Worst programs:
P/B's The Mummy. Clichéd choreography, unimaginative theme, awful music cuts and outright racist to boot. The worst program of the season by far.
D/W's
Someone Like You exhibition number. Once again, Davis/White manage to have two immensely energetic and crowd-pleasing competitive programs, only to go the opposite direction with the dreariness when they should be entertaining. Adele's dour and creepy little song is a chore to sit through, and D/W's choreography to it has no coherent narrative, nor do they have the chemistry or gestalt performance ability to portray the emotions (which is a blessing, really, considering how wretched the song is). They'd have been better off doing an encore of their FD at every gala.
Denney/Coughlin's East of Eden SP. Awful music cuts. It's like the record skipped multiple times! Thematically and stylistically totally wrong and impossible for the new team to pull off.
Dishonorable mentions:
Gracie Gold's two competitive programs. Awful music, listless choreography. I refrain from putting them in the worst list because she is a junior.
Julia Lipnitskaia's
Je t'aime, an incredibly, melodramatically and forcefully mature song that is completely beyond young Julia to skate to. Not that I really want to see anybody skate to it, but it's especially wrong for Julia.
Best programs:
Davis/White's
Die Fledermaus free dance. One of the greatest, happiest marriages of technical intricacy and musicality ever in the sport. I'm still not over how their best performance of it at Nice lost to V/M's cautious and fumbled go at charades on ice. If I was there, I'd have pulled a Kanyé and stormed the judges' table.
Savchenko/Szolkowy's
Autumn Moon on a Calm Lake exhibition number. It was modern dance on ice, with first class pair skating thrown in. Storytelling that was so effective you don't even notice it's a narrative, and just feel the emotions instead.
Daisuke's SP, FS and Exhibition numbers. Each piece is astounding, interesting, unique and performed to the hilt every time Daisuke did them. The minimalism in his exhibition number is a nice counterpoint to his more ornamental competitive programs. Three glorious works of art.
Patrick Chan's
Mannish Boy exhibition number. Dirty, gritty blues music to go with some very unusual choreography. Lots of shoulder moves that you don't see often from skaters. Patrick digs into the groove and stays there. It's the best program from him ever.
Takahiko Kozuka's
Cello Song exhibition number. Effortlessly intricate blade work that wove with the music. Prompted me to download Nick Drake's discography.
Mao Asada's
I Vow to Thee My Country exhibition number. Who'd thunk a British patriotic song sung by a boys choir would make for the perfect program for Mao Asada? From the stunning developpé spiral to kick things off, you know you're in for something special. The entire piece unfolds like a spiritual experience.
Honorable mentions:
Karen Chen's Butterly Fan Dance exhibition number. I have never seen a skater skate a program that complete and intricate while fully making use of props that large. I mean, those two fans are nearly as big as her! And she's
twelve! She effortlessly goes through a triple lutz, triple flip (lipped, alas, the only triple jump she hasn't mastered yet), a double axel, her combination spin and footwork all while manipulating the fans. Did I mention she's just
twelve? By the way, she already has a ratified 2axel/3toe combination jump.
Nathan Chen's
Stereo Hearts exhibition number. I wish there was a good Youtube vid of it, since most people wouldn't have seen this. But you may just have to imagine: Another skater who is also just
twelve, who does one of the most effective hip hop programs I have ever seen on ice. With a mischievous glint in his eyes, Nathan brings that ever elusive
swag to the number while executing the perfect choreography to the song.
Javier Fernandez's
The Lazy Song exhibition number. Now I don't love the entire number, which is why it's only in the honorable section (why bring out a chair if you're not going to use it?). That said, the laid back, humorous pop-dancing style of the piece suits him better than any competitive program I've seen. And then there's one moment in the piece that is possibly the most impressive thing I've ever seen in a gala performance:
Javier flops on the ice, fully prone, in a body slide, then gets right back up into a triple axel!
Ashley Wagner's
On the Floor exhibition number. I can't tell you what a lifesaver this number has been. There were so many skating galas that got bogged down by bleak and serious numbers (usually sung by that funereal siren Adele), then Ashley pops in and makes things fun again with an energetic program. Sure, it's not particularly deep or intricate, but it is entertaining. And the club dancing she does in it is a damn sight better than what the actual JLo pulls off in the video to the song.
Conclusion:
If you notice there's a serious bias/preference towards gala numbers, it's not a coincidence. It is incredibly hard to put together something that's musically, artistically and choreographically coherent under the COP. Which is not to say that I don't enjoy many performances under the COP. But since this is a pick for best/worst programs, I'm looking at the choreography more than anything else. The only skater, I find, who consistently allows choreographers to create complete artistic statements under the COP is Daisuke Takahashi.
