#i'm leaving for the ferry for helsinki real soon so i wanted to get this out here before that

[hopefulfrogs-blog]

SCI18 Ice Dance Reflections

Skate Canada, why do you hold events at non-olympic sized rinks? That’s just asking for things to go wrong. Can’t wait for Montreal 2020, which is primarily to be held at this exact rink.

Hubbell/Donohue - I wish Madi still had her old rd dress even if I get that they obviously don’t want to risk fringe falling off and getting a deduction again. The  new ending pose works though. For the free I think they still haven’t really figured out how high the emotions should be in what places. Last week it was Zach who overplayed it in the ending, this week when he closed his eyes it was much better. Instead Madi was the one who overdid it in their entry to the slide (which isn’t even that nice to begin with tbh) and in the ending as well. The stationary lift also went a bit wonky, but it is still the most interesting lift they do since they took out the rotational lift they had at U.S Classic.

Sinitsina/Katsalapov - I will never trust these two to be consistent, but they did as well as they could here. Her rd dress is the wrong kind of Russian drama, with the shreds to create the impression of speed. That said their tango is really intricate and they skate very close to each other, which is such a relief compared to some others. The lift was also good. The rd is definitely their stronger program though. The free is kind of a mixed bag for me, but in a really weird way. It has good flow in it, so that I don’t really notice the individual elements, but because of that none of the elements really stand out for me in a good way either. That said, good on Vika for keeping up the interpretation so that I didn’t even notice the dress mishap until i saw a picture of it. Not even the tech was affected by it. Definitely Russian #2.

Gilles/Poirer - The fact that they were involved in so many near collisions in the warm-ups is very them (I kind of wondered whether the other teams were extra stubborn with not giving way to them, just knowing that they tend to take it for themselves). I really wish they would’ve had a clean rd, because that’s the one I’m not sold on yet. It feels like a slower kind of tango than some of the others, but I am not sure of how much of that is them being slower and how much is the camera work. I really dislike the second set of twizzles they do in the tango - it is just so awkward. On the other hand I like the lift they have in it. Also Paul, stop using facial hair to do the interpretation for you. The free is a really good program though. When i watched the practice footage i didn’t think they really sold it, but they brought it in competition. They have a cool entrance into the twizzles, and like I said before, I really like their position in the third set of twizzles. Another good thing is the choreographic slide. That said, where they can go wrong for me is by being too literal, and there are a couple of things in this program that point to that. The paint splatter on Paul’s shirt is one. The other is the ending lift. It is a cool lift, I’ll give them that, but I just keep thinking that it is a literal interpretation wherein she is the ”starry starry night” over ”vincent’s” head. They also seemed to be grasping for each other quite a lot for having skating together a long time? The way they fought in the free was great still.

Lauriault/ La Gac - I really like their rd. They have their own style, with all the between the legs movements etc. You could really see them having to think about it in the pattern though, which transferred into their levels as well. They had a nice chemistry throughout it regardless of the tech which was a plus. Same goes for the fd. The chemistry is still really sweet, the between the legs movements in the opening still cool. They have some complicated lifts, some of which look good and some that get a bit messy. For me the rd is the stronger program (W/L should’ve beaten them in the free tbh).

Smart/Diaz - I don’t really like their skating asjkljskl. That said, the tango had a real tango feel to it, and they committed to performing it. I can’t tell if the murder face from Adria was intentional, or just him concentrating? For the free I must’ve been in the minority, but i actually liked the ”Sunday morning” outfit she had at ACI. This dress was not it. I like their first lift, but I think they need to sell the program more. I can’t remember if it was at ACI or the Skate Canada practice but they (she) sold the stop in their choreographic character step sequence much better wherever that was. The slide was so slooow, and really covered no ice, which they should probably look at.

Wang/Liu - He is such a good performer. She is as well, but it is more unusual when the man matches the woman’s performance level. They do have expansive skating, which I think you need in order to contend (or need to get in order to be a contender). The height difference never bothers me, it just makes them unique. That said I prefer their free dance  over their rhythm dance. The rd is still good though, I just think it is not as a coherent of a program. It really comes alive in the Pirates of the Caribbean part. I almost wish all of it was to that music. They also seem to connect more to it. In regards to their free, I love all their lifts in it. But I really don’t like their choreographic slide. Still the stronger program which I think will grow even further.

Twydale/Buckland - I said most of what i thought about the tango and their fd last week. But the fact that they improved their score by quite a lot (by getting higher levels) in front of a much stricter tech panel bodes well for their continued improvement this season. Hey Nick, thanks for gracing the kiss and cry with your presence!

Soucisse/Firus - She really reminds me of Gabriella Papadakis and I can’t figure out why. Their fall in the rd was unfortunate, but they weren’t getting the higher levels even before that. M-F telling them the kiss and cry have mics was hilarious though. The hiphop tango itself was…look, I’ll take any kind of music variation I can get. They are really going for the same kind of vibe in both programs though, which I don’t think is the best idea. I’m kind of neutral on the fd, but what I do think they need to do is skate bigger. There were moves that could be expansive and open to the crowds, but weren’t.

Sales/Wamsteeker - Double buns in the rd was nice. I don’t usually like to compare the costumes to V/M but that was clearly Tessa’s MR lol. Why green though for a tango? Even if it was a great color for her. I liked the way the two different pieces of music was cut in the rhythm dance - it was kind of abrupt, but it worked and then it speed up in  the second part really nicely for a couple of moments. They were lucky that S/A had such a rough competition, otherwise they had been in last for sure. With a lot of teams doing an abrupt change of music before the choreographic character step sequence I thought theirs was a nice change of pace that fit in easily with the music.

Skoptcova/Aleshin - Eurosport cut out in the middle of their rd, so i didn’t see most of it live. It was seemed to be a very ambitious program, with the pattern at the end, and given that they lost training time due to injury in the summer they really weren’t up to par here. That said, I did like their interpretation of the tango. She does have the annoying kind of tango kicks though, and they in general need to extend/straighten their legs more. The free just wouldn’t go their way so I don’t really wanna say anything about it yet. They do have something though.