Which Dance Teams Will Rise This Season?

slider11 said:

Here's going out on a limb! What about an all-North American podium:
1. Weaver/Poje-great appeal; strong, Hollywood style
2. Gilles/Poirier-different, artsy but really likeable
3. Shib/Shib - the lights go on; dynamic; technically pure

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Binthere said:

Has been a while since I've been on "the boards" but wanted to also share an anecdote about the Shibutanis.

In addition to enjoying their skating for what seems like many years now (even though Maia is now just barely out of her teenage years) I really admire how much effort the Shibutanis continually put into being good ambassadors for the sport. They were speakers at the Governing Council annual dinner. I was there with members of my club. It was clear that Maia and Alex had planned to show one of their fun videos with clips from their Olympic experience. Unfortunately, there were technical problems with the hotel's equipment so they couldn't show it.

Without missing a beat, they launched into an incredibly articulate and heartfelt "duet." They took turns speaking eloquently in front of a full ballroom about how their experiences in Sochi inspired them. They also described being students of the history of the sport, and about how they were not pleased about the decline in the popularity of figure skating. They shared how they felt there was a responsibility especially as Olympians, to try to be positive forces, not just within the community of skating fans but to a wider audience. They spoke about their commitment to helping rebuild interest and respect for the sport. They are clearly making the effort.

They were passionate, genuine and funny. They interacted with people in the audience very naturally. They got a well-deserved standing ovation.

Many on "the boards" take great pleasure at being dismissive of Maia and Alex and think they should quit. Many also think of ice dancing from what seems a very narrow or limited perspective on what constitutes excellence. I think they are unique, and that unique is welcome. I enjoy their skating and really appreciate how they go above and beyond, sharing their unique intelligence and passion as athletes in this sport.

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golden411 said:

Thanks for your wonderful post, Binthere. Enjoyed your anecdote very much.

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Binthere said:

Many on "the boards" take great pleasure at being dismissive of Maia and Alex and think they should quit.

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Alba said:

I never got that impression. I think many people feel/think like they should leave Marina, not that they should quit skating.

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Mrs. P said:

I do think people are dismissive of them though, Marina or not.

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Alba said:

Might be. I honestly never had that impression.
I like them. To me they're better than C&B, but I'm among those who thinks they should've left Marina.
Let's see if something has changed this year.

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cruzceleste said:

I think that most people were hoping that with D/W & V/M taking a sabatical and maybe retiring they will be put at the center of the Canton Team, instead Marina picked up lots of their more important competition.
I don´t know if they should have left, but they certanly need to improeve.

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Coltrocks12 said:

I have been studying C/B videos ever since our discussion in the last few days.

1. I think my biggest challenge in liking this team is that they seem to lack a connection to each other. This is probably why I found them lacking in charisma and passion and felt that they didn't connect to the music. This could simply be because they have only been together for 3 seasons compared to the Shibs who are siblings and D/W and V/M who have been together for 17-18 years and grew up together. I also think this is why myself and a few others on here called them meh or said they left us cold as a TV viewing audience member. Because we don't get a read on speed and ice coverage the connection between each other is what we are reading "connection" from.
2. I can give Doris and others who saw them in person that seeing them live might make a difference because they can see moments that they make a face gesture or cheeky move that if the camera angle doesn't catch it, we don't see. I also agree that speed and ice coverage don't read well on TV.
3. I also don't think that it helps that Madison has a "cool" look in face expression (pivotal in moving the TV audience) and coloring, and has the cold, withdrawn look of skaters past who tend to keep people at arms length. Sasha Cohen and Maria Butyrskaya come to mind. It is like they are skating alone on the pond and we are voyeurs watching them. At least Sasha had crazy almost gymnastic limberness that had us marveling at her technique. Michelle used to grab the audience and put them on the ice with her so that we could help her skate. It got so loud in the arena they couldn't hear Nancy Kerrigan who they were interviewing after the skate. It also swept and moved TV audiences who were also skating with her. She was never "alone on the pond" even when she was skating to characters who were dark or sad.
4. Yes Meryl is also an introvert but on the ice, she fakes it 'till she makes it adopting extrovert tendencies. It helps that Charlie is an extrovert and she has an example of how to grab people's attention. She also flirts with the audience and the TV viewer when the music gets whimsical (especially apparent in the Scheherazade program where she is using "wiles" to charm the sultan.) This shows crazy connection between Meryl and the music. She has also been skating with her partner for 17 + years and knows how to connect to him even if he isn't her romantic love. If C/B are going to rise to the beloved status of D/W or V/M they are going to have to figure out how to be more extrovertive to the TV viewer as well as the audience. Speed and Ice Coverage are not enough to grab the viewer since we don't read that well anyway. Cappellini and Lanotte grabbed my attention at both Worlds and Olys because they were so darn cute and they made expressions that anybody could read--at home and in the audience at the rink.

I am really trying to like C/B but only time will tell if I feel like she is connecting better to Evan and the music. They don't have any competitions or shows scheduled for my neck of the woods any time soon for me to check them out in person. For now I will root for the Shibs or hope some other team comes along. Otherwise I will be a closet Canadian and root for fellow Texan Kaitlyn Weaver.

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Mattieu said:

How I see the rankings this season with the fast rising teams in red

Tier 1 - Bobrova/Solviev, Weaver/Pojé, Capellini/Lanotte, Choc/Bates
Tier 2 - Papadakis/Cizeron, Shibutani/Shibutani, Cooms/Buckland, Sinitsina/Katsalapov
Tier 3 - Gilles/Poirier, Zhiganshina/Gazsi, Zlobina/Sitnikov, Hubbell/Donahue, Ilinykh/Zhiganshin, Monka/Khavilian

My predictions
Skate America - 1. Choc/Bates, 2. Stepanova/Bukin, 3. Shibutani/Shibutani
Skate Canada - 1. Weaver/Pojé, 2. Monko/Khavilian 3. Gilles/Poirier or Hubbel/Donnahue
Cup of China - 1. Cappellini/Lanotte, 2. Papadakis/Cizeron 3. Shibutani/Shibutani
Rostelecom Cup - 1. Choc/Bates 2. Sinitsina/Katsalapov 3. Cooms/Buckland
Trophée Bompared - 1. Cappellini/Lanotte, 2. Papadakis/Cizeron 3. Gilles/Poirier or Hubbel/Donnahue
NHK Trophy - 1. Weaver/Pojé 2. Sinitsina/Katsalapov 3. Cooms/Buckland

So my Grand Prix Final predictions are
First tier: Cappellini/Lanotte, Weaver/Pojé, Choc/Bates,
Second Tier: Papadakis/Cizeron, Sinitsina/Katsalapov,
Third Tier: Shibutani/Shibutani or Cooms/Buckland or Hubbel/Donnahue or Gilles/Poirier

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