@Ic3Rabbit:
Assuming you are/were a skater at elite level both in ice dance and singles (wow AMAZING! ), may I ask you something? How would you see/measure Daisuke Takahashi as an ice dancer?
As a casual fan of the sport, I thought Daisuke has good skating skills for a singles skater, pretty good edge work, very musical, lyrical, versatile, a great performer and I did enjoy his skating for many years. :yes: But I am no expert, I don't know how he'll fit in Ice dance category. It was Meryl Davis, I heard, who first mentioned his name as a candidate for Kana Muramoto when she was having a little trouble finding a new partner.
Dai admits dance spin and lifts will be his biggest challenge. Especially spin that he worries; bacause in singles skating my understanding is the center of an axis stays the same as skater's body, but in ice dance it needs to be in between of two skaters, meaning outside of her/his own body which is of course Dai never did before (Is my wording correct? Sorry in advance if not, since English isn't my nature language .
This is the performance they skated together in ice shows in January, with Tanith/Ben love and Meryl/Charlieluv17: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZlRVMpu-NU Here he didn't wear ice dance boots yet, very basic steps/turns with easy choreography. No expert as I said but unison already, Kana and Dai match each other skating-wise I thought.
I was actually thrilled when Dai made the announcement, as I always felt like he was one of few that could switch to ice dance and do very well. His biggest issue may be lifts as Kana is one inch shorter than he, and also that he's not used to them(lifts).