2018 Rostelecom Cup Free Dance

[NoNameFace]

I did a lot of thinking about this since Helsinki and I know what my problem is with the program. Blues comes out of slave field chants and spirtuals. It's about sex and sin and guilt. Go back and listen to early blues and you'll hear some of the dirtiest double entendres you can imagine. "I need a little sugar in my bowl./I need a little hot dog between my rolls." And what I'm NOT getting from this program is that raw dirty earthiness that say H/D had in spades. She has definitely found her knees, which is a huge improvement. Now I want both of them to find that attitude. They have it at the end of the twizzles. I just wish this had more of it all the way through. It's a good program, probably the best FD they've done. But to take it to the next level, they really need to dirty it up and LOOSEN it up. Sex and sin and guilt. This was much better but go for the dirt even more!

Score: 124.94 and an overscored SB. Sorry but that's how I feel. They're being set up for a silver at Worlds.

I think there is a point in that - they do look good in that aesthetic, a loud and more gritty than not version of Beth Hart, but personally I find a lot of gimmick inserted into choreo unnecessary, making the program competing with the music instead of complimenting each other. I get the idea was to play on their strenghts, namely Stepanova's flexibility, long legs, but it just lacks a bit of that more subtle, toned innuendo overall for me. Comparison to Hubbell/Donohue's FD last season is kinda obvious and what differs both programs is attitude of movement/choreo towards music, how the vibe is built through expression - Stepanova/Bukin with more showy, obvious-in-being-sexy, posed image/interpretation and Hubbell /Donohue with more hidden seduction and sensuality, taken rather from little gestures and touches, building more deliberately and culminating with finale. Both approaches work for both teams I'd say, it us just my personal taste to see more detail, capturing the mood of the music more naturally (like this stop and flip after twizzles), a bit more prolonging the moment/holding a look and connect with each other deeper than just by partnering in choreography.

 

[NoNameFace]

Wow! You're going to one hell of a competition! Keeping my fingers crossed for P[SUP]2[/SUP] then! They will need it.

I will be prepared, sunflowers gift and a card will all sorts of superlatives are in making. Flags are prepared along with sharpie. And I will be nervous as hell...

 

[WeakAnkles]

I think there is a point in that - they do look good in that aesthetic, a loud and more gritty than not version of Beth Hart, but personally I find a lot of gimmick inserted into choreo unnecessary, making the program competing with the music instead of complimenting each other. I get the idea was to play on their strenghts, namely Stepanova's flexibility, long legs, but it just lacks a bit of that more subtle, toned innuendo overall for me. Comparison to Hubbell/Donohue's FD last season is kinda obvious and what differs both programs is attitude of movement/choreo towards music, how the vibe is built through expression - Stepanova/Bukin with more showy, obvious-in-being-sexy, posed image/interpretation and Hubbell /Donohue with more hidden seduction and sensuality, taken rather from little gestures and touches, building more deliberately and culminating with finale. Both approaches work for both teams I'd say, it us just my personal taste to see more detail, capturing the mood of the music more naturally (like this stop and flip after twizzles), a bit more prolonging the moment/holding a look and connect with each other deeper than just by partnering in choreography.

Exactly. And it's played to the judges rather than to each other. So I don't get a blues vibe though the program, I get a "Look at how clever this choreography is and how well we're skating it!" vibe. More dirt please. More connection to each other.

 

[elbkup]

I think there is a point in that - they do look good in that aesthetic, a loud and more gritty than not version of Beth Hart, but personally I find a lot of gimmick inserted into choreo unnecessary, making the program competing with the music instead of complimenting each other. I get the idea was to play on their strenghts, namely Stepanova's flexibility, long legs, but it just lacks a bit of that more subtle, toned innuendo overall for me. Comparison to Hubbell/Donohue's FD last season is kinda obvious and what differs both programs is attitude of movement/choreo towards music, how the vibe is built through expression - Stepanova/Bukin with more showy, obvious-in-being-sexy, posed image/interpretation and Hubbell /Donohue with more hidden seduction and sensuality, taken rather from little gestures and touches, building more deliberately and culminating with finale. Both approaches work for both teams I'd say, it us just my personal taste to see more detail, capturing the mood of the music more naturally (like this stop and flip after twizzles), a bit more prolonging the moment/holding a look and connect with each other deeper than just by partnering in choreography.

There is a languid grace, rhythm, that goes along with this type of music that is palpable on the unconscious level; it is almost the antithesis of precision. Dance is supposed to interpret music which includes its subtle psychological nuances, hard to explain, and, if uninitiated, impossibe to achieve .. easy to feel if you know it in your bones (i.e., born to it) and viscerally jarring if it is absent.. give them credit for trying but the dance made me grit my teeth...

 

[Ichatdelune]

I'm reviewing the FD overall, for even the ones I did catch live I watched in too much of a frenzied state for me to remember properly. I'm in extremely good spirits plus half a can of Hoegarden, so I'm being generous. I know nothing anyway

- Morozov(a? Is her surname officially Morozov? anyway)/Bagin. Hmm, she had a pretty dress. I don't think Tosca is the best fit for them, although they do have the drama llamas the lack of chemistry between the two is pretty stark with the big music. Not much for levels or GOE though. I can't remember Shpilevaya/Smirnov clearly enough for now to really tell whether politicking was involved, but I do agree that it was not really GP level skating. JGP maybe. Still, interesting lifts and those drama llamas were dramatic.

- Komatsubara/Koleto. They make a great couple, such chemistry and physically a great match too. I think they did better last week though. The program is admittedly a bit generic, but they do sell it quite well. I think a program that is more of a passionate romantic flavor would be better for them though. Sadly the only examples that come to my head right now are Korean songs, will add something if I manage to come up with something.

- Evdokimova/Bazin. I liked their costumes. They had cool lifts, her lying on his legs especially. The cut to Sarabande Suite was a bit awkward to my ears, and he was a bit slow on the twizzles, but overall a nice performance for the home crowd.

- Yanovskaya/Lucacs. Um, music was... interesting. Clubbin', slow clubbin', then back to clubbin'. Not really to my taste, but she's expressive and has nice lines. Twizzles were pretty good too.

- Reed/Ambrelevicius. He's good-looking, bonus points for that. Music cuts were awkward, but that's nothing new. Program itself was okay, nothing really memorable (or it could be that my brain is currently slowed down by the roller coaster ride it has taken for the last 7 hours) but nothing terrible. Also, camera person, could you focus on the good-looking guy a bit longer, please?

- Kaliszek/Spodyriev. Oh, the Poles and their costumes... It's somewhat better than the RD and the my eyes!! man cleavage. But unfortunately my thoughts haven't changed much since I last saw them, their program is awkward. And messy twizzles. Let's move on.

- S/B. They are good, duh. Although I still don't like the top part of her dress she is gorgeous enough to make up for it. Hell, their gorgeousness is an automatic plus in my book. And although the sexy vibes are done best by H/D, they have a strong vessel with this sexy blues. The vocals are still not to my tastes, but amazing twizzles right to the beat more than make up for it. See you at finals, S/B.

- C/P also have lovely costumes. And boooooy is Ponomarenko expressive. It's not that Carreira doesn't match up to him, she does, but he does catch your eye a bit more. I've learned that Morisi Kvitelashivili (am I spelling his name right?) and C/P are both using Tokio Myer's Bloodstream, and I've given the song a listen. Now I have learned that Kvitelashivili's awkward Clair de Lune-dubstep-Clair de Lune is Daniil G's work, it's supposed to be more than that. It actually has build-up, emotion, and flow. C/P showed how it should be, and then some more. Oh, and difficult twizzles, although the last set looked slightly out of sync to me they were pretty solid there. Overall they were lovely to watch, and considering that they could still be in juniors they have a lot of time to develop further. Congrats on that bronze!

- H/K have a lovely FD, and although she bobbled a bit I loved the spins (such flow and smoothness), lifts, and most of all the lyrical performances. The Sign of the Times part is my favorite, the emotion filled with the soft movements are just lovely. They deserved the podium.

 

[rain]

Exactly. And it's played to the judges rather than to each other. So I don't get a blues vibe though the program, I get a "Look at how clever this choreography is and how well we're skating it!" vibe. More dirt please. More connection to each other.

I've been trying to figure out why this program does not move me, when so many people are raving about it and I went in wanting and expecting to love it. Instead it was just kind of "eh" to me. Maybe this is it. For the record, I LOVED H/D's FD last year, and something else in that mood/theme I'm completely on board with. I just wish I could be as excited about this program as many viewers are.

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

You know, I may find his relationship choices highly questionable, but I have to take my hat off to Nikolai Morozov. He was the picture of the proudest man in the world when he was watching his little girl[SUP]*[/SUP] in her first Senior GP. He was absolutely beaming with pride.

And I loved the way that he and Annabelle were holding hands for practically the whole time they were sitting on the sofa.

So heartwarming to see the love between father and daughter.

CaroLiza_fan


[SUP]*[/SUP] = Just to save any confusion: When I said "his little girl", I was referring to Nikolai's daughter, not his wife. Vasilisa has done lots of Junior GP's, but has not made her Senior GP debut yet.

 

[pearly]

You know, I may find his relationship choices highly questionable, but I have to take my hat off to Nikolai Morozov. He was the picture of the proudest man in the world when he was watching his little girl[SUP]*[/SUP] in her first Senior GP. He was absolutely beaming with pride.

And I loved the way that he and Annabelle were holding hands for practically the whole time they were sitting on the sofa.

So heartwarming to see the love between father and daughter.

CaroLiza_fan


[SUP]*[/SUP] = Just to save any confusion: When I said "his little girl", I was referring to Nikolai's daughter, not his wife. Vasilisa has done lots of Junior GP's, but has not made her Senior GP debut yet.

Lol the library is open!

Also - I think she's already his ex wife.

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Lol the library is open!

Sorry. After saying so many nice things about him, I just couldn't resist balancing it up by putting that in as a bit of a dig.

After all, it is worth reminding ourselves that Vasilisa is only 3 years older than Annabelle.

Also - I think she's already his ex wife.

Mmmm. Somebody on here had said something a few months ago that sounded like it was implying that they had split. But, I hadn't heard anything more definite since.

I always liked Vasilisa, so I would be interested to know for sure.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[pearly]

Sorry. After saying so many nice things about him, I just couldn't resist balancing it up by putting that in as a bit of a dig.

After all, it is worth reminding ourselves that Vasilisa is only 3 years older than Annabelle.



Mmmm. Somebody on here had said something a few months ago that sounded like it was implying that they had split. But, I hadn't heard anything more definite since.

I always liked Vasilisa, so I would be interested to know for sure.

CaroLiza_fan

I think people are speculating that he is now involved with Stolbova.

 

[dcnative]

It's a really good program and they're actually gelling quickly into a top notch team. But you're supposed to score what is actually skated. And it wasn't. Look at their faces at the end of it and their utter surprise at the score. They knew it was shaky in spots. Sorry but I ain't buying what the judges are trying to sell.

I find that the judging results seem to match some kind of ranking objective for certain teams so far, this season.