- Joined
- Nov 3, 2006
Some gorgeous details in this dance. I can't wait to see just how good it can get.
Is that really a crime? People like what they like and don't like what they don't like. They don't have to be "OMG!~" to everything a top team/skater does.Some people said it was awful and boring and slow!
But I suppose it's an American skating forum...wonder how they will react to Davis and white's SD?
Ideal Olympic program for them. All that toe work in the middle...my legs hurt just watching it. Light, elegant, classic and very difficult. The ending lost a little pizazz, you could tell they were tired but by February that lift should snap right up there
yawn, typical V/M ubers who resort to D/W are just good in "technical elements"
whats so groundbreaking about V/M even if you rate them on pcs ?
they play the same role on a very safe and boring programs
I'd watch D/W anyday and they are finally getting the scores they deserve despite Moirs diva rants
Fantastic program. Scott Moir looks crisper and sharper than ever. Any concerns about the final lift's legality? (I'm forgetting the current state of over/above the shoulder blah blah blah.) A real winner for the Olympic season.
PS I wish Tessa would go back to a softer hair color with more shades/highlights. Don't like the flat black look for her.
ITA, but it should be mentioned that both teams suffer from having a close, close competitor. Consequently, I think both teams pick slightly safer music than they might otherwise, exactly because they are not a shoo-in to win, because they have close competitors. I do wonder sometimes whether Denkova & Staviyski could have won the 2006 Olympics is they hadn't made the disastrous choice of Bach to Africa the year prior-and of course, not making a mistake in the OP at Turin, but still, the bad results of the previous season affected everything, I think. I don't think that two teams that are close have the luxury that T&D did to do whatever they wanted and drive the sport's progress.
The other way a team can drive the sport is by being a known underdog, and using unique choices to drive interest and possibly higher scores-i.e., what have we got to lose???? Let's go for it! mentality. Two teams that took this course would be the Duchesnays and Rahkamo & Kokko. In this time, I see Zhiganshina & Gaszi attempting this route.
High value for speed is nothing new in dance. Consider the careers of Bestiamanova & Bukin and Grishuk & Platov. Both teams were the fastest dancers in the time they were skating. And their wins were sometimes controversial as well, because of the value placed on speed more than some other considerations.
However, V&M's edges have not done that much for them lately in the pattern dance parts of SD's, nor in the not touching step sequences. They have been getting the same levels as D&W most of the time; sometimes worse, sometimes better, but on average, about the same. And, in a pattern dance, the faster you skater, the deeper your edges have to be to complete the pattern correctly. Because the total Time to complete the pattern is fixed, and the size of the rink is fixed, and the requirement of a pattern dance pattern is that the better you cover the rink with the pattern, the better you score, its always going to be the case that speed is a big part of SD grading.
It's high school physics:
Distance = Rate (or speed) * Time
When the speed goes up, the distance covered by the pattern is bigger. Since it has to be squeezed into a fixed-size rink, the depth of the turns has to be greater, too, once you're at the filling-the-rink stage. The only negative of higher speed in a pattern dance (or a non-touching step) is whether the turns are done correctly, which is harder at high speed, and both teams, as I said before, have been doing about the same in levels in recent years.
When V&M scored higher in the Finnstep CD at 4CC's (the only time they met and skated the Finnstep) in 2009, the correctness of turns was not judged. Pattern dance segments were graded similar to the way technical scores were assigned in 6.0; there were no unique guidelines. Now there are. So all bets are off.
To add to this, V/M may have better edge work than D/W but Tessa's laboring and heaviness while skating, making everything look like it takes so much effort negates any advantage they have.
Oh please let's not do the Tessa-is-overweight thing again! I remember how shocked I was at seeing both Tessa and Meryl at the 2010 Olympics. Both looked gaunt, as if they could snap so easily. They both have more meat on their bones now and I am glad of it. And why does it have to be the woman who must get smaller? Are the guys ever encouraged to bulk up?
This is exactly what programs look like in the middle of the summer! Singles, pairs and dance teams have most likely just started doing full run throughs and the fact that they all can make it to the end of the program is great. It is very hard to bring all your choreography to life when you are more concerned at this time about getting your elements done and having the stamina to complete the program
I think some spectators watching youtube dont realize how long it takes to perfect a performance. It doesnt start out looking Worlds ready. V/M have obviously worked on some sections more than others and good for them having the courage to get out and show it in public knowing that it would invite criticism at this stage.
I havent seen a single Senior elite level program this summer that looks GP ready and nor should they. It is a process.
It makes me appreciate the work and skill it take to makes V/M performances so effortless in the end.
One of the things I like about Tessa is that she has a different build from a lot of skating ladies. She has a very strong-looking upper torso, especially her shoulders. I hope she stays as she is. Her look projects power, which reflects the music choices of this couple.
Problem is Scott looks so puney and wimpish next to her. She should lift him.