Watching Live (Spoilers) | Golden Skate

Watching Live (Spoilers)

Linny

Final Flight
Joined
Aug 13, 2003
Here's what I remember, which ain't much... sorry guys. I forgot to take notes.
Compulsary Dance: G&G won, pretty clearly. They are very fast. They wore their same outfits (both in white) from last season. In second are B&A. Her dress was, hands down, the pretties of the night. It's a light purple number with a low neckline and a long sweeping hem.
Pairs: A surprise was P&T. This Chinese pair were fast and exciting. No, Pang does not appear to have gained any weight. In fact, Tong is also looking rather thin. But the height and distance on their throws is, well, part of a Chinese dynesty. They end the short in first despite getting out of harmony for a side-by-side spin. P&T are in second. They are fast, they are accurate but they are not exciting. I didn't see any major flaws, just another unfortunate choice in music - sounds like the background stuff played when guests are arriving at a fancy hotel party. Another surprise was the Canadian team. I'm looking at the starting order sheet to spell this for you'all: Wakamatsu & Fecteau. Wholly molly were they exciting. They did this lift where she is in a split and stretches her torso out to one leg to make the connection to his hand and he spins her. Only other pair team I remember doing that was the Russian pair who one World Pro (when they used to have a World Pro). Long names, both of them, they never skated amateur. Remember who I mean? Anyway, I surely hope they play this Canadian team's short on TV. Not sure of S&D's placing but this year they had matching outfits and she's got her hair pulled back with a bun.
Men: mostly disappointing. Weiss is in first. His program had no major errors. It was tight. He really wanted to hit his elements. Honda fell rather spectacularly. Timchenko was not his usual jumping-bean self - but his does have a better haircut. Jehnke had a pretty off night. Smith had a pretty off night in jumps but his spins were super. Dinev was wild, missing not only his jumps but falling on footwork. Zivanovic completed two jumps that were totally off-center - don't know how he landed them. On another, he fell. Sorry, don't know the current standings. Was too cold and tired by that point. Had to drive home and get up early.

Linny
 

dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Country
United-States
Vlaschenko was great too. He skated in an odd costume where the shirt was a picture of Moscow (back and front) with onion domes to Moscow Nights by the Scorpions. It was a very flowy sort of program with great footwork that DID NOT look like Yagudin.

Linny, I totally agree about Wakamatsu and Fecteau. Spectacular and original. Her costume was odd. It had kind of varicose vein looking lines in the illusion fabric on both her chest and legs. She is very flexible and the split in the overhead, plus in the final pose was really great.

If someone who can post pictures to a website will give me an email address, I can send some pictures to post.

Pang and Tong were clearly,clearly the best to Illumination. She hit her 3toe which troubled her so last year. Still very thin, but not as anorectic as at DC. Petrova and Tikhonov skated very smoothly and professional to something called Music by Baxter.
In my world Baxter is a medical supplier. And the music sounded suitable for travel by elevator. P. U. Someone get them a choreographer please. They skated must better than they did in DC. Scott and Dulebohn didn't do well Coached by Brasseur and Marval (Eisler wasin the audience too) They were slow, she was wobbly on the landing of the throw and she fell on the 3toe. Orsher and Lucash both fell in perfect unison on the SBS jumps.
Spielburg and Joeright skated well, but didn't place well. They are only doing a SBS double axel.

Many of the men seem to have taken the COP to heart and have added more in between steps. However, as a result, their jumps have gone to H E double hockey sticks.

Trifun was a nice surprise. He landed a 4toe, I think, squeaked out badly a 3toe following it. His triple axel was fine. I really liked his step sequence, but he fell on his triple out of steps. His carriage seemed improved to me too.

dpp
 
Joined
Jul 11, 2003
Thanks Doris - Hope Trifun is going to make a good comeback even if he doesn't place. Any news of Davydov?

Joe
 

tharrtell

TriGirl Rinkside
On the Ice
Joined
Jul 26, 2003

bleuchick

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Men costumes:

it is official: OUT with fluffy sleeves...IN with Picasso, Van Gough etc.

:love: :love: :love: these artistic costumes.
 
Last edited:

Kati

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 19, 2003
They did this lift where she is in a split and stretches her torso out to one leg to make the connection to his hand and he spins her. Only other pair team I remember doing that was the Russian pair who one World Pro (when they used to have a World Pro). Long names, both of them, they never skated amateur. Remember who I mean?

Linny [/B]


Leonova/Khvalko? they didn't skate amateur, but as pros they exelled with spins.
Cati
 

guinevere

Final Flight
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
Joesitz said:
Thanks Doris - Hope Trifun is going to make a good comeback even if he doesn't place. Any news of Davydov?

Joe
Hi Joe - someone might have posted this elsewhere, but I didn't see it:

Davydov is 6th after the SP. He did a 3A-3 turn-2T, a 3Lutz (hand down) and a 2A.

The men's SP all the way around was, um, underwhelming.

Poor Ivan Dinev!

guinevere
 

Linny

Final Flight
Joined
Aug 13, 2003
More Live - I took notes this time

Here are my notes from yesterday:

Original Dance
B&A were fast, terrific, great costumes (swing combo costumes, not lingerie), in a lift he holds her really high, then he gets really low in a shoot the duck.
Moxley/Kirsanov: I'd like to know more about them. Anyone have the scoop? Amazing. They wore orange and black (fits the season). I like her dress except for this odd piece of black that looked like half a bra.
Faiella/Scala: I hestitate to say this because of another Italian team, but they are mismatched. She is better than him. A lot better.
G&G: wholly molly, she feel in the side-by-side footwork. BTW, she had a red dress with a fluffy white under-skirt. In this outfit, and in the Compulsary where they both wear all white I can't help noticing: her boots are not as white as her dress. Makes them look dirty.
G&P: she got behind him during the side by side. There are also gaps in the program where they don't do much. But they are coming along. Oh yeah, they do Rock Around the Clock, but the tempo has been electronically slowed down. You wouldn't notice it as much except the next team also did Rock Around the Clock and theirs was at the original tempo.
Gudina/Beletski: their costumes don't match. Ugh.
Delobel/Schoen: they two dance spins, one in each direction. Cool!
As of now, Belgin & Agosto are in first.


Ladies Short
Nakano: great music and choreographya, terrick spins
Currie: touch down or fall on every jump
Kostner: die-dipped costume from dark aqua to grass green. Pretty but I wonder what it looks like on TV. Missed her lutz. Does a change of edge spiral.
Lautowa: fell on lutz, did a Biellman
Bellemare: interesting music
Volckova: fabulous combo jump, then fell on individual jump. Georgeous tan dress.
Arakawa: has one puffy sleeve and one straight sleeve. Looks like an ameba landed on her shoulder. Stepped out of the second jump of the combination (I think). She also had an off-center spin. Still, the judges marked her very high.
Poykio: Hair in corn rows, looks like stripes on her head. Hit the boards in the 2nd jump of combo, did her spiral in a circle. Maniachenko: did Elton John's Funeral for a Friend. Doubled her individual jump. Did footwork on one foot the entire length. Edged out VV.
Kirk: my favorite program of the evening. Knock dead stunning dress. Perfect jumps as far as I could see. Positively beaming. Audience participation to music from Chicago. Will have to see replay to understand why she wasn't marked as high as Arakawa.
Corwin: Moon River. Dress reminienscent of Audrey Hepburn. Did her 3-3 but fell on individual jump and had a scratch 2A.
Cohen: won the night to her SP from last year. Her fans are ardent and didn't understand how her 66 stacked up against Arakawa's 59 and Kirk's 58. To me it looked like the exits from her jumps were steeply curved, leading me to suspect slight cheating... but I can't see that live. At any rate, she is a very big presence for a very tiny lady.

Men LP:
Smith put in a credible performance, especially considering it was a fluck that he got to come. 3A problems.
Jahnke: did not have a clean triple or quad the entire program. Ouch.
Timchenko: fell 3A. Never looks up, not once. Wonder what is so fascinating about the ice that he must stare at it? Gets to see it up close and personal...
Davydov: skates with great emotion
Dinev: better than his SP, thank goodness.
Lindemann: squeaked out landings on a couple big jumps. I found myself rooting for him. He fought for what he got.
Zhang: if there were any mistakes, I didn't see them. Except for lackluster choreography, I'd say he was near flawless.
Honda: only a truly musical skater could pull off this piece to a Piano Concerto. I stood at the end 'cause I felt touch.
Vlascenko: sorry to his fans. I was underwhelmed.
Zivanovic: who said he's work on his posture? Still looks pretty hump shouldered to me.
Weiss: curved exits from jumps didn't effect the final placements but may have helped Honda move up from 2nd.
Results: Weiss-Honda-Zhang-Vlascenko-Smith-Murvandize

Linny
 
Joined
Aug 3, 2003
Thanks for the eyewitness reports, Linny and Doris! Keep up the great work. Interesting note on how Sasha's ardent fans couldn't understand how her 66 stacked up against Arakawa's 59 and Jenny's 58. Seems pretty decisive to me, but then I know for myself it will probably take a number of COP events before I get a sense of what is close, what is a moderate difference, and what is a slam-dunk, homer out of the park. Shizuka's 59 and Kirk's 58 seem close, but maybe close is less than one point--just don't know yet. Know what you mean about the curve on Sasha's landings that show up live but not on TV. Actually, I think her "flutz" is due to a 1/4 turn late take off. OTOH, some things that have impressed me seeing her live didn't show up on TV. So I guess it goes both ways, probably with all/most skaters. Great observations!
Rgirl
 

dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Country
United-States
Men's final

Scott Smith put in a good performance to finish 5th. He was very happy with his skating and placement skating to Concerto for Saxophone by Kaman. He has developed some really excellent spins, completed his 3A2T and a 2 footed 4S. I particularly liked his use of arms in his camel, and his face right face left face right diagonal spread eagles that waved their way down the rink.
Nice posture, Scott!
Jahnke. Skated badly, and I don't like this Chamada drum program of his. Even his 2A was a waxel.
Dinev landed some stuff to Kismet by Bond! After his disastrous short, I thought he was all toast. he landed 3S, 3A, 3lz with hand down, 3A2T, 3Lp. Circular footwork was quite good. He could lose the butt eagle though. Also his S/L footwork was all turning one way. His costume was Abt-ish with flapping spare pieces.
Lindemann skated to Le Petit Paucet (?). He tried a 4T but fell. His 3A was Ok but leaning. He skated with very high energy, but popped his second 3A. He had a what looked like beige velous top with a little black triangular inset near the neck and very dark green pants.

Timochenko skated to Night on Bald Mt. He was not able to keep up with the fast section, which looked odd. The poor child, his jumps have left him. But his costume for this is quite nice. black shiny fabric pants and red/black top.

Davydov skated to Selections from Yanni. 3A stepout 3t, 3lz 3turn 2t, flying camel with no fly to speak of, nice grapevinish footwork, 4 other triples of varying quality and travelled on his final spin.

Zhang Danse Macbre. black jump suit with one gray sleeve and a silver/white neckline. Gorgeous 3A 3T on the crescendo of the music 4T Really good camel spin. Popped his 3lz to a 2lz odd trip in his footwork. The choreo needs more in it-dead sections.

Honda-same program as at Campbell's but much better skated. Way way too much fake air piano. blech. It is worth mentioning that Doug Leigh was Elvis' coach. Takeshi, go elsewhere for choreo. He landed his 4T3S and 3A2t. popped his loop to 2 rotations. Best skate of the night.

Vlashchenko-claw hammer coattails in black with odd little red/silver/gold stripes to Circus Princess. 3A stepout 2T, 3S3r, 2lz 3f nice march f/w 3A in the f/w, fly sit 2A 3loop 2T. not up to his short program

Trifun, Matrix, also not up to his SP. I said his posture was better, not that it was good! The choreo was very bare in the middle as he delayed the jumps till after the 2 minute mark to take advantage, at least in theory, of COP.

Weiss, same number as at Campbells,and same outfit. All in all, not a great skate, but good enough to win. Scored lower than Takeshi, but Takeshi could not make it up from 4th, too many points to make up.

Vakhtang to Moszart a Little Serenade. He was playing with the audience waiting for Weiss scores. He is coached by Zhulin now. He screwed up his 3A. He had some very interesting spins and does a skid spiral and a cantilever

dpp
 

Linny

Final Flight
Joined
Aug 13, 2003
Watching Live

Sorry so slow on this report. Had to catch up with the parts of my life that were on hold so that I could spend so much time in Reading. Here are my Saturday impressions:

Free Dance
Moxley/Krsanove went first. Good chemistry, they relate well to each other.
Piperno/Dougherty 1,001 Nights music but costume had nothing to do with it - orange/brown. Huh? Good lifts but several stand stil and wriggle sections.
Golovino/Voiko: O Furtuno; Madam Butterfly. She projects a lot, sort of a blond Angelika Krilova. Short skirt with one long piece of tule that looked like it could easily catch a skate.
Yu/Wag pretty in black & silver. She could loose the tan book covers. Push the Limits by Engima.
Guldina/Beletski. He put a foot down in a twizzle. Very long carries with lotsa floor coverage. Rosed down her arm. Lighthearted and fun.
Grushina/Goncharov: powerful drama. Hand stand from a stand still at the beginning was very impressive. Slightly off in one side-by-side footwork. Last lift looked like her foot got stuck for a second. BTW, he is supposed to be a soldier and wears an American flag insignia. Wonder if he'll be a soldier from a different country when he travels?
Gregory/Petukohov. Toccata & Fugue; Air. The intro music would be perfect for a vampire movie. Not doing much technical stuff but doing what they do very fast. One very low carry with him on one foot, then a change of edge carry. His black against her white makes a dramatic picture. Minimal side-by-side footwork - smart since this seems to be their weakness. They also positioned what they did to the far right of the judges where it's harder to see. She is definitely slower than him in this section.
Faiello/Scali: she only has one half of a dress. They do an Argintine Tango and he screws up slightly on the opening side-by-side sequence. She does an excellent flip-over in a lift. She also carries him for a rather good amount of time. They have some trouble getting dismounted from a lift at the end.
Break and warm-up: Tanith & Ben were really moving in the warm-up. Oh, and she was wearing a whole dress, not half of one <grin>.

Belbin/Agusto: West Side Story. The arrangement flowed through fast and slow. I thought I saw a bobble in the circular footwork. Boy are they multitalented, covering a lot of different tempo music from the play.
Delobel/Schoenfelder: Merlin. He is very masculine in chiffon and sequins. Sounds strange, but it's true. My heart went pitter patter. Best costume of the section, I thought. Her white dress and lavender under the skirt with flowing sleeves and his white shirt, black pants and lavender chiffon vest served to show off their lovely flowing but powerful dance.

That's it for free dance. By now, you know the results.

Linny
 

Linny

Final Flight
Joined
Aug 13, 2003
More Live - the Ladies Long

Lautowa - hand down 2 or 3 times. Phantom of the Opera. Popped a salchow (I think). Still pretty exciting program.
Kostner: Violin selections listed as by "Vme". Recognized Turandot. What an unfortunate choice: she can't live up to either Boitano or Shen/Xao's use of the music. Basically, she looked lost in pale colors. She did a great combo in the warm-up but fell in the 2nd jump during the program.
Nakano: Chopin. Tilted openning jump, recovered to pull the 2nd jump. Leg wrap very disconcerting live. Deep back bend in her layback. Some jumps have no leg wrap, others do. What gives?
Poykio: smooth hair in a bun - I prefer this to the corn rows she wore for her short. Lovely Aqua dress. Her first combination was really close to the boards and she barely squeaked out the 2nd jump. Her second combination was well placed down the center line of the ice - a lutz/toe (I thinK). Clean and on the music. Elegant footwork that was rather simple. Gershwin suits her.
Bellemare: had her game face on. Lovely arms. Several failed jumps.
Currie: so beautiful. Her body could be the model for the famous Venus statue. The lines of her dress showed this to advantage. Her skating didn't though. Nice spiral to Ina Bauer... no bit splats but pretty many doubles.
Victoria: black dress with pink trim. Great 3Z-2T, then she rotated out of her next jump, stepped out of the next one after that. Next jump was good - a 3F I think. Long entrance to a failed lutz. Music in a minor key that was rather discordant in sections. A big fall in front of the judges sealed her fate.
Manichenko: cluttered blaze orange dress with neon lime trim. Perhaps she mugged a construction crew for the fabric? 4 falls that I counted. The construction crew had put the hex on her.
Cohen: the black swan and the white one ran into each other in mid air. The costume serves well to emphasize her unique positions but it does not set any fashion standards. Wonderful openning combination jump followed by another fabuluous combination jump. Oh, and there's an edged for sure on the spiral she does around the short side of the ice in this program. One slightly 2-footed jump - so slight it's hardly worth mentioning.
Kirk: she had a louder fan base at this competition than Cohen. Both ladies received lotsa audience support. I was so excited that I deafened the people around me and didn't take notes. She completed 7 triples and, methinks, had a major breakthrough. Hope it stands her in good stead through the season.
Corwin: music by Loreena McKennitt. did her 3T-3T well but fell on a 3Z. Completed other triples successfully and had a very fast camel/change/camel with a jump over (hope I using the right terminology). Sadly, she got off her music and I think it made a difference in the marks.
Arakawa: Indigo blue dress with stars across her breast (I think it was lovely but could do without the stars). Also skated to Turandot but didn't get lost. Cool donut spin. One funny landing was almost indetectable because it was followed immediately by a spread eagle. Another jump was so close to the boards that she couldn't complete it.

Were you'all happy with the results?

Linny
 
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