2024 Skate Canada Free Dance

[amanda b]

Let's dream

Always loved Piper and Paul and sometimes the costumes are stunning and wholly appropriate - Hitchcock, Evita, Wuthering Heights. Sometimes they seem hideously dated - the one for the Olympics where Piper missed a lift (so memorable I can't remember the song). Sometimes their routines have made me cry - the Joni Mitchell one. This FD would have been stellar with more sophisticated costumes - IAM invariably gets that right for their dancers. The colours jar, and what's with the bling - awful, and they detract from the performance.

 

[Chantilly]

Well I’m going to be the dissenter and say I LOVE Paul’s costume in the FD and I actually think Piper’s is what doesn’t work. Paul’s back looks like a violin and this program is based on a pop song based on a classical piece and even that piece was altered to fit an instrument of the violin and lowered in key.

I think it’s an interesting and incredibly modern costume take on this piece. Is anyone should charge their costume it’s Piper, who I thought looked like her grandmother hot glued gems to her second hand skating dress.
I’d have Piper either reverse the costume to the front or somehow reflect violin strings.

Otherwise I thought that their program was a beautiful work in progress.

 

[TallyT]

Well I’m going to be the dissenter and say I LOVE Paul’s costume in the FD and I actually think Piper’s is what doesn’t work. Paul’s back looks like a violin and this program is based on a pop song based on a classical piece and even that piece was altered to fit an instrument of the violin and lowered in key.

I think it’s an interesting and incredibly modern costume take on this piece. Is anyone should charge their costume it’s Piper, who I thought looked like her grandmother hot glued gems to her second hand skating dress.
I’d have Piper either reverse the costume to the front or somehow reflect violin strings.

Otherwise I thought that their program was a beautiful work in progress.

For me the hole at the back isn't the problem, hysterically silly as it is. The whole thing makes him look chunky (which god knows he's not) and amateur hour. It's just bad in every imaginable way. As said, I never even noticed Piper's so cannot give the slightest opinion on it...

 

[Chantilly]

For me the hole at the back isn't the problem, hysterically silly as it is. The whole thing makes him look chunky (which god knows he's not) and amateur hour. It's just bad in every imaginable way. As said, I never even noticed Piper's so cannot give the slightest opinion on it...

Couldn’t disagree more.

 

[rain]

For me the hole at the back isn't the problem, hysterically silly as it is. The whole thing makes him look chunky (which god knows he's not) and amateur hour. It's just bad in every imaginable way. As said, I never even noticed Piper's so cannot give the slightest opinion on it...

Yeah, I agree. The hole in the back doesn't bother me. It's the fact the the whole dinner jacket looks baggy and ill-fitting. If it was sleeker I'd be happy with it (and a different colour; what is that orange-red?)

Piper's dress is also ugly and looks cheap, though it doesn't really stand out. I can only hope this is a placeholder costume. I think they should both change costumes. Love their RD costumes, and their costumes the last few years have been impeccable, so I'm hoping they take notes.

 

[NanaPat]

I can only hope this is a placeholder costume. I think they should both change costumes. Love their RD costumes, and their costumes the last few years have been impeccable, so I'm hoping they take notes.

They often do change costumes. Remember the original pants for the Joni Mitchell program? They were a horrible peachy color that was not only bad on its own but didn't match the rest of the costumes. Fortunately they got new costumes that were of similar style but an entirely different color.

I agree about the RD costumes. Liked the actual ones much better than the pink ones we saw earlier.

 

[Chantilly]

Carol says they actually have 5 different costumes for the RD. So it’s likely they have other costumes for the FD.
I loved the RD costumes.
Can’t imagine I’d like the others as much.

BTW, the comments that P/P were slow in the RD were valid.

Carol mentioned that they skated the program that “ was in them that day” It was not the program they will be skating at Worlds. I believe she said they skated “cautiously”

Anyway I thought there were so many wonderful difficult transitions and movements in the RD. The twizzles transition was fantastic.

I think that they definitely got the brief and think this program will just continue to grow and build.

 

[nomi darling]

Z/K - very pretty program, but not close to Caroline and Michael. Green and Parsons have extremely strong skating skills, perfect unison, and can skate contemporary better than any team in the field. They absolutely deserve to have a spot at Worlds this season and Olympics next season.

Ah, you're speaking to my dreams now (re. G/P). Cursed reality makes me somehow doubt it, as much as I wish that it were true. But who knows - maybe they could prove me wrong. I'd welcome that!

 

[Rackon]

So, I watched the entire event and I shall speak.

The two young US couples are just faceless. And that's bad. There is nothing after Chock/Bates, so they should set their marks already now, but they are all skating some unwatchable stuff.

Zingas and Kolesnik - Spielband cosplaying Papadakis and Cizeron. Nothing new.

Every year I clap IAM for finding new programs for Evgenia. She was a wooden doll last year, now she's a robot. Everything to hide her complete lack of dancing skills. She's great from a technical point of view, but quite frankly, she should be skating with Malinin - the level of selling choreography is the same for both.

Tashlers always look cheap and mainstream, and this makes my heart bleed. They have great skills, they could have blossomed into World Champions, if only they had good programs. I said it before and I will say it again - they should go to IAM.

LL - I love the team, and I hate all their dances because they are always the same. Fun in RD, drama in FD. I am sure they can do better and deeper than that.

Piper and Paul - they again reinvented themselves. Starting a tango with baroc music is a bold move, I give them standing ovation for that. They have been in the circuit for many years and they have (almost) always brought unique dances. They deserve the gold medal this year. Of course, none will let them get the OGM (unless Chock and Bates fall three times), but they should become World Champions at least once.

ZK’s free dance is 95% choreographed by Benoit. I much prefer this dance to anything Gr/P have done this year or the past two seasons.

 

[danceblade]

ZK’s free dance is 95% choreographed by Benoit. I much prefer this dance to anything Gr/P have done this year or the past two seasons.

For sure, everyone has their preferences for style of program, music, choreo- like a painting, but Michael and Caroline have always had superior technique and I feel that because the rules continue to be watered down each season, we miss sight of good ice dance technique. If the pattern dances and rhythms come back there will be obvious differences in ability.

 

[readernick]

Z/K - very pretty program, but not close to Caroline and Michael. Green and Parsons have extremely strong skating skills, perfect unison, and can skate contemporary better than any team in the field. They absolutely deserve to have a spot at Worlds this season and Olympics next season.

Agree if G/ P stay healthy. His injury last year really threw them off. They are my favorite US ice dance team ( along with Brown and Brown..) I just like teams that can actually skate!

I'm not into Z/K. She still skates like a singles skater. That's normal she's new to ice dance, but they should not be getting these scores when you compare their actual skating to T/ T, B/ B, L/B and so on. I think ice dance wants to move towards the style of Z/K and the Brits.. Fun performance without the hard skating but I'm not on board with this, personally. To me seeing T/ T skate right before and after Z/K just showed that the judges aren't really judging based on the actual skating because the skating abilities of those two teams are polar opposites. That being said. I'm sure no one cares about my opinion and many people love those two teams. Good for them!

 

[Lamente Ariane]

Agree if G/ P stay healthy. His injury last year really threw them off. They are my favorite US ice dance team ( along with Brown and Brown..) I just like teams that can actually skate!

I'm not into Z/K. She still skates like a singles skater. That's normal she's new to ice dance, but they should not be getting these scores when you compare their actual skating to T/ T, B/ B, L/B and so on. I think ice dance wants to move towards the style of Z/K and the Brits.. Fun performance without the hard skating but I'm not on board with this, personally. To me seeing T/ T skate right before and after Z/K just showed that the judges aren't really judging based on the actual skating because the skating abilities of those two teams are polar opposites. That being said. I'm sure no one cares about my opinion and many people love those two teams. Good for them!

I care about your opinion! (It's pretty close to mine )

 

[readernick]

Well I’m going to be the dissenter and say I LOVE Paul’s costume in the FD and I actually think Piper’s is what doesn’t work. Paul’s back looks like a violin and this program is based on a pop song based on a classical piece and even that piece was altered to fit an instrument of the violin and lowered in key.

I think it’s an interesting and incredibly modern costume take on this piece. Is anyone should charge their costume it’s Piper, who I thought looked like her grandmother hot glued gems to her second hand skating dress.
I’d have Piper either reverse the costume to the front or somehow reflect violin strings.

Otherwise I thought that their program was a beautiful work in progress.

I agree with this. I don't like her dress. They are weird ( Love this program by the way much more than I have loved any of there recent programs .. probably my favorite since their Hitchcock program that they ended up ditching) in the best possible meaning of that word and his costume is strange enough to suit their vibe. Hers is just in bad taste IMHO

Anyway, I like them because they know how to skate in hold. ( C/ B and G/ P do too) Unlike most of the younger teams the "veterans" skate close together, they had a lot of experience with classic hold and patterns. At the same time, they all keep pushing the envelope with their choreo. I know many people want the older terms to move over or retire so the younger ones can take over. But, ice dance will definitely lose something when they do actually retire. The older teams had to thrive under the old rules and that shows in their skating.

 

[MiraiFan]

Green and Parsons have extremely strong skating skills, perfect unison, and can skate contemporary better than any team in the field. They absolutely deserve to have a spot at Worlds this season and Olympics next season.

THIS!!!

 

[Andrina]

So, I watched the entire event and I shall speak.

The two young US couples are just faceless. And that's bad. There is nothing after Chock/Bates, so they should set their marks already now, but they are all skating some unwatchable stuff.

Zingas and Kolesnik - Spielband cosplaying Papadakis and Cizeron. Nothing new.

Every year I clap IAM for finding new programs for Evgenia. She was a wooden doll last year, now she's a robot. Everything to hide her complete lack of dancing skills. She's great from a technical point of view, but quite frankly, she should be skating with Malinin - the level of selling choreography is the same for both.

Tashlers always look cheap and mainstream, and this makes my heart bleed. They have great skills, they could have blossomed into World Champions, if only they had good programs. I said it before and I will say it again - they should go to IAM.

LL - I love the team, and I hate all their dances because they are always the same. Fun in RD, drama in FD. I am sure they can do better and deeper than that.

Piper and Paul - they again reinvented themselves. Starting a tango with baroc music is a bold move, I give them standing ovation for that. They have been in the circuit for many years and they have (almost) always brought unique dances. They deserve the gold medal this year. Of course, none will let them get the OGM (unless Chock and Bates fall three times), but they should become World Champions at least once.

Just wanted to clarify something about the US couples.

To me, they all have good skills and could be very pleasant to watch. The problem is not in them but in those who make their programs.

My heart bleeds when I see them skate those completely unremarkable, forgettable programs that don't showcase their uniqueness, their style, but make them all look alike.

 

[IceDancingQueen]

I'd say it wasn't the most unusual or innovative program, but they skated the hell out of it.

I imagine that they will make adjustments and add highlights since they didn’t have as much prep time due to injury.

 

[Rackon]

THIS!!!

Only if they get stronger programs.

 

[Rackon]

For sure, everyone has their preferences for style of program, music, choreo- like a painting, but Michael and Caroline have always had superior technique and I feel that because the rules continue to be watered down each season, we miss sight of good ice dance technique. If the pattern dances and rhythms come back there will be obvious differences in ability.

I don’t question their ability, mainly their music and choreography - especially last year’s free. They’ve been searching for the right material ever since their breakthrough MG program. Last year they just seemed uncharacteristically flat.

ZK aren’t yet on the same technical level (mainly Emi, as I think Vadym is a star) but they have more intensity and charisma to me. I don’t want ID to turn into pairs lite but I enjoy watching ZK more than I do Gr/P.

PS: Just for the record, I’m not a fan of F/G.