Kawaguchi/Smirnov LP"Love Story" 2007

[netnuts]

'oxade21' posted K&S' new long program for 2007/2008 season.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd0hROksHKg

How do you guys feel?

It's quite underwhemling for me. They are soooooo sloooow. This is unacceptable for a top-ranked Russian pair. I like Smirnov though.

 

[Hsuhs]

I think it's OK, but not perfect. And I fail to see love in this love story.

 

[Kypma]

That was interesting... I like seeing programs shot with one camera, it really allows one to evaluate speeds and such. While they were slow at the beginning, I think the speed did improve by the end.
My (positive - I tend to always see the better side of things, and have difficulty with criticism, so bear with me!) comments:
At 2:03, I found the lift dismount really interesting and original.
At 3:20, is it me or did she land on the left inside edge? If allowed, that's really neat.
The side-by-side spins (forgot to check time) showed interesting positions and before the change of foot, I liked how they were synchronised and even changed the speed in synchro.
Their final combination spin featured interesting variations, I liked the shapes they created.
The one thing that irks me most is the music cut... I don't find it very harmonious, and it gets rather repetitive with the main chorus coming back all the time.

However, in my mind, Love Story is attached to Jamie and David, and I find that Kawaguchi/Smirnov don't show the same depth of emotion in it. Ah well, I guess my standard is elevated because of Jamie & David. And please don't start a discussion on the judging at those Olympics, I've had enough of it.
(link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMwaT1iuRxI)



Kypma

 

[childfreegirl]

I think it's OK, but not perfect. And I fail to see love in this love story.

It's early in the season and they're still a fairly new team. It shows. A little rough around the edges and they lack the polish of some of the more established teams, but IMO, it's to be expected.

 

[Vicky458]

They have "big" skates to fulfill skating to Love Story. I think they have a long way to go before this program can compete with the Germans and the Chinese.

 

[netnuts]

However, in my mind, Love Story is attached to Jamie and David, and I find that Kawaguchi/Smirnov don't show the same depth of emotion in it. Ah well, I guess my standard is elevated because of Jamie & David. And please don't start a discussion on the judging at those Olympics, I've had enough of it.
(link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMwaT1iuRxI)

Kypma

That's for SURE!!!!

 

[Tinymavy15]

Love Story will always belong to Jamie and David.

 

[GoldMedalist]

There's room for improvement over what Jamie and David did with Love Story.

It probably won't be in the form of this new couple, though.

 

[Hsuhs]

There's room for improvement over what Jamie and David did with Love Story.

What a daring thought.

 

[oxade21]

They have "big" skates to fulfill skating to Love Story. I think they have a long way to go before this program can compete with the Germans and the Chinese.

Thanks to netnuts for posting my video. Here are some comments made by Smirnov: Smirnov told media that the 4 Salchow throw will definitely stay in the program even though it is not very consistent. They abondened 4 twist as the new ISU regulations are changing everyday, they are working on the entrance into the twist to make higher difficulty and 3 twist is all they can hope right now.The program is work in progress and many changes will occur as the season progress.
And finally, they are using the last year's SHORT with some significant changes to it as they found the previously announced "SIRTAKI" program not a right choice for this year.

As for your German/Chinese comparison, Hsuhs, well, I am sure this is not even remotely accuarte comparison BUT:
S/S at Neibelhorn 175.1
K/S at Cup of Russia 172.5
It would be interesting to compare the elements but with two falls in free K/S still managed to be very close to S/S at the end pointwise.

 

[netnuts]

It would be interesting to compare the elements but with two falls in free K/S still managed to be very close to S/S at the end pointwise.

Thank you for the video. It's always interesting to watch some new pairs as the old faces have been around forever, we'll see how they'll fare this season.

BTW, can you give us a break down of their scores? Short program? long program? Thanks

Do you know what happened to S&S' long program? I can't believe they only scored 105 with no fall.

 

[oxade21]

BTW, can you give us a break down of their scores? Short program? long program? Thanks

Do you know what happened to S&S' long program? I can't believe they only scored 105 with no fall.

You are welcome.
K/S score breakdown
SP- 62.64
LP-109.86


I was shocked myself at S/S results, I only seen K/C pics and they both looked really pissed. I have no idea what's going on. I heard that they were not looking their best and in addition were very slow.

 

[Hsuhs]

As for your German/Chinese comparison, Hsuhs, well, I am sure this is not even remotely accuarte comparison BUT

I made no comparisons. But thanks for the vid.

 

[netnuts]

You are welcome.
K/S score breakdown
SP- 62.64
LP-109.86


I was shocked myself at S/S results, I only seen K/C pics and they both looked really pissed. I have no idea what's going on. I heard that they were not looking their best and in addition were very slow.

But S/S' SP score was shockingly high. Do you have the link to K/C pics? Did they keep the same LP ?

BTW, do you have K&S' SP video?

 

[oxade21]

But S/S' SP score was shockingly high. Do you have the link to K/C pics? Did they keep the same LP ?

BTW, do you have K&S' SP video?

Yeah, they had great short, but it was 69.93 just 5 points less then K/S. you can see pics on http://web.icenetwork.com/events/detail.jsp?id=34484. They skated the new LP there.

I do have SP video but need to upload it to Youttube will do later.

P.S: Vice/Trent actually landed QUAD throw at Nebelhorn . So the battle of quads in pairs offically begins this season. We have K/S, V/T and maybe Z/Z.:agree:

 

[Ladskater]

'oxade21' posted K&S' new long program for 2007/2008 season.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd0hROksHKg

How do you guys feel?

It's quite underwhemling for me. They are soooooo sloooow. This is unacceptable for a top-ranked Russian pair. I like Smirnov though.

How Do I feel? Well first of all "Love Story" is Jamie and David's "signature piece." I can't feature any other couple skating to it. However, it remains to be seen how well this couple does with this music. There does not seem to be much chemistry between them - unlike the chemistry between Jamie and David - especially when they skated to "Love Story." Theirs was and still is a love story. - End of Story.

 

[oxade21]

BTW, do you have K&S' SP video?

here is the short
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJHC369HV1Q
Enjoy

 

[Kypma]

Love Story seems to be in style this year, as Butlerand Jacobsen are using it for their short program: Part 1, Skate Detroit Part 2, Skate Detroit It feels so strange to have pairs chosing Love Story when it was THE music used by Jamie and David for the Olympics... not a regular year, but an Olympic one... ah well, as long as these pairs can produce something strong, I'll be happy, but I can't really picture any performance as memorable as Jamie and David's.

Kypma

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

I found K&S a very promising Pairs last season and judging by this Love Story for 2008, they have not really gotten much further than being promising. The Love Story, for me is a work-in-progress so I wont compare that to anything else, but I do want to see more connection between the two. They are up against some top well seasoned international pairs this year and their work is cut out for them.

Smirnov has perfect port au bras(sp) and would make a perfect Danseur Noble

Joe

 

[rain]

K/S were one of the most exciting new pairs teams from last year, for me. And there was some nice stuff in this. However, the music is so associated with S/P and the comparisons are inevitable — and that being the case, well, if you're going to use somebody else's signature piece your really better have something less generic-looking than this to do with it. I didn't hate it, I just don't necessarily think this is the piece of choreography that's going to take them to that next level.