All Things Ice Dance: Canadian

[chuckm]

Quebec is August 9-12.

Participants to date:

http://www.patinage.qc.ca/userfiles/file/Competitions/20120622_Liste_Participants.pdf

 

[Dragonlady]

It seems to me at least some good stills came out of the show last year..( if, if , I don't have it confused with something else )

Show aside , " Thornhill , the competition " should be very interesting , if everyone goes who has said they will.

If you have access to the judges' side, that side of the rink has clear site lines and no mesh. But that area is restricted to staff and the guy taking the authorized video at the competition. The seating is on the other side of the rink.

Last year this gala was on the same night as the Mariposa Gala and we opted for Mariposa. It was just plain stupid to have this show the same night as the Mariposa Gala and I'm glad to see they picked a different night this year.

 

[colleen o'neill]

OK..I'm going to be the first to say this ( don't faint ! )

Since R/H are going the Can-Can route with their SD ( Offenbach is always rousing) .. then they simply must costume Asher as "Chocolat". ( If you think this is at odds with some things I said before..then you didn't understand the point I was trying to make , or I didn't explain myself fully. )

Anyway , I think it could be really excellent for them ( always depending on the choreography , of course ).

 

[blue dog]

OK..I'm going to be the first to say this ( don't faint ! )

Since R/H are going the Can-Can route with their SD ( Offenbach is always rousing) .. then they simply must costume Asher as "Chocolat". ( If you think this is at odds with some things I said before..then you didn't understand the point I was trying to make , or I didn't explain myself fully. )

Anyway , I think it could be really excellent for them ( always depending on the choreography , of course ).

I was thinking the same thing--especially since the Can Can Can is straight out of Moulin Rouge soundtrack, and, well...

Maybe Carol Lane will surprise us and have Asher Hill portray someone else.

 

[colleen o'neill]

No , no..this is not the time to hold back ..he's a historical character ivolved in the scene at the height of the dance's popularity .I think (If the costumes are good ) he and Kharis would look perfect.

 

[slipslidin]

There have been two wonderful programs from that school in the past few years, C/P's Yo Yo Ma number, and R/H's tango from last year, both of them fresh, inventive and delightful. My fingers are crossed for this short dance. Please, skate gods, let this one measure up.

 

[colleen o'neill]

blue dog .. well I don't want Asher to have skates on his knees portraying Toulouse Lautrec. ( I know some say the YP works better for shorter skaters , but that would be ridiculous.)

I just think they could look like they stepped off one of Lautrec's posters. They'd have to be very careful not to get too many frills on Kharis, or too many feathers in her hair ...but she'd look good with a real upsweep do a la the era.... absolutely NO to a ribbon around her neck.Just a tiny bit of chemise showing above the corset..not too full for the petticoat ,she could get lost in it... not too many ruffles and a very soft fabric that won't stand out too stiffly ... oh , and not too authentic in the (lack of ) bloomers dept. ( But that's illegal now , anyway.)

It could be memorable.

ETA: Um.. this might as well be a full wish list..his costume should be sort of ice cream , not dead white..and I'd like either lavender or rose for Kharis ( like in a 19th C. garden ).. c'est finis.

 

[Dragonlady]

In 2010, Ralph & Hill did an African Gum Boot Dance for their OD and it was one of my favourite OD's of the year.

The Lanes have really built an amazing program at Scarborough and they've had really good success with their "home grown" teams.

 

[colleen o'neill]

I'd like to see all our teams do well.

I must say I'm pretty lukewarm about both Mary Poppins and Sound of Music , but you never know ..both W/P and G/P have good choreographers...

This SD for R/H sounds promising , P/I's music choice for their FD sounds promising.. now I'd like to hear something of O/W's programs...please ?

Of course I'm dying to hear of V/M's programs but they're usually kept under wraps much longer , so I can live with it.

 

[blue dog]

It may seem strange, Colleen, but where I can see Kharis and Asher succeeding is in the style of modern dance. I can see them translating an Alvin Ailey piece (yes, an African American dance company) onto the ice.

 

[ice coverage]

Can't find the thread that last month discussed Skate Canada's delay in single-event ticket sales for 2013 Worlds in London (after ISU announced elimination of preliminaries).
In any case, Skate Canada has a new post today promoting Worlds in London, with a nice photo of Virtue/Moir. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...set=a.476247807038.268203.129815677038&type=1

According to a series of new SC tweets today, the photo is from last year's High Performance Camp [although the photo was unfamiliar to me].
And this year's High Performance Camp will be the second weekend in September in Mississauga.

[At least so far today, SC has given no update regarding single-event ticket sales ...]

 

[slipslidin]

I know you weren't talking to me, blue dog, but I feel R&H lack the rigor and precision, at present, for modern dance.Maybe some day.

The magic of the gumboot dance escaped me, and with two exceptions the rest of the choreography from that school seems run of the mill.

 

[colleen o'neill]

blue dog.. It's not strange ..and I agree that style of dance could look good on them .

To illustrate the main thrust of my earlier point : Suppose Patrick Chan , since his transition to seniors, used first , the soundtrack from Crouching Tiger , Hidden Dragon ... The next year , he wears a similar costume, but it's a " different " program .. the soundtrack to House of Flying Daggers ..the following year , his SP is jazzy .. a rendition of Chinatown .. next up, a classical FP to selections from the Nutcracker featuring The Chinese Dance..then he moves on to Butterfly Lovers , and maybe an Ex. to an American standard, sung in Chinese, or played on Chinese instruments..

Someone who just watches occasionally , and might only catch one or two of these might never notice anything , but someone who watches a lot , might begin to find him predictable , if not fixated , and consequently not give his skating the attention it deserves.

To illustrate my objection to the "Summertime" costumes ( particularly the shirtless Ex. with her still in dressy mode) , imagine Patrick skating one of these programs with a huge opium poppy on his shirt..it might not register with some , but it certainly would with others, and would not be necessary to the program.

That's all . I only ever raised the topic because I thought it could be detrimental to them in the long run.

Anyway , I like the idea of their SD if I read the hints right . hope they do it up right, and will be interested to see what their FD will be.

ETA: I can see slipslidin's point about rigor and precision.

 

[blue dog]

I know you weren't talking to me, blue dog, but I feel R&H lack the rigor and precision, at present, for modern dance.Maybe some day.

The magic of the gumboot dance escaped me, and with two exceptions the rest of the choreography from that school seems run of the mill.

The magic of the gumboot dance didn't touch me, either.

I think you're right; perhaps one day. Hopefully soon!

Colleen, the summertime costumes kind of offended me. I know it would have been worse had they chosen to play Porgy and Bess from the storyline (even Gershwin drew flack for his portrayal of blacks), but what I saw in the costumes were-- rich white woman, poor black male.

 

[slipslidin]

Heavens Colleen, You can imagine Patrick with a new program every year?!

 

[blue dog]

Heavens Colleen, You can imagine Patrick with a new program every year?!

Maybe Patrice will show us his Asian side during the Olympic games!

I've actually wondered what he'd look like, interpreting the Indochine soundtrack.

Back to the original topic-- I think the reason, besides their look, to their programs being slightly afro-centric, is that Asher IS the stronger partner.

 

[colleen o'neill]

slipslidin..you'll note that I only mentioned one program per year in my example

blue dog .. me , too. I don't know if even the opium poppy illustration is it's equal for offensive connotations. I hope Asher will be very judicious about removing his shirt in future.

 

[Violet Bliss]

Heavens Colleen, You can imagine Patrick with a new program every year?!

Well, Patrick did one new LP and four new show programs this past year. Now that he is healthy and has a regular summer, he is bringing two new competitive programs for the new season.

As to typecasting, Stojko was doing plenty of Kungfu and action heroes programs, plus Elvis and other R&R music for his show programs. And nobody ever minds Caucasian Westerners consistently performing Caucasian Western roles.

 

[slipslidin]

Old canadian joke; Patrick Chan walks into a bar.....

Many of us think it would be sheer folly, for a skater to limit himself to themes portraying his ethnic heritage, especially when he has a partner who doesn't share his background. It is a matter of practicality as well as taste.

 

[Violet Bliss]

Old canadian joke; Patrick Chan walks into a bar.....

Can't be that old a joke, as neither Patrick nor Canada is considered old in any way.

Many of us think it would be sheer folly, for a skater to limit himself to themes portraying his ethnic heritage,

Like I said,

And nobody ever minds Caucasian Westerners consistently performing Caucasian Western roles.

And Caucasian is the definitely a minority/ethnic race in this world.