2023 Four Continents Free Dance

[Diana Delafield]

if my math is not wrong, half of these teams have at least one skater born in canada

Grow up in the Tessa and Scott years and you look for some other place where the path to the top of the national podium isn't out of reach. Russian skaters do (or did) the same in pairs since the podium there was so crowded. With two Scottish-born parents, I could have skated for Britain, but skating was just one of my after-school activities and I wasn't planning to continue with it as a career so I never pursued that possibility.

 

[Diana Delafield]

Nothing I swear. It is old and wearing out.

My keyboard does that from time to time. I get out the hand vacuum and remove enough cat fur to build a second cat, and we're back in business.

 

[Kitt]

I want C/B to win, but I do love that Evita program.

 

[Diana Delafield]

Her eyeshadow is strong. Maybe she can loan some to poor Deanna SD who seems to have lost hers

Why are so many of the women, particularly in dance, wearing red eyeshadow? Not an attractive shade in the closeups. Like they've been crying, missing sleep, have conjunctivitis.....

 

[moonvine]

Why are so many of the women, particularly in dance, wearing red eyeshadow? Not an attractive shade in the closeups. Like they've been crying, missing sleep, have conjunctivitis.....

Got me. I own a lot of sparkly eyeshadow but no red. D-SD used to have awesome sparkly green eyeshadow.

 

[moonvine]

Grow up in the Tessa and Scott years and you look for some other place where the path to the top of the national podium isn't out of reach. Russian skaters do (or did) the same in pairs since the podium there was so crowded. With two Scottish-born parents, I could have skated for Britain, but skating was just one of my after-school activities and I wasn't planning to continue with it as a career so I never pursued that possibility.

It’s good to hear your input. Most of the rest of us are just guessing.

 

[Diana Delafield]

i can tell you that Jason's shirt is no longer age appropriate for me LOL

My husband, not a skater, wasn't too keen on me still skating at we-won't-say-what-age, until he realized I was never exposing any skin except my face. High necklines, covered backs, long sleeves, heavyweight tights with long legwarmers for practice, gloves. There was less of me on public display than when I was in street clothes, and deservedly so.

 

[yesterday]

btt, SCORES

http://www.isuresults.com/results/season2223/fc2023/FSKXICEDANCE----------FNL-000100--_JudgesDetailsperSkater.pdf

 

[Diana Delafield]

talking of which... i had a huge crush on sergei ponomarenko when i was a kid... now that his son is competing... i don't exactly feel young anymore.. but i have to admit that i started having crushes on skaters before i started to walk

I feel old when I see Kegan Murphy (Liam's Canadian coach) as an adult. I remember when his mother brought him to the rink as a newborn in his little carrycot to show him off to the other coaches. (Hums: "I don't remember growing older, When did they....")

 

[Diana Delafield]

I really shouldn't nap considering my track record but as Harris/Chan's song goes, you know I'm tired

I often wonder if skaters listen to the lyrics and consider the possibilities. Can't remember now who it is in women's singles who was using "I Dreamed a Dream" this season and late in the program is the line about "so different from this hell I'm living". I always thought, "What if she's having one of those nightmare outings?"

 

[Lamente Ariane]

Ok, please don't kill me, but I might just like this abstract Fire-Air program more than the Evita Free skate of G/P.

Either way, I'm not really convinced that Chock/Bates and Gilles/Poirier are so much better than the rest of the field in Ice Dance (like 6-7 points better than Guignard/Fabbri and Fournier-Beaudry/Sorensen in SB seems quite generous...).

Eh, I like the Evita program less every time I see it (but I’m a known contrarian when it comes to Gilles/Poirier) and even though this is my least favorite Chock/Bates FD in years, I’d still take it any day over most of the field. Their lifts remain some of the most exciting in the entire discipline.

That said, I think Fournier-Beaudry/Sorensen and Guignard/Fabbri deserve to be scored at least within striking range and I still wonder what might have been if Hawayek/Baker had won Skate America like they should have earlier in the season. I feel the worst for Hawayek/Baker, who have basically been shut out of even the bronze medal race before it begins for absolutely no discernible reason beyond not being USA #1. Politics stink.

 

[Diana Delafield]

Why won't either be at worlds? Canada doesn't have 3 spots?

Just two, and Gilles/Poirier were given one although they had to miss Canadian nationals because of her appendicitis. Lajoie and Lagha were second in that event, but got bumped to third in the rankings for the World's team.

 

[Diana Delafield]

bowdry ? wow... the announcer's French is as good as Chris's Japanese

The rink announcer seems to think Lagha's Algerian name is French just because he's from Quebec and is a Francophone. She says la-GAH every time. At least Chris gets that one as correct as a non-Arabic speaker can.

 

[lariko]

Dance was so, so good! I am incredibly happy to see Lajoie/Lagha medal… and awesome finale for the competition.

 

[rain]

G/P have very simple lifts.

I'm always fascinated when people assert this. G/P and C/B both have all level 4 lifts. The end.

But back to this competition: a few observations.

The New Zealand team really caught my eye. I don't recall seeing them before and I was impressed. They have a beautiful light, smooth quality across the ice. I think they could go far if they continue to develop.

I loved Komatsubara/Koleto's first lift. Very impressive. I actually find this team underrated at times.

Lajoie and Lagha were stunning, maybe my favourite performance of the night. It is such an injustice that a team that scores over 120 in the free doesn't even get the chance to go to worlds. I know, I'm a broken record at this point. Congrats to them on their medal.

Fournier-Beaudry/Sorensen: this was my favourite performance of this dance that I've seen this season. They skated lights-out and it was fabulous. Their choreographic section near the end was fire. They're really knocking on the door of the worlds medal podium, in my opinion.

Chock and Bates performed the heck out of their FD, but I'm still just not enthralled. There are cool moves, but it's just not a whole.

 

[rain]

I wish levels mattered again, then we’d see some really interesting upsets. I do love C/B, to be clear, I just wish this sport felt fairer. For everyone’s sake.

Honestly, the advent of IJS and the accompanying levels in ice dance were what allowed teams like Virtue and Moir and Davis and White to rise on merit, rather than having to "wait their turn", as had been the tradition in ice dance before that.

The addition of all the choreographic elements and the +5, -5 GOE have allowed the judges much more room to manipulate the scores again to place teams wherever they want.

And while I never thought +5, -5 was a good idea (and still don't), I do love what the choreographic elements have added. But it's telling that nobody is even trying to do a level 4 footwork sequence this season. It just doesn't matter enough.

 

[viennaskater]

They do skate it well but yes after that amazing program last year it’s a bit meh and safe.

I couldn't agree more. I am all for a 'classic' dance done well, but Green/Parson's masterpiece FD last year was so beautiful and unique. I was hoping for more originality from them this season.

 

[viennaskater]

Hmm...that dance didn't really hold my attention.

Carreira/Ponomarenko do nothing much for me but when I first saw this programme, I liked the beginning. The music was unusual and I thought, 'Ooh this might be good'. Then it segued into 'Summertime' and then it became Blandsville, Arizona.

 

[viennaskater]

Must say it Piper and Paul are not well enough for worlds - must say CAN is still in good hands in Dance.

Please don't jinx it.

 

[viennaskater]

It plays well to a relatively conservative judging panel and it’s a nice tribute to (iirc?) Michael’s grandmother. But yeah, it’s nothing particularly fresh. Still… I actually like it more than T/V’s FD

Who are T/V??