PJ's Top Ten Ice Dance Teams

I think overall I would take all of Wilson & McCall, Duchensays, and Bestiamanova & Bukin off the list and replace them with Krylova & Ovsiannikov, Moiseeva & Minenkov, and Usova & Zhulin somewhere on the list instead. Or maybe keep one of the first 3 teams I listed on until Davis & White win another World title or another couple World medals, which will happen anyway.

I was never fond of G&P, but they had great speed in their CD's, and some of the CD's they skated during their career were particularly fine, though not aa precise as U&Z from an earlier era.

However, I would have probably given the 1998 Olympics, overall, to K&O, no matter how much I am not a huge fan of theatrical facial expressions.

B&K had a distressing habit of getting around on flats from time to time, and Riverdance, while a charming dance, was particularly full of flats because of the staccato clogging they were doing. Their marks at 1998 Olympics didn't particulalry bother me.

My favoriate G&P program was their FD from 1997 Euros (The Feeling Begins)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLmywlzRkv0

I also liked their Yankee Polka in 1987
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFyzNp-0IEQ

They made a good effort not pointing the toes in the part of the dance where you are not supposed to point them, and good timing throughout what is a quick, tough dance.

And I also love their light and frothy Quickstep OD to Girls, Girls, Girls from 1995, with such a lot of the dance in close holds.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EqTmB96Jbk

YANKEE POLKA!!!!

dorispulaski said:

And I also love their light and frothy Quickstep OD to Girls, Girls, Girls from 1995, with such a lot of the dance in close holds.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EqTmB96Jbk

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Here's a better quality version of that OD. I don't think I've ever watched it before, and it's very nice indeed! Though Pasha's dress, just no, it's distracting. And I have to admit, I like watching Rahkamo & Kokko's quickstep more (the ISU should bring back CDs so we can have another round of Finnsteps!).

Anissina & Peisserat should have won the Free Dance and the Gold medal in Nagano, IMO. In that dance they had the most extraordinary positions of the time, superb basics and power, creativity, and brought the music to life.

Punsalan & Swallow - 2nd in the Free Dance but only 5th overall because of lacking in the other phases. Definitely one of the most underrated Free Dances ever. There was more nuance, more fluid full-body movement, and more content than any other dance of the time, all of it working together very well. They didn't have the very best basic skating ability or matching lines or facial expression, but all of the other qualities here are so superb and it's a dance that gives you something new to admire at every given turn.

Bourne & Kraatz - 3rd in the Free Dance and 4th overall; oddly the same as they actually were marked. Their OD really was poor, but the Free Dance was delightful.

Krylova & Ovsyannikov - 4th in the Free Dance and Silver medal overall. They definitely had the best OD of the competition and the commitment to the performance in the FD is quite evident, but I find it overly simple and not very interesting choreographically. It's too "on the nose".

Grishuk & Platov - 5th in the Free Dance and Bronze medal overall. I really do not like this Free Dance. It's repetitive, non-cohesive, and doesn't seem to have much to do with the music. It's fake gravitas with movement that is applied over the music and exists to say "look at this flashy move" rather than being FOR the music and working together to create a whole that is more than the sum of its parts.

Buttercup, I'm so glad you mentioned the Finns. They're one of my two fave couples not on this list, along with Denkova/Staviskiy. I just love to watch them. That wonderful La Strada program of theirs! And Denkova and Staviskiy's OD to that baroque piece (the music, Marche du ceremonie des Turcs, was composed by Lully) truly lives up to the appelation "original."

As far as who is on the list, the one unincluded couple I can't bring myself to leave off remains Usova/Zhulin, and OGMs or no OGMs, I have to take Grishchuk/Platov off to make room for them.

gmyers said:

I don't think they were that sloppy like Tracy said! Not even a little. Not in the Free Dance. Obviously in on CD she made a mistake but not a big one. O/K weren't that great to me compared to G/P. All the arguments over the judging when people made jokes about not even really knowing what is judged obscures the greatness of what G/P did IMO.

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Tracy didn't really say they were sloppy, though, just that she's seen them better.

Blades of Passion said:

Anissina & Peisserat should have won the Free Dance and the Gold medal in Nagano, IMO. In that dance they had the most extraordinary positions of the time, superb basics and power, creativity, and brought the music to life.

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Really? I'd say they looked a little sloppy, truth be told. A little stumble here and there really hurt the program for me. Loved it at Worlds, though. I also can't get over how annoying her positions are during the the reverse-lift.

ptf, I'm not saying B/K should be on the list, I'm just saying that if you're PJ and catering to a Canadian audience, leaving off the dancers who were largely the face of the sport for a decade and all it's controversies is surprising.

Yeah if a token 2nd Canadian team (or 3rd if we count the Duchensays) must be included I would include Bourne & Kraatz over Wilson & McCall. I like Wilson & McCall but I never thought they were leaders or did much to impact the sport. Bourne & Kraatz atleast became a top team very young by passing alot of teams. Wilson & McCall just waited out teams retiring as was custom then to get to the podium as bronze medalists for a few years, they never passed anyone in front of them. Bourne & Kraatz had much more longevity at the top too, and Wilson & McCall almost medalled mainly as just the token team to break up potential Soviet sweeps since I dont think the judges wanted too many sweeps.

ImaginaryPogue said:

Really? I'd say they looked a little sloppy, truth be told. A little stumble here and there really hurt the program for me. Loved it at Worlds, though.

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It was a little sloppy (I saw a couple unsure edges on his part and some shakiness from her the second time she lifts him), but then all of the performances had some execution defects. Olympic pressure and all.

I did not find Anissina & Peizerat's FD that technically difficult although I admit ice dance is the discipline I know the least about. There didnt seem to be alot of complet footwork, and alot of posing, and alot of stroking. Their OD was very difficult and excellent as a program except for the fact they skated it rather poorly that night, never getting back on the music after the early stumble. Compare it to their stunning Worlds OD and there is a World of difference. I thought their bronze was a good enough result for them.