D and W with pcs - no longer. They started making errors and their lifts are more labored - have they lost it. I do appreciate them trying different styles though.

dorispulaski · Sep 2, 2013

Of course they have a good chance. They just aren't going to win it on PCS, since both teams are pretty much maxed out so that the PCS is nearly a tie any time.

TontoK · Sep 2, 2013

dorispulaski said:
Of course they have a good chance. They just aren't going to win it on PCS, since both teams are pretty much maxed out so that the PCS is nearly a tie any time.

Absolutely! This is what makes this match-up so special!

Yep, D/W had the better of the rivalry last year, but since the Olympics it's been V/M, D/W, V/M, D/W at worlds. No guarantees for either team, and it may come down to personal preferences of whoever is on the judging panel.

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