The Dance GP Assignments | Golden Skate

The Dance GP Assignments

Joined
Jul 11, 2003
From the list now being shown for GP Dances, at the ISU website, my thinking:

Skate America: Since B&A will not be doing their glamorous movie number, I'm pretty sure they will be the leader here. The Zaretski's and F/S are very seasoned couples and will be among the top teams trying to beat out Davis and White and hopefully, a still much more improved Navarro/Bommentre.

Skate Canada: Denk/Stav should win this over Virtue/Moir and Greg/Pet, but who knows? Two to watch, for me: Carron/Jost and Cappellini/Lanotte, both very talented couples. Who are Zlobina/Setnikov?

Cup of China: Belbin/Agosto to walk away with this and on to the Finals. The siblings: The Kerrs over the Zaretskis. Domina/Shabalin will try to make up for last season's Igor with another opera, I presume.

Eric Bombpard someday I'll learn to spell that): Del/Sho in battle with Khokhlova/Novitski; Where, oh, where, will my 3 favorites here fit in? Carron/Jost? Cappellin/LaNotte? and Davis/White?

Cup of Russia: Will Dom/Shab be special here over Denk/Stav? Greg/Pet should get a bronze. Pechalat/Bourzat are due for a medal. Copley and Stgniunas were quite nice in Tokyo. Are Chait/Sakhnovski going to skate?

NHK: Del/Scho still in battle with Kho/Nov, but will Virtue/Moir pass them both? The Kerrs and Novarro/Bommentre

My Finals Picks (in no particular order): Denk/Stav; Bel/Ago; Dom/Shab; Del/Sho; Kho/Nov; Capp/Lano with - Davis/White; Virtue/Moir and Navarro/Bommentre standing by as upsets.

Joe
 
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chuckm

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 31, 2003
Country
United-States
From the list now being shown for GP Dances, at the ISU website, my thinking:

Skate Canada: Denk/Stav should win this over Virtue/Moir and Greg/Pet, but who knows? Two to watch, for me: Carron/Jost and Cappellini/Lanotte, both very talented couples. Who are Zlobina/Setnikov?

I wouldn't be shocked if Den/Sta withdrew from their GP events, leaving the gold medal to V/M. Zlobina/Sitnikov are Russian ice dancers who made it to the JGPF last season and finished 6th there. They weren't sent to Junior Worlds, though. They have aged out of juniors and this is their first senior event.

Cup of China: Belbin/Agosto to walk away with this and on to the Finals. The siblings: The Kerrs over the Zaretskis. Domina/Shabalin will try to make up for last season's Igor with another opera, I presume.

I think it's a mistake to assume B/A will walk over DomShabs. Even if B/A have a good, solid FD, victory here is not assured. Let's wait and see how many Russian judges are on the CoC panel. Last season, there were 3 Russian judges on the CoC panel (RUS, UZB and ARM) and DomShabs beat B/A.

Cup of Russia: Will Dom/Shab be special here over Denk/Stav? Greg/Pet should get a bronze. Pechalat/Bourzat are due for a medal. Copley and Stgniunas were quite nice in Tokyo. Are Chait/Sakhnovski going to skate?

IF DenSta show up, I do not believe DomShabs will beat them. But I tend to think Den/Sta will not show up.

NHK: Del/Scho still in battle with Kho/Nov, but will Virtue/Moir pass them both?

V/M have a ways to go before they will beat DelShoes. And again, depending on the number of Russian judges on the NHK panel, V/M may not be able to beat Khokh/Nov.

My Finals Picks (in no particular order): Denk/Stav; Bel/Ago; Dom/Shab; Del/Sho; Kho/Nov; Capp/Lano with - Davis/White; Virtue/Moir and Navarro/Bommentre standing by as upsets.

Joe

I think the finalists will be DomShabs, DelShoes, B/A, Greg/Pet, Khokh/Nov and V/M (assuming that DenSta don't compete). With DenSta in, then it will be DenSta, DelShoes, B/A, DomShabs, Khokh/Nov, and a tiebreaker between V/M and D/W.
 

Sandra_persch

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 8, 2006
Zlobina/Sitnikov are Russian ice dancers who made it to the JGPF last season and finished 6th there. They weren't sent to Junior Worlds, though. They have aged out of juniors and this is their first senior event.
I always love to see new skaters emerge in the senior events and I wish them all the best of luck

But I tend to think Den/Sta will not show up.
I tend to agree with you on that one. And I hope they will let the ISU know their decison soon. There are a lot of young pairs out their that deserve a chance and I really hope that the three german pairs Zhiganshina & Gaszi, Hermann & Hermann and Kolbe & Rabe will be considered when spots open up!
 

oleada

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 27, 2007
I think it's a mistake to assume B/A will walk over DomShabs. Even if B/A have a good, solid FD, victory here is not assured. Let's wait and see how many Russian judges are on the CoC panel. Last season, there were 3 Russian judges on the CoC panel (RUS, UZB and ARM) and DomShabs beat B/A.

Let's give credit when credit is due. Domnina and Shabalin won that competition because they skated better, period. They had a much better rhumba (their unison was fabulous, down to the head movements and their edges are deeper than Tanith and Ben's) and probably should have been higher, and while their free dance was not great, it was much, much better performed than "That's (not really) Entertainment".

My predictions for finalists are: DomShabs, DelSchoes, B/A, Davis/White, K/N and Virtue/Moir, with DenStas retiring from their events. Good politicking by Canada and Russia by inviting D/S (BUL) to their events. If they withdraw, V/M especially should win easily.
 

Kypma

Final Flight
Joined
May 12, 2007
a tiebreaker between V/M and D/W.

Um... I have a tendancy to place Virtue & Moir ahead of Davis &White, based on previous results. Yes, skaters can improve drastically during the off season, but when you compare results, Virtue & Moir pretty much always end up ahead:
Worlds 07: V&M - 6 D&W - 7
4 Continents 07: V&M - 3 D&W - 4
Skate Canada 06: V&M - 2 D&W - 4
Jr Worlds 06: V&M - 1 D&W - 3
JGPF 05: V&M - 1 D&W - 2
JGP Andorra05: V&M - 1 D&W - 2

So yeah... sorry if numbers bother you, I just figure this kind of explained my point of view better than my words would.
I'm hoping these two teams will continue skating for a long time, they're similar in some ways (both paired since late 1997, skating with Igor and Marina...) but I think their skating styles differ.

Kypma
 

discoduck

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 3, 2006
As much as I would love to see Den/Stas back this season, I am not holding my breath. I really don't think they'll be back and I hope we hear something definitive from them soon.

Dance this season is going to be quite interesting I think. There is no clear cut favorite and I'm curious to see what comes of all this. I don't think B & A will dominate by any means, I believe that they will be passed by DelShoes and DomShabs.
 

Tinymavy15

Sinnerman for the win
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 28, 2006
i hope that Davis and White will skate as well as they did at worlds and nationals and get a medal. I really love these up and comers...
 

chuckm

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 31, 2003
Country
United-States
As much as I would love to see Den/Stas back this season, I am not holding my breath. I really don't think they'll be back and I hope we hear something definitive from them soon.

Dance this season is going to be quite interesting I think. There is no clear cut favorite and I'm curious to see what comes of all this. I don't think B & A will dominate by any means, I believe that they will be passed by DelShoes and DomShabs.

DomShabs may beat B/A at Cup of China, but not by much. Last season, with their horrid "That's Entertainment", the CoC competition between the two teams was very close, not nearly as much a difference as Oleada suggested:

DomShabs barely edged B/A by 0.11 in the Rumba, B/A beat DomShabs in the Tango OD by 0.48 points, and the FD was the decider. Even there, DomShabs won the FD by only 1.63 points---and that was with three Russian judges (RUS, UZB, ARM) on the panel!

Incidentally, the only team who beat B/A in the OD last season was DenSta, at Worlds, and only by 0.25 points.

B/A were ill-prepared last season because of the long post-Olympic touring season. Do not expect B/A to be walked over by anyone this season!
 

oleada

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 27, 2007
IIRC, they had a deduction for an extended lift in the FD and I believe Domnina might've messed up the circular footwork.

discoduck, I totally agree with your post.:thumbsup:
 

npa

Match Penalty
Joined
Nov 17, 2006
I think, that in final we will see - Del-Shol, Dom-Shab, Belbin-Agosto, Virtue-Moir, Khohlova-Novitski or Davice-Wight. Its if Denkova=Staviski will not compete. If they will - i think, mayby Virtue-Moir or Khohlova-Novitski will out.
 

discoduck

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 3, 2006
Well everyone else had an Olympic season too so I wouldn't say that B & A were just ill prepared. I think they had a stinker of a FD with That's So Not Entertainment and while Amelie was better it still wasn't all that and a bag of chips. I was shocked that they won the bronze in Tokyo with the performance that they had to be honest. While I'm at it, I'd like to go on record as saying that while I do love DelShoes, I wasn't all that crazy about Bonnie and Clyde although they did a good job with it.

As for the Russian judges on the panel, I thought the Cup O Soup..er Code O Points..system was supposed to do away with national bias. ;)
 

chuckm

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 31, 2003
Country
United-States
After the Olympic season, the COI tour lasted from April to mid-August in the US and then went on to Japan through the end of August. In non-Olympic seasons, the tour ends in early June.

There was very little time for B/A and other members of the US team who participated in the tour to prepare and practice new programs. Lysacek didn't even bother doing a new FS but stuck with his old one.

ALL of the US team members who participated in the tour had disappointing seasons last year: B/A had a lousy FD, Lysacek and Meissner dropped off the podium at Worlds, Weir dropped to eighth, and I/B dropped from 4th at 2006 Worlds to 8th at 2007 Worlds.

Some of the judges who are still judging have been suspended in the past for cheating. CoP now makes it possible for judges to cheat and get away with it, because the identities of the judges are protected. If you think CoP has changed the attitudes and biases of the judges, you are living in Egypt.
 

Sylvia

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 25, 2003
Not a legitimate "excuse" for Meissner since she only did a few early COI tour dates last year (did Inoue/Baldwin skate the whole tour?), but she doesn't need an excuse because the ladies' competition was much tougher this past season.

Back on topic... here's a list of the dance teams making their Senior Grand Prix debuts this fall:
Bobrova/Soloviev RUS - 3rd in JGPF, 1st at Jr. Worlds - still age-eligible for '08 Jr. Worlds
Weaver/Poje CAN - 3rd at Jr. Worlds, 20th at Worlds - still age-eligible for '08 Jr. Worlds
Brouiller/Richaud FRA - 7th at JGPF & Jr. Worlds
Kriengkrairut/Giulietti-Schmitt USA - 3rd in Jr. at Nats, 11th at Jr. Worlds
Zlobina/Sitnikov RUS - 6th at JGPF
Blanc/Bouquet FRA - 2 JGP (6th & 10th) - still age-eligible for '08 Jr. Worlds
Reed/Reed JPN - 7th at 4 Continents
Guojia/Meng CHN (new?)
Liu/Suo CHN (new?)
 
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chuckm

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 31, 2003
Country
United-States
Meimei Guojia is the new dance partner for Fei Meng. He used to be paired with Jiayue Wang. Wang/Meng were 12th at 2005 4CC, and last competed at the GP in 2004, finishing 12th at Skate Canada.
 

slutskayafan21

Match Penalty
Joined
Mar 28, 2005
ALL of the US team members who participated in the tour had disappointing seasons last year: B/A had a lousy FD, Lysacek and Meissner dropped off the podium at Worlds, Weir dropped to eighth, and I/B dropped from 4th at 2006 Worlds to 8th at 2007 Worlds.

Meissner dropping from 1st to 4th isnt that surprising considering Asada and Kim were both added to the mix, and neither were there last year. That already makes a huge difference going from last year to this year.

Likewise it is to be expected the standings of Lysacek and Weir will suffer due to the improvements of skaters like Joubert, Takahashi, and Verner; as happened to others as well. As a result you saw Lambiel drop from 1st to 3rd at Worlds, Oda drop from 4th to 7th, Lysacek drop from 3rd to 5th, and Weir drop from 7th to 8th.
 

discoduck

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 3, 2006
If you think CoP has changed the attitudes and biases of the judges, you are living in Egypt.

While some might argue that Tennessee is akin to Egypt, I am not that naive. I was being sarcastic hence the wink. I don't think Code O Points has changed anything nor will it. I also think it's a total travesty that Yuri Balkov is still allowed to judge dance competitions.

The fact that I/B dropped from 4th to 8th at Worlds has a lot to do with the fact that they did not skate well in Tokyo.
 

chuckm

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 31, 2003
Country
United-States
I/B hadn't been skating well from the GPF on, and part of the reason was they were seriously overtired and their timing was shot to heck.
 

slutskayafan21

Match Penalty
Joined
Mar 28, 2005
Assuming Denkova/Staviski fulfill their GP assignments and skate this season, I think it will definitely be a real battle between them, Belbin/Agosto, and Domnina/Shabalin. Domnina/Shabalin did not have the kind of political dance panel they are more used to at Worlds. However they will improve and see more help on the panel in future events. Belbin/Agosto had a bit of a rough year last year and still medaled at Worlds. They will probably be even tougher opposition this year. The Bulgarians of course are the frontrunning team should they choose to stay. However I think all 3 will be very close this season, and it could be quite a battle.

I see the French sliding futher behind all 3 teams. I dont remember the last time they beat Belbin/Agosto, and they couldnt do it in two attempts last year with Belbin/Agosto in a more vurnerable state. Worlds may well be the last time they ever beat Domnina/Shabalin as well.

It will be interesting to see if Moir/Virtue or Davis/White can move up. I dont think it will be easy considering the team just in front of them is Domnina/Shabalin who themselves are likely to move up.
 

discoduck

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 3, 2006
I would love to see Davis/White move up. I really enjoy their skating and I'm looking forward to seeing what they do this season. I do agree that it isn't going to be easy for them though.
 

doyunpark

Spectator
Joined
Nov 2, 2006
I agree! I too am a die-hard fan of Meryl and Charlie, and can't wait to see them again this season. I just love their boundless energy and youth, and I expect them to be in plenty of tie-breakers with Virtue & Moir. It's quite exciting to see both teams one after the other because they have such different styles, but I must say that even though Virtue and Moir seem to be more popular I can't help but lean toward Meryl and Charlie for their energetic style. I just hope they improve on their chemistry a bit more, but I think they've got plenty of that already from what I've seen of their "Beyond the Sea" exht. number.
 
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