For me, the senior ice dance competition will be the cherry on a wedding cake, the highlight of US Nationals The US ice dance field has become so deep and so good that I can't wait to see all the couples in one competition: Hubbell/Donohue, Chock/Bates with the programs nobody has seen yet, Hawayek/Baker, McNamara/Carpenter, the Parsons and Carreira/Ponomarenko. Good luck to everyone!
Alannah Binotto (Pittsburgh FSC, Inc.) and Shiloh Judd (University of Delaware FSC)
Christina Carreira (The SC of New York, Inc.) and Anthony Ponomarenko (The Skating Club of San Francisco, Inc.)
RD: "Jealousy Tango" and "Yo Soy Maria;" choreo by Igor Shpilband and Pasquale Camerlengo
FD: Tokio Myer's medley including Clair de Lune, Bloodstream, and Angel.; choreo by Igor Shpilband and Pasquale Camerlengo
Madison Chock (All Year FSC) and Evan Bates (Ann Arbor FSC)
RD:
FD: "Burning Love" by Elvis Presley and "Fever" performed by Michael Bublé and Elvis Presley; choreo by Marie France Dubreuil, Sam Chouinard
Kaitlin Hawayek (Detroit SC, Inc.) and Jean-Luc Baker (Seattle SC)
RD: Tango: "Vuelvo al Sur" by Juan Carlos Caceres; Tango: "A los Amigo" by Forever Tango; choreo by M. F. Dubreuil
FD: "Trampoline Theme" by The Irrespressibles, "In This Shirt" by The Irrespressibles; choreo by M. F. Dubreuil
Madison Hubbell (Lansing SC) and Zachary Donohue (Lansing SC)
RD: Tango: "Alevare" by Astor Piazzolla; Tango: "Tangata del Alba" by Astor Piazzolla; choreo by Marie-France Dubreuil, P. Lauzon, G. Cournoyer
FD: "Introduction to Romeo" (Romeo and Juliet soundtrack) by Craig Armstrong; "Kissing You" (Instrumental) (Romeo and Juliet soundtrack) by Craig Armstrong; "Kissing You" (Romeo and Juliet soundtrack) performed by Desree; choreo by Marie-France Dubreuil, P. Lauzon, G. Cournoyer
Karina Manta (Coyotes SC of Arizona) and Joseph Johnson (Broadmoor SC, Inc.)
RD: Flamenco: "Malagueña" by Ernesto Lecuona; Tango: "Alcoba Azul" by Elliot Goldenthal; Flamenco: Malaguena by Ernesto Lecuona; choreo by Trina Pratt,Ben Agosto (RD)
FD: "Sweet Dreams" by the Eurythmics; choreo Trina Pratt, Christopher Dean (FD)
Lorraine McNamara (Peninsula SC) and Quinn Carpenter (Washington FSC)
RD: Waltz: "Desde el alma" by Orquestra Color Tango de Roberto Alvarez; Tango: "Quejumbroso" by Orquesta Color Tango De Roberto Alvarez; choreo by A. Kiliakov, E. Novak, N. Hvoyneva, J. Bokaer
FD: "Porz Goret" by Yann Tiersen; "Modern Piano" by Piano; "Penn Ar Roc'h" by Yann Tiersen; choreo by A. Kiliakov, E. Novak, N. Hvoyneva, J. Bokaer
Bailey Melton (Broadmoor SC, Inc.) and Ryan O'Donnell (The SC of Houston)
Rachel Parsons (Washington FSC) and Michael Parsons (Washington FSC)
RD: "Vuelvo Al Sur" by Medialuna Tango Project; “Tango Cha;" choreo by Alexei Kiliakov, Elena Novak, Esperanto Bean
FD: "To Build a Home" by The Cinematic Orchestra; choreo by Alexei Kiliakov, Elena Novak, Esperanto Bean
Elicia Reynolds (Ice Line FSC) and Stephen Reynolds (Ice Line FSC)
RD:
FD:“Secrets” by One Republic
Nicole Takahashi (Skokie Valley SC) and Oleg Altukhov (The North County FSC
I'm switching my rooting interests this year. Sorry H/D - I can appreciate your programs this year, and I really do appreciate them, honestly I do - but I just haven't fallen in love like previous seasons.
On the other hand, C/B floored me with theirs, especially the Free Dance.
My very best wishes to all the junior dancers that begin their competition tomorrow! (I will be stuck at work, but will find my way to the on-demand version sooner or later--sooner if my updated computer is willing to play videos on SportsGold and later if I have to wait for someone else's kind computer to play their videos instead. Nonetheless, here's to a heck of a battle for the gold or the silver as the case may be, and I hope at least bronze for Gropman & Somerville. Still not 100% certain what it is going to take to get to Junior Worlds as we're not 100% certain if Carreira & Ponomarenko are sticking with the senior-only plan; but at least two junior teams will win their first junior medals at Nationals this season.