1) Red Ballerina joining the "220 club"
2) Amazing japanese crowd, supporting each skater with flags etc, doesn't matter if it's a japanese, canadian or russian! :thumbsup:
3) Sotskova finally breaking through the "210 points" wall
4) TAT's nervosity before announcing scores for Kaetlyn and Satoko (she was expecting them to overcome Masha by PCS inflation)
5) Satoko's UR's getting called
1. Satoko SP/FS: I'm details obsessed and her programs just do it for me in that sense. Her footwork sequences and hand variations are my favorite of the season.
2. Nathan SP: I think this is the right length given his tech content. Shae-Lynn did a wonderful job choosing music and choreography that play to Nathan's strengths and bring something cool and fresh to skating.
3. Carolina FS: I feel like this program is a culmination of many years of hard work. Her lines and extension, the poses from the ballet, and her flow over the ice perfectly capture Debussy's piece.
4. V/M SD/FD: Amazing because neither program is my favorite packaging wise. When I watch them I just want to throw my shoes at them. They are skating at such a high level and have only improved in the depth of their interpretation. Legends!
5. S/M SP: I'm very happy they returned to this. Bruno is a lot more engaged and it is more charming than their new program.
1. Without a doubt: Aliona's and Bruno's legendary free!!! The choreography is absolutely mesmerizing! And this time the technical part was stunning as well! The may not have the highest difficulty when it comes to base values, but the quality is mind-blowing!
Bruno had such a hard time with that odd citizenship test and put himself under so much pressure... To see Sui/Han's brilliant performance... then come out and produce like that... It just made me cry really. It has been long overdue, that Aliona get's the reward she deserves after so many years of fantastic skating!!
2. Gabriella's and Guillaume's freedance! 200-hattrick completed!!! I know, it always has to do with personal taste, but: THIS programme is out of this world and beyond comprehension! You just forget that they're competing. Absolutely beautiful!
3. Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir! They did two sublime programmes here in Nagoya! At the beginning of the season I didn't really know where to put their music choices, but now it feels absolutely perfect to me. I prefer P/C a bit more, but these two definitely deserve a 200+ score as well! The difference is not that huge.
4. Wenjing Sui's and Cong Han's free!! Apart from Han's little mistake this was master class skating! I cannot hear Turandot anymore, but today it worked really well with their programme. A shame that the short just didn't match up.
5. Maria Sotskova!! I know, technically and in terms of components she's not the strongest woman in the field, but I'm really happy, that her consistency over the last weeks and months has finally been rewarded!! Well deserved silver medal!
This is my top 5, but I would like to add two other magic moments:
THE WHOLE JUNIOR LADIE'S EVENT!!!! Stunning stuff!!! Trusova and Kostornaia are just phenomenal!! Medvedeva, Zagitova: be prepared!!!
Shoma can smile again!!! Technically it was not his best performance here in Nagoya, but his happiness was just too adorable!!!! And his fall on the 3A in the short was the cutest thing I've ever seen Hope, he will keep his good mood from now on
To Nathan: I agree that he had a solid short programme, but he nearly lost his balance in every landing and the skating in between looked too casual (this is my personal opinion). Moreover his disappointing free somehow destroyed my impression of his complete performance here in Nagoya...
1, Aliona and Bruno scaling back the tech and delivering a great, beautifully choreographed free.
2, Pap Ciz winning- with their short and their long- and their singing of the national anthem; oh and an honourable mention of Gabi's eyebrow movements in the K and C
3, Alexei K free. Nearly clean programme delivered with passion and conviction if not the finesse that is yet come.
4, Alena Kostornaia. Among Eteri's crowd ,a revelation.
5, Rika Kihira landing the first 3a-3t in ladies competition- 25 years after Midori ito was seen doing them in practice.
1) Aliona and Bruno FP. No doubt about that.
2) Gabriella/Guillame SD
3) Alina FP
4) Satoko FP
5) Tie between Kaetlyn Osmond SP and Gabriella/Guillame FD
In no particular order:
--As always H/D, every time I see their performance I find something new to love (now we just have to get the judge's to love them as much as the Eurosport guys)
--S/M's FP, it was everything I love in pairs and more
--S/H's FP, I had doubts about them skating to that since it is so identified with their coaches but it growing on me
--Ted Barton's commentary on the juniors, seriously the gold standard for skating commentators
--Carreira/Ponomarenko, they only placed 2nd in Juniors but they are great
And another take away is that the odds that Olympic men's event is going to be a gigantic splatfest went up.
-satoko s sp(loooove memoirs of a geisha)
-men top three sp(special shoutout to nathan s ending pose):cool14:
-p/c lp-v/m sp it s a tie
-s/h fs(in love with everything they do):luv17:
-lovely japanese crowd
1) satoko's sp
2) p/c winning with their fun (but not trashy) sd and profound fd (their only fd i've ever liked)
3) s/m almost clean performances. very inspired. aliona hasn't been this inspired (lp) since pina, i think
4) maria's sp (i LOVE it!)*
5)fedor being so nice to ksenia after she bombed their lp. he himself got everything right. could be a masterpiece of a program if clean.
* and her dresses!
edit: but by god do i miss robin szolkowy and davis/white =(... would trade almost all the current dancers and most pairs to get them back. also super sad for maia and alex, i so hope they get it together, on their best days they are at least equal to v/m and p/c
I generally don't watch much ladies and didn't here, but among the other three disciplines and in no order:
Chock/Bates FD - they skated it with much more confidence and emotion
Sergei's FD - Wow, that was just wonderful to watch, I am so happy for him for this whole fantastic season he's having
Sui/Han FS - They are just heavenly. Such a shame about the fall in the short, but it's a fiercely competitive field & S/M deserved their win
P/C FD - I find them mesmerizing to watch, the way they move together is hypnotizing
Nathan SD - he's got so much swagger this season and this was a great performance.
Not a performance but an observation. US Nats for Ice Dance is going to be on fire. Literally any team could win & any could get bronze. Will depend on who has nerves of steel & goes error-free and brings the passion.
1. S/M amazing FS (and I still haven't been able to watch S/H because it's all blocked everywhere)
2. The Japanese audience clapping during Kaetlyn's SP and Wakaba's FS : what precision!
3. Young Kostnorskaia's SP
4. Shoma's SP, first time seeing it, it was nice
5. The ladies SP as a whole