My OD Review

According to Mark Corwin, the birth of USI's unique bibs is similar to my own experiences with overalls. One day a Missouri farmer who was wearing overalls while tending to his fields made an interesting discovery when, out of frustration, he unhooked one of his straps and continued working through the day with no problems from the other strap falling or restricting his arm movement. Amazingly, this gentleman decided to improve the everyday work clothes that many of our ancestors have worn, working the land and making America what it is today; thus Using Britches (USI's for short) came to be.
{/QUOTE]
Their rotational lift was nice and quick and she was in a nice variant of a split position. Up until the twizzles (which they really messed up) this was a simple but effective blues number, and they were expressing it well.

Actually I quite liked it. There was something authentic about it. However, their skating is definitely bottom 5 here.

http://photography.ice-dance.com/2009USNationalChampionships/Dance/Senior/OD/1237-PA.jpg.php

13th in the segment:

TES 21.10 PCS 17.74 OD Score 38.84

SP2 3.50 -0.14 3.36
RoLi4 4.00 0.50 4.50
DiSt2 6.40 -0.29 6.11
MiStNt2 5.40 -0.14 5.26
STw1 3.00 -1.13 1.87
Li+TRANS

Jennifer Wester and Daniil Barantsev
Coach and Choreographer: Angelika Krylova and Pasquale Camerlengo
OD: Too Darn Hot by Cole Porter

http://photography.ice-dance.com/2009USNationalChampionships/Dance/Senior/OD/1303-WB.jpg.php
http://photography.ice-dance.com/2009USNationalChampionships/Dance/Senior/OD/1351-WB.jpg.php

She's wearing a red dress made of layers of fringes with spaghetti straps and a single red glove on her right hand. He has a pinstripe suit, where the pinstripes seem to be made with small sequins, a white shirt and a red tie. She makes their costumes.

The twizzles were awkward and not in unison. The lift was quite neat with him in a spread eagle and her flipping one way and then the other, quite quickly. They really had problems with the dance spin. It started to travel and they had to stop spinning. She did a hitchkick in one of the footwork steps that looked more Texas hoedown than 1940's.

He hurt his back, and they withdrew from the competition.

9th in the segment.

PCS TES OD Score

STw3 4.00 -0.29 3.71
SlLi4 4.00 0.50 4.50
DiSt3 7.20 0.57 7.77
Sp2 3.50 -0.29 3.21
MiStNt3 6.20 0.14 6.34
Li+TRANS 0.00

Meryl Davis and Charlie White
Coach and Choreographer: Igor Shpilband and Marina Zoueva
OD: Happy Feet and Original 20's Piano Composition by Joe Laduke

http://photography.ice-dance.com/2009USNationalChampionships/Dance/Senior/OD/1401-DW.jpg.php
http://photography.ice-dance.com/2009USNationalChampionships/Dance/Senior/OD/1377-DW.jpg.php
http://www.tias.com/stores/klassicline/pictures/vk912a.jpg

The silver hat is gone and she has a magenta feather and a clip in place of it; it looks much better than the hat.
You will note from this cartoon on the cover of Life of the Charleston that Charlie's collar and white bow tie are just perfect. This also shows you how the wild legs swings should look (slightly exaggerated here)
http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/28/43428-004-946413F5.jpg

Here's some vintage flapper dresses (The feather and clip in the hair bob was common)
http://www.isadoras.com/ec/images/medium/VC062906_2a.jpg
http://www.vintagedress.co.uk/T53web.jpg

This is a very difficult and unforgiving dance., and they have not done it perfectly all season, not just the disaster in CoR, but they manage to simulate looking relaxed. They walk on in character, a 1920's couple off to go clubbing. Meryl is chewing gum ( a "new" 1920's craze and I swear I can see a beaded handbag, but she doesn't have one. The dance starts, and there are no real resting or posing places till the very end. If they ever get off the music, there's no way to get back. They have great 1920's character, flapping arms, including the squared elbows, squared off hands, swinging legs, little jumps, and their pair spin is particularly nice. They swoop into it, have really good speed of rotation and dance in and out of it, so that looks organic to the dance. I still don't care for the lift with Meryl scrambling her legs at the end of it. It may be in character, but it looks untidy. The end transition lift is a little slower than usual, and they hit their final pose a little late to the music, although it's hard to tell, given the problems IN has had synchronizing the video and audio portions of the broadcast. The twizzle is down to level 3 because they didn't complete 4 on the second set when they reached the right part of the music, so they stopped twizzling. They weren't throwing themselves as fast into that twizzle as back at SC and CoR, and given their problems at COR, I can see why.

When they came off the ice, Igor (who applauded enthusiastically after the dance through their entire set of bows, while looking as proud as a chicken with its first egg) said, "It's all you Meryl." Then he shook hands with Charlie and said something like you finally did the dance.

Some couples have danced well, and some couples have hit the character and interpretation. D&W have checked off both boxes, but they believe that they can do this better, and so do I. But not much better.

TES 32.16 PCS 29.77 OD Score 61.93

STw3 4.00 1.00 5.00
DiSt3 7.20 1.71 8.91
Sp4 4.70 0.64 5.34
MiStNt3 6.20 2.00 8.20
SlLi4 4.00 0.71 4.71
6 Li+TRANS 0.00

Emily Samuelson and Evan Bates
OD Follow the Fleet (Irving Berlin, Let Yourself Go) Swing/Lindy Hop 1940's
Coach and Choreographer: Yasa Netchaeva and Iouri Tschesnitchenko

Evan's in a enlisted sailor's uniform, including the dixie cup hat, except the tie is red. Emily has on a basic red dress, backless, with a very deep vee neckline and lapels, She also has a wide red headband and red gloves, which may not be such a great idea from the point of view of making sure your grip doesn't slip. She also has thick round black garters on her stockings, which is era-appropriate.

There was a messup with their music and they had to get it straightened out with the ref. "Emily and Evan if you would just relax for one moment" comes over the loudspeaker. Then they are reintroduced.

http://photography.ice-dance.com/2009USNationalChampionships/Dance/Senior/OD/1503-SB.jpg.php
They have better speed than anyone except Meryl and Charlie and nice musicality. The twizzles were nice and quick, but not in perfect unison, but very good. The transitions in the lift were not that snappy. They are not letting themselves go. In fact, they couldn't be much tighter if you stretched them out double size. Unfortunately, that's not the right mood for this particular song. I'm a bit surprised their dance spin got level 4 as it seemed to travel and run out of steam at the end. Evan has a lovely sit position in it, though The choreography has a huge number of kicks, displaying their gorgeous extension, but since 2 previous Netchaeva couples have done the same thing (plus the Midline step with the quick switch back at the end of the musical phrase, this starts to look a bit recycled. Worse, the Hubbells did this midline step better.) The Midline step gets level two (they put a foot down before completing the requirements for level4.) Consequently, the whole program died a bit at the end, which made the difference between S&B and D&W a bit wider. They finish up with a flourish of tap dancing. In some ways, the posing tap dance parts are the best part of the program overall. And it is a nice program.

Second on the segment.

TES 30.29 PCS 26.68 OD Score 56.97
STw4 4.70 1.00 5.70
SlLi4 4.00 0.79 4.79
CiSt3 7.20 1.00 8.20
Sp4 4.70 0.50 5.20
MiStNt2 5.40 1.00 6.40
Li+TRANS 0.00

Kimberley Navarro and Brent Bommentre
OD: Hey Pachuco (Swing/Lindy Hop aimed at 1943) and Why Don't You Do Right? (1936 Blues)
I don't think these two numbers fit together particularly well, certainly not well enough to justify mixing decades.

Coach: Robbie Kaine and Cheryl Demkowski Snyder
Choreographer: Louis van Amstel (a dance, not a skating, choreographer) from Dancing with the stars.

http://photography.ice-dance.com/2009USNationalChampionships/Dance/Senior/OD/1654-NB.jpg.php

Brent is wearing a standard business suit (in keeping with the Why Don't You Do Right theme). Kim is wearing a showgirl outfit, also good for the greedy showgirl of Why Don't You Do Right. She has a huge pink poinsettia like flower on the top of one side of the bodice. She is also wearing pink ill fitted gloves which look weirdly like the kind you use to wash dishes, except that they go up to the elbow. There are pseudo diamond bracelets over top of both globes. Otherwise, it's a mostly silver layered fringe dress.

I looked for the influence of a non-skating choreographer in this dance, and I can't find it. In fact, it was a fairly dull dance IMO. The transistional lift in the middle was very labored. Kim's position in the spin was not particularly good. The first set of twizzles with the leg stretched to the side are excellent. In the second set, which they do with their arms behind the back, Kim carries her foot rather low and may have hit the ice with her foot early on to lose the level. They are great dancers, and I love them, just not in this OD.

6th in the segment

RoLi4 4.00 0.79 4.79
MiStNt3 6.20 1.00 7.20
DiSt3 7.20 1.00 8.20
Li+TRANS 0.00
Sp3 4.00 0.43 4.43
STw2 3.50 0.43 3.93

Trina Pratt and Chris Obzansky
Coach and Choreographer: Igor Shpilband and Marina Zoueva
OD: Heebie Jeebie Dance performed by the Boswell Sisters. (1932)

http://photography.ice-dance.com/2009USNationalChampionships/Dance/Senior/OD/1683-PO.jpg.php
http://photography.ice-dance.com/20...ior/od/09PAC_SR_PrattObzansky_OD-0003.jpg.php
http://photography.ice-dance.com/20...ior/od/09PAC_SR_PrattObzansky_OD-0050.jpg.php

Pratt and Obzansky have joined team Shpilband. However, their dance is nothing like Meryl and Charlie's.

Trina has her hair done in a way that recalls Blondie in the Sunday funnies, with a group of huge white flowers (orchids, I think) pinned on one side. Blondie was first in the papers in 1930 and has always maintained her classic look. Trina maintains the airhead character throughout the dance. She's wearing a strand of pearls. She has a lacy, brown beaded bodice with thin straps and a brown fringed skirt where the fringes don't ever cover the rest of the costume, which is in a world class wedgie. The music has both very frantic and very slow sections, which works quite well. Chris has high waisted brown pants and leather suspenders (typical for the era), a light brown shirt, and a light brown tie. He also has a scruffy little beard and a mustache, which doesn't quite work with the era. Brown however, puts them firmly in the 1930's, since after 1939, nobody, nobody, in the US, other than a Nazi wannabe, was going to wear a brown shirt for the following 20 years.

Trina's position in the lift were rather awkward, and the spin slowed down a lot towards the end, though the positions there were good, and the twizzles in the second set weren't great.. All things considered a good dance, and a nice recreation of the era, but not unique.

7th in the segment

MiStNt3 6.20 1.00 7.20
SlLi4 4.00 0.50 4.50
Sp4 4.70 0.36 5.06
STw3 4.00 0.21 4.21
CiSt3 7.20 1.00 8.20
Li+TRANS 0.00

Morgan Matthews and Leif Gislason
Coach and Choreographer: Linichuk and Karponosov
OD: Summertime (but an odd version of it) Blues. The original version was by George Gershwin 1935 as part of Porgy and Bess. This one finishes up with an extended basic boogie woogie section, for some reason.
http://photography.ice-dance.com/2009USNationalChampionships/Dance/Senior/OD/1753-MG.jpg.php

Leif has one of the strangest outfits yet for this OD. He is wearing a wine colored winter scarf with a white suit coat and a white shirt and black pants. Summer whites tended to be all white. Winter clothes were darker. It's a strange look, and appears wholly random. Morgan has on very long black gloves, nearly up to the armpit, with pseudo diamond bracelets. The costume itself is a black halter dress with odd, long strings of beads sewn over the illusion fabric. It has an odd, wide, loincloth like split in the front of the skirt, and the inside of the skirt is lined with wine colored fabric. It also has a split up the back, meeting a deep veed back at the waist. There are multiple lacing straps in the back over the illusion fabric. The skirt has a very awkward, distracting life of its own.

The general effect of this couple is Grushina and Goncharov, a very talented lady and a gentleman trying to keep up with her. I love how Morgan doesn't let her foot droop close to the ice in the twizzles. His aren't that much. She hits beautifully crisp positions in the spin. And Leif never quite gets his leg extended because he isn't quick enough or can't do it. In any case, they do a nice job with this, but the music is the sort of thing you just want to mute the speakers while you watch the dancing.

3rd in the segment

TES 30.44 PCS 24.59 OD Score 55.03

STw4 4.70 0.50 5.20
Sp4 4.70 0.64 5.34
CiSt3 7.20 1.14 8.34
MiStNt3 6.20 1.00 7.20
SlLi4 4.00 0.36 4.36
Li+TRANS 0.00

Jane Summersett and Todd Gilles
Coaches: Patti Gottwein and group
Choreographer: Tom Dickson
OD: I'd Rather be Blue and Roller Skate Rag from Funny Girl soundtrack (time, 1919 and 1920, cutting it close for the ISU definition for this dance.) It is based on the life of Fannie Brice and the Ziegfield Follies

http://photography.ice-dance.com/2009USNationalChampionships/Dance/Senior/OD/1823-SG.jpg.php

Jane's costume is taken from the roller skating rag scene in the movie Funny Girl that is featuring on the soundtrack album cover:
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00005V3WI.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
The scene has both the pieces of music used in the program. (And it's really a very funny clip.
)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vw0cEK80uZM&feature=related

So Jane has on the vertical, wide striped, green and deep blue top with spaghetti straps and the deep blue fringed skirt. She does not have the huge hat, replacing it with a head band. Todd has a green tie with green armbands, brown pants and a long sleeved white shirt with dark blue, front-buttoned vest with white piping outlining the lapels and a gray false flower pinned to the lapel.

They start with the lift to I'd Rather Be Blue. The lift is a bit slow in the transitions. They have a bit of business where he kisses her and she slaps him (with the slap sound in the soundtrack). Off they go into their twizzles, very quick in the first set, and quite quick in the second set. All is well until they get to the Roller Skate Rag section, where the music is too fast for them to keep up with, so they basically skate through it. They do a nice Charlestonesque section in the diagonal step, using Besti squats to simulate the Charleston action effectively. A nice program, but the timing difficulties with the ragtime drag it down a bit. And they are slower than couples ahead of them.

TES 29.88 PCS 24.55 OD Scorel 54.43

Fifth in the segment.

SlLi4 4.00 0.79 4.79
STw4 4.70 0.29 4.99
DiSt3 7.20 0.71 7.91
Sp4 4.70 0.43 5.13
MiStNt3 6.20 0.86 7.06
Li+TRANS 0.00

When you watch any of these dances, a good gedanken experiment is:
1. Looking at the couple, do you have any doubts which decade they represent?
2. If you mute the music, could you guess what dance rhythm they are representing?

The answer should be yes to both questions. And of course, they should skate well too.

Click to expand...