2021 NHK Trophy: Free Dance | Page 11 | Golden Skate

2021 NHK Trophy: Free Dance

slider11

Medalist
Joined
Jan 12, 2014
I think Kana and Daisaike have a marvelous FD. They really shine as the prince and princess and really emote to the music. Their movements are sharp, precise and carry decent speed. His years of top-level skating really are evident and she keeps up. Love it! I do feel badly for Tim, but Kana and D really are special!
 

Yeslekyelnats

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 13, 2018
Starting to appreciate Madison and Evan's FD more. Just not drawn to that space/alien thing. But their skills are undeniable, especially after Evan's unfortunate tumble. It seems like a strange selection of music for an Olympic year but maybe it will pay off.
Totally agree. I think it means they have a ton of potential when they have a fall like that but my takeaway was how much cooler this program is getting along with that impact that it’s leaving. And it clearly has room to grow more. I don’t think this halters their momentum at all.
 

Ravyn Rant

Totally 80s Dance Party!
Medalist
Joined
Jan 22, 2004
If someone had told me ten years ago that I'd be this emotionally invested in Japanese ice dance, I'd have laughed. But I'll be gutted for the team that doesn't go to the Olympics. I just hope that this increases interest in dance in Japan, so in the future there will be more than one Olympic spot.
I scanned the thread and noticed the pearl clutching over Sinitsina's dress. That wedgie would have made Carolina Kostner blush. Granted, she has a lovely backside, but that should have been a costume violation as it was hanging out for the entire program. I honestly couldn't have told you how they skated.
Madi and Evan's space program is really growing on me. Shame about the fall. Their costuming reminds me of the pulp sci-fi novels of the 60's and 70's, which were known to feature astronauts falling for sexy aliens if the cover art was any indication. Nationals should be a real nail-biter.
 

IceDancingQueen

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 7, 2017
Actually I like Vika and Nikita's music and thought they skated well. But I am curious about some of the very high GOEs on elements that seem a bit unrefined and hurried.
Yeah I’m curious too - I think they had a level 1 step sequence but then had like 3+GOE. I think they have superb skating skills (not P/C level but still good) but the performance was sloppy in quite a few places. They should have scored closer to C/B cause their FD still needs a lot of polishing.
 
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IceDancingQueen

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 7, 2017
Totally agree. I think it means they have a ton of potential when they have a fall like that but my takeaway was how much cooler this program is getting along with that impact that it’s leaving. And it clearly has room to grow more. I don’t think this halters their momentum at all.
Yes it says a lot that they had a fall still managed to get the score they did. It just shows how strong all their elements are. I love the programme and hope it continues to grow as you said. They could beat H/D at nationals if they skate clean and perform it well.
 

rain

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 29, 2003
I still don't like Chock/Bates's FD, which really makes me sad, since I love their RD. So sad for them with the fall. Would have been interesting to see what would have happened without it.

SinKats: this was definitely better than the RD, which is hideously awful in every way. I don't mind the first part of the dance up to the music change. There are some interesting aspects. Their choreographic slide was great. The midline step was vastly overscored — even on video you could see how slow they were through it and the level wasn't there. Yet candy GOE from the judges. The second piece of music makes no sense with the first, and the choreography and performance were garbage. It's like two totally disparate things jammed together for no reason. Awful. Also, on the very shallow end, I couldn't unsee her wedgie. That has to be the absolute worst to skate with.
 

anonymoose_au

Insert weird opinion here
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 22, 2014
Country
Australia
I scanned the thread and noticed the pearl clutching over Sinitsina's dress. That wedgie would have made Carolina Kostner blush.
Was that the issue? I didn't notice at all. But then again Loena had a truly terrible one last week at GP Italy. Vika's at least looked like it was just the cut of the leotard....

The dress was a lovely colour though, so props on that.
 

Joe Mendoza

Virtuously Shady Diva
Final Flight
Joined
Jan 18, 2021
I love watching Ice Dance but still all confused with the scoring. I honestly and objectively do not see a 5 point differential between the scoring of the top 2. I would have thought the scores would be a lot closer, I would probably have still placed Nikita and Vika at the top with Evan's fall, but without it, I would have thought it would have Chock and Bates with their more refined presentation (Niki and Viki got virtually 10s on the component) to have won it (and yes, am not crazy about the alien music). No shade, but this is one of the reasons why I am a bit turned off by the discipline - the scoring on the GOEs on the technical dance elements and PCS was just wild.
 

rain

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 29, 2003
I love watching Ice Dance but still all confused with the scoring. I honestly and objectively do not see a 5 point differential between the scoring of the top 2. I would have thought the scores would be a lot closer, I would probably have still placed Nikita and Vika at the top with Evan's fall, but without it, I would have thought it would have Chock and Bates with their more refined presentation (Niki and Viki got virtually 10s on the component) to have won it (and yes, am not crazy about the alien music). No shade, but this is one of the reasons why I am a bit turned off by the discipline - the scoring on the GOEs on the technical dance elements and PCS was just wild.
You are not the only one feeling this way. The Russian Fed has been pushing — hard — over the last quad to first bring this team into the top 5, then make it seem as if they are on par with the French. They'd really love to shove them into the Olympic gold medal slot. It's almost laughably transparent, since this team is nowhere near being good enough. I think that their material this year is enough of a miss (especially the truly awful rhythm dance, which, IMO shouldn't even put them in the top 6 or 7) that they won't be able to usurp the French at the top of the podium, but they're going to give it the old college try. But unfortunately, I still think they are the favourite for silver, which, again IMO, they should not be given what we've seen so far this season. The GOEs and PCS they get for merely being OK are, indeed, difficult to swallow.
 

Kinga

Medalist
Joined
Feb 15, 2008
You are not the only one feeling this way. The Russian Fed has been pushing — hard — over the last quad to first bring this team into the top 5, then make it seem as if they are on par with the French. They'd really love to shove them into the Olympic gold medal slot. It's almost laughably transparent, since this team is nowhere near being good enough. I think that their material this year is enough of a miss (especially the truly awful rhythm dance, which, IMO shouldn't even put them in the top 6 or 7) that they won't be able to usurp the French at the top of the podium, but they're going to give it the old college try. But unfortunately, I still think they are the favourite for silver, which, again IMO, they should not be given what we've seen so far this season. The GOEs and PCS they get for merely being OK are, indeed, difficult to swallow.
It is also truly sad that a former ice dancer and the ISU stream commentator says without blinking: so many teams will fight for OG bronze: C/B, G/P, H/D. Lets already give out medals, why bother.
 

cathlen

Team Gorgeous Cacti!
Record Breaker
Joined
May 2, 2015
Country
Poland
It is also truly sad that a former ice dancer and the ISU stream commentator says without blinking: so many teams will fight for OG bronze: C/B, G/P, H/D. Lets already give out medals, why bother.
I agree. On the other hand, there will be two fights: one for gold and one for medal. Of course, in competition anything can happen, and a fall on big element may change everything. He definitely shouldn't have said something like that. I mean, skaters and coaches watch videos as well, it was disrespectful.
 

litenkyckling

Final Flight
Joined
Jun 6, 2018
I've been slowly catching up today and I have to say that for me, just now, I'd give the Olympic title to the French. S/K's FD is in a way too similar to P/C's trademark style, but they don't do it as well. It asks for comparison. I loved M/T's FD and can't help but think that if S/K were doing La Bayadere then they would shine more than they are just now. (I also don't like the jig section - I seriously am starting to think the ISU asked for dance breaks this year). This FD somehow makes them look much less classy than they usually do, and I think that that is a mistake when you want to beat what will likely be a faultless P/C.
 

rain

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 29, 2003
(I also don't like the jig section - I seriously am starting to think the ISU asked for dance breaks this year). This FD somehow makes them look much less classy than they usually do, and I think that that is a mistake when you want to beat what will likely be a faultless P/C.
I get that both are Rachmaninoff pieces, but that doesn't mean the two pieces of music should be used together. It is a total mismatch. They make no sense and the tone is entirely different. I think I kind of get what the thought process was — do something at the end to bring the audience to their feet — so they went with something higher tempo to try to achieve this. It just doesn't work. It doesn't help that it's sloppily performed and the choreography a mess.

One thing that Virtue/Moir got absolutely right with their music choice (whether you liked Moulin Rouge or not) was that it was totally different than P/C. They didn't try to out P/C, P/C as it were. This dance is kind of S/K trying to do just that. They shouldn't challenge the French with these pieces they've chosen this season. But then again, they shouldn't be the favourites for silver either.
 

labgoat

I have no words
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 3, 2007
Country
United-States
If someone had told me ten years ago that I'd be this emotionally invested in Japanese ice dance, I'd have laughed. But I'll be gutted for the team that doesn't go to the Olympics. I just hope that this increases interest in dance in Japan, so in the future there will be more than one Olympic spot.
I scanned the thread and noticed the pearl clutching over Sinitsina's dress. That wedgie would have made Carolina Kostner blush. Granted, she has a lovely backside, but that should have been a costume violation as it was hanging out for the entire program. I honestly couldn't have told you how they skated.
Madi and Evan's space program is really growing on me. Shame about the fall. Their costuming reminds me of the pulp sci-fi novels of the 60's and 70's, which were known to feature astronauts falling for sexy aliens if the cover art was any indication. Nationals should be a real nail-biter.
I have to imagine that Sinitsina was bothered by her dress as well and will having a talk with her designer. Chock & Bates will likely be making adjustments as well to her dress as Evan keeps getting cuts from the beading when he twirls her around his neck.
 

CanadianSkaterGuy

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 25, 2013
It is also truly sad that a former ice dancer and the ISU stream commentator says without blinking: so many teams will fight for OG bronze: C/B, G/P, H/D. Lets already give out medals, why bother.

I somewhat agree. But he was calling a spade a spade. As pointed out, the scoring for S/K is super forced . But really S/K’s programs and overall skating SHOULD be beatable or at least challenged by C/B, H/D and G/P - but they can do no wrong. I mean they got a PCS personal best for that program which says it all. I assume in the Russian GP they can lie down on the ice and get +5s and 10s across the board. I just can’t wait for the GPF and watching them and hopefully clean French/US/Canadians teams skating back to back so we can truly see how they stack up.
 
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