Senior OD-Please post all comments and PBP here

Please use this thread to discuss the OD, and for any live PBP comments!

Overall, Elvin Walker has written a preview of all the Senior Grand Prix events for Golden Skate:
http://goldenskate.com/articles/2008/gpf_preview.shtml
And there is a thread discussing his predictions:

Yes, once again the ISU has chosen to transport us back in time to the rhythms of the 20's, 30's and 40's in the Senior Original Dance.

From Communications 1522, Page 4, here is the rule to which these dances must conform:

Rhythms and Dances of the 1920’s, 1930’s or 1940’s
Any one or two rhythms/dances originated in the 1920’s or 1930’s or 1940’s may be chosen (except Tango). If two rhythms are used one of them may be repeated (each rhythm may be from the different decades mentioned above). The program should reflect the original flavor and style of the decades mentioned above and NOT performed as a Ballroom Dance.

For general information concerning the rhythms (dances) which belong to the above mentioned decades please refer to the “Ice Dance Music Rhythms Booklet and Compact Disc 1995”.

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Unfortunately, the rules are not as clear as one would like, and as a result, some of the dances you will see are not quite what you might have expected.

I am assuming that the competitors will be skating in the reverse order of their qualification placings:

First up:

6 Tanith BELBIN / Benjamin AGOSTO USA

Program: Stepping Out by John Kander and Fred Ebb
Rhythm: Tap Dance
Coach and Choreographer: Natalia Linichuk and Gennadi Karponosov
They did not perform this dance outside of the GP, so there is no video clip.

At first, Tanith and Ben's choice of music seems rather strange. It is taken from the 1991 Liza Minelli movie, "Stepping Out." The music occurs in the scene below, where Liza's character is watching herself in the mirror and dancing in tap dance style but without tap shoes:

Liza Minelli Stepping Out (very softshoe)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C08HMbMrm8c

However, the Liza Minelli movie itself is referential to the following scene from the 1948 Oscar-winning movie, "Easter Parade", starring Fred Astaire and Liza'sr mother, Judy Garland. It was directed by her father, Vincente Minelli. And in another reference, it is about the Ziegfield Follies:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNWZZsUOwaU
Stepping Out from Easter Parade (Astaire) Slow Tap (Irving Berlin)

Do watch the Astaire clip. There is a classic scene where Fred is dancing in slow motion in front of the rest of the company dancing at normal speed.

Given Tanith's outfit, with the white floral dress with the beret, I think we should perhaps picture this dance as being set in the late 1940's of Easter Parade. We should also remember that not all the tap dances of that era were fast taps, and some were soft shoe.

Tanith and Ben skated this quite well in both competitions, but did not have the high levels for the five elements. And I think the choice of program did not serve them that well either. I hope they will have used the weeks since Cup of China to improve this program.

Their best previous performance of the program was at Cup of China:

Cup of China

Biggest Judges' Highlight the dance spin (second element)

Base 25.30 TES 28.90 PCS 29.18 Total 58.08

1 STw3 4.00 0.60
2 Sp4 4.70 0.60
3 CiSt3 7.20 1.00
4 MiStNt2 5.40 1.00 (called level 3 at Skate America)
5 RoLi4 4.00 0.40
6 Li+TRANS 0.00

Next up:

5 Meryl DAVIS / Charlie WHITE USA
Coach and Choreographer: Igor Shpilband and Marina Zoueva
Program: Charleston: Happy Feet by Jack Yellen and Milton Ager
Rhythm: Charleston
They did not perform this dance outside of the GP, so there is no video clip.

There is no problem identifying what this OD is about. It's about the number one dance craze of the 1920's, the Charleston, a dance so iconic of the era that the term for 1920's girls was "flappers" in reference to the flapping arms used in the dance. The Charleston is a dance of great energy with back and forth twisting motions of the feet, high kicks, and high spirited high jinks. The hands are often held at right angles to the arms. The costumes are reasonably in character as well, and they appear to be a slightly tipsy couple out for a night of dancing.

The song was performed in the 1930 movie "King of Jazz" :
Al Rubber Legs Norman, plus a chorus line perform "Happy Feet"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuu0nmK_1S8&feature=related
Rhythm Boys and Paul Whiteman's Band-we are surprised when Paul proves to be quite the dancer as well as band leader.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1w1P1VK9jGs

If you'd like to watch some vintage Charleston to compare with Meryl and Charlie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSFzLfgKKLI&feature=related


Of course, their performance at Cup of Russia was a complete meltdown, so their best performance was at Skate Canada:

Judges' highlight, synchronized twizzles, element 1
Base 26.80 TES 29.10 PCS 27.26 Total 56.36
1 STw4 4.70 0.80
2 DiSt3 7.20 1.20
3 Sp4 4.70 0.50
4 MiStNt3 6.20 -0.40
5 SlLi4 4.00 0.20
6 Li+TRANS
Charlie tripped in the midline sequence (element 4).

Meryl and Charlie's biggest problem with this dance is that it's a dance marathon, requiring them to perform without any resting point in the dance. If there is an error, there is also nowhere to regroup.

Third up:
4 Jana KHOKHLOVA / Sergei NOVITSKI RUS

Coach and Choreographer: Alexander Svinin, Irina Zhuk
Program: Sam's Blues by Sam Taylor & Puttin' On the Ritz
Rhythms: Blues and Swing
There are videos of their programs on their official website, (OD is second down), if you have not seen it:
http://khokhlova-novitski.com/index/0-26

Sam Taylor was a famous blues man, well known for his rendition of Harlem Nocturne. He was a highly sought out saxophone session man in the 1950's.
http://www.amazon.com/Sams-Blues/dp/B000V6NQQS

Puttin on the Ritz was written in 1929 by Irving Berlin. It was introduced in the 1930 movie of the same name, starring Harry Richman. The original lyrics from that film

^ Mueller, p.267: "In the original version it told of the ritzy airs of Harlemites parading up and down Lenox Avenue. For the 1946 film, the strutters became well-to-do whites on Park Avenue. The patronizing, yet admiring satire of the song is shifted, then, and mellowed in the process. The change may have had to do with changing attitudes towards race and with Hollywood's dawning wariness about offending blacks."

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There are 3 fairly famous versions, but none of them is swing-they're all chorus line numbers, mostly with some form of tap:
Here's Harry Richman:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQxLMWhb_Ww
And Clark Gable (I didn't know he'd been in a movie version with Puttin on the Ritz)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ij22kyvf2ps&feature=related
And Fred Astaire with the changed lyrics:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFabjc6mFk4&feature=related

So given that Jana and Sergei have led in with a blues, this appears to be a dance from Harlem.

Unfortunately, for many people, the image of Puttin on the Ritz is the 1946 Astaire film, with a chorus line of tap dancing, top hat and cane bearing Astaire clones, which makes one wonder what swing has to do with it. In 1930, swing hadn't really come in, either, so for me the concept doesn't gel. I particularly have a problem with Jana's costume. Sergei's extravagant suit would fit in 1940's Harlem, but I have no idea what era the lettuce colored tutu is supposed to suggest.

Their best performance (and the highest score OD of the season) was at Cup of Russia.

Judges feel the biggest highlight is the initial spin.

Base Value 26.80 TES 31.00 PCS 28.33 Total 59.33
1 Sp4 4.70 0.70
2 STw4 4.70 0.50
3 SlLi4 4.00 0.80
4 MiStNt3 6.20 1.40
5 DiSt3 7.20 0.80
6 Li+TRANS

At COC they were 4th, due to a trip on the twizzles.

Next up:
3 Federica FAIELLA / Massimo SCALI ITA
Coach: Pasquale Camerlengo, Anjelika Krylova, P. Mezzadri
Choreographer: L. Vlasova, C. Giordani, B. Melica
OD: Follow the Fleet; Let's Face the Music and Dance; Let Yourself Go
Rhythms: Tap Dance, Slow Foxtrot, Tap Dance

2008 First Italian Test Skate OD Follow the Fleet Tap Dance/Slow Foxtrot/Tap Dance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcIj8qgED0A

This program is a recreation of the 1936 Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musical, "Follow the Fleet". Federica's costume is a copy of Ginger's stage costume in the movie poster. In the movie, Ginger plays a singer and dancer. Fred is her former dance partner who has enlisted in the Navy. Unfortunately, there are pitfalls in choosing this movie:

The "Let Yourself Go" number is repeated in the movie. In the first instance, Fred and Ginger are competing in a dance contest:
Tap dance with Fred in the dance contest
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j-N8H1mvZo

The movements should be loose and non-balletic to carry out the "let yourself go" theme. And there is another pitfall: a skater should avoid extreme facial expressions to avoid recalling the famous hiccup scene, also a rendition of "let yourself go":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFd9aWnEjyM&feature=related

The slow foxtrot section is from the mini drama "Let's Face the Music" of joint suicide and resolve from the show that Fred and Ginger put on in the movie. Somehow the pants and sailor suit costumes don't really work with this part of the music. I think they should have used a version of the music without lyrics for this part. If you watch the Fred and Ginger scene, don't miss her dress. It does some of the most amazing moves in the show. It weighed some 25 pounds and Fred gets hit in the eye with it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMuKRbJa3O8

The same music was used by Torvill and Dean in the 1994 season.


Best performance of their OD was at TEB (but of this group of six teams, their OD had the lowest best score of all):
Base 26.10 TES 27.90 PCS 27.89 Total 55.79

Judges’ highlight, element 3 rotational lift (but not overwhelmingly so. Hardly a 2 in the whole routine.

1 Sp4 4.70 0.20
2 MiStNt3 6.20 0.20
3 RoLi4 4.00 0.50
4 STw3 4.00 0.10
5 DiSt3 7.20 0.80
6 Li+TRANS 0.00

She fell down at NHK on a non element. Plus they had lower levels throughout.

Fifth to skate:
2 Oksana DOMNINA / Maxim SHABALIN RUS

Coach and Choreographer: Natalia Linichuk & Gennadi Karponosov
OD: Waltz from Suite No. 2 for Jazz Orchestra by Dmitri Shostakovitch
Rhythm: Waltz

This is a case of the teams rather stretching the intent of the rules. However, people did waltz in the 1920's, 1930's and 1940's. The music they have chosen is Shostakovich Jazz Waltz #2 (from the Jazz Suite, written 1938)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYhZVqODYsI

Oksana and Maxim are portraying a version of the Lady and the Hooligan story.

The original is from a 1918 Russian film:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JI0eVsi-Dmo&feature=related
1918 silent film version of the play

Later, in 1962, it was presented as a ballet, also with Music by Shostakovich::
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPDSe_Us7mo
(note the dress of hooligan)

Oksana's costume appears to be inspired by Sonia Henie's 1930's skating costumes:
Sonia Henie image (1930's)
http://www.nordpol.nu/image/sonia-henie-72dpi.gif
http://www.rainews24.it/ran24/speciali/saltlakecity/foto/henie_sonja.jpg

And if you wondered what a jazz waltz would look like, here's Fred and Ginger doing one:

Fred and Ginger Waltz in Swing Time 1936
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1OzenVli6U

Fred & Ginger waltz as the Castles (1939)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ba6JrwwrIfo&feature=related

And 1940 Russian waltz, too:

Moszkowski waltz 1940 archival footage Pyotr Gusev, Olga Lepeshinskaya
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REKu3XahS2E

Maxim & Oksana's highest scoring performance was at Cup of Russia. The judges' biggest highlight: the final straight line lift

Base 25.30 TES 29.10 PCS 29.54 Total 58.64
1 MiStNt3 6.20 1.40
2 Sp4 4.70 0.50
3 STw3 4.00 0.50
4 CiSt2 6.40 0.40
5 SlLi4 4.00 1.00

They won the OD at CoC with a somewhat lower score.

1 Isabelle DELOBEL / Olivier SCHOENFELDER FRA

Coach and Choreographer: Muriel Zazoui, Romain Haguenauer
OD: The Andrews Sisters: Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy / Appleblossom Time/ Show Me the Way to Go Home / Show Me How to Smile (Boompsadaisy) /
Rhythms: Boogie, Slow Swing, Boogie

Their program from Masters de Patinage can be seen on youtube:
Delobel / Schoenfelder OD http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=GQVbssR-bxQ

Much of the music for this OD is taken from the Abbott and Costello farce, "Buck Privates"
The Andrews Sisters play themselves singing Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wiVkdVPGoY
And Appleblossom Time
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MN33qSuTJI

Boompsadaisy is possibly part of the When I'm happy, when I'm happy, singing all the while, I don't need nobody else to show me how to smile. The original was a 1940's era stage skit involving people banging their rear ends together.

Hands Knees Boomps a daisy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbjmRQieme4

http://www.discogs.com/release/1303014

Needless to say, farce and broad comedy were very common in the 1940's, and Isabelle and Olivier have taken advantage of that in this routine. I think it should be viewed as a vaudeville skit on ice. The cue for that is Isabelle's costume. No nurse except in a skit would be wearing shorts in the 1940's.

For those wondering how dancing to boogie woogie should differ from Swing/Lindy Hop, this song and dance from the same movie demonstrates both:

Andrews Sisters "Bounce Me Brother With a Solid Four"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI1n-EfqYe0&translated=1

There are perhaps one too many music cuts in this OD, for my taste.

Their best performance of this OD was at Skate America:

Judges' highlight the straight line lift (element 2)

Base 25.10 TES 28.60 PCS 29.66 Total 58.26

1 MiStNt3 6.20 1.40
2 SlLi4 4.00 1.00
3 CiSt3 7.20 1.20
4 Sp4 4.70 0.60 1
5 STw1 3.00 -0.70

Note they won this segment, even blowing the twizzles
Disaster in France. They blew the twizzle again (lev1) and the spin as well (also lev1)

Excellent preview, Doris

dorispulaski said:

However, the Liza Minelli movie itself is referential to the following scene from the 1948 Oscar-winning movie, "Easter Parade", starring Fred Astaire and Liza'sr mother, Judy Garland......
Given Tanith's outfit, with the white floral dress with the beret, I think we should perhaps picture this dance as being set in the late 1940's of Easter Parade.

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Wow- if that's the connection, that's a biiiiiiig ole stretch.

Nice preview to get us excited about the GPF dance.

Well, strictly speaking the competitors are allowed to use music written and performed more recently that represents a dance rhythm that arose in the 1920's, 1930's or 1940's. So in that sense, I suppose Stepping Out applies. The same could be said of K&N's Sam's Blues, which has a similar disconnect.

But I have to say, I'm not very convinced that 3 of the 6 teams competiting here have a program that fits in the ISU guidelines all that well. I put that at the feet of the ISU who wrote a description so squishy and ill phrased that almost anything could be covered by it.

dorispulaski said:

Well, strictly speaking the competitors are allowed to use music written and performed more recently that represents a dance rhythm that arose in the 1920's, 1930's or 1940's. So in that sense, I suppose Stepping Out applies. The same could be said of K&N's Sam's Blues, which has a similar disconnect.

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Sorry Doris - I just can't buy a Waltz or even the Waltz tempo written in the 20s, 30s, and 40s. It just doesn't carry those eras as I understand the nature of the competition. With American musicals using waltz themes during that period, it should have been known it was permissble. I would have loved to have seen a waltz routine of Porter's "So In Love" - or was that a Beguine?

bump-I want these near the top of the page so people will use them.

Well this event will be the first to go to kick off the Senior GPF at 12/11/08 4:00 am EST.

Here is the start order:

Warm-Up Group 1
1 Tanith BELBIN / Benjamin AGOSTO USA
2 Meryl DAVIS / Charlie WHITE USA
3 Jana KHOKHLOVA / Sergei NOVITSKI RUS


Warm-Up Group 2
4 Federica FAIELLA / Massimo SCALI ITA
5 Oksana DOMNINA / Maxim SHABALIN RUS
6 Isabelle DELOBEL / Olivier SCHOENFELDER

I'll be up since I am an night owl and will be up to post results or do pbp if nobody wants to do it

SailorGalaxia518 said:

I'll be up since I am an night owl and will be up to post results or do pbp if nobody wants to do it

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That would be great if you could do that! I would but I have two finals that day (bleh) but I'll be checking to see the results.

(You in advance, lol)

Great preview btw Doris! I'm so excited for this, I hope everyone skates cleanly so we can really see how they all match up against each other.

looks like I'll be up for it... hopefully.... it'll only be midnight here....

Great preview, doris! Thanks as always!

Just my opinion, but I think Warm-up group 1 is stronger than Warm-up group 2. Can't wait to see how things turn out.

I would say they are pretty closely matched, but I would probably give the nod to whatever group had Delobel&Schoenfelder in it.

Hopefully one of these supposedly free internet broadcasts actually work and I can do some pbp too.

I'll be up waiting to leave for flight so I can help with OD pbp also. I have an IN subscription.

bump

Doris - What is bump?

Just out of curoisty what time DOES the Senior Original Dance start- US time?

cloudkicker09 said:

Just out of curoisty what time DOES the Senior Original Dance start- US time?

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It starts at 4:00am EST tonight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Joesitz said:

Doris - What is bump?

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I may not be doris, but I know I can answer this one with certainty... "bump" simply means she's "bumping" the thread up on the list of threads in the forum so that people find it easily.

It should start in less than 30 minutes, shouldn't it? Aaaah, that is so exciting! Go Tanith and Ben!

Yep. I'll post results if somebody wants to do pbp

LIVE Coverage is now up for Icenetwork for those who have a subscription