DORISPULASKI said:
4. They skated in the CD in a group having N&K, W&L and DelSchoes, all of whom are superior in the CD. The dance chosen was the Midnight Blues, which is a new dance. Like any blues it emphasizes edges and extension. C&S's forte is speed and quickstepping. They came in fourth in their group. W&L and N&K are definitely superior for edges and extension. The best C&S could have hoped in this group was to be 3rd. As it was the DelSchoes hopped over them too. I didn't see it, and therefore won't try to explain that.
I will. Olivier Schoenfelder danced like Fred Astaire. Del&Sch had superior edges and ice coverage and superb rhythm. From what my scotch-loving friends tell me, they were smooth as an 18-year old single malt. I keep hearing that Del&Sch are rhythmically tone deaf, but that hasn't been my experience of seeing them in the last two years.
For me it would have been a tough call between Del&Sch and W&L for first in the CD, because W&L were so on in every phrase. It was W&L who had the perfect lines in the blues CD, not N&K.
As to where others placed, the DelSchoes had had a break in practice, and Olivier still had an injured hand. According to Isabelle, she missed his hand on the last lift of the LP.
I would bet that they lost a little energy toward the end of the program due to the training break, too, although ABC chacked them, so I can't say.
Their FD didn't have quite the same energy or precision that they had earlier in the year, yet they were a joy to watch. Merlin is a great program to watch as theater, but I think they're going to have to dance a bit more in the future. I'm surprised that he could lift her at all, given that he had a hand full of stitches.
Consequently they placed behind B&A, who had the absolute skate of their life of WSS, not missing a thing. If you are a B&A fan, their big problem was placement in the CD. Again, they are team that excels in quick stepping, close skating, and varied hand holds. Not a super blues couple. Shpilband couples often do not seem to skate as well as they should in the CD's. B&A were 4th in their CD group, as were C&S.
I don't think they belonged in 4th in the CD. They were unfortunate enough to open the group, but I think this was to safeguard G&G's spot. He especially was terrific in the blues, very patient and smooth, but with a wonderful pulse.
However, B&A skated great in the OD, and yet were placed behind G&G, who had a uniformity break in one of the S/L sequence and missed a handhold. ESPN showed G&G last night. I am shocked that G&G scored ahead of W&L or B&A in the OD.
Their OD is a nice composition but it was not well skated.
The only performance I missed in a week at Dortmund was G&G's OD because of the rest room line. When I got back to my seat, my compatriots in crime told me they skated very well. I didn't realize they made mistakes.
And G&G made mistakes in the LP.
What struck me most is how it dropped a notch at about the 2/3 mark, as if they hit an air pocket.
As to what happened to Dubreuil/Lauzon, you need to ask a Canadian. I have not seen their performances yet.
I'm not a Canadian, but in my opinion, watching them is like hearing fingernails on chalk boards. They have very fine lifts and spins, but they don't move across the ice. Her knees are bent, but they are locked in place, and they don't flow across the ice, but get bogged down instead, and have to fight to regain speed.
Now as to what is so great about N&K this year:
1. If the CD is Midnight Blues, I bet they were miles better than D&S, because of Navka's line and extension. The blues section of their OD is also completely gorgeous. That gives them the edge over D&S in those two items.
When they came out for the warm-up they did a very exaggerated, theatrical take on the blues. (One of the musical cuts played during each warmup period.) When they skated in the competition, they were sedate. Yes, she had nice line, but there was no push or pulse or beat to their performance. A nice technical performance, maybe, but there was no sense of this being a dance, rather than an exercise. I would have had them in 3rd in their group, behind W&L and Del&Sch.
There were two men who really felt the blues: Agosto and Atilla Elek of Hungary. (Re Elek, you have to watch out for those quiet ones. He's a very passionate dancer.) The only couple to feel the blues were Denkova and Staviyski. They melted the ice, and her line was quite stretched, and just fine. They so outdanced everyone else. As great at W&L and Del&Sch were in performing a ballroom blues number, they didn't compare to Den&Sta. Den&Sta's CD was one of my favorite performances of the competition.
The petition said nothing of cheating. All the petition said was that the skaters were displeased with the result, because they thought it was wrong. How does this equate to saying C&S cheated? The only Ice Dancer I've ever heard who even claimed that they thought C&S cheated was Kati Winkler, and that was because she picked up on an untrue rumour from FSU.
