Senior Dance FS

[ManyCairns]

One thing I like to do is see how programs strike me upon repeated viewing. During the broadcast, I liked B/A the best, but really enjoyed D/W almost as much, though in a different way (B/A more classic and romantic, D/W more moody & edgy). After repeat viewings, B/A's remains riveting and I'm always a little surprised when it finishes that it's over, it's kept me that interested. D/W's has seemed more of a technical exercise as I've watched it again. Still brilliant, but I really don't think they are quite at B/A's level presentation-wise.

Also, sadly, I don't think D/W yet get the same reception internationally that V/M got this year (& V/M are certainly wonderful, don't get me wrong). But, perhaps it's what was talked about in the broadcast, that their FD needed some re-working. So, despite Tracy Wilson's speculation that if certain teams retired, and based on their nationals scores, D/W would be challenging for a podium spot, and B/A for gold, I don't think it's going to happen nearly that easily and automatically! Just nationals hype.

I liked N/B a lot and was happy about their 3rd placement, but I think that was just a subjective response b/c I liked that style of dance better than S/B's dance. S/B certainly had a lot of technical difficulty. All in all, it was a superb night of ice dance! I used to rarely even watch ice dance, and now it's become my favorite discipline.

 

[sillylionlove]

I missed Melissa and Denis!!

 

[SailorGalaxia518]

cleopatra20042004, I think Tracy was going by the final placements from Worlds last year.

B&A finished third while D&W were seventh. If you take into account that Denkova/Staviski and D&L are not competing this year then B&A would become the top ranked team from Worlds and D&W move up to fifth.

I've read on many message boards how amazing S&B are and I don't quite see it. Don't get me wrong they are good particularly technically but their FD wasn't the best of the night IMO. Not in performance and not in choreography. I much preferred N&B; that FD but admit that without the mistake S&B could have overtaken them on the basis of the difficulty.

I do think that S&B have a bright future but I just don't see them plowing over the competition. Especially not B&A or D&W.

That is because Emily Samuelson was competing the Free Dance with Food Poisoning so the team were not there best that night

But they have a fantastic future in 2010 and beyond

 

[1795]

N/B were OK....
arrrrrrrrrrr that fall from S/B's lift....haunts me!

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

The four teams were fine and doing their best. The outcome was correct as was expected - not just my opinion. No real surprises in Skate Dance.

Catch the Hubbles next year in Seniors and this year against their rivals Sam/Bates in Juniors. Should be good competition.

Joe

 

[1795]

Catch the Hubbles next year in Seniors and this year against their rivals Sam/Bates in Juniors. Should be good competition.

Joe

i just saw the hubbells' FD - meh (interesting spiral section) music was a bit odd and out of place

imo, incomparable to samuelson/bates' maturity, complexity, and difficulty.

 

[Kwanford Wife]

I never thought I'd become more jazzed about the dance portion of US Nationals... I generally root for the home team and stand in awe of the Russian team (DivaNavka ) but wow...

Tanith & Ben... wow... just awesome... That program gave me goosebumps. I so hope they skate that way at Worlds...

Funniest comment: Button's description of Davis & White as sexual... I love when he goes all "Im old I can say whatever I want..."

 

[Nadine]

I've been watching Ice Dance on icenetwork for the past couple of days & was delighted to see so many wonderful performances, in particular Charlie White & Meryl Davis, as it is because of them these past few years that I've been drawn to ice dance. They did wonderful; especially loved their Beatles Program to Eleanor Rigby.

Also loved the couple that did the "Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou" medly. And most of all enjoyed the program that one couple did to Sarah Brightman & Andrea Bocelli; reminiscent of Anissina & Peizerat's 1999 Worlds Exhibition Program to "Time To Say Goodbye", a personal all-time favorite of mine.

Congratulations to ALL the medalists, may they do well at Worlds ~ GOOOOOOOOOOO TEAMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!:agree:

 

[Tonichelle]

Highlights for me in the arena

Max & Trax!!!! They caught my eye in St. Louis, but the more I watched them this time around the more I fell in love with them. They sat in front of us during most of the Pairs SP (along with Jonathan Harris) and were just so very nice! Very down to earth. They were the only skaters (I think?) that I got my picture with.

Wester and Barantsev(sp) - ADORED their Free Dance and their OD was very flirty and fun. One of the others in my group suggested their the new Melissa and Denis and while I can see similarities I think they're good in their own right...

Tanith & Ben - Their FD is seriously NOT four plus minutes long. I swear it was way shorter. They held us all captive for their dance and would not let go. LOVED it. It's a good departure for them. I'm still not convinced they are within the time limit! It went by just so fast! (I have never truly had that happen to me before... unless you count watching Love Story on TV during the Olympics)

Samuelson and Bates are the future - she skated with the flu during the Free Dance, and that's why I assume they didn't skate in the exhibition. Her mom was SO NERVOUS during the Free it was really cute. (I love watching skater parents lol)

Davis and White are good, I give them that, but I don't feel them the way so many others do... I dunno why. But they were very good and Tanith and Ben better watch their back.

 

[Tinymavy15]

I thought Tanith & Ben skated their best EVER; they were absolutely terrific. As far as the rest of the top 5 -- extremely good technique and some nice stuff here and there, but overall I have to say I just didn't find the FDs all that interesting as a whole. There's a lot of talent there, I just hope they find better vehicles.

I am not sure if this was thier best ever, thier freedance at Cup of China this year brought me to tears even watching for the 10th time. Nationals is a really close second though.

 

[Dyan]

That is because Emily Samuelson was competing the Free Dance with Food Poisoning so the team were not there best that night

But they have a fantastic future in 2010 and beyond

I was impressed that S&B skated as well as they did with Emily suffering from food poisoning but it wasn't just the performance level I was referring to.

I'm in the same position as rallycairn in that I guess I just preferred the style of dance N&B chose over that of S&B as well as N&B's overall style of skating. Also I admit that while I think S&B are a team with some nice qualities to them I'm not having the same reaction to them as I have in the past when some of the other teams have moved up from juniors to seniors.

There are some dance teams where I had a "Wow!" reaction when I saw them for the first time and I felt that team was good enough to be world medalists or even world champions in the future. I had that reaction to Silverstein/Pekarek, Matthews/Zavozin (though they couldn't seem to maintain in seniors the same momentum they had as juniors), D&W, B&A and especially lately V&M who were excellent even as juniors.

With S&B I agree they are good but I didn't get future World champ vibes watching them or even the feeling that in the future they will be one of the top international teams fighting for the top placements. I'd place S&B in the same category as Manon/O'Meara or Weaver/Poje. Really good but needing some time to develop.

Granted N&B most likely aren't going to be fighting for podium spots internationally either but I love their smoothness, speed and like N&B they also have excellent knee bends when they skate. On top of that I love N&B's chemistry together; Blues numbers really suit them. I do think that S&B are good enough to knock N&B out of the way; in fact until the fall I was nervous for N&B as I thought that S&B were going to win third place on basis of their technical merit.

I realize that's just my opinion and most people are seeing something different when they watch S&B. I do hope Emily is feeling better.

 

[chuckm]

With S&B I agree they are good but I didn't get future World champ vibes watching them or even the feeling that in the future they will be one of the top international teams fighting for the top placements. I'd place S&B in the same category as Manon/O'Meara or Weaver/Poje. Really good but needing some time to develop.

It would be highly unusual to get 'future World champ vibes' from ANY team in its first time competing as Seniors at Nationals. The only team I can think of that did create such a vibe was Belbin/Agosto in 2002.

And I don't think the comparison with Manon/O'Meara (who had competed at the Senior level previously with different partners) and Weaver/Poje is valid.

W/P won bronze medals in the 2006-2007 JGP to S/B's gold medals. S/B won silver in the 2006-2007 JGPF and were on their way to challenging for the gold medal at 2007 Junior Worlds when they had the mishap with Evan skating over Emily's hand and cutting it badly. W/P won the bronze medal only because S/B had to withdraw. W/P have since struggled in their GP events, finishing 6th at SC and 7th at TEB. Bobrova/Soloviev, whom S/B defeated at the 2006-2007 JGPF, finished 5th and 4th at their two GP events. W/P also had a fall in the FD at Canadian Nationals

S/B have since won silver again in the JGPF, an event which has been surrounded with controversy due to allegations of judging malfeasance.

Let's not forget that N/B did not skate particularly well in their FD at Nationals, and S/B could have challenged them for the bronze medal had they not fallen in a lift (which they had learned specifically for Nationals; it was an addition to their Junior-level program). It's pretty hard to compete at both Junior and Senior level in the same season and be effective at the Senior level with so little practice.

 

[Dyan]

I believe that my comparison of S&B to W&P is valid as I wasn't comparing them as far as experience and medals won. Rather I was speaking of my own personal reactions to each team (how I felt about their styles of skating and the programs they chose to skate to) the first time I saw them skate. For you the only team that gave you future world champion vibes was B&A but as I said I got the same from M&Z, S&P and V&M as well.

Keeping in mind that unfortunately for American fans unless we download programs from youtube or any other skating site or attend the competitions in person, we only read about these teams on message boards. Especially before they reach the senior ranks.

I had no preconceived opinions regarding S&B on my first viewing of them and from what I had read of them I was indeed worried for N&B. I fully recognize that S&B were a threat to N&B and probably would have upended them for the bronze even with Emily being ill.

Again, I just happen to prefer N&B even though I acknowledge that S&B are talented. I do realize that my opinion is in the minority on this board as well as some others I have read. Of course I'm not totally understanding the the fuss over K&N either but wish I did.

 

[dorispulaski]

I didn't get future world champ vibes off S&B either. But if she was ill, however would I get any vibes other than of a young woman trying her best under difficult circumstances?

That said, S&B are in the same age group with V&M, D&W, Bobrova & Soloviev & Summersett & Gilles....and others whom I haven't seen yet. That's a hard group to compete with for for world championships.

The most impressive dance debut I saw this year was Summerset /Gilles. It was particularly amazing because they had only been together 8 months or so. If you have ice network, view their folk dance OD which earned them 5th place in that component of the competition. The FD was not as impressive, however it was good enough to outscore S&B and Wester & Barantsev and be 4th in the FD. S&G started Nationals with a fall in the Yankee Polka, leaving them in 10th. They finished 5th over all.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

^ Agree! I have written in my notes to watch Summerset/Gillis next year.

As to Samuelson, she looked fine at the USFS Members' luncheon. If she was ill, she hid it. She is very attractive, and looked gorgeous in that Russian outfit for the CD. However, I do not like the pairing of her and partner. It has nothing to do with height or age. There just isn't any rapport.

Actually I find the same problem with Davis and White.(but they are better technicians)

Joe

 

[discoduck]

I am thrilled that N/B are going to worlds. They are wonderful people, I love their skating and while I know they're not challenging for a medal, they completely deserve the trip.

 

[cassieandcheetah]

I think perhaps Davis and White should try a different style next year. I think something like rock 'n' roll or spanish rhythm would suit their style much better. I saw their OD and FD from 2004 junior wolrds, and strangely enough I felt as though they seemed to have better chemistry then! I don't know...and I Think since they're such good technictians they can afford to have a bit more footwork while doing all the lifts adn stuff like that....

 

[Dyan]

I wonder if D&W might be going through the same thing B&A did up until this season. They are perfecting their technical skating; skating with speed and difficulty while paying attention to body line, edging and knee bend but Meryl and Charlie are doing this at the expense of expression. Just a guess/question.

It funny that for me D&W are shown off to their best advantage in their exhibition programs. They truly related to one another and looked even softer on Saturday during the airing of the exhbitions. This season's FD is better at showcasing their connection and expression than last years but I do think it's good if Meryl and Charlie are pacing themselves.

 

[all that]

I wonder if D&W might be going through the same thing B&A did up until this season. They are perfecting their technical skating; skating with speed and difficulty while paying attention to body line, edging and knee bend but Meryl and Charlie are doing this at the expense of expression. Just a guess/question.

It funny that for me D&W are shown off to their best advantage in their exhibition programs. They truly related to one another and looked even softer on Saturday during the airing of the exhbitions. This season's FD is better at showcasing their connection and expression than last years but I do think it's good if Meryl and Charlie are pacing themselves.

I thought their expression in their CD, OD, and FD has greatly improved in quality from last year, so it can't be that they are "perfecting their technical skating...at the expense of expression." They probably are shown off to their best advantage in their exhibitions because they aren't under any pressure during an exhibition. When competing, nerves do play a factor.

 

[Nadine]

No disrespect meant to beautiful Meryl Davis, but I think that skating-wise, Charlie White & Emily Samuelson would be a potential great match on the ice. With her passion, phenomenal flexibility, and long lines, matched to his joie de vivre, superb skating skills & equally long lines, they would look like a flame out there on the ice.

What I'm missing in Davis & White is passion or a connection with each other, be it called chemistry or rapport. Yes, there is a hint now & then, but not much. Even the NBC ice dancing analyst mentioned this at one point.

edited to add: I read once where Charlie said that he & Meryl have never had one fight in all the years they've been together, which I think is admirable & respectable, but doesn't necessarily create a great partnership on the ice & vice versa. There are plenty of examples where actors don't particularly care for one another/get along, but the chemistry of them together on screen is phenomenal (e.g. Clark Gable & Vivien Leigh, George Clooney & Jennifer Lopez, Marina Anissina & Gwendal Peizerat), to name a few.

Regardless, I've enjoyed this couple's skating tremendously over the past couple of years (& will continue to do so), but after seeing Emily Samuelson skate with Evan Bates at Nationals, I thought that it might be time for Charlie & Emily to leave their long-time partners of 10+ years & perhaps have a tryout with one another. Take that all-important step to the next level, as so many others have done in the past; e.g. Marina Anissina left her country to go & skate with Gwendal Peizerat in France, as did Tanith Belbin with Benjamin Agosto. Not to mention Kimmie Meissner's recent decision to sacrifice school & her longtime coach to move to Florida to work with Richard Callaghan. Sacrifice, it's the name of the game, not all can be as blessed as G&G were.