Canadian Summer Competitions, 2011, General

[from the sidelines]

Back from Octoberfest, absolutely loved Gilles/Poirier's program. They were incredible. Kept everyone's attention. The arena was packed and you could hear a pin drop when they began their program. Very dynamic team, will definitely be a contender this year. Their mark was totally deserved. Excellent skate, Paul had a slight wobble exiting a low spread eagle move but pulled out of it and saved the move. K/G-S were very smooth, nice lines, good flow, very nice highlights, but slow compared to Gilles/Poirier and not nearly as dynamic. I did think that K/G-S were underscored or perhaps P/I overscored in the short dance. K/G-S should have had a bigger gap between them and P/I. I also watch the Novice and Junior free dances. Comments on the Mengs as requested: nice flow, good speed, good technical stuff, program music way too mature for them, didn't draw the audience in much. I actually enjoyed Desveaux/Razjulagevs program more. It was more catchy and audience appealing, although the Mengs have a little better quality skating skills.

 

[ajjcanada]

Thanks 'from the sidelines' for the update! I was a bit concerned that the judges had overscored G&P, as they sometimes do with 'favourites', but I am happy to hear it was worth it. I'm not surprised that it was a packed house - just like us on the forum, everyone is curious to see how this new team will stack up. Hoping there is a youtube post sometime soon to watch.....

And thank you for your comments on the Mengs - they are great technical skaters and have progressed considerably since they moved to Montreal. Usually they are quite expressive - hopefully they can find a way to better relate to the audience through this program....

 

[wasabi]

The arena was far from full. Comps just do not seem to have the audience turnout they used to. That being said, there certainly was a huge loud contingent from the G/P club.

As far as the program goes, IMHO it was overscored on PC side. They did have some interesting lifts but it really is not that hard to get level 4s on lifts. The program was a series of rehashed elements from Dean. It was clever to have Dean choreograph the program and a clever music choice for G/P that emphasized strengths and hid weaknesses. Actually there was quite a large gap between some of the judges on the PC side and perhaps some protocol marking.

They were good, were they amazing , well...no.

In fairness to the audience, they were respectful of all skaters, and you could "hear a pin" drop for all the skaters.

Doris: I think K/GS were underscored in their PCs. They seemed slower than G/P but they also had slower, less quirky music which makes a team seem slower ( or vice versa, as for G/P seem faster than they actually were). Their costumes would also benefit from a colour change. It was also to their disadvantage that they skated first and were the only ones on their warmup.

 

[NorthernDancers]

also back from Octoberfest. My thoughts on Senior (going to use first names, since some of these last names are long and difficult):

Lynn and Logan: refreshingly different SD, really cool lift - really cool, good speed, not very good rhumba pattern. I had a look at the protocols, and not sure how they got those levels on the rhumba. I do think they were underscored on PCS. FD was very solid, again with unique choreography. Really liked this team.

Alexandra and Mitch: not going to sugar coat this....it was rough for them. They have just gorgeous, smooth skating skills. But there was a fall, some difficulties on the step sequence, and just not a clean skate. It's first time out, so maybe they will have a better time next week. Lots of potential, but just not on this weekend. I thought they were overscored.

Piper and Paul: first what I liked: speed, energy, unique moves, very different than Tessa and Scott, Kaitlyn and Andrew; what I didn't like: lots of tricks and very little dance, she might get a costume deduction elsewhere (especially the opening pose which exposes her basically to her waist), they looked to be unnecessarily aggressive on the warm up (they definitely controlled the warm up, almost causing crashes a couple of times, forcing other teams to move out of their way every time). I'm with wasabi on this one, and feel they were over marked. I do think they could be 3rd at Nationals. The contrast with a smooth and gorgeous dance from Alex and Mitch, and the tricks and energy of Piper and Paul will be interesting. Apples and oranges.

Olga and Benjamin: fall on twizzles in SD left them off the podium. It was a hesitant performance, but the rhumba was pretty good. Nice choreography and fast rotational lift with Olga wrapped around Ben's neck. Also liked the transition to the fast music - nice latin feel without being ridiculous, which I often feel is the case with the latin SD with other teams. FD was very nicely done. More attack today, and some beautiful expression, nice dancing. Definitely deserved 3rd today.

Anoushka and Philippe: had a reasonably strong SD and landed in 3rd. It wasn't great, but good enough yesterday. I really notice an improvement here over last year. Definitely stronger and faster. But they still have a long way to go with the basics, skating skills, etc. Anoushka and Philippe unfortunately had the misfortune of skating after Piper and Paul, which only seemed to highlight this point.

Cora and Ryan: they had a rough weekend, with a fall in the SD, and generally very weak skating in the SD and FD. I think they are a new team. But the scores and skating were more in line with mid-novice.

 

[dorispulaski]

Thanks to all for the reports. Lynn & Logan had beautiful programs last year, and it was really sad that they had a fall at Nationals. They were very close to Chock & Zuerlein for the 3rd spot and the berth to nationals. She has lovely lines, and they were very musical, and if romantic connection is what you're looking for in ice dance, they really sizzled at US Nationals. The field in the US is so complicated with all these splitting and reforming couples that's it is hard to predict how they will slot in. I see by the protocols that they only got level 1 for the spin, so that is something they should be able to fix for a few more points!

I'm sad to hear that Alexandra & Mitch had a fall. I hope they will have a good skate at Skate America, with no falls or major errors.

Piper & Paul-by the numbers, that is one impressive debut score, and it's good to hear that they have a different look from the top 2 teams-I think that is smart. You want people to remember who you are easily, and that's easier to do if you have a distinct look.