In between's
I find the discussions of the transitions and in-betweens with some of the posters really interesting and rewatched the rest of the skaters.
Caro has a lot of crossovers. I wonder if it is her attempt to hit the beat of the music, but the number of crossovers becomes numerous going into the second flip. Yet, she also has nice little linkage turns. Though simple and few, they go very well with the music. She also has nice choreos that pick nuances of the music very well.
It seems that
Miki needs less crossovers than Caro going into jumps. Yet, she nonetheless has very few linking footsteps. I actually do not know where the time disappears in her program. Although she spends like ten seconds standing and dancing in the middle, this is no more than Yukari and Caro. Does she need more time for spins and steps than others? I don't know. At this point of time, this program is
still as empty as her 2006-7 LP
yet in terms of in-betweens. But this is understandable because it is new. I hope that they have some time to develop this program.
Yukari. It seems that she needs little preparation going into the jumps. She has relatively less crossovers than others. But the use of the rink was also far smaller than the other skaters. I think that these may have something to do with her basic skating skills. But she has very nice dancing/choreos that connect the elements.
Yuna . Actually, she has no more transitional footsteps than Caro or Miki. What she has is effective choreos that use the upper or whole body. She isn't doing anything much complicated or difficult around her edges during her choreos. But her choreos are so extremely effective and tuned to the music, which makes the overall program so pleasant and enjoyable to watch.
Yet, I am not sure if these are supposed to yield a high mark on transitions. Transitional moves by definition do include the use of upper body and head. But my general understanding has been that footsteps and moves in the field are more important transitional moves because judging criteria include the
difficulty of the transitions.
For that reason, I feel it more appropriate to reflect Yuna's in-betweens more on interpretations and choreos than on transitions.
Joannie's program may be most balanced of all. Mao's transitions depend heavily on footsteps and moves in the field because her non-stop waltz music keeps her always busy moving forwards. In contrast, Joannie's program has a good balance between foot steps and dancing.
She has very nice little turns/steps/choreos during the crossovers and between elements that hit notes of the music very well.
It terms of the amount and difficulty, I would say Mao's program is the most transition-loaded program. But regarding the overall balance, I love Joannie's in-betweens the best.

They are so extremely well-constructed and have a wonderful balance and variation.