2024 Grand Prix de France Women's Short Program

[Lamente Ariane]

I had a rough night so had to catch up on the stream later. Some assorted comments
-THRILLED for Amber!
-Sad for Mai, though I still have hope she can make up some ground in the free
-Clemence was so charming, loved her program and enthusiasm and a Grand Prix debut with home crowd support
-I love Wakaba's SP but I do hope she loosens up a bit and performs the first half more as the season goes on and she gets more comfortable
-Sarah Everhardt (what a name btw, sounds like she should be the orphaned heroine with a heart of gold in a Dickens novel) had the cleaner jumps but performance was very flat; Rion was smoother and I enjoyed her skate more but the calls seemed fair
-That cover of Money Money Money is unforgivable. Just give Gubanova a naturally slinky piece of music that actually goes with the choreo and leave the stupid concepts about ~money making her crazy~ and the bad movie trailer edgy covers of music that suck all the life and energy out of the original at home. Literally, why isn't she skating to Why Don't You Do Right or Marilyn Monroe's version of Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend? This didn't have to happen!

 

[Idiote]

Really loved this event ! The arena was packed today (probably because 1st November is a bank holiday here ?), it was loads of fun to cheer on everyone. I am thankful to have been in the arena and thus to have escaped the French camera angles of doom XD

Some random thoughts :

I am SO thrilled for Amber ! Her 3A was magnificent, everything else was gorgeous (including the kiss and cry reaction that was hilarious). I hope she stays calm and focused in the free to keep the gold !

Chaeyeon my absolute favourite darling ended the event perfectly. Love this program for her (she always has the best programs), I also adore the costume (I LOVE that the boots are perfectly covered to match the full-black suit ! Finally !! See other ladies, not that hard !!!). I was elated to see her live.

Wakaba, loved her ! Last year she felt a bit faster to me though ; and seeing it live I understand more why some people have been saying her Dune program is empty. It's quite true that not much happens outside of the step sequence (but what a step sequence !!). I wasn't as blown away by the step sequence as I thought I'd be, but I think that's because of the sound mixing, the volume was much lower on this part than the rest of the program. Weird.

I'm sad for Nina, but she can regroup in the free. I choose to disregard whatever backstory Benoit cooks up for his programs (since it's an artistic vision I can decide to interpret it however I want), so I really love both her programs this year.

Congrats to Sarah for a great GP debut. I do wish she was more joyful and expressive to match the energy of Riverdance ; but her program is still miles better than Bradie's.

Mai was a ray of sunshine, I was impressed to see her land a 3-3. The program didn't stick though, I preferred her Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence.

Rion flew over the ice. She's so fluid and graceful. Dress was gorgeous, I liked the music.

I really enjoyed Livia Kaiser's skate despite the wobbles. I like the music a lot and enjoyed the contemporary choreo. She has great jumps.

Anastasia, well, this music needs to disappear from the surface of the Earth. This cover sucks, and does her no favour. Her short last year was so much better. I was sitting a few seats next to the guy with the Georgian flag who got filmed saying "I love you", not gonna lie I was a tad bit weirded out. He was invested and appreciative of everyone else but I don't know... odd vibes.

And ohlala, my fellow French women... Not their best day. I'm gutted for Lorine, she usually manages to save her crazy off-axis jumps, but not today. I hope Léa ends her GP season on a good note tomorrow with a skate she can be proud of. I was happy to discover Clémence, never seen her before. We cheered her as best as we could despite the stumbles, she seemed happy to be here

Very nervous for tomorrow ! SO many scores at 66... it's going to be a bloodbath.

 

[Sai Bon]

Just caught up. It was soothing to watch the women after the splatfest that was men's SP, although there were some unfortunate mistakes (oh Mai and Rion, you are both such gorgeous skaters, but the one mistake in each programme was so costly!). Really thrilled for Amber - it's the first time I could watch her without worrying. Such powerful skating and amazing 3A! Chaeyeon was stunning too (love that costume!). Agree about Sarah's Riverdance - Jason Brown, Kazuki Tomono and Rika Hongo are hard acts to follow. But she was technically solid and the expression will come with time.

 

[Chantilly]

Ugh I’m sorry to mention this because I love Amber and am thrilled for her but wasn’t her 3A pre- rotated and her triple toe loop a q on the combo?

 

[moonvine]

AMBER! Wow. That is all I can say. After seeing her crying in frustration so many times I'll take a "holy ****" any time!

 

[mirai4life]

i was cheering for amber! so glad she did so well. masssive score

 

[Skater Boy]

I didn't find any of the ladies to have the oomph of say Kwan or technical brilliance of the Russians though good on Amber for making it close to the days of the Russians. She is getting more and more confident which makes her skating bigger and better. Nice triple axel and that is what pushes her score closer to 80. That's like with Goe's 6 pts over those with a 2A. Sad for Mai and I am not sure Wakaba cancompete with Amber but we'll see if she can podium high enough to get to the Grand Prix Final. Amber's short suggest she might be USA no. 1. Watch out Isabeau and ALysa and the door maybe closing for Ava. bradie looks like an after thought if there is a tragic collapse of many. What's going on with Nina? I thought she would be gunning for it here.