2017 GP Cup of China Free Dance

[ancientpeas]

Much better performance for P/C than their last outing. Loved the rotational lift near the beginning, right into the spin. Great timing to the music. Probably the best I've ever seen them twizzle. One small spot in the footwork where they noticeably slowed, but I expect that to smooth out with time. Can I just say, enough with the overhead camera. So annoying.

I still prefer the power and drama of Virtue/Moir's FD, but all in all, this is so much better than going into the last Olympics where I liked neither V/M's nor Davis/White's free dances.

I'm much more excited in general about the dance season now. I complained in this forum earlier this season that I didn't love any of the free dances yet, but now I have at least half a dozen I enjoy. So yay for me!

I too did not enjoy either Olympic FDs from D/W or V/M in 2014. I liked the French's and I liked W/P.

 

[ChanClan]

On Skate Canada top teams got Personal Best in short. W/P got 77. 47! When they are gonna get such scores again??If french were there, they would get over 80 points also, because iI dont belevie that they would get 78. Thats normal

I'm sorry... I don't think I quite understand what you were trying to say. That W/P would have gotten 80 if P/C had been at Skate Canada or that P/C would have gotten over 80 at Skate Canada?

 

[cheerknithanson]

I took a look at the protocols. McNamara/Carpenter actually had the same base value in elements as Chock/Bates and Bobrova/Soloviev. The GOE in the elements and obviously the PCS is what did it. PCS will come with time. As I'm sure with the GOE in the elements. It's their first year as seniors. So it'll take time. I'm not too worried.

 

[dcnative]

I LOVED C/B's programs here and I'm so pleased that they did so well with this being their first competitions. To me they have the most difficult lifts in the competition, maybe over all of the competitors this season and I've always thought that their lifts were underscored. Onwards and upwards for them. I want them to have the season of their lives because I think they were dropped unfairly last season.

I am a P/C super fan (but I'm a grown woman) and I while I really love their FD (it's breathtaking) their SD leaves me cold. Maybe it's because they can't really "dance" (goodness knows they can skate their behinds off) and it needs more work because they are going the dance party route vs. the let's jump in bed together route. I can't see myself ever liking it more than C/B's version or H/D's version of latin but technically they still skate like one of their fathers' is Frosty the Snowman.

I like B/S's FD and I hope that they too have the season of their lives.

 

[Roast Toast]

While I agree that the Virtue Moir fandom has toxic people in it, the same can be said about every teams fandom. There is always going to be people who are toxic in every fandom. Everyone has horrible things said about them and for what? Because we all believe that our team is the best. We all have different tastes and opinions. Some take it too far and yeah the Virtue Moir fandom is extremely loud, but please stop thinking one fandom is better than the other because in my experience every fandom is the same. You can say that you've never seen these people in your fandom but I would say that's because you aren't looking. Just cuz you don't see it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. So instead of hating on other teams why don't we all just enjoy what our favourite teams have brought? Wishful thinking, I know.

This will be my final post on this topic, mainly because I really just want to enjoy Ice Dance in peace. No, not all skating fandoms are created equal. The two main factors that contribute to toxicity are 1. size and 2. tinhats. Tessa and Scott have the second largest internet fandom behind Yuzuru and a whole slew of them are tinhats. The three P/C idiots who post their vitriolic nonsense in youtube comments or even on here just do not have either the numbers or the drive to fuel the dozens of twitter accounts and tumblr hate blogs that you are comparing them to. This phenomenon is also exacerbated because most of those fans already got plenty of practice back when their stanning meant flinging dirt at D/W.

Both teams are so incredibly talented it is a shame that fans have to resort to this kind of petty high school bs.

 

[rain]

I too did not enjoy either Olympic FDs from D/W or V/M in 2014. I liked the French's and I liked W/P.

W/P were my favourite that year with Maria de Buenos Aires. The first time I really liked them (I'm one of the few who was not a huge fan of Je Suis Malade take 1)

On a totally shallow note, I would like to see Gabrielle Papadakis in a shorter skirt for this dance. The colour is fine, I just think the skirt is a distracting length.

 

[LaArdilla]

Awww, I've just watched the victory ceremony and saw that Halina Gordon-Półtorak was the tech controller! I remember watching ice skating on Polish TV as a little kid, she used to do the commentary. She has the loveliest voice!

P/C were simply sublime, "not a foot wrong" as B.Eurosport uncles say While they deserve their high marks I wonder (and I refer to all the Grand Prix so far) whether giving away those PCS like candy this early in the season is wise, I wouldn't want them to get too sure of themselves and lose the momentum. Anyway, ice dance fans should be happy the battle for GOM will be this strong, we are in for such a treat!

 

[ChanClan]

This will be my final post on this topic, mainly because I really just want to enjoy Ice Dance in peace. No, not all skating fandoms are created equal. The two main factors that contribute to toxicity are 1. size and 2. tinhats. Tessa and Scott have the second largest internet fandom behind Yuzuru and a whole slew of them are tinhats. The three P/C idiots who post their vitriolic nonsense in youtube comments or even on here just do not have either the numbers or the drive to fuel the dozens of twitter accounts and tumblr hate blogs that you are comparing them to. This phenomenon is also exacerbated because most of those fans already got plenty of practice back when their stanning meant flinging dirt at D/W.

Both teams are so incredibly talented it is a shame that fans have to resort to this kind of petty high school bs.

Here's the thing. Toxicity isn't just shitting on the opposing team. It's also shitting on their fans. I'm not saying you do this but I've seen a lot of people on all forms of social media say things like "all vm fans are (insert negative comment)". That's a toxic way of thinking. And every fandom does it. True, larger fandoms will always be louder and have more people that are nutjobs, that's inevitable especially when they have been around a long time. But think of it this way (I'm using large numbers to better explain the differences). There are 10000 people in a fandom. Out of those, 500 are part of the toxic part. That's 5% of the fandom. There's another fandom with 5000 people. Out of those, 250 are part of the toxic part. That's also 5% of the fandom. But we see the 10000 people fandom as being more toxic because there are more people but statistically, the fandoms are the same toxicity. You just tend to see the 10000 people fandoms toxic people more. People also tend to ignore the toxic parts in their own fandom, so again, just because you don't see it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

The real question though is if the pc fandom was as large and had been around as long as vm, would it have the same toxicity?

I stayed away from figure skating for a long time because of the hate I got for simply being a vm fan. Even though I rooted for multiple teams, and vm weren't even my favourite. I'm sure it's happened to a lot of people in a lot of different fandoms. So my answer to that question is yes, because in my experiences, all fandoms are the same.

(just a psa. this is not me saying that the vm fandom hasn't said and done horrible stuff, this is just me explaining why all fandoms are the same)

 

[Astrid56]

Moulin Rouge or were you being ironic?

Of course, Tessa is fully in character performing to Moulin Rouge's El Tango Roxanne (Satine was a courtesan_ a prostitute) but she also uses the same posturing in their SD. I'm not trying to be critical. In fact, I'd say V/M made a good choice for their FD as this piece is dramatic, passionate and they're certainly capable of portraying the 'narrative' right.

By the way, I can see Madison Chock in this role but Gabriella? I don't know... P/C have been using the same style ... approach since 2015 so I don't know how she'll do with this number.

 

[chuckm]

I'm just afraid several heads will explode should P/C win the OGM over V/M.

 

[NoNameFace]

I'm just afraid several heads will explode should P/C win the OGM over V/M.

...but if Papadakis/Cizeron will have better levels/performances executed at OG than not only Virtue/Moir, but all other teams competing, why should any head explode? I'd say even more - the route of French team since post-Sochi season is beggin for culminating it with Olympic gold, and ther material this seaon, the way they execute it, seems to be right on track to achieve aforesaid.

Obviously, both teams- and ALL teams - want that title and they are geared up pretty solid, both went on totally different directions which then comes up often as a matter of personal preference, if both are executing on top level. Why don't reverse the order - I bet that a lot of people will complain, no matter of actual performance, if Tessa and Scott will win gold medal. It was, it is and it will be like that as competition plays. For me, it's more interesting to differenciate WHY exactly 'several heads will explode' - if that 'explosion' will be performance/execution-wise backed up or if it will be taken purely from personal preference standpoint. There is a difference and another thing is to see, if the complaint will be made on sole fact that one team came up first before another or it will be based on how it happened judging-wise.

 

[NoNameFace]

regardless of everything, just popped up to throw my few cents after re-watching Chock/Bates FD - I have to say that I'm honestly surprised that they did not score higher...Yes - the speed and overall polish were not yet there, but boy - have they one heck of impactful material and intrictate, flowy choreography on their hands. For me, this program perfectly balances the universality of message/song theme with individuality of their way of movement, style and expression; actually, seeing the performance as a whole, both factors seem to blend with each other, creating a compelling picture, engaging wholesome. I'm very surprised that they are looking so comfortable, natural and believable with such lyrical, abstract concept of a program, since I associate them with more dynamic, energetic stuff and expression - they seemed to really live up the music out there, like many of you already said, their chemistry is just fantastic: they are here not only to perform, but to be with each other and get through the performance TOGETHER.

I love how subtle, yet powerful transition are within the program - and everything going so well with the music, the rhythm. Love their lifts - especially last two (shoutout to them both, because they are doing one of the best lifts in entire business, Evan is so secure, swift and Madison has unique kind of consciousness in lifting that makes her finish her movement and make her expression so pleasant to watch). I see the thoughtfulness in creation of this piece to make them, their skill and connection to pop out, not relying only by the powerful message carried by the music - big shotout to Christoper Dean.

My impression of the whole 'feel' created by Madison and Evan's performance is being uplifted: by skating, by music, by strenght and powerfulness, their conviction radiating there. I personally felt them being inspired by the music, the movement, this dedication, engagement that they want to make it beautifully, to make it impactful,to move people by performance.

And the separate praise goes to Madison - I am glad that I got the chance to see that kind of program from her and Evan to fully understand and appreciate not only her performer's skill, but beyond amazing dancer's quality. I often mentioned speaking about them that she is very expressive and that this sometimes OTT expression does not allow me to fully appreciate her and Evan - now, she was able to exchange that expressiveness in her face into powerful expressiveness of her whole body, and I was stunned about it. The way she moves, accentuating subtely the music by hands, her elegant carriage, positions in lifts/spins, sublime quality of her upper body ovement in step sequences, control over body action and movement finishing - all just plain superb and easy to watch. Once the speed and mileage come, this will be a moment to remember.

 

[alain06fr]

I'm just afraid several heads will explode should P/C win the OGM over V/M.

Some people really turned crazy after P/C broke the FD WR, the overall SD+FD WR and the 200pts threshold. Fake news such as a Chinese plot or a French fed president conspiracy are published here and there. I guess Trump, Macron or Poutine will be involved soon or late in these unlikely stories ! Some people should rather write science fiction books instead of commenting ice dance.

Several "pretended to be V/M fans" posted so many stupid and nasty messages to comment some pics posted by Gabriella and Guillaume on instagram.
I know similar nasty comments were posted against Tessa and Scott by "pretended to be P/C fans". I remember how upset Gabriella was after reading such nasty comments and she was right! Some silly messages are even openly hoping P/C or V/M to fail.

I am a big fan of P/C but let's face the reality ! How lucky we are to have V/M and P/C working so hard to offer us gorgeous programs like Moulin Rouge or Moonlight Sonata for the Winter Games!

So will some heads explode if P/C wins the OGM? Honestly, I don't care.
in any case, it's not breaking news to say P/C and V/M are the two main contenders for the OGM, so...

 

[icetigger]

I'm just afraid several heads will explode should P/C win the OGM over V/M.

This is true. There were heads exploding on twitter when P/C took the combined record.

 

[ManyCairns]

Just working my way through vids -- liked C/B's Imagine more than I thought I would! Nice job. I think it's a more complex concept than last year's "Under Pressure," for sure -- though I thought Under Pressure had a lot of oomph and I kind of miss that hard-driving type of program for them.

P/C -- exquisite, intricate, mesmerizing, incredibly "whole" conceptually. I could watch programs like this and the Shibs programs this year all day long -- just the type of dancing and bladework I enjoy.

(BTW @Anyasnake thanks for linking Ben Agosto's commentary -- he did talk a lot but it was all toward pointing out technical and presentation aspects, so I really enjoyed it.)

 

[Anyasnake]

(BTW @Anyasnake thanks for linking Ben Agosto's commentary -- he did talk a lot but it was all toward pointing out technical and presentation aspects, so I really enjoyed it.)

You're welcome For the next comps, I might do a post where Ben is commentating the programs. I get that some people don't understand scores but he sometimes explains very easily how you can drop your levels and thus, drop your scores, or the opposite, have huge marks. I hope he'll comment until the GPF.

 

[xeyra]

You're welcome For the next comps, I might do a post where Ben is commentating the programs. I get that some people don't understand scores but he sometimes explains very easily how you can drop your levels and thus, drop your scores, or the opposite, have huge marks. I hope he'll comment until the GPF.

Thank you as well for linking these commentaries. As someone who doesn't really understand Ice Dance, his commentary is so useful!

 

[machin]

Fake news such as a Chinese plot or a French fed president conspiracy are published here and there. I guess Trump, Macron or Poutine will be involved soon or late in these unlikely stories ! Some people should rather write science fiction books instead of commenting ice dance.

We just said that french and chinese federations have ties since many years. Not more. The marks doesn't surprise me given how they skated and Halina was on the panel. Of all judges at CoC only two, possibly three, had other agendas than P/C winning the Olympics. Just watch the protocols.
You're such an uber, I'm glad there's only one like you for PC. We have already too many from VM. Given how you react one would think you're close family.

 

[slider11]

In a perfect world of each team skating to its full potential, I see the Olympic podium as P/C, V/M and the Shibs. BUT skating is NOT perfect and one bad twizzle, missed lift or misstep on a pattern and that can all change. The top teams are really pushing the limits in terms of difficulty and that's to all our benefit. But the chance of bad luck/bad day cannot be ignored. The fore-mentioned top 3 may be moving towards that finish but I still think it will be an exciting event to see who can produce their very best when it counts most.

 

[whatif]

I'm just afraid several heads will explode should P/C win the OGM over V/M.

Perhaps we need to prepare a Red Cross/International Rescue Committee disaster preparedness team dispatch to a certain part of the world get ready.