2023 Junior Worlds: Ice Dance | Thoughts

[gsk8]

Katerina Mrazkova and Daniel Mrazek make history in Calgary

2023 World Junior Figure Skating Championships Free Dance Katerina Mrazkova and Daniel Mrazek of the Czech Republic made history in Calgary after winning the Ice Dance title at the 2023 […]

www.goldenskate.com

What are your thoughts on the overall Ice Dance event? Do any of the routines stand out for you, and if so, why?

What are your thoughts on the placements?

 

[theblade]

The competition was very impressive and showed a great deal of ice dance talent.

Scoring keeps changing. Strictly comparing numbers is not the most accurate of metrics to measure past/retired and present teams by.

The Czechs altered their number (sometimes a simpler lift won't ding you, ask PapsCiz) and that strategy worked here. They have a lot of drive. And it shows in their skating. Their musicality is a work in progress, and they are working on it.

Hannah has a tremendous amount of narrative expression in her skating. She does not need a singer to proxy a story on ice for her. Her partner, performance-wise, is not at the same level. He does keep pace with her and lift her and accompany here, but she is so much better at musicality. The B/Bs as well; they can handle subtle themes. And James - Phoebe is talented, but James has "it".

The American teams skated quite cleanly and musically, and attempted difficult lifts. It was a good showing but the top of the podium had some teams with more experience internationally.

With the complete watering-down of pattern dance at the highest levels, in the future, long-term ice dancers working up the ranks will be at a potential disadvantage to other skaters switching from the freestyle ranks. M/M as a team have many fine qualities. But ice dance is veering further from it's ballroom roots into a merge of freestyle (cross cuts) and show skating. (I'm thinking of Fear and Gibson, another team with many fine qualities, that nonetheless has a lot of athletic lifts but less of the ice dance chops that Virtue/Moir and Davis/White had.) Pattern elements separate competitors more clearly.

This event, along with the lady's event, felt easier to watch than men's/pairs. Skating is a technically difficult sport, no matter what discipline you're in. To make it to worlds and perform, even just once, is a testament to one's dedication to a goal - made incredibly difficult over the past three years, and particularly affecting to this cohort.

All the participating skaters should feel proud of their efforts. They never quit, despite training disruptions, and fought their way to a World Championship event.

 

[4everchan]

At the beginning of the season I fell for the Red Violin program of BBs. I know this wasn't their best event, but it must have been a special feeling to present this wonderful programme in front of the homecrowd. I think all 3 teams on the podium have their qualities of their own, the Czech being powerful and athletic, the Koreans being very theatrical and expressive and the Canadians being refined and subtle. It will be interesting to see how they develop in the next years. I was doing a silly count of "happy skaters" in the competition thread and of the 19 teams, 16 of them seemed happy with their performance. It was a truly enjoyable afternoon of skating. I feel dance is the strongest discipline right now in juniors with many teams able to win medals or place top 10 at each competition. At least two of the top 5 teams will be moving up next year. It will be interesting to see how the other teams will develop and how rankings will shuffle.

 

[lariko]

Katerina Mrazkova and Daniel Mrazek make history in Calgary

2023 World Junior Figure Skating Championships Free Dance Katerina Mrazkova and Daniel Mrazek of the Czech Republic made history in Calgary after winning the Ice Dance title at the 2023 […]

www.goldenskate.com

What are your thoughts on the overall Ice Dance event? Do any of the routines stand out for you, and if so, why?

What are your thoughts on the placements?

Omg, I am still floored by how fantastic the line up was! Like, it was the best part of the whole JWC and team selection was so, so good.

From the non-qualifying for Free guys I loved Chinese team in the SP and I really look forward to watching their progress if they continue participate in the completions.

M/M in the short were out of this world. Period. It was very clear they were cautious in the free, but speed and absolute synchronicity of movements remained with them.

B/B are the joy, and I am now going to be endlessly worried that either them or La/La won’t qualify for something. These two are my favs and I fully acknowledge how awesome two top senior teams are, but now I saw all 4 live and it’s going to be hard. Seriously, anyone who doesn’t love Bashinskaya after like 5 seconds of exposure is a sourpuss. They are really well matched with Beaumont.

Koreans, fortunately, will have no internal competition for places in the international starts and they will shine. Their free skate was insanely impressive! It was like glittering hurricane!

I loved free skate by the Canadian theme that used Bollywood music and add all the assisted jumps—it looked bright and choreo was joyous.

Really enjoyed N/M’s performance despite that being damn PoC music that I can’t stand any more. I actually liked them more than other teams.

Cypres’ theme are a riot and I hope that they can at some point beef up whatever content that they need to get better scores, because they have every point that can be gained from charisma and attention to details. When I saw that even her hair was tied with a green and orange bands

French team and Israeli teams also impressed me and there is just no words to describe how charming the younger British team is and how much of girly grace the female partner brings on the ice. I will do what I can to convince my child to try the same haircut because it is fetching for the age

 

[WednesdayMarch]

I loved every second of it and am a complete convert to Juniors now! It's a breath of fresh air and I'm looking forward to seeing the younger teams progress over the years.

For me, the top FD was the Koreans' Danse Macabre. It was absolutely mesmerising.

I felt rather sad for Phebe and James, as I felt that they deserved the bronze medal.

Utterly biased, however, towards the Baby Brits, Ashlie Slatter and Atl Ongay-Perez, who have charmed everyone as they are every bit as lovely as their skating. My connection with them (costumier) meant that I pretty much sobbed my way through both K&C appearances.

Bring on the next season!

 

[Andrea82]

. At least two of the top 5 teams will be moving up next year. It will be interesting to see how the other teams will develop and how rankings will shuffle.

3 will have to move up because they age out (Lim/Quan, Bashynska/Beaumont, Bekker/Hernandez). L/Q and B/H shouldn't have problems in being able to do Euros/4CCs and Worlds next season.
In the post-win interviews quoted in the GoldenSkate article, Mrazeks indicated they will compete Seniors (as it was phrased, it could mean doing both Junior and Senior next season).

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

Utterly biased, however, towards the Baby Brits, Ashlie Slatter and Atl Ongay-Perez, who have charmed everyone as they are every bit as lovely as their skating. My connection with them (costumier) meant that I pretty much sobbed my way through both K&C appearances.

Look what I've found :

Britain's Youngest Ice Skating Champions Strut Their Stuff on the Dancing on Ice Rink | This Morning

Subscribe now for more! http://bit.ly/1JM41yFAt just eight and ten years old, Ashlie Slatter and Atl Ongay-Perez are Britain’s youngest ice skating champs an...

youtu.be

From the description: At just eight and ten years old, Ashlie Slatter and Atl Ongay-Perez are Britain’s youngest ice skating champs and took home gold at the 2017 British National Ice Dance Competition. They share how they discovered their love of performing on the rink. Broadcast on 01/02/2018

I really, really needed this right now to cheer me up. They are a lovely team and I'll be rooting for them!

 

[Flying Feijoa]

The competition was very impressive and showed a great deal of ice dance talent.

Scoring keeps changing. Strictly comparing numbers is not the most accurate of metrics to measure past/retired and present teams by.

The Czechs altered their number (sometimes a simpler lift won't ding you, ask PapsCiz) and that strategy worked here. They have a lot of drive. And it shows in their skating. Their musicality is a work in progress, and they are working on it.

Hannah has a tremendous amount of narrative expression in her skating. She does not need a singer to proxy a story on ice for her. Her partner, performance-wise, is not at the same level. He does keep pace with her and lift her and accompany here, but she is so much better at musicality. The B/Bs as well; they can handle subtle themes. And James - Phoebe is talented, but James has "it".

The American teams skated quite cleanly and musically, and attempted difficult lifts. It was a good showing but the top of the podium had some teams with more experience internationally.

With the complete watering-down of pattern dance at the highest levels, in the future, long-term ice dancers working up the ranks will be at a potential disadvantage to other skaters switching from the freestyle ranks. M/M as a team have many fine qualities. But ice dance is veering further from it's ballroom roots into a merge of freestyle (cross cuts) and show skating. (I'm thinking of Fear and Gibson, another team with many fine qualities, that nonetheless has a lot of athletic lifts but less of the ice dance chops that Virtue/Moir and Davis/White had.) Pattern elements separate competitors more clearly.

This event, along with the lady's event, felt easier to watch than men's/pairs. Skating is a technically difficult sport, no matter what discipline you're in. To make it to worlds and perform, even just once, is a testament to one's dedication to a goal - made incredibly difficult over the past three years, and particularly affecting to this cohort.

All the participating skaters should feel proud of their efforts. They never quit, despite training disruptions, and fought their way to a World Championship event.

I'm with you on the importance of pattern dance and ballroom-type skating. Interestingly though, M/M had a pretty good pattern dance. Their strength (basic skating skills i.e. clean turns and deep edges) is one of F/G's weaknesses. But I've only seen M/M do Blues and Argentine so far, two dances which are sort of similar - both mid-tempo and emphasising speed and power - which I think is a little more translatable from freestyle. Some other dances demand more in different areas (rhythm, partnering, agility). I'd be interested to see how well they handle a quickstep or waltz.

Both team are capable of athletic lifts (M/M earlier this season). I'd want to see more intricate partnering in the free dance and variations in dynamics (this goes for F/G too). I think M/M's team is quite pragmatic - they put effort into getting their levels, went for 'safe' lifts at this competition and picked a style that showcases their strength. But with those skating skills and the speed at which they picked up the discipline, I think they are capable of more if they put their mind to it. The broader question is how to incentivise them and other skaters to refocus on fundamental ice dance skills... Maybe just bring back the senior pattern and make it Golden Waltz or Yankee Polka

 

[Diana Delafield]

Due to other commitments away from home and a dying computer (on which I watch competitions, on CBC Sports), the two dance events were the only parts of Jr Worlds I was able to watch in entirety on the same days. For the FD, my computer kept cutting in and out although it did keep struggling along, but I didn't see every second of everyone's performances. The RD I saw all, every minute of every last one of them, which was a marathon. When I took dance tests many, many moons ago, I didn't get as far as the Argentine, so I still don't know what Nadiia and Peter did wrong. I was so hoping they would win Jr Worlds to make a clean sweep of a great season for them, but it was not to be. Most of the other couples were new to me, not having enough opportunities to watch competitions, so there were a lot of performances I loved but have to admit I now don't remember who the skaters were. There were two dancers I enjoyed watching most, for non-skating reasons, the younger British girl and the Israeli girl. Short hair, expertly cut for movement! I'll be watching next year to see how they progress simply because for me they made themselves stand out from the crowd this year. Not a very technical summation, I admit, but I was new to this group of competitors. I've learned a lot about the various couples just reading the other comments here from fans more knowledgeable than I. Hoping to have more opportunities next season to watch the development of the better ones setting themselves up for the 2028 Olympics. Thanks for the "expert commentaries"!

 

[theblade]

I also enjoyed watching this event and seeing the reactions of other posters here. Their insights (especially the technical ones) are so interesting for me to consider. Even if we all have different opinions on this forum, there's a lot of perspectives here and I am grateful for it. Skating often feels like it's either dying or being owned by rabid fans, neither of which makes me feel comfortable. I'm searching for a happy medium with love for the sport, enthusiasm for the skaters, and interesting takes. So thanks, everyone!

 

[Sai Bon]

Look what I've found :

Britain's Youngest Ice Skating Champions Strut Their Stuff on the Dancing on Ice Rink | This Morning

Subscribe now for more! http://bit.ly/1JM41yFAt just eight and ten years old, Ashlie Slatter and Atl Ongay-Perez are Britain’s youngest ice skating champs an...

youtu.be

I really, really needed this right now to cheer me up. They are a lovely team and I'll be rooting for them!

Thanks CKL, loved that! They are so adorable and have come such a long way!

 

[Diana Delafield]

Thanks CKL, loved that! They are so adorable and have come such a long way!

Darn. "This video is not available to play in your country". I bet it was cute.

 

[WednesdayMarch]

Look what I've found :

Britain's Youngest Ice Skating Champions Strut Their Stuff on the Dancing on Ice Rink | This Morning

Subscribe now for more! http://bit.ly/1JM41yFAt just eight and ten years old, Ashlie Slatter and Atl Ongay-Perez are Britain’s youngest ice skating champs an...

youtu.be

I really, really needed this right now to cheer me up. They are a lovely team and I'll be rooting for them!

Oh, that is just delicious! I hadn't seen that one before. Thank you very much for sharing.

 

[ladyjane]

I loved those young Brits. I liked the whole ID event really. Not often in jrs, but this was just really nice. And for me the Canadians and Brits (the older ones) shared third place. It was so close!