Davis and White's Long Program | Golden Skate

Davis and White's Long Program

Ladskater

~ Figure Skating Is My Passion ~
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
Though their program was nicely done, I thought they lacked the real drama necessary to convey the music that La Traviata emotes. It's kind of a heavy piece to dance to in the first place. Wonder why their choreographer chose this music? I could see one of the great Russian teams like Klimova and Ponomarenko interpreting this music. I don't think there was enough chemistry with Davis and White.

Here is one of my all time favorites of the great Ponomarenko and Klimova:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roIjwsfWnP0
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
Though their program was nicely done, I thought they lacked the real drama necessary to convey the music that La Traviata emotes. It's kind of a heavy piece to dance to in the first place. Wonder why their choreographer chose this music? I could see one of the great Russian teams like Klimova and Ponomarenko interpreting this music. I don't think there was enough chemistry with Davis and White.

Here is one of my all time favorites of the great Ponomarenko and Klimova:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roIjwsfWnP0


s/he's the same one as V/M's and the Shibs... they all had different traditional ballroom dances.
 

dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Country
United-States
La Traviata and La Boheme were D&W's SD choices, not their LP choices. And they were chosen because the Golden Waltz is a Viennese Waltz, and they wanted to go with a period piece feel to their SD, especially after USFS told them at Champs Camp to ditch their original Amelie SD. And with good reason. (Very noticeable in the scores of Monko & Khaliavin, who won Jr. Worlds, but did not do the VW skills on the correct beat of the music. Two judges slammed them for it in the Timing/Interp component.) P&B also ditched Amelie and used Lara's Theme instead in midseason. C&P did not ditch Fallin', for example, and IMO, their SD scores at 4CC's and at Worlds might well have been better if they had. And one judge scored I&K siginificantly lower for Timing/Interp than the other PCS grades, probably for similar issues.

It's interesting that you mention K&P, because they were the originators of the GW, and if D&W's music caused you to think it would have been a good choice for K&P, then their choreographer made a good choice.

As to the LP, 3 of the top S/Z teams were using ballroom this year, at least in part because there had been a great deal of discussion/agitation last year about wanting happy, upbeat non-Requiem-For-a-Dream sort of pieces with a ballroom feel. That rule did not pass, but that it was proposed showed a strong faction looking for a more traditional feel to music. The Shibs "Smile" was both ballroom & happy-happy! V&M did Latin (samba/rumba), and D&W did tango for the LP.

Now as to why D&W chose tango, they were very clear about it. They wanted to work on several things that they thought tango was a good vehicle for them to learn from:

1. They & for that matter V&M as well, although not as severely, had been criticized for not having enough transitions in their FDs. It was said that they could not skate with such speed if they had had more transitions. This was said to affect their Skating Skills and Linking Movements PCS component scores. In consequence, this year's tango FD was packed with transitional movements, and still skated at high speed, by comparison with last year's Phantom FD.

D&W WC 2011 Skating Skills 9.57 Linking Movements 9.54
V&M WC 2011 Skating Skillls 9.32 Linking Movements 9.04
by contrast from 2010
D&W WC 2010 Skating Skills 9.50 Linking Movements 9.35
V&M WC 2010 Skating Skills 9.60 Linking Movements 9.50

2. They wanted to do an FD that was not dependent on a big story, like Phantom or Samson & Delilah, or for that Matter Eleanor Rigby & Polovetsian Dances, to show some versatility, and also to force themselves to work harder at doing an FD without a particular story line, where they would have to tell a story about a relationship. And they stepped up the mime & acting lessons to help them in this endeavor. And they made progress on this all year, although they still have work to do, I think.
 
Joined
Jul 11, 2003
Congrats to Davis and White and also for the Shibutanis for their Worlds bronze. Sorrow for Pechelat and Borzat for their unfortunate Fall.

I did not think Virtue and Moir were at their best. They chose the fastest beat Latino Dance and danced it the best they could - Not Easy. They did manage to keep it on the downbeat with bent knees.

Compared to a Waltz, the Latino Dances are total contra-European music. They all have a strong injection of African rhythms. Most skaters I've seen fake them by making a comedy of them. V/M, at least did an honest job.

What would it been like if D/W also chose a Samba?
 

KKonas

Medalist
Joined
Oct 31, 2009
Though their program was nicely done, I thought they lacked the real drama necessary to convey the music that La Traviata emotes. It's kind of a heavy piece to dance to in the first place. Wonder why their choreographer chose this music? I could see one of the great Russian teams like Klimova and Ponomarenko interpreting this music. I don't think there was enough chemistry with Davis and White.

Here is one of my all time favorites of the great Ponomarenko and Klimova:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roIjwsfWnP0

La Traviata was the music for D&W's SD waltz. Ponomarenko was the Asst Tech Specialist at Worlds and D&W received Level 4 on both sections of the Waltz, so if anyone should be able to rate this pattern dance it is Ponomarenko who with coach Natalia Dubova developed it.
 

KKonas

Medalist
Joined
Oct 31, 2009
I'm lousy at linking, but for those who might want to check our another "Argentine tango" see the Duchesnays OSP from 1988 on youtube. This was done somewhat deadpan but is definitely not "romantic" in concept. I was there in Calgary to see this live and thought it was marvelous. Of course today you have much tougher standards which is why I thought D&W FD was right on the money in expression for the Argentine and they certainly skated it brilliantly.
 

hrmsk8ngnutt

Final Flight
Joined
Jul 29, 2003
I'm lousy at linking, but for those who might want to check our another "Argentine tango" see the Duchesnays OSP from 1988 on youtube. This was done somewhat deadpan but is definitely not "romantic" in concept. I was there in Calgary to see this live and thought it was marvelous. Of course today you have much tougher standards which is why I thought D&W FD was right on the money in expression for the Argentine and they certainly skated it brilliantly.
Here it is from the Calgary Olympics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMFxoLjFJr0

From Budapest Worlds with the full opening section of the tango (which ABC missed) and Canadian commentary: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEz1xYVO-aw
 
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dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Country
United-States
One of my all-time favorite OSP's!!

And shown with Toller Cranston doing commentary. Thank you hrmsk8ngnutt!
 
Joined
Jul 11, 2003
I'm lousy at linking, but for those who might want to check our another "Argentine tango" see the Duchesnays OSP from 1988 on youtube. This was done somewhat deadpan but is definitely not "romantic" in concept. I was there in Calgary to see this live and thought it was marvelous. Of course today you have much tougher standards which is why I thought D&W FD was right on the money in expression for the Argentine and they certainly skated it brilliantly.
The Tango is not a Latino dance. It's origin lies in the Spain, and reworked in France and then Italy before it even got to Argentina.
 
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