2025 CS Nepela Memorial Free Dance

[elektra blue]

I was skeptical, especially with the costumes from last year, but that had a lot of new, cool moves and their commitment really stands out compared to, e.g., Ponomarenko today (not sorry, but I am just not his fan at all). I give Dune 2 a thumbs up and tip my snood to them.

the comparison is unfair, Ponomarenko isn't the most charismatic man out there...

 

[jgg220]

After Cappellini and Lanotte did the same FD six years in a row, Gilles and Poirier's ballad phase (and they are my favorite current team), and Fear/Gibson's entire career except for today, I can take Dune 2. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it's clearly better than Missing 2 (and that was one of my favorite teams of all time, despite their various weaknesses).

 

[jgg220]

the comparison is unfair, Ponomarenko isn't the most charismatic man out there...

To be fair, he has all the charisma of a mid-career Kexin Zhang.

Another good one from the Taschlers! I could (and usually do) nitpick but this group brought it for September! Can't wait to see some/most of these in person later on.

 

[labgoat]

Well I can't wait to hear how Taschlerova/Tashler do

 

[elektra blue]

i hope you find a stream for cacti, my emotional health needs all the support it can get

 

[skatemd1]

Liked the Dune 2 program, glad to see all four of the top teams bring it in the free dance. Looking forward to watching them all the rest of the season.

 

[labgoat]

i hope you find a stream for cacti, my emotional health needs all the support it can get

I think we will, just maybe in a few hours. If my math is correct - I think I got 40 in dance? I did get Olivia & Tim right. I am getting the 4/5 skaters in the final five - but they end up in such a way that I get very little points. Not sure where I need to correct.

 

[slider11]

What strange scoring. Is it that these judges are just much more stringent than others? Or is this group overall just not top material? 118 free dance score is hardly reason to celebrate but I guess a win, is a win.

 

[Andrea82]

Identical PCS for the two French teams. Only one judge (the French one) tied them though.

 

[yelyoh]

Those scores for Olivia and Tim, Caro and Michael in the RD had me concerned. They righted the ship in the FD and I'm loving the scores. Wish I could have seen them.

 

[TontoK]

the comparison is unfair, Ponomarenko isn't the most charismatic man out there...

See this is a case of different strokes for different folks.

I really like CPom. And I like his style especially for a male partner. Strong. solid, masculine - these things bring their own brand of panache.

On the other hand, F/G have left me feeling blah about them for a couple of seasons, and after the RD, I still do, although to be fair I haven't seen this Scottish FD. Maybe I'll warm up after that.

In Anthony's defense (and absolutely throwing shade at someone else - I admit it) skating like you're auditioning to be a back-up dancer for a Christina Aguilera world tour does not make you charismatic.

Edit: I'm not even sure I'm in the right thread. They all seem to have merged.

 

[elektra blue]

See this is a case of different strokes for different folks.

I really like CPom. And I like his style especially for a male partner. Strong. solid, masculine - these things bring their own brand of panache.

On the other hand, F/G have left me feeling blah about them for a couple of seasons, and after the RD, I still do, although to be fair I haven't seen this Scottish FD. Maybe I'll warm up after that.

In Anthony's defense (and absolutely throwing shade at someone else - I admit it) skating like you're auditioning to be a back-up dancer for a Christina Aguilera world tour does not make you charismatic.

Edit: I'm not even sure I'm in the right thread. They all seem to have merged.

i actually like them, well it depends on the program, i loved their cheeky Carmen, but you will admit that it fades in the background

 

[TontoK]

i actually like them, well it depends on the program, i loved their cheeky Carmen, but you will admit that it fades in the background

We'll see how things pan out. But, honestly, the scoring at these two events this weekend has been so odd, I'm not even sure where things stand. The levels... either those tech panels are having really bad days, or the skaters are just making a lot of errors that aren't visible to my amateur eye.

 

[slider11]

Just watched Green/Parsons FD. I really like a lot of their original and well performed moves. I also really like the costumes. The music will need to grow on me- maybe loose the vocals and just leave the moody instrumental. Not memorable music for an Olympic year. I'm not saying bring back "Gershwin" but the music selection is not engaging.

 

[lauravvv]

What strange scoring. Is it that these judges are just much more stringent than others? Or is this group overall just not top material? 118 free dance score is hardly reason to celebrate but I guess a win, is a win.

I guess the former is true, but the scoring at Nebelhorn was not that generous either. 118 for Smart/Dieck's first FD outing is good, considering that Lopareva/Brissaud got 111 at this same competition, the silver team - Green/Parsons - got 112, the Taschlers and Demougeot/Le Mercier got 110, and Carreira/Ponomarenko got 116 at Nebelhorn (not to mention Fear/Gibson's 78 for their RD there).

 

[cocteautwin]

Catching up ice dance. Some impressions: I really liked Green/Parsons, their performance was a bit rough here and there but the program is already working for me. It's creative, captivating and choreo kind of makes sense. I even like their choreo sequence (most times I hate this element). Can't wait to see this again when it's more polished.
Lopareva/Brissaud - I'm a long-time Bjork fan but I don't get the feeling from this program that they are. The music cuts are crime. It's risky to choose a music from such a charismatic individual if you cannot 100% vibe with it. Not working for me at the moment.