Finlandia Trophy 04 -06.10. 2013 | Page 5 | Golden Skate

Finlandia Trophy 04 -06.10. 2013

Ice Diva

On the Ice
Joined
Sep 10, 2012
Thank you!

LOVE this program. As a program, for me, definitely better than D/W's at this time (though that is probably largely a matter of personal taste). They are definitely playing to their strengths and their 'romantic' connection on the ice, and for me it 100% works. Also love the lift at the end. Not sure if they've done something like it before but it looked a lot smoother than most of their lifts last year.

That said, it was not as crisp as I'm used to seeing from them, especially Tessa. It looked to me like she had several very slight bobbles out there. It seemed a bit scratchy. It is to be hoped and expected that as the season goes on that will improve though :)

As a program, though, I am in love. I also loved her dress. So pretty though she'll probably change it before Olys.

I agree. Love the program & music. Smooth as silk, light with gorgeous edges & as usual, the character of the piece so on. Just one small "bobble" by Tessa in the 2nd twizzle. Scratching my head though about your comments regarding the lift being smoother. If you're referring to Carmen, then the lifts were MEANT to appear a struggle -- the push & pull between the characters was reflected in the choreography -- that's expression in dance at its best!
 

tulosai

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 21, 2011
I agree. Love the program & music. Smooth as silk, light with gorgeous edges & as usual, the character of the piece so on. Just one small "bobble" by Tessa in the 2nd twizzle. Scratching my head though about your comments regarding the lift being smoother. If you're referring to Carmen, then the lifts were MEANT to appear a struggle -- the push & pull between the characters was reflected in the choreography -- that's expression in dance at its best!

I never like to discuss V/M because somehow I always get flamed even though I'ma fan of theirs (your comment wasn't flaming, just to be clear, but I had to seriously think about whether to answer due to the attitude I seem to get on these boards).

That said, their original SP lift last year was a disaster. They could barely complete it and really, really messed it up in one competition. They then changed it to a different lift that was so not memorable that I can't even sort of see it in my head, so I can't say whether it looked like a struggle to me or not. The first lift definitely was for them though.

I frankly don't agree that the Carmen lifts were just meant to look like a struggle. I think they were a struggle for Scott. Maybe there was some choreographic brilliance that I am just not seeing, but... well, yes. I just don't see it. It wasn't that the lifts looked like they were a dramatic, acted out struggle in the middle- most of them looked fairly smooth in the middle. It was that it looked like it was an enormous struggle for them to get in and out of the lifts, and in a very real way, not in an acted out way. Clearly, YMMV on this issue.

ETA: As long as I'm going for it, I'll tell the whole truth- I also thought their LP lifts were by and large hideous and think they have an issue with lifts in general, which is that they sometimes try to make them too acrobatic for their body types. They will never be able to do D/W type lifts- they are too close in height and weight. I am constantly puzzled about why they don't do creative lifts that play to their strengths, such as the iconic swan lift from their Mahler program. They probably are harder to dream up but that's why you hire someone like Marina Zoueva- to do her job. Off now to brace myself for replies :popcorn:
 

Finnstep

Final Flight
Joined
Apr 5, 2013
After comparing protocols from Ondrej Nepala to Finlandia Trophy, I see that the technical panel for Finlandia Trophy were quite strict with the dancers.
 

dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Country
United-States
Yes, it looks like it was a very, very tough panel. Tessa & Scott got level 4 in both Finnstep sequences in the Quebec summer comp; here they only got level 2. Madison & Evan got level 2 on one and level 3 on the other. The other teams all did worse. Tessa & Scott also only got level 2 on the twizzles, because Tessa only had 2 rotations clean in the reverse direction (2nd set). No wonder V&M's TES was not up to what I expected them to get for what is a very nice program. I particularly liked that they swapped out the lift they did in Quebec for the lift from their 2011 Latin FD (a great lift that we didn't get to see enough of since we only saw that program about 3 times (Canadian Nats, 4CC's & Worlds). I'm thrilled to get a chance to see it again in competition. Zero credit for the twizzles, of course.

I like Madison & Evan's SD, even if not loving the music so much. Their characters remind me a bit of the ones they used for last year's Cirque SD. Madison as performer, Evan as Stage Door Johnny.
 

GF2445

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 7, 2012
This panel is very tough! This is not good for Tessa and Scotts perception as Meryl and Charlie scored six points higher than them at their senior interntional in Salt Lake City.
 

WeakAnkles

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 1, 2011
Hmm, I'm not sure the third music cut works in the V/M program (actually it won't surprise me if there are substantial changes to the final third of the program), and while the lift is technically spectacular, I'm not sure it really suits that particular cut of music. But that first section is wowza, wowza. I especially love the choreographic flourishes to the scat singing.
 

mirai4life

1Lo <
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 26, 2013
How many hours until the Ladies event?
From USA

About 9 and half hours, right?
 

msteach3

Medalist
Joined
Mar 28, 2013
Country
United-States
Want to watch the men but there's just no way I can get up in the middle of the night to do so, especially not after a very long week at work. Will have to watch the vids in the morning. Looking forward to SA and SC in North America time zones!
 

SaraM

Final Flight
Joined
Aug 21, 2013
Country
Norway
SARA can we see the ladies short today on live stream?? do you have an direct link?
 

SaraM

Final Flight
Joined
Aug 21, 2013
Country
Norway
Thank you Finnstep and Snowflake for being so kind and telling me the times in norway time! :D Love it when comp are in europe, and not middle of the night for me as skate america will be!
 
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