2014 Olympics Short Dance | Page 51 | Golden Skate

2014 Olympics Short Dance

Kittosuni

Medalist
Joined
Nov 2, 2012
I think for most casual fans I/K is really one of the best out there today. They are performers and their dance are very relatable. IMO V/M score should be closer to D/W if they skated at the final group.
 

emma

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 28, 2004
I've been trying to read through the whole thread - not quite done yet but have enjoyed many of the comments and discussions. Basically, I loved this event - I don't know all the names, but the Spanish team, chock and bates, and the 'second' Russian team (who do swan lake) really stood out to me. I was thrilled to see V/M skate so well - it was just such a wow moment for me. Then, D/W and spot on - I had chills all over my body.

Only down side, Johnny and Tara - i've already said I wish there weren't three, and today I would say that as hard as they (perhaps) tried or prepped, one more awkward comparison to singles and i was about to shut off the volume.

But - that they tried to find positive things to say generally was appreciated and again, I found the skating to be just great! I really don't know how the dancers are able to be so clean and on tempo/rythm when their legs must feel tight with nerves.

ETA I forgot to mention the French team in read and black costumes; they were among my 'stand outs' too...
 

BlackPack

Medalist
Joined
Mar 20, 2013
Regarding Pangtong's prediction about W&P winning the bronze. Well, months ago people were speculating on who the bronze medalists will be. At the time I supported B&S, since I have a soft spot for unpopular underdogs. Then it became clear at the beginning of the season that W&P were the most polished and prepared. Effortless gliding and smooth as silk. I&K, B&S, P&B all had trouble. C&L skated well all season and in fact for the past 2 seasons. Once B&S unveiled their crappy FD, I couldn't support them anymore! But I do remember clearly that Pangtongfan declared W&P the winners of the bronze, and that the Russian home ice thing and politics won't affect W&P's standings. At the time I agreed that W&P were favored; as the season progressed, especially in Rostelcom, W&P lost favor. SC inflated their scores. As the season progressed and as the other couples improved dramatically, W&P kept getting beaten. Given W&P's performance and other couples' mostly superb performances today, the decision to award the bronze to either C&L or I&K would be acceptable. B&S' quality simply doesn't reflect their inflated scores; they may have more speed and power but that's it. W&P for some reason, maybe pressure or overconfidence, has regressed.
 

WinterLily

Rinkside
Joined
Oct 20, 2013
yes, most of dancers wore really good outfits today - personally I'm a big fan of :
- Kaitlyn Weaver dress (gorg colour, nice details, great shape and skirt lenght),
- Anna Cappellini (very conservative but somehow 'flirty' dress which enlightened the music theme, despite 'conservative' shape the skirt worked gorgeous during her skating and she is just pure beauty and I think that she'll look good in most colours/shapes),
- Nathalie Pechalat (veeery 'French' - it's a compliment ofc, it screams sophistication, class, fashion and she is also very pretty so it helps definitely:)
- Sara Hurtado (she is just adorable and her dress was perfect fitted, lenghtened and coloured, also enlightened music, maybe I would get rid off that red gloves...)
- Madison Chock (she has very interesting, 'exotic' beauty and her dress shows that - great colour for her complexion, sexy but sophisticated shape but again that white gloves, something shorter and black/brown would be better I think)
- Tessa Virtue (personally I'm a big fan of her beauty and can be biased but that dress was stellar - fitting, shape, material, colour, everything was on the point IMO, and I can't even remind one single competition since Virtue/Moir do seniors where Tessa had bad outfit...)

TOTALLY agree with everything you said. These were my favorite, too!!!!! *.*
 

ice coverage

avatar credit: @miyan5605
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Hey, not saying Scott is a bad ice dancer or anything. Just that he is more the "be her frame and show her off" kind of partner, while Charlie and Nikita also manage to really grab one's attention on their own. When V/M skate, I look at Tessa only. When D/W and I/K skate, I look at both partners equally. It's not a determinant of a good ice dancer, just the thing I like when I watch. I like guys who stand out, because usually it's the girls who draw more attention.

Frantic dancing is a bad thing. Having some frantic energy combined with technique and control, as I said earlier, is actually an amazing quality. But JMHO.

About Nikita's quotes: so Scott is the rock, the pilar, the guard. Exactly what I said. He's more of her frame than he is an individual dancer. Isn't "they skate as one" one of the favourite things V/M ubers say about them? Well, I prefer to actually have two individuals who dance TOGETHER than dance AS ONE. But that's just an opinion and like I said, not a determinant.

And Nikita might look up to Scott, but he actually does have many qualities of Charlie. But at the end of the day, I guess he's just something in between.

I continue to strongly disagree re Moir -- and I did understand your original meaning from the beginning.

I love Tessa too, but my eyes are drawn as much or MORE to Scott. He commands my attention in his own right. (I feel exactly the same about him as you do about White, in other words.)

Hard for me to comprehend how Davis/White's frantic quality can coexist at any given moment with the appearance of control. (But at separate moments, I can see that they are sometimes more frantic/less controlled and sometimes less frantic/more controlled.)

ETA: In any case, I find "frantic" to be aesthetically unpleasing.​

Do they get a chance to rehearse before the FD?

FD practice takes place tomorrow from approx. 8 to 11 am Sochi time.
 

chuckm

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 31, 2003
Country
United-States
D/W and V/M skated their very best today and it was a pleasure to watch two beautiful programs.
 

Florencito

Medalist
Joined
Apr 15, 2013
yes, most of dancers wore really good outfits today - personally I'm a big fan of :
- Kaitlyn Weaver dress (gorg colour, nice details, great shape and skirt lenght),
- Anna Cappellini (very conservative but somehow 'flirty' dress which enlightened the music theme, despite 'conservative' shape the skirt worked gorgeous during her skating and she is just pure beauty and I think that she'll look good in most colours/shapes),
- Nathalie Pechalat (veeery 'French' - it's a compliment ofc, it screams sophistication, class, fashion and she is also very pretty so it helps definitely:)
- Sara Hurtado (she is just adorable and her dress was perfect fitted, lenghtened and coloured, also enlightened music, maybe I would get rid off that red gloves...)
- Madison Chock (she has very interesting, 'exotic' beauty and her dress shows that - great colour for her complexion, sexy but sophisticated shape but again that white gloves, something shorter and black/brown would be better I think)
- Tessa Virtue (personally I'm a big fan of her beauty and can be biased but that dress was stellar - fitting, shape, material, colour, everything was on the point IMO, and I can't even remind one single competition since Virtue/Moir do seniors where Tessa had bad outfit...)

ITA even though I never liked Tessa's 2013 worlds Carmen's dress :no: But I think it's the only one.
 

ice coverage

avatar credit: @miyan5605
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Yeah, I generally like them, but I think they should have brought in someone with more actual ice dancing knowledge. Didn't Tanith B. Do some commentary for the Grand Prix series? Of course she seemed kind of put out by the color guy trying to goad her into saying who was better between D&W and V&M.

A perfect example of why Belbin is doing the right thing to stay away from Olympic ice-dance commentary until White has retired.

Applause to her and/or to NBC for recognizing that she needed to recuse herself.

(ETA: Water under the bridge, but she never should have been doing any commentary for any ice-dance competition in the time that White and she have been a couple -- i.e., since her retirement from competitive skating.)​
 

Totentanz

Ursula Gumennik
Medalist
Joined
Feb 28, 2012
Totally disappointed that Turks didn't qualify for the free. They delivered one of their best and deserved to qualify. The crowds reaction has shown the truth, people enjoyed their skating more than several couples who qualified. Still very happy to see that they got such a reaction. I hope they won't give up after this bad political judging. :slink:
 

Zamboni

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 10, 2013
I am expecting Heekin-Canedy/Dun to be done after Worlds, as long as there will be any decent partners available. They seemed to have been making decent enough progress last season but this season has been very disappointing for them and this is another performance (after Euros SD) where he completely choked. It was painful to watch.

She even became a Ukrainian citizen to compete with him, although they train in New Jersey. She was enjoying the Olympic experience.

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles...0001424052702303945704579386383650716084.html

http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/new...dancer-finds-modern-Olympic-dream-5238849.php
 

caitie

Medalist
Joined
Sep 14, 2013
It does seem possibly problematic that the Turkish, Japanese, and Chinese teams all failed to move forward. :\
 

icedinn

wishing ksenia/kirill happiness 4ever
On the Ice
Joined
Dec 5, 2012
I/K best team in the world, but I laughed when Elena stumbled. She tried to cover it up by staring at the judges intensely.
Love her.
 

amateur

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 5, 2006
For all of the positive crowd reaction particularly to his exuberence, the Turkish team were noted by the commentators where I was watching to have had very shallow curves in their pattern. They were not up to par skill-wise. I don't think it was bad political judging.

It is cruel thing to have some skaters not make the cut, though, with all the preparation that goes into having a long program ready to go (it's not like failing to make a cut in a racing event, where you would simply be repeating the same actions and skills in the next round)
 

Zamboni

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 10, 2013
For all of the positive crowd reaction particularly to his exuberence, the Turkish team were noted by the commentators where I was watching to have had very shallow curves in their pattern. They were not up to par skill-wise. I don't think it was bad political judging.

It is cruel thing to have some skaters not make the cut, though, with all the preparation that goes into having a long program ready to go (it's not like failing to make a cut in a racing event, where you would simply be repeating the same actions and skills in the next round)

It seems cruel to just disqualify four teams from the finals. I noticed that in pairs, also. Why not just let them all go to the finals??? Or have fewer qualify to finals?
 

Angryyew

Rinkside
Joined
Jan 16, 2014
A perfect example of why Belbin is doing the right thing to stay away from Olympic ice-dance commentary until White has retired.

Applause to her and/or to NBC for recognizing that she needed to recuse herself.

(ETA: Water under the bridge, but she never should have been doing any commentary for any ice-dance competition in the time that White and she have been a couple -- i.e., since her retirement from competitive skating.)​

I thought she did a pretty good job of being objective and if anything, was more critical of D&W than I expected, but I certainly wouldn't blame her for wanting to avoid that awkward situation created by the jerk color guy or the potential wrath of ubers who would assume she was biased.

Surely there is someone else in the NBC stable other than Tracy or Tanith who could have saved us from Tara & Johnny tho.

As for the comp....just finished watching. I liked both D&W and V&M, but I think I&K are my new favs. Really looking forward to Swan Lake. I have no delusions of technical expertise so I won't argue scoring lol
 
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Tinymavy15

Sinnerman for the win
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 28, 2006
I think the scores of Virtue/Moir are a result of how very inconsistent they have been technically. They lost momentum due to all the mistakes they've made in the run up to this event. Davis/White have been spot on flawless for 2 entire seasons now and their impressive consistency is being rewarded. When 2 teams are so close, the judges are going to side with the most consistent skaters. As has been said too, it is very popular opinion that Davis/White by far have the best free dance this season, which is also swaying the judges in their favor. Tessa & Scott have the more intellectual and subtle, sensitive program, but it appears the judges prefer the excitement and passion of Meryl & Charlie.

I love Davis and White and if they can skate their best and take the gold tomorrow I would be over the moon for them. Needless to say I am always pulling for them in a head to head with V/M. That said, I honestly believe the V/M have the better programs this season, I find both of them, especially the free skate just beautiful and perfectly suited to their strengths. I do feel that there may be some politicking in the ever-widdening gap between the two teams, but also I just don't see the level of perfection and the attack from Tessa and Scott that I saw in 2010. Perhaps it was fueled by the pressure to win gold in their home olympics, not sure…maybe they know something we don't.
 

bixby

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 12, 2012
I love Davis and White and if they can skate their best and take the gold tomorrow I would be over the moon for them. Needless to say I am always pulling for them in a head to head with V/M. That said, I honestly believe the V/M have the better programs this season, I find both of them, especially the free skate just beautiful and perfectly suited to their strengths. I do feel that there may be some politicking in the ever-widdening gap between the two teams, but also I just don't see the level of perfection and the attack from Tessa and Scott that I saw in 2010. Perhaps it was fueled by the pressure to win gold in their home olympics, not sure…maybe they know something we don't.

I don't agree with you. Your "politicking" comment could have been largely influenced by an article in the French newspaper L'Equipe.

I totally agree with this person's comment;

"David and White's program was much more detailed than Virtue & Moir. Same choreographer, same coach. Tessa & Scott's program was not uplifting, it was very good but lulling. No matter how good they skate it I don't think it can rise above Davis & White."

STOP THE NON-SENSE POLITICKING THING ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE A V/M FAN!

They deserved it...
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
In a different direction, I really liked the Shibutani's short dance today. People say that brother-sister teams are at a disadvantage because they cannot play-act like they are in love. True, but the Shibs really do have a friendship that they don't have to fake. :rock:
 

chiocciola

On the Ice
Joined
Feb 16, 2010
Shibs - great
CB - great
CL - great, original dance
BS - hate their dances and costumes this year
VM - out of the world... I can't understand their placement below DW. They're the one... It's art on ice and TES are ok as far as I'm concerned. A couple like that is born once in a lifetime. Throughout this OLY season they looked different, showed new elements, new characters. I was with them the whole program, I felt involved. It's amazing how they grip your attention.
IK - seemed cautious, but outstanding. They're the future of Ice Dance if they stop messing up.
PB - very solid, but I honestly preferred their Krylova's programs. They looked original
WP - a great idea about the step, but seemed sloppy. Looked worse that the rest of the two warm-ups
DW - fast, technical...but they just never give goosebumps... You never say WOW after their skating...

My placement are:
1) VM
2) DW (2,5 points below)
3) IK
4) PB
5) CL
 
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