Ice Dancing - Free Dance (Mon. Feb 22 - 16:45)

[beabstress]

regardless of what happens tonight, I hope that Tanith and Ben can walk away from this sport with their heads held high, and that everyone, fans and critic alike, can really appreciate everything that they have done over the years. I can guarantee I won't be the only one crying tonight!

Is it just me, or does anyone else feel like Linichuk really doesn't have much to do with Tanith and Ben at all? She's all wrapped up in Domnina and Shabalin, and it seems like she saddled her husband/partner with the "leftovers." I feel terrible for Tanith and Ben. Maybe I'm perceiving it all wrong, and I hope I am, but that's sure what it seems like to me.

 

[Buttercup]

It would be one because their FD is to religous music (despite dressing like a showgirl and Elvis at a cheesy Vegas casino)

Ah if you think the OD have catchy music, get ready for:
4 famous melodies from movies (POTO from Merlie, Godfather 2 from Rica & Massi, Death In Venice from Voir, and Schindler's List from Zaretsky-squared)
3 Requiems (Baby Italians, Nat & Fab, and DomShabs)

Virtue and Moir - so Mahler wrote movie scores? A lot of classical pieces are used in movies but it's still something that originated as classical music.

DomShabs' FD music is taken mostly from the Polish-French movie The Double Life of Veronique. The music is beautiful and it's a pity they can't do it justice in Maxim's current state. Also a pity they stuck that completely random bit from RfoD in there; it's jarring.

 

[Mathman]

I am really saddened that it has come to this for such a talented pair. I was thinking over the past 4 years how Belbin/Agosto just haven't lived up to their potential...

I don't look at it that way. I think they reached their maximum potential four years ago. Since then they have been on a plateau, while other teams -- first Virtue and Moir, then Davis and White -- kept getting better and eventually caught up.

Was watching US with Terry, Kristi, Peter, and special guest Paul Wylie and they just showed Voir's OD from last nite and everyone was speechless in a good way...

Off topic and kind of silly, but I noticed was that Kristi kept her head absolutely still during the segment, never turning it to the left or right. At first I wondered if she were fighting off a headache from being out on the town again with Meredith Veiera that night before.

But then it stuck me -- I don't know how tall Peter Carruthers is, but terry Gannon (a former basketball champion) is over six feet. Kristi is barely five feet, but the way they were sitting all three were about the same height. Mysrtery solved. Kristi must have been sitting on a phone book, trying not to fall off. :yes:

 

[Chemistry66]

Could someone provide play-by-play of the earlier teams (costumes, how the performance went, etc.) when the event starts? I have something to go to that I won't get back until around 9, which should be good enough to see the big dogs (I better not miss that), but I won't be able to see the others.

 

[gsrossano]

Start Order
http://www.iceskatingintnl.com/archive/results_vancouver/DFD Start Order.pdf

Trick List
http://www.iceskatingintnl.com/archive/results_vancouver/DFD Trick List.pdf

FD Guide
http://www.iceskatingintnl.com/archive/results_vancouver/Dance FD Guide.htm

 

[**Carol**]

I'm going to stay away from podium predictions, comments about coaching, snarky remarks about costumes and music, complaints about starting orders or any of that...

I knew it was coming, I think we all did, but I just didn't think tonight would arrive so fast!

Tonight's free dance will be Tanith and Ben's farewell skate...it's their last dance! (If anything, they should have gotten the pimp spot..."save the last dance for me" and all...fine i couldn't resist making that comment about start order )

regardless of what happens tonight, I hope that Tanith and Ben can walk away from this sport with their heads held high, and that everyone, fans and critic alike, can really appreciate everything that they have done over the years. I can guarantee I won't be the only one crying tonight!

I guess Tanith its pretty excited aboyt this beain their last dance. shemust be tired of all this

TanithJLB Decided Tom Petty's "Last Dance w/Mary Jane" is too depressing 2b today's theme song, so D.Summers here we go! "Last Dance...toniiiight!"
about 2 hours ago from web

Its a sheme thta thei lost whatever they had and its very sad that some poeple chose to trash them really abd some times. I strat to wacth FS because of them, they were so young and cute, like D/W are now. (I wondering if the same thng will happen with D/W and shibutanis.)

well, good luck to all teams, but i'm still chearing for tanitha dn ben to grab the Bronze and V/M thei Gold.

 

[ARipp42014]

Virtue and Moir - so Mahler wrote movie scores? A lot of classical pieces are used in movies but it's still something that originated as classical music.

DomShabs' FD music is taken mostly from the Polish-French movie The Double Life of Veronique. The music is beautiful and it's a pity they can't do it justice in Maxim's current state. Also a pity they stuck that completely random bit from RfoD in there; it's jarring.

Oops I forgot DomShabs' FD is from a French movie. As for Maher's #5 (Adagietto), it was featured in a 1970s movie called "Death In Venice". However, in that movie, it's about a conductor who's on vacation in Venice in the early 20th century who has this obsession with this young but very beautiful Polish boy while he was there. Adagietto played at some parts of the movie.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_in_Venice_(film)

However every time I hear that, I think of Katia!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYvrEqbvpsQ

Off topic and kind of silly, but I noticed was that Kristi kept her head absolutely still during the segment, never turning it to the left or right. At first I wondered if she were fighting off a headache from being out on the town again with Meredith Veiera that night before.

But then it stuck me -- I don't know how tall Peter Carruthers is, but terry Gannon (a former basketball champion) is over six feet. Kristi is barely five feet, but the way they were sitting all three were about the same height. Mystery solved. Kristi must have been sitting on a phone book, trying not to fall off. :yes:

I was thinking 2 phone books to be in level with Terry!

 

[Ryan O]

Other notables:
C/P skating 7th (flight #2)
Baby Italians starts flight #3
Voidy Ukrainians (oh no it's that Johnny Hallyday song) skates after them
H/Z pu$$ycat their dance after that
Sailor Russians followed that
SamBates wraps flight #3

I hope they move up a few spots. I think Crone and Poirier have been a bit undermarked at this event.

 

[Simoncat]

I am a Canadian,and am absolutely thrilled with the first two placements. I think B/A were robbed,but their OD choreography was terrible. Seeing the draw for the free dance I wonder if there is room available for "funny business"?

 

[colleen o'neill]

Don't scare me. I'm going away to calm myself for an hour...I wish I could feel absolutely certain there could be no hanky-panky , at anyone's expense.

 

[Ryan O]

I wish the skate order for the final group was different. It would be more exciting if V&M or D&W were to skate last.

 

[cloudkicker09]

So tonight is Tanith and Ben's last dance they are retiring for good tonight? They are not even going to worlds? Are they going to skate pro? Doubt it.

 

[ARipp42014]

One more hour to go! Here's each of the final flights pieces of music used in the movies (except B/A)

Merlie (Phantom Of The Opera): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHAauiJwwmU
Using the movie/Gerard Butler version of "Music Of The Night" even though they used the Broadway/Michael Crawford version. Used in the middle of the FD.

Voir (Death In Venice): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTP7XFVGnxQ
Final scene of the movie. This is the full version while V/M condensed it to 4 minutes.

Rica & Massi (The Godfather Part 2): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLOBKTwv1JY
Young Vito Corolone comes to America! F/S used that melody repeatedly throughout their dance.

DomShabs (The Double Life Of Véronique): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0PENbPmT7Y
Weronika's last song and death. Song played in the beginning and 2nd half of DomShabs FD.

And Ryan, I wished one or the other performed last. Gives that maximum dramatic/kleenex effect. Instead we're praying Max's knees doesn't give out midway.

 

[mhu714]

I find it amazing that B&A will be considered disappointments when they finish in 4th. I know they won the silver in torino but before that, I recall years and years and years of no USA dance teams finishing in the top 10 in the world (I always thought Lang/Tchernyshev were majorly undermarked). They are currently the most successful American Dance team ever (at least until D&W surpasses them, if they do).

On another note, did not D&W already finish ahead of V&M at GPF? Why is it a foregone conclusion they will win tonight? The only thing I really do not want to see is the Russians win, after their horror show OD outfits and pedestrian performance.

 

[Cadiva]

ITA. I think I can predict that their free skate will seem flat compared to Virtue/Moir. If B/A couldn't get a great response from the crowd at US National's, I just don't see how their program will get a huge response in Canada. No standing ovation for them.

I am really saddened that it has come to this for such a talented pair. I was thinking over the past 4 years how Belbin/Agosto just haven't lived up to their potential. They should have changed their coach right after the Olympics. It just seems like they coasted for 2 years after Torino. Then, they changed coaches in 2008 and it was just too late. It makes me so angry that they basically became the Christopher Bowman of ice dancing. A few world medals here and there, stumbles that took them out of world podium contention, abrupt changes in coaching that took them nowhere. I just remember Klimonova/Pomerenko changed their coaches when they realized that their programs weren't working before it was too late. They made drastic changes and they had an unforgettable skate in 1992.

I began thinking of Platov as a coach they could have gone to after the 2006 Olympics. I think he's still in New Jersey and from what I understand Pasha and him were considered pretty good technicians. He could have helped B/A on the technical side, while not creating crappy programs like Linichuk. He doesn't have any elite skaters, so B/A could have been his #1 focus. Thus he could have politicked the judges for them exclusively.

It just makes me so sick to think of what could have been for Tanith and Ben...

Platov is the coach to both the British teams

 

[Cadiva]

It's called Ice Dance. There is no logic in this discipline, only politicking. The only reason D/W are doing so well because that's what US federation wants and they also have more capable in back-door dealing coaches.
D/W is the most unattractive, ugly dance team ever graced Olympic Podium. ISU should be ashamed.

What a complete load of rubbish. And I'm not going to justify such a ridiculous statement with anything else than that.

 

[ARipp42014]

Any links to watch online?

 

[midnightstar17]

It's called Ice Dance. There is no logic in this discipline, only politicking. The only reason D/W are doing so well because that's what US federation wants and they also have more capable in back-door dealing coaches.
D/W is the most unattractive, ugly dance team ever graced Olympic Podium. ISU should be ashamed.

You should be ashamed...

 

[skatemom1122]

You should be ashamed...

This is the same person who called Lysacek "gay" in another thread. What a surprise!

 

[ademption]

I guess Tanith its pretty excited aboyt this beain their last dance. shemust be tired of all this

Its a sheme thta thei lost whatever they had and its very sad that some poeple chose to trash them really abd some times. I strat to wacth FS because of them, they were so young and cute, like D/W are now. (I wondering if the same thng will happen with D/W and shibutanis.)

well, good luck to all teams, but i'm still chearing for tanitha dn ben to grab the Bronze and V/M thei Gold.

Thanks for Tanith's twitter. I hope that they just dance really well tonight and skate freely. I hope that they go all out and give a last performance that they will always treasure. I know I've been really negative towards them in this thread, but it's b/c I like them so much. I had such high hopes for them after seeing them at 2003 Worlds in Washington, DC. They're such nice people. It just really hurts....

I just got finished watching today's Terry Gannon show and I really enjoyed the segment analyzing the OD costumes with the Project Runway guy. He was great. He knew a lot about ice dancing and talked about the importance of a costume in showing the skater's lines. He had rave reviews for Samuelson/Bates, Davis/White and Virtue/Moir. He panned the Linichuk couples' costumes. He was disappointed in Del/Schoe's costumes. He thought that they should have used a different pink. Bubblegum, I think he said.

Speaking of costumes, I wish Virtue had resorted back to the cream dress she wore earlier in the season. The white dress that she plans to wear tonight is ok, but I thought that the cream went better with her hair, coloring. I think it would have stood out better on tv than the white.

Thanks for the trick list, gsrossano. I appreciate it. Also, thanks ARipp42014 for all of the background info about the programs tonight. I think I'll check out those youtube clip while the non-skating stuff comes on NBC.