2016 World Championships Free Dance
- Thread starter dorispulaski
- Start date
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2010
Have not been following the thread at all but just want to drop by and rave about Papadakis/Cizeron, wow... someone mighty, romantic and sensuous has blessed France with these gorgeous unassuming creatures...seems to been given birth sharing the same soul. Truly i rarely gush about younger skaters, but these 2 deserve such things...unreservedly. Not since Virtue and Moir's Carmen Uno, I feel somewhat enlightened and see the point of Ice Dancing as a competitve sport, just how closely sport and art can bridge together to transcend into something unique and special between 2 people on ice. It made me believe in humanity again lol... It feels like their heart all beating as one... seamless, effortless, truly...really quite something. Magic! These are the sort of performances that can turn me into a fan... i may start watch ice dancing again.
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- Joined
- Mar 25, 2008
Hurtado/Diaz's Picasso program was not romantic mush; there's a romance aspect to it, but that's by no means all it is, and it's dramatic rather than soft focus. If I'm not mistaken, it was choreographed by Dubreuil and David Wilson, which bodes well for V/M's future material.
Of course, Papadakis/Cizeron's SDs are not the same style as their FDs, unless "amazing with beautiful flow" is a style
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2011
Hurtado/Diaz's Picasso program was not romantic mush; there's a romance aspect to it, but that's by no means all it is, and it's dramatic rather than soft focus. If I'm not mistaken, it was choreographed by Dubreuil and David Wilson, which bodes well for V/M's future material.
Of course, Papadakis/Cizeron's SDs are not the same style as their FDs, unless "amazing with beautiful flow" is a style
The exception that proves the rule!
Free Dance review
Free Dance review worlds 2016,
Overall, the sport is progressing and it is very visible to me and I like it. You can not predict the outcome, the depth is huge and we will be entertained for many more years with these amazing skaters.
While I still favor the Free over the short in most cases, for me as a fan and former dancer (not in the slightest as skillful as those here), the beauty of this fantastic sport is everywhere to be found, from the first until the last couple on ice.
Let me start, with my favorite FD which came by Madison Hubbel and Zachary Donohue, skating to Adagio for Strings, a well known arrangement that even I played many times as a DJ, more around 140 BPM, however.
To me it is a very dramatic piece of music, almost like music that you would play on your last day, before you die. It has huge attack, but more under the surface and exactly this was reflected by both skaters. They had a super softness and feel for the music and yet, managed to put strength and attack into all their elements.
Their skating in hold is superb, how long she can hold her position in that one spin, which she does – like a Ballerina and their hands easily find each other afterwards. I so love their straight line lift, the entry over his neck and then when she is in position, that deep and almost threatening music, transitioning into the Drama, with faster movements, complementing the music, going faster and faster, wild and crazy, yet not over the top and well aligned, equally balanced until the break down.
I love the pictures these two can create on ice, it is magic, it is art, untouched for me, during worlds. They have the quality in their technical components, not losing a single level, while having super transitions, entries and exits into their elements, but also the emotional strength and depth like Virtue / Moir in their best years.
Luca and Anna, might had their best year when they won the title after Sochi and I so disagree with people who write them off since then. I honestly, did not expect too much in the Free, but I was really taken to a different reality, while they were on the ice.
They were able to once again, do their twizzle well aligned with great attack and the straight line right after, what a difficult position, great balance there by the Italians! With all the Drama and passion, these two brought the fun back to the ice, they are very lovely people off ice and they had the best FD for a long time due the sheer level of execution, not just in the lifts, but the general expression in their program. As always, he presents his lady, while she likes to play with all the guys in town, yet not handing out more than a little kiss.
They are so playful and naughty, the facial expression and relationship with each other, makes you enjoy their skating even more and it is a very unique approach for sure and I believe many people should question their thoughts about these two, they are not done yet and came back super strong in the short and are with all due respect, the oldest couple and at no time, it shows!
It clearly showed, that Alex & Maia were the fan favorites that day and it is so understandable and I really enjoyed how the crowd helped them through their program. I said it before, for me their silver medal, is also a silver medal for the people at Boston, they skated together and won together. I am pretty sure, that nobody in the stands or on ice, needed to be fixed, after that super strong performance by the Shibs, with their best FD up to date in my opinion. A program that was created because of the issues in the past, gave them a well deserved medal and I do not want to discuss the color here at all, as I just think that nothing is more beautiful then an athlete who is coming back against all odds and just does what he likes to do, perform and compete.
Their Twizzle was fun to watch, it´s one of their trademark elements super use of music there and with each sequence, the crowd got more and more involved and at the end of their program, nobody was left on their seat´s, it must have been an incredible feeling for the skaters. Incredible and special is their relation on ice, brother and sister, with a strong connection to their home city Boston where Alex was born almost 25 years ago.
When Alex was already crawling around, Maddy was just in the making and for me personally, what she does this season with Evan, is their best in history. I was philosophizing before, many times about their SD, the superb transition into the Waltz, the best Ravensburger for me this season, a super musical understanding, every phrase perfectly reflected in their motions and the Free is not less good, but a totally different program, with Drama, drive and once again, a super presentation by Evan, he must really love his lady and it shows.
Their transitions and entries, are the best of all dancers this season for me, light with great attack as seen at the curve or spin, and in general always changing patterns and you really see something new coming up, with every second of their program like when the intensity rises in the final minute. During the lifts, Maddison can use all her female attraction and flexibility and I am a super fan of her knee´s and if you think about this whole "five year" thing that they have, then it is really incredible what a blind understanding they have on ice and I believe, they will keep giving me that special thing, with the years to come, again and again.
After chatting about the US for a bit, I also want to talk about Canada´s best, Kaitlyn and Andrew, who seem to be the loser, but not for me. These two skaters, have a similar approach story wise in their Free, like the Shibs. They went through dark parts and crawled out of many holes and created a very thoughtful and serious program this season and for me, they showed a lot of character, never giving up, tweaking their program until the last minute, as seen with their straight line, that changed how many times this season, three or four times? I have to say, the last version is absolutely my favorite, I love the position with the split by her, great athleticism, one of their big strengths, as a couple.
For me, their skating is very intense, deep, maybe a bit dark and they are a bit like Pogo in Ladies, it is something, that will not click the first time, but over the season it grows and you just want them to win, as they invest so much and I always felt, they are not appreciated enough by people. On both days, they had errors and I think this is what they should remember, that they "lost" not because of bad programs, but the lack of consistency. They are different to others that we saw and this is not bad and they should keep this approach and not try to fit some type of "rulebook". Their Free improved a lot over the year, I just wanted to give that girl a hug after the scores came up, she is such a wonderful lady.
Wonderful, is also what Piper and Paul do, as they bring a new and completely different approach to ice dance and I think, they were rewarded and yet punished for it. Their movements in both programs, are so creative and unique that there is probably not yet a score sheet for this, as nobody ever thought about this before. I loved their twizzle and the ice they covered there, the position of her in the rotational lift and that music is so seductive, I can´t get enough of it, please more next season! I am not sure if the expression "subtile" fits here, but that´s how I feel. Different motion, different movements, elements - it´s innovation and maybe the judges were not yet ready for it, but I see this type of skating win medals in the future.
It was not a love story, it was not the end of the world or happy skate and maybe saying this is wrong, but I hope that their style will never be killed by the judges or the media, as with other skaters before. I want them to stick to their skating, it is sport yes, but it´s also art and their art is very unique and special, I love them.
Special are also the Brits, Penny and Nicholas and their program is as mentioned only thirty seconds of length, at least when I saw it, as time just flew away when they were on the ice. Her costume is like the wind, fresh, wild and naughty, just like their program and I wonder if others would agree here, but compared to the past, they improved on the technical aspect for me, especially in edge quality, it looks deeper and stronger and their lifts have always been a strength too, I just love Penny´s positions in them and how quick they find their balance points, the cute and light butterfly and her more serious and strong, counterpart.
Absolutely blown away, I also was by Cecillia Törn and Jussiville Partanen, they absolutely kept the legacy of Henna & Ossi alive, beautiful lifts, expression and so much heart. Skating to Gravity and Life, they created so much love on ice, I love their costumes, how strong and present both are, they just look so wonderful on ice, they are like made for each other and were holding on to each other so lovely during their performance even after his fall.
Same can be said about Marco and Charlene, who came clean but also Victoria and Nikita who I still believe are much better than their reputation or placement today. I love these stories for the heart, the strong expression and relation to each other, the Drama and Emotions and the Italians have wonderful entries like in their spin and all that with their height difference, it makes it so much more difficult and I appreciate how much thought goes into their stories. For me all were winners today, we can be so happy to have this quality in Ice Dance.
Quality in its superb form had our winnerss Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron.
I think the dance of them, was the best on both days, they did not make any errors and won well deserved with 194.46 points. Guillaume, is super strong, maybe the strongest artist on ice, super balanced in all his spins and turns, great flexibility, posture and expression. It´s quite remarkable in my books as we men tend to be so far away from what the ladies do, we are stiff and weird looking, but not this guy! What an athlete.
Gabrielle, is more calm, not so wild like for instance Elena or Betina who treat their male parts a bit like slaves at times. No, she is more in the background, but not in a negative way as she completes the couple and creates a warm harmony, that wouldn't be there, without her.
Something, that I was thinking about throughout both days is how the French could create such a super couple on ice, while ice dance was so dominated by the North Americans in the past. These two, are the youngest world champion and they achieved a b2b victory, something that seemed so hard to imagine these days, with the huge quality and depth Ice dance has to offer.
What has happened, is it him who is so strong, is it the coaching team of former world silver medalists Marie & Patrice, the environment at Montreal, what gives them the edge over others... I don´t know.
If they step on the ice, then they don´t make errors, it all seems like perfectly aligned and in motion, no gaps, they float with the softness of their music, while having a strong relation to each other. The way he lifts her, is so gentle and they skate in hold, then a small no touch, going back together again, so calm and easy, it somehow reminds me of Davis / White, who were so easy on ice too.
Their Free Dance story, is very personal and I believe, one, that most of us experienced at least once in life. You come to a new place, new people, your family might be somewhere else and you feel alone, you feel strange, but then there is that one person that you can hold on to, relate to and this they portrait on ice with their Free. It is what happened to them when they moved to Canada and maybe this makes their skating so special this season. I like the idea and execution a lot – they were the best dancers on ice, smooth, perfect and super balanced.
Thanks to all the great skaters, not just those at Boston but in general, also to the juniors and advanced. I am super happy with where Ice Dance is going to, it has a very special part in my heart and I am already looking forward to next season when I will hopefully be able to meet Tessa and Scott and see what they have to say and offer in that regard.
Until then, I will close my "Ice Dance column" for this season, maybe one more post in a few weeks, but this remains to be seen. It was a great season, I am super pleased with the variety and depth and could have said so many more positive things about Boston, Barcelona, Oberstdorf and of course Debrecen.
Free Dance review worlds 2016,
Overall, the sport is progressing and it is very visible to me and I like it. You can not predict the outcome, the depth is huge and we will be entertained for many more years with these amazing skaters.
While I still favor the Free over the short in most cases, for me as a fan and former dancer (not in the slightest as skillful as those here), the beauty of this fantastic sport is everywhere to be found, from the first until the last couple on ice.
Let me start, with my favorite FD which came by Madison Hubbel and Zachary Donohue, skating to Adagio for Strings, a well known arrangement that even I played many times as a DJ, more around 140 BPM, however.
To me it is a very dramatic piece of music, almost like music that you would play on your last day, before you die. It has huge attack, but more under the surface and exactly this was reflected by both skaters. They had a super softness and feel for the music and yet, managed to put strength and attack into all their elements.
Their skating in hold is superb, how long she can hold her position in that one spin, which she does – like a Ballerina and their hands easily find each other afterwards. I so love their straight line lift, the entry over his neck and then when she is in position, that deep and almost threatening music, transitioning into the Drama, with faster movements, complementing the music, going faster and faster, wild and crazy, yet not over the top and well aligned, equally balanced until the break down.
I love the pictures these two can create on ice, it is magic, it is art, untouched for me, during worlds. They have the quality in their technical components, not losing a single level, while having super transitions, entries and exits into their elements, but also the emotional strength and depth like Virtue / Moir in their best years.
Luca and Anna, might had their best year when they won the title after Sochi and I so disagree with people who write them off since then. I honestly, did not expect too much in the Free, but I was really taken to a different reality, while they were on the ice.
They were able to once again, do their twizzle well aligned with great attack and the straight line right after, what a difficult position, great balance there by the Italians! With all the Drama and passion, these two brought the fun back to the ice, they are very lovely people off ice and they had the best FD for a long time due the sheer level of execution, not just in the lifts, but the general expression in their program. As always, he presents his lady, while she likes to play with all the guys in town, yet not handing out more than a little kiss.
They are so playful and naughty, the facial expression and relationship with each other, makes you enjoy their skating even more and it is a very unique approach for sure and I believe many people should question their thoughts about these two, they are not done yet and came back super strong in the short and are with all due respect, the oldest couple and at no time, it shows!
It clearly showed, that Alex & Maia were the fan favorites that day and it is so understandable and I really enjoyed how the crowd helped them through their program. I said it before, for me their silver medal, is also a silver medal for the people at Boston, they skated together and won together. I am pretty sure, that nobody in the stands or on ice, needed to be fixed, after that super strong performance by the Shibs, with their best FD up to date in my opinion. A program that was created because of the issues in the past, gave them a well deserved medal and I do not want to discuss the color here at all, as I just think that nothing is more beautiful then an athlete who is coming back against all odds and just does what he likes to do, perform and compete.
Their Twizzle was fun to watch, it´s one of their trademark elements super use of music there and with each sequence, the crowd got more and more involved and at the end of their program, nobody was left on their seat´s, it must have been an incredible feeling for the skaters. Incredible and special is their relation on ice, brother and sister, with a strong connection to their home city Boston where Alex was born almost 25 years ago.
When Alex was already crawling around, Maddy was just in the making and for me personally, what she does this season with Evan, is their best in history. I was philosophizing before, many times about their SD, the superb transition into the Waltz, the best Ravensburger for me this season, a super musical understanding, every phrase perfectly reflected in their motions and the Free is not less good, but a totally different program, with Drama, drive and once again, a super presentation by Evan, he must really love his lady and it shows.
Their transitions and entries, are the best of all dancers this season for me, light with great attack as seen at the curve or spin, and in general always changing patterns and you really see something new coming up, with every second of their program like when the intensity rises in the final minute. During the lifts, Maddison can use all her female attraction and flexibility and I am a super fan of her knee´s and if you think about this whole "five year" thing that they have, then it is really incredible what a blind understanding they have on ice and I believe, they will keep giving me that special thing, with the years to come, again and again.
After chatting about the US for a bit, I also want to talk about Canada´s best, Kaitlyn and Andrew, who seem to be the loser, but not for me. These two skaters, have a similar approach story wise in their Free, like the Shibs. They went through dark parts and crawled out of many holes and created a very thoughtful and serious program this season and for me, they showed a lot of character, never giving up, tweaking their program until the last minute, as seen with their straight line, that changed how many times this season, three or four times? I have to say, the last version is absolutely my favorite, I love the position with the split by her, great athleticism, one of their big strengths, as a couple.
For me, their skating is very intense, deep, maybe a bit dark and they are a bit like Pogo in Ladies, it is something, that will not click the first time, but over the season it grows and you just want them to win, as they invest so much and I always felt, they are not appreciated enough by people. On both days, they had errors and I think this is what they should remember, that they "lost" not because of bad programs, but the lack of consistency. They are different to others that we saw and this is not bad and they should keep this approach and not try to fit some type of "rulebook". Their Free improved a lot over the year, I just wanted to give that girl a hug after the scores came up, she is such a wonderful lady.
Wonderful, is also what Piper and Paul do, as they bring a new and completely different approach to ice dance and I think, they were rewarded and yet punished for it. Their movements in both programs, are so creative and unique that there is probably not yet a score sheet for this, as nobody ever thought about this before. I loved their twizzle and the ice they covered there, the position of her in the rotational lift and that music is so seductive, I can´t get enough of it, please more next season! I am not sure if the expression "subtile" fits here, but that´s how I feel. Different motion, different movements, elements - it´s innovation and maybe the judges were not yet ready for it, but I see this type of skating win medals in the future.
It was not a love story, it was not the end of the world or happy skate and maybe saying this is wrong, but I hope that their style will never be killed by the judges or the media, as with other skaters before. I want them to stick to their skating, it is sport yes, but it´s also art and their art is very unique and special, I love them.
Special are also the Brits, Penny and Nicholas and their program is as mentioned only thirty seconds of length, at least when I saw it, as time just flew away when they were on the ice. Her costume is like the wind, fresh, wild and naughty, just like their program and I wonder if others would agree here, but compared to the past, they improved on the technical aspect for me, especially in edge quality, it looks deeper and stronger and their lifts have always been a strength too, I just love Penny´s positions in them and how quick they find their balance points, the cute and light butterfly and her more serious and strong, counterpart.
Absolutely blown away, I also was by Cecillia Törn and Jussiville Partanen, they absolutely kept the legacy of Henna & Ossi alive, beautiful lifts, expression and so much heart. Skating to Gravity and Life, they created so much love on ice, I love their costumes, how strong and present both are, they just look so wonderful on ice, they are like made for each other and were holding on to each other so lovely during their performance even after his fall.
Same can be said about Marco and Charlene, who came clean but also Victoria and Nikita who I still believe are much better than their reputation or placement today. I love these stories for the heart, the strong expression and relation to each other, the Drama and Emotions and the Italians have wonderful entries like in their spin and all that with their height difference, it makes it so much more difficult and I appreciate how much thought goes into their stories. For me all were winners today, we can be so happy to have this quality in Ice Dance.
Quality in its superb form had our winnerss Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron.
I think the dance of them, was the best on both days, they did not make any errors and won well deserved with 194.46 points. Guillaume, is super strong, maybe the strongest artist on ice, super balanced in all his spins and turns, great flexibility, posture and expression. It´s quite remarkable in my books as we men tend to be so far away from what the ladies do, we are stiff and weird looking, but not this guy! What an athlete.
Gabrielle, is more calm, not so wild like for instance Elena or Betina who treat their male parts a bit like slaves at times. No, she is more in the background, but not in a negative way as she completes the couple and creates a warm harmony, that wouldn't be there, without her.
Something, that I was thinking about throughout both days is how the French could create such a super couple on ice, while ice dance was so dominated by the North Americans in the past. These two, are the youngest world champion and they achieved a b2b victory, something that seemed so hard to imagine these days, with the huge quality and depth Ice dance has to offer.
What has happened, is it him who is so strong, is it the coaching team of former world silver medalists Marie & Patrice, the environment at Montreal, what gives them the edge over others... I don´t know.
If they step on the ice, then they don´t make errors, it all seems like perfectly aligned and in motion, no gaps, they float with the softness of their music, while having a strong relation to each other. The way he lifts her, is so gentle and they skate in hold, then a small no touch, going back together again, so calm and easy, it somehow reminds me of Davis / White, who were so easy on ice too.
Their Free Dance story, is very personal and I believe, one, that most of us experienced at least once in life. You come to a new place, new people, your family might be somewhere else and you feel alone, you feel strange, but then there is that one person that you can hold on to, relate to and this they portrait on ice with their Free. It is what happened to them when they moved to Canada and maybe this makes their skating so special this season. I like the idea and execution a lot – they were the best dancers on ice, smooth, perfect and super balanced.
Thanks to all the great skaters, not just those at Boston but in general, also to the juniors and advanced. I am super happy with where Ice Dance is going to, it has a very special part in my heart and I am already looking forward to next season when I will hopefully be able to meet Tessa and Scott and see what they have to say and offer in that regard.
Until then, I will close my "Ice Dance column" for this season, maybe one more post in a few weeks, but this remains to be seen. It was a great season, I am super pleased with the variety and depth and could have said so many more positive things about Boston, Barcelona, Oberstdorf and of course Debrecen.
This comment is not intended to spark any cultural wars but I am a bit put off by Papadakis and Cizeron coming so late to the ISU press conference after their win. I get that they won - they just scored a world record. They were popular! But my understanding is that teams and federations have strict directives to come to press conference on time if they are fortunate enough to medal. It's probably not P/C but their "handlers" that apparently didn't own a watch or found other priorities. The silver-bronze medalists sat there for some time along with a large room of press media waiting for their arrival. Finally, the event coordinator just started and about 10 min later in P/C came in. No apologies; sorry, we're late- just we're here. Not a big deal but it would be nice to see manners and professional courtesy stay alive. This is not a control thing- these media people have deadlines to meet and I'm sure the other 2 teams had engagements and other media to see. Gaby and Guillaume seem like nice people. Maybe their fed can have a little more consideration for others next time.
- Joined
- May 21, 2014
If they were regularly late at those type of press conferences, your comment would be valid. As it is they were right on time for the SD press conference. Something independent of them and we're not aware of might have happened . It's really not a big deal at all.
Indeed, they could have asked the med staff to hurry up while being tested or skipped the post victories interviews from many channels including the french one. Or MAYBE, they don't fu*king care and you shouldn't too because it's making a lot out of litterally nothing. Your culture tells you the US skaters acted well and not the french, in my country, nobody would notice the US are there because their background tells them to always say the same things and to be PC. It's actually was funny at the SD press conference how the second pair was trying hard to say the same as the Shibs but with different words.
Keep your dullness as much as you want but don't make it a worldwide rule when it is actually only in your tiny narrow minded world
Sure, manners and courtesy are literally nothing to some. But to others it's something. You keep your values and I'll keep mine.
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2004
Indeed, they could have asked the med staff to hurry up while being tested or skipped the post victories interviews from many channels including the french one. Or MAYBE, they don't fu*king care and you shouldn't too because it's making a lot out of litterally nothing. Your culture tells you the US skaters acted well and not the french, in my country, nobody would notice the US are there because their background tells them to always say the same things and to be PC. It's actually was funny at the SD press conference how the second pair was trying hard to say the same as the Shibs but with different words.
Keep your dullness as much as you want but don't make it a worldwide rule when it is actually only in your tiny narrow minded world
I have to agree with slider11 on this. When you've kept a room full of people waiting, even if the delay was unavoidable, a simple apology should be offered.
As a member of the media for figure skating for 30 years, coming late to a press conference after a major competition is usually not a matter of someone’s “values.” It is mainly because of mandatory testing, which in some cases can take more than the 10 minutes you note. I don’t know of any situation where media (or other medalists) complain of this often necessary time delay at a following press conference. Control of the beginning of press conferences is up to whoever is in charge. In fact, if conducted rationally, other medalists tend to get more opportunity to talk to the press while waiting for the winners to arrive. Deadlines for daily media are common and most journalists tend to write their stories along with the ongoing competition, waiting only for subsequent quotes, which are often available from “off ice” comments as the competitors exit from their performance.
Maybe the values come in as one recognizes that he/she is late, acknowledges it with "sorry" and moves on. That's all. Is it earth-shattering, do I think P/C are valueless people? - No. The press conference coordinator did mention during the waiting period something about "televison" holding up the champions. I don't know what that means nor again is it important. But it didn't sound like it was drug testing or anything mandatory. But were those media people at the press conference waiting for everyone's comments, group picture? I'll believe you if you say that the press conference was not important to their story. Did the other 2 teams also have "television" interviews they wanted to get to? Call it my pet-peeve, if you wish, but I think it's these kind of actions that speak to the nuances of an individual. Perhaps it's most meaningful to me when people do acknowledge missteps, big and little. I'm also thinking that it likely could have nothing to do with P/C at all as perhaps they were relying on their "handlers" to get them where and when they needed to be. They may have been totally clueless of the situation. So perhaps the "handlers" are the ones that I'm referencing. There...I feel better. If I ruined anyone's day...sorry!
Well... LOL... Have you finish on this totally uninteresting topic? Do you plan to post 20 messages on this? Honestly, I DON'T CARE about you waiting for 10 minutes at a press conference. I covered so many in the past for European events and it never came to my mind whether I had to wait or not as my focus was to get answers to my questions.
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2011
Well, once Didier Gailhaguet becomes president of the ISU he will run a considerably tighter ship. Considerably tighter.
God help us all.
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2012
I've had to pop up there to share some of my random things that are in my head this week during Worlds progressing...
It was quite bittersweet ice dance FD for me - I've had a tiny bit of hope that Kaitlyn and Andrew will make that podium, but my hope died with their twizzles, end of the story. Nevertheless they really captured me by their performance - it seemed like they put more 'reality' and less 'arty' in this FD this time, the feeling and expression were somehow stronger and more 'raw' for me. I seriously hope they will bounce back stronger next season with something more vivid, dramatic and real, these are their fortes and they should use them for their own good.
As for Maia and Alex - they really showed everyone this season that they are capable of changing, taking some risks and become a better versions of themselves as competitors and probably people too. Their newly acquired confidence and performance maturity have shown with full brillance in their FD, it sure was a special moment to witness even from a point of view of not a big fan of this FD itself as am I. They poured themselves into that moment and opened to all of us watching enabling us to feel these emotions connected with them and the song. Technique was really flawless and that roar during whole twizzles moment spoke for itself. Big congratulations and my hope for them is that they'll push themselves further with this new modern direction adding even more individual flavour into it, their own signature and stamp over it.
And last reflection is about Gabriella and Guillaume - aside of the obvious facts that they won, defended their title and did it with such exraordinary style and manner I want to focus on some other aspect of their skating I realized recently. After some deeper thought about what makes them so successful, so desired and so special I came up with quite strange thought that despite of course their technique, skill, sophisticated style and many other features they are always against obvious and mainstream directions. It should make them less appealing and we're observing the opposite. Whereas everyone are doing litteral or out-of-box stuff in various forms, they are staying true to themselves and take world by storm. There is a very unique and difficult to achieve balance of complexity and simplicity going with them - when I think of them, there goes quite opposite things at once: doing quite simple and real stuff in difficult and unreal way, achieving technical difficulty and looking so easy and effortless on ice, telling personal stories by so little gestures and moves, pursuing their own path and making so many enamored in them...Their FD embodied all those things at once in a form of technically flawless and emotionally packed masterpiece. I have to say that my hope for them is simple - stay true to yourselves and give us even more of that fragile feeling only you can create. Chapeaux bas once again.
It was quite bittersweet ice dance FD for me - I've had a tiny bit of hope that Kaitlyn and Andrew will make that podium, but my hope died with their twizzles, end of the story. Nevertheless they really captured me by their performance - it seemed like they put more 'reality' and less 'arty' in this FD this time, the feeling and expression were somehow stronger and more 'raw' for me. I seriously hope they will bounce back stronger next season with something more vivid, dramatic and real, these are their fortes and they should use them for their own good.
As for Maia and Alex - they really showed everyone this season that they are capable of changing, taking some risks and become a better versions of themselves as competitors and probably people too. Their newly acquired confidence and performance maturity have shown with full brillance in their FD, it sure was a special moment to witness even from a point of view of not a big fan of this FD itself as am I. They poured themselves into that moment and opened to all of us watching enabling us to feel these emotions connected with them and the song. Technique was really flawless and that roar during whole twizzles moment spoke for itself. Big congratulations and my hope for them is that they'll push themselves further with this new modern direction adding even more individual flavour into it, their own signature and stamp over it.
And last reflection is about Gabriella and Guillaume - aside of the obvious facts that they won, defended their title and did it with such exraordinary style and manner I want to focus on some other aspect of their skating I realized recently. After some deeper thought about what makes them so successful, so desired and so special I came up with quite strange thought that despite of course their technique, skill, sophisticated style and many other features they are always against obvious and mainstream directions. It should make them less appealing and we're observing the opposite. Whereas everyone are doing litteral or out-of-box stuff in various forms, they are staying true to themselves and take world by storm. There is a very unique and difficult to achieve balance of complexity and simplicity going with them - when I think of them, there goes quite opposite things at once: doing quite simple and real stuff in difficult and unreal way, achieving technical difficulty and looking so easy and effortless on ice, telling personal stories by so little gestures and moves, pursuing their own path and making so many enamored in them...Their FD embodied all those things at once in a form of technically flawless and emotionally packed masterpiece. I have to say that my hope for them is simple - stay true to yourselves and give us even more of that fragile feeling only you can create. Chapeaux bas once again.
I agree. There is a lot wrong with COP, but the one discipline it has unquestionably cleaned up and improved is ice dance.
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