2022 World Championships: Free Dance

[Cilla70]

Hello, hope everyone enjoyed the free dance! Haven’t read the comments on here yet as wanted to give an unadulterated version of how the performances came across live. Here are some highlights:

Estonians - they were very good - they have some cool moves and I am very much looking forward to seeing how they grow as seniors. I hope they get some elite level coaching as they have the goods to develop into a great team.

Georgians- SO good!! Love this team. This was the best they’ve performed that free all year and they are definitely ones to watch for the future. Innovative, fast, good ice coverage and great confidence. They were my husband’s 2nd favourites of the night and he doesn’t know much about ice dance/figure skating.

LaLa - definitely the best of their group. Man they are fit to get through such a fast programme. I am looking forward to them having new programmes next year though as I think something with a bit more light and shade will do them good as this was quite frantic. But they got skills!

Finns - It’s a shame Matthias had the issues he did in the twizzles and the lift because it is such a beautiful programme and they really float across the ice (particularly her), but the mistakes broke the spell of the programme a bit.

Hawayek and Baker - I know there are lots of H/B fans on here (me included) so pls don’t hate me but I wasn’t as taken with their FD as I expected to be. They skated well and it was beautiful but they didn’t project out into the audience very much so it left me wanting a bit more. It was still beautiful though.

FB/S - Now these two really have presence on the ice. They really filled up the arena and it was quite noticeable in comparison to H/B who skated right before. They started SO strong but I’m not sure what happened with Nik as the programme went on as he seemed less steady and not deep into his edges, whereas Laurence was glorious throughout. Theirs was another programme that my husband commented on that he liked. It’s a shame about the low score - Nik was not happy with himself after they finished the skate.

F/G - what I can say? These two were mine and my husband’s favourites of the night, and that’s not taking away from the skill and performances of the top 5 teams. Definitely the best they skated the FD all year and these two have got the X factor. They had the first proper standing ovation of the night and I would say in terms of pure appreciation for the performance put out on the ice that night, they had the best reaction from the crowd. They skate with so much joy it is such a treat to watch. If they keep skating clean, I imagine they will be competing for top of the podium in 2026. They have just got that special something that a lot of other teams don’t have. They had a really lovely emotional moment with one of the IAM coaches after the medal ceremony - you could tell the coach was telling them how proud she was of them .

S/D - such a crowd pleasing programme but a few wee mistakes here and there did take away from the impact. Still brilliant though.

Piper and Paul - SO much better than in the RD. They really floated across the ice and created a mood. I was surprised their mark wasn’t higher but I’m assuming they lost on levels.

G/F - well skated, but I didn’t enjoy this FD as much as I enjoyed their RD. They are technically great skaters but I preferred Psquared on the night.

C/B - such a great programme. Second standing ovation of the night. You could tell the crowd really appreciated the creativity they bring in their programmes. One thing I did notice is that their ice coverage was def not as good as some of the other teams as my seats were off centre ice and they didn’t skate on my side as much as other teams did. Also, Madison Chock is perhaps the cutest person ever. She was so adorable during the medal ceremony and just seems like such a nice person!

H/D - they were so good. So sharp and that first lift really is a sight to be seen. Even though I prefer C/B, these two deserved the silver. Another standing ovation and the applause from the crowd was really beautiful as it was an appreciation for their body of work and their last performance competitive performance together.

G/G - It was so special to be in France and watch what is likely their last competitive performance together in front of their home crowd. Man the audience loved them so much. The FD was stunning and my husband commented that they really are the only team where everything blends together and you can’t tell they are performing elements.

Medal ceremony - it was so great that it was an all IAM podium because honestly there was so much love and respect between them all. At one point they were all holding hands while waiting to receive their medals and it was so sweet. It was just such a lovely display of sportsmanship and friendship. I totally geeked out as all the IAM dancers came to the sideboards to watch the medal ceremony and it was great to see them all celebrating one last time before some of them retire. My husband could not believe how much love they all had for each other - when they talk about IAM being like a family, they aren’t lying as it was really clear to see. It was quite emotional actually and I hope that the new ice dance school in Detroit and Zhuk/Svnin/Morozov are able to create something similar for their teams as what a great way to be in such a competitive sport.

Also, Nathalie Pechelat brought out N/N to celebrate with the medalists - you could tell they were hesitant and didn’t feel it was their place but she made them go out and all the medalists came over and hugged them and took photos, it was so sweet. They also had a beautiful moment with Marie-France/Patch/Romain and I wouldn’t be surprised if they end up training in Montreal next year as they had so much support from the entire IAM skaters.

I hope the Ukrainian team can move to IAM also. Think they can get a lot of support there. There RD bought me to tears.

 

[Cilla70]

Just wanted to complement the crowd . Throughout the entire event they cheered for those that faltered as well as those who performed well. You could see the moments of camaraderie among the skaters. The actions during the ice dance medal ceremony was amazing to see. Gives me hope for the future of skating. Hope the ISU and IOC took note and make some needed changes.

 

[Cilla70]

I absolutely adore H/B and have since their Amelie program. I think they've struck gold on programs several times and I think their program this year is one of the classiest. I absolutely loved Liebstraum as well. I think there are definitely hurdles to being the #3 from the US.

However, I think a lot of their scoring comes down to their lack of power, ice coverage, (and perhaps the lifts). In person they stay in the middle of the arena and don't get to the ends as much as the top teams. I wanted to know why, for example, they scored below F/G. I think H/B are polished more smooth in their transitions, make less mistakes, etc. but upon rewatch even F/G manage to skate with more power. For the judges it must be noticeable and a big part of what holds them back.

F/G probably score higher also because their programs are usually crowd pleasers, not for skills. H/B are the better skaters to me. Their FD this season was one of the best to me. Lovely. Hopefully they will move up due to retirements.

 

[IceDancingQueen]

Great point. Ice dance especially (but also the other disciplines) need to be viewed from a bird's-eye perspective, not a TV lens. Ie, when the camera is focused on the skater, they all look equally as fast, same edge-control, and you don't get an idea of ice-coverage. There are certainly ways of seeing that on TV (watch the boards, ads flying by, try to mentally keep track of what areas they stay in, whether they go right to the corners, etc.)

For example, I was just watching Debbie Thomas at (I think) Skate Canada 87, and Toller Cranston noted that 2/3 of the choreography was in 1/3 of the ice... or something like that. Maybe it was 1/3 of the choreography was in... whatever! The point is, that I hadn't noticed on TV, but apparently it was a 'major weakness' in the program, and Toller said "I hope that they go back and re-work the program' or something to that effect.

So when there's all this 'wuz-robbed' stuff, people need to remember to back up, and look at the program as a whole. Great point - thanks! This is why CB don't beat HD - they skate smaller, less speed, shallower edges, etc. Some people have criticized the program, but I think it's masterfully done to make them stick out (for all the right reasons) and designed to hide their weaknesses. It's not my favourite at all, but I can appreciate how well it's suited to what they bring to the table.

Yeah, I do what you do when I watch skating on the TV and watch skaters in comparison to the ads/boards and I have noticed with C/B that they aren’t always the fastest or have the best ice coverage. I think where the confusion lies for some fans (me included) is that there are 5 categories for PCS and yet it seems that teams who have the strongest SS always win and they are also awarded highly for composition/interpretation compared to teams who maybe don’t have the strongest SS but are more creative and tell an interesting story and should score higher in the other PCS categories. So C/B for example should have made up the marks in composition and interpretation over H/D for what they lost in SS. I think the ISU needs judges to be better at differentiating between the PCS categories as it does seem to be weighted towards SS and that automatically means you score high in every other PCS category. I’m going to watch the ISU tutorials on judging over the summer so I can get a better understanding of how they judge the PCS!

 

[IceDancingQueen]

I hope the Ukrainian team can move to IAM also. Think they can get a lot of support there. There RD bought me to tears.

Yes I cried in the crowd after that RD. They seem like such lovely people, I hope a scholarship or something can be arranged so that they can skate at IAM

 

[dorispulaski]

If someone starts or has started crowdfunding for the Ukrainian dancers, Nazarova & Nikitin, I hope you will tell us! I am sure many people, not just skate fans, will want to contribute.

 

[discodisco]

Yeah, I do what you do when I watch skating on the TV and watch skaters in comparison to the ads/boards and I have noticed with C/B that they aren’t always the fastest or have the best ice coverage. I think where the confusion lies for some fans (me included) is that there are 5 categories for PCS and yet it seems that teams who have the strongest SS always win and they are also awarded highly for composition/interpretation compared to teams who maybe don’t have the strongest SS but are more creative and tell an interesting story and should score higher in the other PCS categories. So C/B for example should have made up the marks in composition and interpretation over H/D for what they lost in SS. I think the ISU needs judges to be better at differentiating between the PCS categories as it does seem to be weighted towards SS and that automatically means you score high in every other PCS category. I’m going to watch the ISU tutorials on judging over the summer so I can get a better understanding of how they judge the PCS!

This is a very good point. I know people have debated before whether or not SS should actually be considered technical marks. It's an interesting argument.

The unfortunate thing is, developing strong PCS sometimes doesn't seem worth it. For example, take a Patrick Chan program. Skating Skills are out of this world, everybody realizes that. His use of the blade, posture, edges, etc. - some say they've never been equalled past or present. Incredible ice coverage as well - in a league of his own. Miles ahead of all his competitors, which the exception of Hanyu - but there was still something a notch above with Patrick. Back when the new marking system was instituted, PCS made a difference - you'd see waaaay more skaters getting 6's and 7's - even the top skaters got 7's and 8's. So a skater like Patrick, for example, could actually make up the marks of a missed triple Salchow b/c his programs were far superior. But today, look at the PCS scores. Barely a difference between them. You'll have an amazing program with incredible skills getting 9.5's, and a crap program getting 8's. Might seem like a lot, but in the end it makes, what, a 3 point difference? So basically, you can have a crap program and have one double axel more and beat a program that's out of this world.

To me, where's the incentive to develop strong skills? You just have to fake your way through a program and rotate a few more times. Theoretically, you could get 4's in PCS, and spend the extra time you should be spending on developing PCS learning to do a couple quads or tricky combinations, and you'll beat a Jason Brown. What? Doesn't make sense...

But I agree with you, PCS in dance is by FAR the hardest to figure out. In the other disciplines there are so many different types of elements to work on, that skaters can't fine-tune all their PCS or basic skating skills. But Ice Dancers, without the 6 jumps or lifts etc., spend all their time crafting their blade skills - so there's such a fine difference between them. To the naked eye, and even to the trained eye, it's very hard to tell, b/c it's not like comparing Patrick Chan to Vincent Zhou, or Kaori to a lower-tiered skater. They are all masters of the blade, so besides a pair like PC, who are obviously superior, most of them are so tightly bunched and amazing... who KNOW how to separate them?!

Personally I think SS and program composition things like ice coverage, speed, difficult turns and hold positions, etc., should be weighted more than musicality, but still, it's hard!

 

[dorispulaski]

And I think it should be ice DANCE, not ICE dance. Musicality and musical timing should be more important in dance.

There are 3 other disciplines to take part in if you don't care much about your music.

 

[IceDancingQueen]

This is a very good point. I know people have debated before whether or not SS should actually be considered technical marks. It's an interesting argument.

The unfortunate thing is, developing strong PCS sometimes doesn't seem worth it. For example, take a Patrick Chan program. Skating Skills are out of this world, everybody realizes that. His use of the blade, posture, edges, etc. - some say they've never been equalled past or present. Incredible ice coverage as well - in a league of his own. Miles ahead of all his competitors, which the exception of Hanyu - but there was still something a notch above with Patrick. Back when the new marking system was instituted, PCS made a difference - you'd see waaaay more skaters getting 6's and 7's - even the top skaters got 7's and 8's. So a skater like Patrick, for example, could actually make up the marks of a missed triple Salchow b/c his programs were far superior. But today, look at the PCS scores. Barely a difference between them. You'll have an amazing program with incredible skills getting 9.5's, and a crap program getting 8's. Might seem like a lot, but in the end it makes, what, a 3 point difference? So basically, you can have a crap program and have one double axel more and beat a program that's out of this world.

To me, where's the incentive to develop strong skills? You just have to fake your way through a program and rotate a few more times. Theoretically, you could get 4's in PCS, and spend the extra time you should be spending on developing PCS learning to do a couple quads or tricky combinations, and you'll beat a Jason Brown. What? Doesn't make sense...

But I agree with you, PCS in dance is by FAR the hardest to figure out. In the other disciplines there are so many different types of elements to work on, that skaters can't fine-tune all their PCS or basic skating skills. But Ice Dancers, without the 6 jumps or lifts etc., spend all their time crafting their blade skills - so there's such a fine difference between them. To the naked eye, and even to the trained eye, it's very hard to tell, b/c it's not like comparing Patrick Chan to Vincent Zhou, or Kaori to a lower-tiered skater. They are all masters of the blade, so besides a pair like PC, who are obviously superior, most of them are so tightly bunched and amazing... who KNOW how to separate them?!

Personally I think SS and program composition things like ice coverage, speed, difficult turns and hold positions, etc., should be weighted more than musicality, but still, it's hard!

Totally agree with all of this. I hope something changes for the next quad because in all honesty it feels like so many boring programmes are the ones that win or get top marks. When I was watching the final flight, I realised that while I appreciate all the skaters there were only 2 programmes I was really looking forward to seeing in terms of being interesting/creative.