Yeah, the first post, I was referring to the polish couple. But I'm still not sold on the German S&S. They are one of the top pairs in the world now, that's for sure. But they're just not to my taste. So my second post still stands.
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Size of Pair/Dance Teams
- Thread starter lutzbutz1213
- Start date
Yeah, the first post, I was referring to the polish couple. But I'm still not sold on the German S&S. They are one of the top pairs in the world now, that's for sure. But they're just not to my taste. So my second post still stands.
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- Joined
- Mar 14, 2006
OK, now you have me really confused (but I'll manage somehow, LOL).
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2004
In dance, I think it looks better if the male partner is somewhere around 5-6 inches taller than the lady. Any more than that and it is difficult to ge tthe lines matched up, and they also start looking more like a pair team, any less and it is difficult to do the lifts. However, there are exceptions to this. D&S (Bul) are close in height, yet they still manage to do really great lifts, and I think they look wonderful together. D&W (USA) have a really big height difference, but they disguise it with their incredible precision and unison and neatness. As far as body types, I think tall, lean, long-limbed dancers look the best, though even shorter dancers with longer torsos/short legs) can still look good if they pay attention to extension, posture, turn-out and toepoint.
For pairs, I think something around 6-8 inches difference looks good. In general, I don't like the look of most teams with huge height differences. B&S were an exception, they looked so well matched despite his being so tall and her so tiny. Teams that are very close in height tend to look akward in lifts, unless they have impeccable technique and positions. I don't like the ultra-thin partners like Zhang and Pang, but too curvy and sturdy is not aesthetically pleasing either. One thing I don't like about NNN/Themi is that she almost looks too curvy and muscular for pairs, I sonetimes find myself worrying about how he is going to get her up there on the lifts. Not that she is anywhere close to being fat, or large, or anything like that, she just looks really solid. Again, though, she has really nice positions in the lifts so that helps balance out the size. I think Brooke Castile is sort of the "happy medium", not rail-thin but still lean. I like that she looks like a woman, not a 10 year old girl.
For pairs, I think something around 6-8 inches difference looks good. In general, I don't like the look of most teams with huge height differences. B&S were an exception, they looked so well matched despite his being so tall and her so tiny. Teams that are very close in height tend to look akward in lifts, unless they have impeccable technique and positions. I don't like the ultra-thin partners like Zhang and Pang, but too curvy and sturdy is not aesthetically pleasing either. One thing I don't like about NNN/Themi is that she almost looks too curvy and muscular for pairs, I sonetimes find myself worrying about how he is going to get her up there on the lifts. Not that she is anywhere close to being fat, or large, or anything like that, she just looks really solid. Again, though, she has really nice positions in the lifts so that helps balance out the size. I think Brooke Castile is sort of the "happy medium", not rail-thin but still lean. I like that she looks like a woman, not a 10 year old girl.
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2004
I don't think of Xue Shen as waify at all, especially compared to the other two top Chinese women pair skaters. I know she is small, but she seems like the perfect blend of smallness and strength. And she was lucky enough to find the perfect partner.
I had never seen Brooke Castille before US Nationals, but I must say that I thought she was stunning. She has beautiful shoulders, back and arms - kinda reminds me of Totmianina in that regard. I hope this team does well at their first worlds!!
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2003
I agree about Brooke Castile--she has a lovely look on the ice.
My only comment about the "perfect size" of pairs/dance skaters is that I find it distressing when female partners are too thin (or male partners, but that is not common).
The worst examples of course are Dan Zhang and Pang Tong. I feel very sorry for these young women, who are quite obviously suffering from either eating disorders and/or federation-imposed semi-starvation. It's very distressing. I would like to see the media pay some attention to this issue and speak plainly about it.
My only comment about the "perfect size" of pairs/dance skaters is that I find it distressing when female partners are too thin (or male partners, but that is not common).
The worst examples of course are Dan Zhang and Pang Tong. I feel very sorry for these young women, who are quite obviously suffering from either eating disorders and/or federation-imposed semi-starvation. It's very distressing. I would like to see the media pay some attention to this issue and speak plainly about it.
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2006
I've been thinking about it a great deal (prolly more than really necessary) and I have concluded that if the men in the pairs that I listed were a lot darker I might think differently, so your point about Rudy & Kristi is well-taken. On the other hand, I don't have any opinions either way about Krylova & Ovsiannikov or Delobel & Schoenfelder, where both men are blond and their partners much darker.
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