2022 Winter Olympics: Free Dance

[kolyadafan2002]

I like how Chock/Bates think outside the box, but for me they are overrated.
I just don't think technically in terms of skating skills they are on the level, even if they are fun to watch.

The Russians in second (I know who they are but struggle with spelling) are for me very boring, but are super technicians. They can skate very well, and are very precise- and this is more important for me than showmanship even if I'd rather watch Chock/Bates.

I think huge congratulations to all the top 10 here though - this competition was the highlight of the Olympics so far for me.

 

[yctomi]

Still overscored...this FP is not that great. Wish Chock and Bates could have gotten a medal

LOL comparing with the rest of the field PC was way underscored. No way the PCS/TES marks should be this close. Some judges were absolutely shameless in giving PC and SK the same PCS.

 

[whatif]

Both C/B and H/D are Olympic Champions. So they are fine. It's just they will need to wait just a little bit longer before they get their gold medals.

 

[Olympic]

Whew! There were so many good performances -

P/C - Congratulations! I am glad that they won running away, because their skills merit it even if, as someone said, the music was a bit generic. No way should S/K have ever been close to them.

S/K - Just no to their 2nd place. I realize what it is about them that bothers me: They skate Ice Dance like Pairs without jumps or daring elements; they admittedly move fast, stringing together technical dance elements but they don't really skate as-one like the other top teams. They also lack the power, precision, beautiful lines or storytelling of the other top teams. I would have had them behind both US pairs and even the Italians. (Scott Moir's 'smoke and mirrors' comment is bang-on)

H/D- Congrats on bringing it at the right moment and letting your emotions go. You wuz robbed of silver.

C/B - Shame about that trip in the SD, but you were also awesome. Their FD was my preferred program and I thought earlier in the season it would never work.

G/F - For the first time, I listened to their music (Atonement) and understood their storytelling. It made their program a lot more interesting to me. Barbara Fusar Poli made my day with her loud clapping and talking to herself.

S/B - I like their improvements. They just perform better these days. Too bad about the mistake

G/P - I was rooting for them but unfortunately, the lift in the FD and the twizzle in the SD killed their chances. I am also not a big fan of their music choices because while it is quieter and more lyrical, and they make it work when they are 'on', it gets lost when they have to skate after such dramatic programs like those of the Spanish and Italian teams.

S/D - Riveted. Perfect! Maybe my favorite program of the night.

 

[Lechat]

Congratulation to Gabriella and Guillaume for their beautiful gold medal.
So happy that they won 20 years after Marina and Gwendal (my favorite couple).
See Ilia, they didn’t skate at the Europeans (they didn’t need to skate) but strike their goal at Beijing.

 

[IceDancingQueen]

Wow what to say?! Mistakes that I was not expecting I’m gutted for FB/S, G/P and my babies S/B to all have major mistakes in the FD and move down a spot C/B were so good, which I’m so glad for after their fall in 2018. It’s a shame about the mistake in RD.

So pleased for T/V making into the top 15
and LaLa holding their spot ahead of D/S eventhough it wasn’t their best skate.

Kudos to S/D - what a FD!! And also to G/F, whom never do it for me but they skated the lights out of that programme.

P/C were fab and so glad they finally got their gold. I’m indifferent to both S/K’s and H/D’s FD but the results are as expected. I actually think the judging was very fair (H/D would have beat S/K in the free if they hadn’t had the extended lift) and it’s good that the panel was strict and deductions were made where they needed to be. Can’t believe that’s Olympic Ice Dance over

 

[elektra blue]

random meaningless comments no one has evebr asked me for:

- you know when something is so WTF the you end up liking it? that's Nazarova/Nikitin's program to me and i have the feeling Lady Gaga herself would apreciate it

- Simon Proulx Senecal travelled through time, he came from the 50s, you can't convince me otherwise

- Kazakova/Reviya served creepy circus and i'm all for it

- Parrots!

- i need the sign of Adrian Diaz at worlds too

- i wish i had Laurence Fournier Beaudry's shoulders and arms, but i was born lazy so...

- oh no! Piper and Paul what happened with that lift?

- my heart can't take back to back S/B and C/B

 

[Stephine]

Congratulations to P/C. What a beautiful and elegant program.
I wish there could be four medals. C/B's innovative program should have been rewarded.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Words really can't describe how sublime P/C were. I'm glad they finally have their gold medal and did it with authority and confidence. It was otherworldly, really.

For me H/D were the deserving silver medallists for sure. Ice dance is politics and we knew S/K would get propped up for silver but they simply outskated S/K. That program was just magical and was technically foot perfect.

S/K I mean... congrats on their silver, but this is totally undeserved. There were balance checks by Nikita through that FS, and some elements really weren't that difficult yet achieved exceptionally high GOE (like the sliding move and twizzles). This vehicle felt inauthentic/inorganic the way P/C and H/D's programs were and had no actual storytelling/concept like Chock/Bates and that energetic sequence at the end is just as contrived and tacky as Nikita's RD shirt. I also don't buy people who say they were technically precise either - you could see awkward transitions and holds (particularly their first lift, which has never really been elegant or easy) and there wasn't a ton of risk or highlights compared to H/D and P/C. If they were from ANY second-tier nation, they would have been 5th.

Italians were lovely but I don't think this was their best skated FD. I really hope they stick around though (even if they are older) because they're so talented and would be great to see them slay in Milan. Also yay for the BFP happy reaction!

Gutted for Piper/Paul and FB/S having costly errors and underperforming. I hope this lights a fire for FB/S to continue because they have so much potential. Same with Stepanova/Bukin on the slide... it sucks they didn't get to do team and failed to have the FD of their careers at the Olympics but they've got mileage in them (especially if Sinitsina/Katsalapov move on).

Big mention to Smart/Diaz - that FD was EVERYTHING. If they were from a first-tier nation, they would have been top 6.

 

[slider11]

Pretty much feeling the vibe of what has been said. Smart /Diaz was the dance of the evening for me -even though Pap/Ciz were spectacular and deserving of the gold. Felt that Hawayek/Baker were underscored -that was classical beauty and technical precision. Fear/Gibson are clever and athletic but other than flashy lifts lacking in the nuances to sell the performance. Gilles/Poirier have had so many memorable dances-I'm afraid this Olympic year's vehicles were just not special enough. FB/Sorenson are athletic and dynamic but I feel like he is competing to make her happy.

 

[Horsefeathers]

Alas, ID has gone back to judges' predetermining finishes for the final group. There was never any doubt P/C would win. I think even if they'd outright fallen or completely borked the twizzles, they would have won. That's the one peeve I've had with ID, that the judges get a ranking in their head before the event starts and they do not veer from it (unless it's a team outside the medal hunt).

I'm not a huge fan of H/D, but I think they deserved silver. I'm curious as to why they held that lift so long. Every point mattered last night. S/K did NADA for me, and being fast at the expense of the dance doesn't win points for me.

As others have said, the top 3 were a bit of a snooze. Judges have never rewarded ID teams for breaking the mold while I've always gone for creativity. I loved the Duchesnays back in the 80s-90s, especially the Savage Rites FD, and the judges absolutely HATED that program, despite it being choreographed by Christopher Dean. Sure, they got their medals later but only after they started making "safer" music choices. I think C/B deserve more credit for thinking outside the box. I hope they come back with something more creative in the next quad.

 

[cake]

I don´t agree that C/B´s free dance is so innovative. Maybe regarding the music choice and the costumes, but not regarding the movement/choreography. It could be any old love story in my opinion.
My heart breaks for Piper and Paul , but sadly they couldn´t bring their programs to perfection this season.

 

[Silvia451]

Congratulations to Gabriella and Guillaume, it's a good reminder in these days full of drama of what figure skating is actually about.

 

[Demandred]

I was so nervous for Papadakis and Cizeron, but I shouldn't have been, they killed it. Absolutely dominant.

I am really happy for Hubbell/Donohue and Guignard/Fabbri, they were fantastic. Smart/Diaz were great too and deserved their place. Shame about Chock/Bates finishing 4th, but in fairness to Sinitsina/Katsalapov, while their program bores me to tears, they skated it really well.

These Olympics so far have been a successful redemption for those who came as favourites to Pyonchang but couldn't achieve their goals - a first Nathan, then P/C. Sui/Han are certainly hoping that the trend will continue.

 

[Mathman]

I thought the top 4 were superb. I do not find any fault with the judging.

 

[IceDancingQueen]

I think the stress of performing at Olympics is getting to all of them. Suppsoed to be the best event, but I can't remember so many mistakes from last two groups.

They also only arrived in Beijing on Wednesday after whatever weird drama was happening with them getting there. I think they weren’t even able to practice on the Olympic ice until Friday because of quarantine, so they did well considering they had such stressful time in the run-up!

 

[moonvine]

I want a Bing Dwen Dwen!!!

Me too. There are some for sale on Ebay, but I am sure they are knockoffs.

 

[moonvine]

a gold medal is a gold medal man

Yep. When they introduce them later it's always "Skater X, Olympic Gold Medalist." Team or not.

 

[moonvine]

Hard to give an alien program a medal or take it seriously. I guess David Bowie fans might have liked it.

Many people took it seriously. Their issue was not so much the FD. It was that they were so far behind from the RD.

 

[moonvine]

Alas, ID has gone back to judges' predetermining finishes for the final group. There was never any doubt P/C would win. I think even if they'd outright fallen or completely borked the twizzles, they would have won. That's the one peeve I've had with ID, that the judges get a ranking in their head before the event starts and they do not veer from it (unless it's a team outside the medal hunt).

I'm not a huge fan of H/D, but I think they deserved silver. I'm curious as to why they held that lift so long. Every point mattered last night. S/K did NADA for me, and being fast at the expense of the dance doesn't win points for me.

As others have said, the top 3 were a bit of a snooze. Judges have never rewarded ID teams for breaking the mold while I've always gone for creativity. I loved the Duchesnays back in the 80s-90s, especially the Savage Rites FD, and the judges absolutely HATED that program, despite it being choreographed by Christopher Dean. Sure, they got their medals later but only after they started making "safer" music choices. I think C/B deserve more credit for thinking outside the box. I hope they come back with something more creative in the next quad.

To your first point, I agree. It's even more obvious now that they skate in reverse order of placement from RD.

I doubt they said "let's hold this lift extra long." I don't know. Agreed also to your point of being fast at the expensive of the dance.

Agreed on your third point, what a coincidence. Don't know if they will stay around for the whole 4 years. I wouldn't mind seeing them do this FD for another season, which is kind of unusual for me, usually I am ready for something new from all teams.