JGPF: Free Dance - Thoughts and Highlights

Sofia Shevchenko and Igor Eremenko of Russia maintained their overnight lead to win the Junior Ice Dance event at the 2018-19 Junior Grand Prix after the Free Dance on Friday afternoon in Vancouver, BC. Teammates Arina Ushakova and Maxim Nekrasov missed the top of the podium by a mere .01 point to take the silver, while Elizaveta Khudaiberdieva and Nikita Nazarov maintained third to with the bronze.

More...

SO close! As was second and third place.

Share your thoughts on the Junior Free Dance at the 2018-19 Junior Grand Prix Final!

Well it certainly was a Major Dramafest.

And a sign of where ID is headed. Which isn't necessarily good news.

WeakAnkles said:

Well it certainly was a Major Dramafest.

And a sign of where ID is headed. Which isn't necessarily good news.

Click to expand...

Why?
OMG I'm so over the moon for Sofia and Egor winning <3

NicolettaL said:

OMG I'm so over the moon for Sofia and Egor winning <3

Click to expand...

Me too! Especially considering they got 5th at last season's JWC. Good to see the judges finally reward them for their innovative dances, deep edges, musicality, and expression. I hope this win gives them the momentum to become Junior World Champions this season .

It's hard to say who was better with such a small difference.

I thought the Canadians could have received the bronze had they not lost levels on both RD and FD. I thought the bronze medallist Russians were rather slow, their program didn't even come alive until the second half of of the free dance.

It was unfair judging to be honest.

However, that being said, the top 2 Russians have a bright future ahead of them.

I think there should be a rule that whenever the scores are one tenth of a mark apart or less
the judges should all vote separately on who they think should be in front before delivering the final score,
Or maybe their personal placement of each contestant could be used as a tie breaker, Or something...

I mean, the difference between medals could be huge for contenders and the judging system is not empirical
enough, So we might as well get a clear decision from a panel by number of votes

I can't get on board with someone who came 0.04 behind someone else not deserving say a Bronze like the one above them,
or a title just as much, there are also Prize money differences, Show or Gala invites etc...

Thoughts?

I really enjoyed it. This season in ice dance has had so many boring, lyrical style programs that go absolutely nowhere so it was a good competition with a variety of styles. It was so fun to watch. I enjoyed something about all the teams. I thought the podium was right, IMO.

The placements and the scoring is filled with drama, but I think Sofia and Igor deserve gold. They had a wonderful skate, and I hope they'll continue to succeed!

lavoix said:

It's hard to say who was better with such a small difference.

I thought the Canadians could have received the bronze had they not lost levels on both RD and FD. I thought the bronze medallist Russians were rather slow, their program didn't even come alive until the second half of of the free dance.

It was unfair judging to be honest.

However, that being said, the top 2 Russians have a bright future ahead of them.

Click to expand...

Really it was the extended lift deduction that cost them the bronze.

I am thrilled that Sofia and Igor won! Incredibly tight race, so crazy. Even though I actually like the soundtrack of Black Cat/White Cat, I couldn't stand Ushakova/Nekrasov's FD program. Obviously technically very skilled, but such weird music choices and cuts, and I am not a fan of miming in dance ever. Most of the other couples had such soulful free dances and I'm here for it. And what a bright future for Khudaiberdieva (and her partner Nazarov of course) - so young and already so emotive and powerful.

Really sad that Lajoie/Lagha had deductions that caused them not to medal. Was really hoping they'd nab the bronze. Can we just talk about their outstanding stationary lift??! And what can I say about the ever-beautiful Nguyen/Kolesnik? They didn't even come close to their SB score which made me sad. It was still beautiful, but seemed rushed and obviously they missed the mark. And Kazakova/Reviya had quite a delightful and expressive FD too... Wishing them all the best and can't wait to see them next season! <3

Overall the ice dance Juniors are on fire! :luv17: