Short Dance

[Spun Silver]

C/L - now there's a well matched team. That was pure champagne... until she forgot to stop skating at the end (or did she slip a little?). Plus, they have the best music... and good costumes (is anyone listening)?

Oh boy, second look at V/M!

 

[dorispulaski]

Anna Capellini & Luca Lanotte ITA
SD Rhumba: Volveras by Gloria Estefan
Samba: El ChupacapraFD
All grown up now, Anna!
start w/rhumba
looks pretty good
twizzles, nice arms with them 3 sets. 2nd set could use more ice coverage.
circular step
this feels more or less like a rhumba
skid into the samba part which has the right marchy hip rollingy feel
into the step
lift rotational lift
more marching to the carnival.
She forgot to stop marching at end when music stopped.
I liked it better than I&K
Anna does like her red and silver costumes

64.62!!

 

[Spun Silver]

V/M totally polished but a little oomph is missing, partly because his costume is icky (too tight, and looks like practice clothes) and makes him seem less of an equal. A tiny loss of balance at the end? I hope Doris has time to annotate this one!

Que pasa? IN froze.

Dang, they chacked almost all of P/B. He has poetic feet in the closeups!

I see that BackStageBarbie was having the same problem with the costumes that I was.

 

[colleen o'neill]

No, I like Scott's costume , perfectly like a latin ballroom guy. I thought their lift looked off and they were very smooth to save it.. or was it the camera angle ?

ETA; Good to see Fabian looking better. I really like this SP for them . It's great fun.

 

[CassAgain]

P and B have my favorite short dance of the season. I love it; it's so much fun. His pants are even growing on me--thought they were pretty atrocious when I first saw them., but hey, they go with the dance.

 

[blue_idealist]

I just finished watching some of the programs on youtube. Call the fashion police on Gorshkova and Butikov and Hurtado and Diaz! I didn't watch the Chinese team, but I hear their costumes were atrocious too.

Virtue/Moir and Pechalat/Bourzat were awesome. Huge improvement from P/B, but it's expected as he was ill at their last event. I think I/K performed their SD better than at their last comp, but C/L didn't perform it quite as well. I still enjoyed them though. I couldn't bring myself to watch Chock/Bates because I'm still sad about the Samuelson/Bates split, and the one time I did watch C/B's short dance I honestly wasn't THAT impressed.

 

[colleen o'neill]

I'm still grieving over that split , too ..but C/B's SD is much improved all the same. Can't say they're not working hard. but have they earned my forgiveness ? That's another question..

 

[Spun Silver]

Me three. I heart Emily and Evan and Madison don't look right together to me, nor Emily and Todd. The Skating Church should forbid divorce.

 

[Blades of Passion]

Virtue/Moir's SD makes me sad. We have to watch this all season long but we only got to see their fair superior FD once.

 

[ImaginaryPogue]

No, I like Scott's costume , perfectly like a latin ballroom guy. I thought their lift looked off and they were very smooth to save it.. or was it the camera angle ?

No, it was definitely off. I actually thought this skate wasn't as polished as we've seen, but they skated it with attack - Scott definitely brought some more heat to the ice now. Like the change to the opening, upped the transitions (that they actually outpaced their PCS from SC here is something noteworthy). I want to see her in something more sizzling, though That she's worn the same dress in three straight competitions... I don't think she's ever done that before, to be honest.

And I maintain that the second rhumba sequence, as set and skated, is magnificent.

 

[ImaginaryPogue]

Virtue/Moir's SD makes me sad. We have to watch this all season long but we only got to see their fair superior FD once.

Heh. Agreed about missing their FD.

 

[colleen o'neill]

Oh, me too, on that FD ! ( and it only makes me resent the use of that opening cut by I/K more ..not fair, I know. )

I looked at the program again on YouTube..yikes, on the lift. I'm oddly unconcerned about her dress. I'm sure we'll see another at least at World's, but maybe for GPF , and I would prefer a warm colour.

I thought I noticed some more tweaks to the program , and there may be more coming.. but I agree that overall, I liked the SC performance better. ( same for my precious C/L)

 

[leil]

it feels like the biggest problem with the sd is the fd. the sd is just never going to measure up how great people think the fd was or could have been. the opening was better. the lifts were better. both were sexier. it was better here. it was better there. a significant amount of criticism of the sd is how it's not the fd. despite the fact that tessa and scott said that they wanted the same music but would not repeat anything -- from the cuts to the movement -- so many fans don't want to move on.

personally, i enjoyed it.

 

[Blades of Passion]

I meant to say far* superior but I'm sure you guys understood.

As for I/K, their opening cut actually has a different voice doing the lyrics in comparison V/M's FD cut....a very monotone voice. It's not nearly as effective, although I do admire the moxy I/K have been putting into the performance.

 

[dorispulaski]

IN cut out on me during Tessa & Scott's performance in a big time way, so I'm back watching it this AM


Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir CAN
SD Mujer Latina by Thalia , Temptation by Diana Krall (rumba), and HipHip Chin Chin by Club des Belugas
She's in the same blue cheerleader costume from SC. Usually she has a new dress by 4CCs; this year, it will be a good thing.
They have updated their posing section-nicer & more natural than at SC
I don't like the first HipHip Chin Chin music cut.
2nd rhumba not quite as sharp as at SC; at least one visible glitch by Scott
twizzles he's faster than she is, but unison good
They seem to have been working on facial expressions and hands/arms
new lift in Temptation looking smoother; still needs work
circular step OK
Little spin he gives her at the end not as smooth as SC.
Should go easily into lead, based on edges and speed.

71.18


Nathalie Pechalat & Fabian Bourzat FRA
SD "Carnival in Rio"; "Mas Que Nada" ; Composer: Ben Jorge ; Orchestra : Sergio Mendes; "Batucada" ; Composer : Abacaxi
"Real In Rio" ; Composer : Sergio Mendes

They are wearing the same Tourists in Rio costumes they did as SA
Really, they have great speed.
nice to see Fabian healthy again, even if in offgreen striped pajama pants!
energetic posing
mas que nada
lift is still a rather messy by complex one with too much crotch showing during the exit part
first rhumba nice with good speed
circular step decent; fairly close together
Real in Rio
twizzles not clear they were meant to cross like that, but pretty good
he back flips over her hip to end.
Crowd explodes; what there is of it
66.52 season's best

As to V&M's SD, yes the FD was better, but all FD's are better than all SD's. It's like using pieces of your destroyed old house to build a garage. I'm sure the blue dress will go...and it's a good thing.

I liked C&L's program better here; their rhumba was much better here. (and protocols show they got level 4's on both sequences; first time on the GP for any team)

 

[KKonas]

I noticed at Skate America that Pechalat & Bourzat increased their speed overall despite his being ill. I like their SD, as much as I like anyone's SD, but still think it was ragged in parts so I don't think he's 100% yet. The Italians look improved this season. I&K still have problems. He is all over the place, looks totally uncontrolled - wild. Don't know that they ever will be the potential gold medalists they were hyped to be by Sochi, which is why I think the Russian Fed is pushing Bobrova.

 

[dorispulaski]

Russian dance ranking reminds me a little of the pre-primary campaign for president in the US. The Republicans aren't in love with Romney, but their attempts to find someone better have so far met with little success. Bobrova/Soloviev is their Romney.

 

[KKonas]

Russian dance ranking reminds me a little of the pre-primary campaign for president in the US. The Republicans aren't in love with Romney, but their attempts to find someone better have so far met with little success. Bobrova/Soloviev is their Romney.

LOL, so true. Last season it seemed the Russian Fed didn't really make an effort to "push" anyone, waiting to see which couple would make the jump to top tier, and decided this season that Bobrova/Soloviev was their best bet.

 

[Spun Silver]

Russian dance ranking reminds me a little of the pre-primary campaign for president in the US. The Republicans aren't in love with Romney, but their attempts to find someone better have so far met with little success. Bobrova/Soloviev is their Romney.

Wonder who will be their Newt.

 

[dorispulaski]

Perhaps one of the couples coming up from juniors? They have some very, very good ones this year.