2024 Skate Canada Rhythm Dance

[IceDancingQueen]

TBH T/T should be 3rd

They definitely should be ahead of Z/K IMO. I’m really surprised by that.

 

[IceDancingQueen]

I get that the fall for L/L was during an element but it took them a good 15 seconds to get back into the performance. I see their PCSs as a bit high for that error.

TBH, I’m surprised they managed to stay in 2nd place too but it’s a bit like when C/B fell at worlds and still managed to win.

I think the top 5 teams (C/B, G/P, G/F, F/G, and L/L) are viewed by the judges to have much better skating skills overall than the rest of the pack (there other teams gaining traction like the Georgians, Lithuanians, and some US teams) so because their GOE is high on all their elements they manage to stay ahead with a fall outside an element. I’m not saying it’s right but it does seem like a lot of the other teams are still earning their stripes with the judges so to speak.

I don’t know if L/L would have stayed ahead if say D/S, R/A or C/P or Green and Parsons had been in this competition. There is a big gulf in most of the Grand Prixs this year between the top two teams competing and the rest. It’s really only the 6th spot that is up for grabs amongst quite a few teams and it’s not clear who will take that spot, whereas the judges seem to firmly have the top 5 in place, unless a major mishap happens on an element at future comps.

So I totally get why ppl are annoyed about the placements - a fall is a fall and should have higher deductions across the board for ALL teams. It’s the reason I’ve become so frustrated with singles skating cause even with falls, skaters who manage to do the rotations in the air still end up winning eventhough the flow of the programme is totally disturbed. I don’t think this is the right direction for skating at all.

But as a huge La/La fan, I am of course happy that it went it this way for them as it has done for others in the past, but I don’t think it’s right.

 

[lariko]

Okay, I usually adore La/LA, but this program feels like a copy-cat of that American team from a few years back, and the fall would have sent anyone else to the back of the pack. But really liked pretty much everything else in the second half, particularly L/B (who were robbed), T/T and Z/K.

 

[readernick]

I like La/La's program quite a bit actually. I loved their Rio program and haven't really liked anything they have done since. Basically, I like it when they are kitschy. However, that fall really did completely ruin the rest of their program. It wasn't like Chock/Bates who immediately returned to the performance. I understand it wasn't on an element. But, I think it should have been punished more in PCS. The GOE was fine.

Loved the sibling teams of T/T and the Browns. I enjoy skaters who are equally matched in SS and performance. I would have had them in in 3rd and 4th place behind P/P and L/B.

I love the Beach Boys ( I am a California girl afterall), it's a nice concept but P/P did not look solid imho. Seemed a bit slow and out of synch. I am sure it will be better by the end of the year.

Loved L/B. They are weird and fun.

Z/K don't do it for me. He's an incredible skater and they are both good performers. However, he literally skates around her while she does simple steps except on required elements. The tricks are there to disguise the lack of real skating from her. Not my cup of tea.

B/S can skate. However, as Kaitlyn said their performance isn't believable.

I don't like Lim/ Quan's program. It just doesn't work for some reason imho. I was bored and that's not good when you have a performer as talented as Hannah.

I like Fabbri/Ayer. The RD is great. Their FP isn't to my liking.

 

[Dawn825]

Much better costume for Natalie today, yesterday's sucked

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

I don’t see L/Q ahead these two or L/B if all skate well.

Good analysis. Of course, you were very right about Lim/ Quan, but not about Lopareva/ Brissaud. I think L/B are political favorites as the top French team. For sure, though, L/B are not better than Z/K, TT, or even The Browns. All these teams are on a par. L/B are that quirky French team, amusing to watch and very consistent, but not really better than teams they are being placed ahead of.

I would include Emily & Ian, too, who are also very good. However, I think E&I are not well-matched physically. They are well-matched in personality and in temperament, but not in body proportions and height. Emily looks as tall or slightly taller, which is not a complete drawback but it is noticeable to the eye and distracts somewhat, at least for me. Ian has better skills as well. Emily is very good, of course, but Ian is fabulous. I really liked Emily's outfit and her hair was gorgeous. Still, I would have avoided the top-knot on her braid. She should steer clear of any effect that makes her seem taller than she already is.

L/Q dropped to just above Fabbri/Ayer, as they should. While L/Q have improved, they are not as strong individually nor overall as the teams ahead of them. Even F/A have better skating skills than L/Q, but Lim has the best dramatic flair than her partner Quan, and than F/A.

Zac Lagha looked so down about the fall. In a different circumstance, like at Worlds, they would have dropped behind some teams for such a big disruption in their program. But the judges were very kind. In a different judging climate, L&L could have been behind Z/K who have great programs this season. I thought Z/K should have been scored higher in any case. Emilea looked like she was hoping for a higher score, for sure. The scores, in general, were held down and managed because the talent is that deep and tight. In any case, L&L are skating at home and were likely to have scored 83 to 84 without mistakes.

L&L's RD is okay, but I'm tired of Pink Panther renditions. In terms of material, Z/K and The Browns killed it, and Piper/Paul were their usual sublime, inventive selves. L/B are very creative, and the Taschlers gave it everything they got after apparently revamping their costumes and training hard post DTen event.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

I don't know... I am the only one who doesn't appreciate the Browns as much as everyone else. I felt he was quite stiff and I don't like their lines and posture

Gage Brown, stiff??? Umm... Take another look, especially at that split. Wowza. The Browns had one of the best RDs here, no question. Seriously, I do not understand what you mean by 'stiff' in connection with Gage Brown!

You may not like their 'lines,' but they are one of the best teams who display depth of blade edge and lean, with amazing control. Since training at I.AM, the Browns have improved tremendously in speed and polish. While Ian and Emily were more white bread shtick to Brick House, Oona & Gage kicked Get Up Offa That Thang out of the arena with sass and moxie.

Whose lines do you like better among this crew? I'm with you if you say Lajoie/ Lagha, Piper/Paul, and Lopareva/ Brissaud, perhaps, but not Fabbri/Ayer.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

TBH T/T should be 3rd

Taschlers were great, but so were some other teams. Anyway, the judging doesn't always work the way we want it to for our faves, especially not in a deep, talented field. This is figure skating judging, btw, not DWTS, where the audience gets to vote.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

totally agree. Their PCS were hit and they got the normal deduction. I have no problem with that.
Last week, I had a problem with the simple fact that Chock and Bates still received some 9.5 in PCS... i mean, so that means that without their fall they would have received 10 ? at their first event of the season ? For something that still needs polishing ? In any case, this time LaLa used their fall not on an element card, while C/B actually fell on an element...

Well, C/B did pay for it by dropping below Fear/ Gibson and not winning overall at SkAm. I don't like Evan's costumes and the jury is out on their choice to use so many music cuts, so C/B may be in some trouble maintaining top dog status this season.

I'd love to see Piper/Paul win in Boston ahead of C/B. I do not like Guignard/ Fabbri's programs either. But G/F will probably stay on the Worlds podium. Fear/ Gibson continue to possess an entertaining vibe, but their programs are not doing anything for me this season.

 

[Sai Bon]

Well, the Brits do use the word "brilliant" differently than we Yanks (at least the Brits I know). As well as "clever". As well as ... I'll stop here, the post will go on forever.

But with "World Champions", we are not divided by a common language.

So in American, "brilliant" does not mean excellent/outstanding/amazing/awesome?

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

I think the top 5 teams (C/B, G/P, G/F, F/G, and L/L) are viewed by the judges to have much better skating skills overall than the rest of the pack (there other teams gaining traction like the Georgians,

Umm, first of all, Fear/Gibson do not have the best skating skills 'from the rest of the pack'. F/G are just a very entertaining team coached by a center with political pull. And F/G have veteran rep status. Also, when you say the Georgians are 'gaining traction', you must mean politically. Gleb does have very good skating skills, and Lewis Gibson does too, but their partners definitely do NOT.

 

[ManyCairns]

So in American, "brilliant" does not mean excellent/outstanding/amazing/awesome?

It tends to be used more to mean either radiant and bright, as in a brilliant light, or to refer to intelligence and cleverness, such as "she has a brilliant mind." We don't tend to use it colloquially to mean amazing or awesome, but understand it if it is used that way.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

Z/K don't do it for me. He's an incredible skater and they are both good performers. However, he literally skates around her while she does simple steps except on required elements. The tricks are there to disguise the lack of real skating from her. Not my cup of tea.

Hey, interesting observation about Z/K. I am going to look closely at their FD to see if this holds true in their FD choreography. I, too, think the Browns deserved better scores. L/B are inventive and quirky, but 'not my cup of tea'.

 

[Sai Bon]

Well, C/B did pay for it by dropping below Fear/ Gibson and not winning overall at SkAm. I don't like Evan's costumes and the jury is out on their choice to use so many music cuts, so C/B may be in some trouble maintaining top dog status this season.

I'd love to see Piper/Paul win in Boston ahead of C/B. I do not like Guignard/ Fabbri's programs either. But G/F will probably stay on the Worlds podium. Fear/ Gibson continue to possess an entertaining vibe, but their programs are not doing anything for me this seaso

It tends to be used more to mean either radiant and bright, as in a brilliant light, or to refer to intelligence and cleverness, such as "she has a brilliant mind." We don't tend to use it colloquially to mean amazing or awesome, but understand it if it is used that way.

I didn't realise that! Thanks for the clarification. We are definitely separated by a common language.

 

[labgoat]

No idea who or what Daddy Cool is,

I never heard it before this year's RD

 

[labgoat]

Having finally gotten around to watching my RD, here are my 2 cents for what it is worth.

1 Alicia FABBRI / Paul AYER CAN - His shapeless pink shirt needs to be more fitted. Alicia's dress is fab and the gloves are a cool accent. Both only got L2 on DIS, but higher on PS@.
2 Holly HARRIS / Jason CHAN AUS - ABBA suits them, but the tzl issues keep hurting them. Also both only got L2 on MiS. Smooth presentation and engaging style from both of them.
3 Emily BRATTI / Ian SOMERVILLE USA - Love their charisma. Glad they are back from her injury. Not a fan of her costume which needs more turquoise to match his. She is as strong a skater as he is. Daddy cool music does not work for me. Their lines match so much better this year. It is evident that they love to skate together. I noticed their height difference less this year. It is now the same as Charlene and Marco to me. She had a small stepdown on MiS bringing her level down but still both got L3 on tzl.
4 Oona BROWN / Gage BROWN USA - Oona's dress does not match the music - needs to be funkier and better color match. The have such busy feet, something is always happening, on beat and expressive. Because of their smaller stature they seem to not move across the ice as fast as others but are actually skating more content.
5 Emilea ZINGAS / Vadym KOLESNIK USA - Her dress is striking, his shirt is right out of 70s ice dancing. A bit shallow on the Mst for her and a bit too much arm and upper body shimmying and less depth of edge. A fun and showy program geared to the audience and judges but not as much with each other.. The FRA and KAZ judges did not like it.

Warm-up Group 2
6 Hannah LIM / Ye QUAN KOR - The judge from FRA loved them, the others did not. Ye had L1 on MiS that hurt their scores. Skated to I'll be there. Deeper edges needed on MSt overall. Tzl and lift very good. She has so much charisma.
7 Natalie TASCHLEROVA / Filip TASCHLER CZE - In black and purple, they got only L2 on tzl and his MiS skating to Hot Stuff and I Feel Love. The strong female look is good for her and he is a very nice strong match to her. They do not have the quick footwork the Browns or both of the Americans do, but they have better power and glide.
8 Evgeniia LOPAREVA / Geoffrey BRISSAUD FRA - Glittery lavender and black for them. Quirky Boney M robots and Techno Rasputin for these two. L2 on MiS for both but L4 tzl for both. Only AZE did not seem as impressed.
9 Marjorie LAJOIE / Zachary LAGHA CAN - She is so cute in Barbie pink and he is Austin Powers. Very good levels on all their elements. A fall on a piece of choreo hurt their scores, fortunately not on any element. KAZ judge was very harsh with them. It was a fluke, probably will never happen again. Great dance.
10 Piper GILLES / Paul POIRIER CAN - Love the retro lifeguard look for Paul and a modest retro style Canadian red swimsuit for Piper - adorable. Cute quirky choreography and engaging music that suits them perfectly. You can see their experience in getting PS3. So fun, a bit slow at times but speed will develop over the season. This is one of the best RDs of the season.

 

[rain]

I never heard it before this year's RD

There's another one of those songs (Daddy Cool) that hasn't aged well. The way "Daddy" was used back then is creepy in the here and now. I overlook it in one of my fave Joni Mitchell songs "Carey", but with a song like this, just ick. I have no idea why you'd choose something like this for your RD. It's cringey.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

There's another one of those songs (Daddy Cool) that hasn't aged well. The way "Daddy" was used back then is creepy in the here and now. I overlook it in one of my fave Joni Mitchell songs "Carey", but with a song like this, just ick. I have no idea why you'd choose something like this for your RD. It's cringey.

Maybe there should be a list of all the 'cringey' lyrics heard in figure skating programs. I am sure it would be a long list.

I enjoyed LaLa's interesting FD. It's lovely. I couldn't stop thinking of the first skaters who used this Sound of Silence cover by Disturbed: James/Cipres fp, 2016 -2017 (brought back for second half of 2017 - 2018). It has been used across disciplines since then.

 

[IceDancingQueen]

Umm, first of all, Fear/Gibson do not have the best skating skills 'from the rest of the pack'. F/G are just a very entertaining team coached by a center with political pull. And F/G have veteran rep status. Also, when you say the Georgians are 'gaining traction', you must mean politically. Gleb does have very good skating skills, and Lewis Gibson does too, but their partners definitely do NOT.

If you read my post properly, I said in the “judges view” so that applied to the entirety of my post. Also I didn’t just single out F/G - I was talking about the top 5 teams and judges scoring.

It is possible to get your point across while being polite - I’ve noticed you can be very argumentative for no reason at all when you respond to posts you don’t agree with. You can still be nice and disagree.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

If you read my post properly, I said in the “judges view” so that applied to the entirety of my post. Also I didn’t just single out F/G - I was talking about the top 5 teams and judges scoring.

It is possible to get your point across while being polite - I’ve noticed you can be very argumentative for no reason at all when you respond to posts you don’t agree with. You can still be nice and disagree.

No harm intended. I am not being personal nor argumentative. I am honestly responding to what I see. I tend to be straightforward and blunt as a Sagittarian. But it's not personal. I am simply sharing how I see the events and the skating like everyone else. Since we aren't talking face-to-face, it's easy to mistake tone. I usually state what I have to say without sugarcoating, no matter who I am addressing.

Honestly, we are all speaking off-the-cuff. None of our comments are gonna be 100% accurate. If someone points out something inaccurate that I say, I'm fine with it and I will acknowledge my inaccuracies. I'm equally open to viewing things differently when someone makes an interesting or compelling case for another way of looking at performances and scoring beyond how I initially interpret. Again, for me, none of this should be taken personally. It's figure skating!

In regard to what you said, I went back to reread that entire passage. The phrasing is unclear. You group together a lot of teams and say that you think the judges view these teams as having "much better skating skills overall than the rest of the pack." That's a huge generalization. I disagree with your thinking that the judges view all of these teams that way. I think individual judges view individual teams in different ways, based on a number of factors.

I believe top teams are generally considered by the judges to have more experience, and thus, such teams are accorded more rep stature (with politics always an important factor in the scoring). As we have seen, more experienced teams often receive higher PCS (but that doesn't mean all judges see the top teams you listed as having 'the best skating skills overall than the rest of the pack').