This past weekend the Russian test skates took place. In this showing we were able to take a first look at the short dance and free dance of most Russian teams. I will be giving my opinion solely based on how the programs are looking and not so much on whether the teams are achieving great technical results by now. Some programs will have two videos, just in case you want to watch it in different perspectives. Let’s start with the short dance.
I really like the music that Bobrova and Soloviev chose for the rhumba, but they need to be smoother during this portion. They do the pattern to a samba which I don’t think was the best choice. Also, I don’t particularly like the steps they are going. The lift is to show they are good acrobats but I don’t particularly like how it looks. I am going to keep watching this program, as I hated their blues in the beginning of last season but it eventually got better. For now, I don’t think they are in their element and it is showing. Still, it is a good program.
I was really excited to see what Stepanova and Bukin had to show us. I really liked the start. They showed good attitude. But then, I hate Chandelier as a rhumba. Sorry, but it doesn’t work. The lift was great though. And they it gets worse in the third music, which does not fit with the previous ones. I read somewhere that it was “too much posing and not much dancing” and they are right. That’s what I think as well, particularly if you are looking at Alexandra. If you just pay attention to Ivan, it does not look as bad. Stepanova’s problem of not fully extending her arms, for instance, also gives the impression that the movements are not finished. They have a lot of work to do. My expectations were high and maybe that is why I was really unimpressed, but they still have time to develop the program.
Here, I had no expectations at all. Elena and Anton have been skating together for 3 months, so I did not know what I was going to see at all. They start with Daniela Mercury. Good choice! They have speed on the rhumba pattern! And the twizzles were quite in sync, which is good. “Besame Mucho” for the rhumba. Love it! The lift was gorgeous. Maybe what I did not like was the execution of the no-touch midline step sequence, in which it was more visible that he can’t keep up with her. She is a star, and is doing great. He has little experience and alongside her, it shows. But quite a nice program for a team that is together for so little time. Choreographically, I think I like this program more than the previous two. Simplicity is sometimes the key, and for them I think it worked beautifully.
Another team that I was looking forward to seeing was Tiffany and Jonathan. Hip Hip Chin Chin. Loved the twizzles. I don’t remember so many teams doing the twizzles they are doing on the second set. Only Delobel and Schoenfelder. And I know that because I absolutely loved them, so this Russian team just scored some points with me. On to the rhumba pattern: the best I have seen so far. Good job! She is a natural at this style, but he is quite good himself! Maybe the better matched team in my opinion. Really liked the finishing samba. I really hope they challenge the top teams this season. They are looking good for that. Some imprecisions which are part of being early season, but they are one of my favourite Russian teams so far.
Evdokimova and Bazin’s rhumba pattern was something that lead me to beg for it to finish as it started. Just work on that please. The lift was great, maybe a little slow. I don’t know what to say. They skated well, but I kept thinking about stopping it to watch another team. And that is not good.
World Junior Silver medalists, Alla Loboda and Pavel Drozd are moving up to seniors and showed their short dance. Great twizzles! I don’t like the placement of the pattern dance where it is. He is great on latin movements and then she is way over the top and a bit clumsy. So, I liked to watch him, but not her. Regardless, this is one of my least favourites programs. Don’t particularly like the music or the layout of the elements. I was expecting so much more.
Betina Popova and Sergey Mozgov were a question mark for me. They start with the same music that Smart and Diaz of Spain have. The twizzles were quite good. The lift is great! Latin-wise this is one of the best teams. I really liked their program. She even gives hip action occasionally. Great job! One of the teams to keep an eye on this season.
Lastly, Sinitsina and Katsalapov. This team was doing poorly last season, but they have a good ability, so another question mark team for me. First impression: get rid of that dress Victoria, please. Something with color, fringe, sparkles and not just some piece of cloth. About their short dance: it is quite different from the other teams and they did their twizzles! The music cut was a bit strange. Performance-wise I liked their interpretation. They missing some steps and the lift is weird. The program is ok. I think I will have to watch it again to form and opinion. Is not one of my favourites but it is not one of the worst either. Let’s move on to the free dance, which unfortunately did not have the presence of Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin. Bobrova and Soloviev’s free dance: she is not in black! I was so tired of seeing her in black that this is a nice change. They have nice ideas for lifts but I was not completely sold. They still need some work. I like their music choice. They kept their rotational lift, which was my least favourite. It may be hard to do it, but it does not mean it fits what you are skating to. It did remind me of some programs from Montreal, but with the gestures it gives a nod to Medvedeva. I don’t know. I liked it, in opposition to the one they had last season that I absolutely hated. However, I don’t see them winning with this. Still, it is early in the season and I want to watch this through the Challengers and the Grand Prix Series to form a more concise opinion.
Oh wow that stationary lift at the beginning. She is new to ice dance but he was the one that made a slight mistake on the twizzles. Honestly, she has personality and looks like a dancer. I also liked their spin. I loved the program. It is really nice. It was a great interpretation from Annabelle and Andrei (she is fantastic on that!). This is one of the teams I want to see throughout the season, as they have a lot of potential.
It is Carmen for Popova and Mozgov. The spin is great, the twizzles look good, and the lifts make sense on the music. Interpretation and commitment are there. This was probably my favourite free dance of these tests. I hope they get a grand prix assignment, they sure deserve it. I mean it is not easy when the last great Carmen was done by Virtue and Moir and you are able to give it your interpretation and succeed in having a great program yourselves. Good job! I will for sure keep an eye on this team this season. The twizzles look good. The coaching change was good in that department! What a lovely stationary lift. I also liked some of the choreographic elements. The straight line lift was also good, even though it felt a bit unpolished. This program suits them well. And I like the costumes. Much better than in the short dance. One can see where their focus has been. My only critique for Victoria & Nikita at this point is that they need to work on two things: step sequences and connection with the audience.
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The 2016-2017 season might be over but figure skating fans tend to pay plenty of attention to any news in the off-season related to their favourite teams, particularly regarding music anouncements for their programs of the following season. Furthermore, excitement is quite large this year, since the Olympic Winter Games will take place next year.
So, the first thing to know is that all teams will have a Latin Short Dance, since the pattern dance chosen for this season for the senior couples is the Rhumba, to which can be added any of the following rhythms: Cha Cha, Samba, Mambo, Meringue, Salsa, Bachata and any closely related Latin American or Caribbean Rhythms. On what concerns the junior teams, the pattern dance is the Cha Cha Congelado and they can add any of the rhythms mentioned above. In this post I will be adding any news concerning anouncements that the teams may make. Music Announcements: AUSTRALIA Kimberly Hew-Low & Timothy McKernan SD: Safari J Balvin, ft. Pharrell Williams, BIA, Sky FD: Exogenesis Matilda Friend & William Badaoui FD: Love Story AZERBAIJAN Anastasia Galyeta & Avidan Brown FD: Cabaret BELARUS Adelina Zvezdova & Uladzimir Zaitsau SD: Apologize - Justin Timberlake; Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps - The Pussycat Dolls FD: Lexus (The Pursuit of Perfection) - Ralf Kempen, Mark Joggerst; Tema Celeste - Roberto Cacciapaglia Karina Sidarenka & Maksim Yalenich NEW SD: Ambientscapes; Let's get loud FD: Horchat Hai Caliptus - Ishtar; Pistolero - Juno Reactor CANADA Alicia Fabbri & Claudio Pietrantonio SD: Historia de un Amor - Nana Mouskouri; Sweet Like Cola - Lou Bega FD: El Tango de Roxanne; Come What May (Moulin Rouge!, comp. Craig Armstrong) Ashlynne Stairs & Lee Royer SD: El Beso del Final - Rudy Perez, performed by Christina Aguilera; I Like It Like That - Pete Rodriguez, Tony Pabon FD: Un monstre a Paris - Sean Lennon; La Seine - Matthieu Chedid, Sean Lennon (A Monster in Paris) Carolane Soucisse & Shane Firus SD: Bailando, El perdedor, Let me be your lover - Enrique Iglesias FD: Cheek to cheek & I won't dance - Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett Cassidy McFarlane & Kameron Jeromkin SD: Sway Ellie Fisher & Simon Pierre Malette-Paquette SD: Amado Mio; Donde Estas, Yolanda - Pink Martini FD: La Strada (comp. Nino Rota) Gina Cipriano & Jake Richardso SD: Come; Makeba - Jain FD: Merry Go Round (Howl’s Moving Castle, comp. Joe Hisaichi) Haley Sales & Nikolas Wamsteeker NEW SD: Cuéntame Que Te Pasó - Rosario FD: Love Theme - Robin and Marian, comp. John Barry; Merry Men - Robin Hood, comp. Marc Streitenfeld; The Ride to Sherwood/The Ride to Nottingham - Robin and Marian, comp. John Barry Irina Galiyanova & Tommy Tang SD: Dance With Me - Debelah Morgan; La vida loca - Francisco Cespedes FD: Time in a Bottle - Sim Croce; Lost in the Forest - Shin Jae Young Jade McCue & Gabriel Clemente SD: Maria (Ricky Martin); Ole Ole Ole (Ricky Martin); I Need to Know (Marc Anthony) FD: Another Day of Sun; City of Stars (Duet); Someone in the Crowd (La La Land, comp. Justin Hurwitz) Jessica-Lee Behiel & Jackson Behiel NEW SD: Let’s Get Loud; Theme from Mahogany; On the Floor - Jennifer Lopez FD: Amarcord; 8 and 1/2; Amarcord Suite - comp. Nino Rota Jessica Li & Jacob Richmond SD: Broadway Mambo - Perez Prado; Asi Es La Vida - Clandestinos FD: Runaway; Conqueror (Aurora) Jolie Che & Paul Ayer FD: Sarabande Suite Kaitlyn Chubb & Alex Gunther SD: Whatever Happens - Michael Jackson; Sway - Michael Buble FD: True colors by Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick; September by Earth, Wind and Fire Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje FD: Spartacus (comp. Aram Khachaturian); choreography by Lori Nichol and Linda Garneau Katerina Kasatkin & Corey Circelli SD: Mujer Latina (Thalia) FD: Faded (Alan Walker feat. Iselin Solheim) Katrine Roy & Oliver Zhang SD: Cha Cha Cha - Mo’ Horizons; Amado Mio - Cinema Serenade Ensemble FD: Assassin’s Tango - Mr. and Mrs. Smith, comp. John Powell; Tanguera - Sexteto Mayor Keelee Gingrich & Parker Brown SD: Europa [Earth’s Cry Heaven’s Smile]; Smooth - Santana FD: The Curse - Agnes Obel; Neverland - Takenobu Leia Dozzi & Liam Fawcett SD: Addicted to You ; Don’t Stop the Party (Pitbull feat. TJR) FD: Vinegar & Salt; Amalfi (Hooverphonic) Lily Hensen & Nathan Lickers SD: Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps; Por Arriba, Por Abajo - Ricky Martin FD: Who wants to live forever - Queen; performed by The Tenors Marjorie Lajoie & Zachary Lagha SD: Bla Bla Bla Cha Cha Cha - Petty Booka; Tu Picadura - Gary Tesca FD: Dream - Imagine Dragons; Nemesis - Benjamin Clementine (x) Molly Lanaghan & Dmitre Razgulajevs SD: Samba Vocalizado - Luciano Perrone; Lo So Che Finirà - Anna Tatangelo; Johnny’s Mambo - Michael Lloyd NEW FD: Selections from Mary Poppins (comp. the Sherman Brothers) Natalie D'Alessandro & Bruce Waddell SD: I Need to Know - Marc Anthony; Let’s Get Loud - Jennifer Lopez FD: Your Song - Elton John, Bernie Taupin; Your Song (Ellie Goulding); Your Song (Moulin Rouge!, perf. Ewan McGregor); Original Arrangement/A Wonderful Love - Karl Hugo Natascha Collier & Philippe Marchand SD: India - Yan Amor; Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps - Pussycat Dolls FD: Overture; Beauty and the Beast (Beauty and the Beast, comp. Alan Menken) Nina Mizuki & Veniamins Volskis SD: Que La Detengan NEW FD: Arrietty’s Song; Sho’s Song (Arrietty, Cecile Corbel) Olivia Han & Grayson Lochhead SD: I Need to Know; Quítate Tú Pa Ponerme Yo - Marc Anthony FD: Selections from Pirates of the Caribbean (comp. Hans Zimmer) Olivia McIsaac & Elliott Graham SD: Quizás, Quizás, Quizás - Pink Martini ; Angelina - Lou Bega FD: Let It Be Me - Ray LaMontagne; What I Wouldn’t Do - Serena Ryder Ravie Cunningham & Cedar Bridgewood NEW SD: Where Do I Begin - Shirley Bassey [Away Team Remix] FD: Johanna; A Little Priest - Sweeney Todd, comp. Stephen Sondheim Sarah Arnold & Thomas Williams SD: Besame Mucho FD: Fall for You (Leela James); If I Ain’t Got You (Alicia Keys feat. Usher) Theadora Sauve & Alexandre Faucher SD: Sway - Pink Martini; Beautiful Maria of My Soul - perf. Mambo All-Stars feat. Antonio Banderas; Copacabana - perf. Copacabana Original London Cast FD: Anything Goes; But Beautiful; It Don’t Mean a Thing - perf. Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga Valerie Taillefer & Jason Chan SD: Con Mi Sombra - S-Tone Inc; Skip to the Bip [Brazil Mix] - Club Des Belugas FD: Closer Than Sisters (Penny Dreadful, comp. Abel Korzeniowski); A Boat to Argentina (Amen, comp. Armand Amar) Vanessa Chartrand & Alexander Seidel SD: Samba Pa’ Ti; Oye Como Va (Santana) FD: Lament; You Must Love Me; Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina (Evita, comp. Andrew Lloyd Webber) CZECH REPUBLIC Nicole Kuzmichova & Alexandr Sinicyn SD: Magalenha - Antonio Carlos; Fly Love - Jamie Fox; Mas Que Nada - Jorge Ben FD: Cabaret (Willkommen; Money; Mein Herr) - John Kander Natalie Taschlerova & Filip Taschler SD: Cha Charanga - El Rubio Loco; Temptation - Tom Waits; Bailar -Elvis Crespo, Erick Orrosquieta, Robert Fernandez FD: Somewhere Over the Rainbow - Harold Arlen, E.Y. Harburg; In This Shirt - Jamie McDermott, performed by The Irrepressibles FINLAND Cecilia Torn & Jussiville Partanen NEW FD: Funny Face; I've Got A Crush On You FRANCE Marie Dupayage & Thomas Nabais NEW SD: Take It Easy My Brother Charles - Jorg Ben Jor; Un Canto a mi tierra - Quantic and his Combo Barbaro; Real in Rio - Real Copa FD: Yesterday - Tangoloco, Daiel Garcia Quinteto; Grand Guignol - Bajo Fondo Marie Jade Lauriault & Romain Le Gac SD: "September" & "How deep is your love" FD: Another one bites the dust; You Take My Breath Away - Queen Angélique Abachkina & Louis Thauron NEW FD: Je suis malade - Lara Fabien; Mariage D'Amor - Richard Clayderman Loicia Demougeot & Théo Le Mercier SD: El Pescador by Totó La Momposina; La Collegiala by Rodolfo y su Tipica; Onda Tropica - Punkero Sonidero NEW FD: Light of the Seven by David de Miguel; Strange by Apollo G'eeze Natacha Lagouge & Corentin Rahier NEW SD: Medley - Cafe Latino; Frío Sin Ti - Navajita Plateá ft. Buika; Samba Beach - Danny Davis, Peter Weitz FD: Theme : the life of Coco Chanel [Little Black Baby - Scott Joplin (ragtime); Tango A Meta - Fabrizio Biondi; Tema per una donna sola by Ennio Morricone; Casino de Deauville - Alexandre Desplat; Cocomotion by El Coco (disco) GERMANY Katharina Müller & Tim Dieck SD: Dibby Dibby (Samba); I am not the only one - Sam Smith (Rhumba); Campo Grande (Samba) FD: Bodyguard musical soundtrack Kavita Lorenz & Joti Polizoakis SD: Aguanile - M. Anthony (Salsa); Mil Pasos - Soha (Remix) (Rhumba); Quimbara - C. Cruz (Salsa) GREAT BRITAIN Penny Coomes & Nicholas Buckand SD: Remix of Rhumba D'Amour by Torvill and Dean, choreography by Christopher Dean FD: Battle Remembered - Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, choreography by Christopher Dean Sasha Fear & George Waddell FD: Coldplay Medley (Sky full of stars; Fix You; Viva la vida) Emily Rose Brown & James Hernandez SD: I Wanna Dance With Somebody; One Moment in Time - Whitney Houston FD: Who Wants To Live Forever - Brian May, performed by The Tenors Lilah Fear & Lewis Gibson FD: West Side Story Leticia Marsh & Elliot Verburg NEW SD: Bones Bugalu - Gabriel Rios; Lo So Che Finra - Erik Satie, performed by Tataneglo; Ven a bailar - Bilal Haiji, performed by Jennifer Lopez FD: Moulin Rouge soundtrack [Sparking Diamonds; El Tango de Roxanne; Come What May] HONG KONG Valerie So & Marcus Yao NEW SD: Samba; Despacito - Luis Fonsi FD: Singing in the Rain; Walking on Sunshine ISRAEL Isabella Tobias & Ilia Tkachenko SD: Shape of You - Ed Sheeran ; She Will Be Loved - Rhythms del Mundo ; Fireball - Pitbull FD: Samson et Dalila-Camille Saint-Saëns ITALY Charlene Guignard & Marco Fabbri SD: Salsa; Rhumba; Samba FD: Exogenesis Symphony Part III - Muse Jasmine Tessari & Francesco Fioretti FD: La Tosca - G. Puccini JAPAN Kana Muramoto & Chris Reed SD: I like it like that - Pete Rodriguez; Mondo Bongo - Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros; Batucada - DJ dero NEW FD: Music Medley from Ryuichi Sakamoto Yuka Orihara & Kanata Mori NEW SD: Hoy Es Adios, A Gozar Timbero FD: Planetarium & Epilogue from La La Land soundtrack Rikako Fukase & Aru Tateno NEW SD: Senorita Bonita; Tequila; Que Rico Mambo Misato Komatsubara & Tim Koleto SD: Ahora Quien - Marc Anthony; Samba do Brasil (Radio Remix) - Bellini FD: Yentl soundtrack (“Where is it Written?” and “A Piece of the Sky”); Sabrina soundtrack ( John Williams’ instrumental End Credits) LATVIA Aurelija Ippolito & Malcolm Jones FD: Alex Clare - Damn Your Eyes; Cover of Tainted Love LITHUANIA Allison Reed & Saulius Ambrulevicius FD: Stairway to Heaven POLAND Natalia Kaliszek & Maksym Spodyriev SD: mix of Luis Fonsi, Prince Royce & Shakira FD: swing, quickstep and foxtrot or waltz RUSSIA Anastasia Shpilevaya & Grigory Smirnov SD: Cha Cha (Tom Jones Kiss) and samba (Dominó-Baila Baila Comigo) FD: Love Story; choreographer Irina Zhuk Anastasia Skoptsova & Kirill Aleshin SD: rhumba, Cha-cha, salsa FD: Tango (Vuelvo Al Sur, Paris, Texas – Gotan Project) Elizaveta Khudaiberdieva & Nikita Nazarov SD: cha cha; samba FD: Ghost (musical soundtrack) - Dave Stewart, Glen Ballard Eva Kuts & Dmitrii Mikhailov NEW SD: Cha Cha - Michael Jackson; Juan Magan - Mariah FD: Butterflies and Hurricanes - Muse Evgeniia Lopareva & Alexey Karpushov NEW SD: Kiss; In Style and Rhythm - Tom Jones FD: Moldavian Song - Emir Kusturica; Maki Maki - Goran Bregovic; Mesecina - Goran Bregovic Ksenia Konkina & Grigory Yakushev NEW SD: Cuentame - Caribbean Kings Band; Lick It; Samba FD: El Choclo Polina Ivanenko & Daniil Karpov NEW SD: Rhumba; Cha Cha; Samba FD: L'Immersita - Il Volo Sofia Evdokimova & Egor Bazin FD: Ave Maria Sofia Polishchuk & Alexander Vakhnov NEW SD: Chilly Cha Cha - Jessica Jay; Hip Hip Chin Chin - Club des Belugas FD: Black Swan (soundtrack) - Clint Mansell Sofia Shevchenko & Igor Eremenko SD: Let's Cha Cha - MC Mario; Happy - Max Sedgley FD: Heart Cry - Drehz ; La Boulange - Yann Tiersen Tiffany Zahorski & Jonathan Guerreiro NEW FD: Muse medley Victoria Sinitsina & Nikita Katsalapov FD: Vocalise, Piano concerto nr.2 - Rachmaninoff SOUTH KOREA Yura Min & Alexander Gamelin SD: Despacito - Luis Fonsi; My All - Mariah Carey; Mujer Latina - Thalia FD: Arirang Alone - Sohyang SPAIN Olivia Smart & Adria Diaz SD: Despacito - Luis Fonsi FD: "A Mans World" & "Natural Woman" sneak-peak Celia Robledo & Luis Fenero SD: Shakira medley (Hips Don't Lie;...) FD: The Skin I Live In; Flamenco Sara Hurtado & Kirill Khalyavin SD: Santana FD: Don Quixote (Flamenco), Choreography by Antonio Najarro SWITZERLAND Victoria Manni & Carlo Rothlisberger NEW SD: I Like It Like That; Beautiful Maria; Do You Only Wanna Dance FD: Sixteen Tons; ZZ Top's Tush UKRAINE Alexandra Nazarova & Maxim Nikitin SD: Cucurrucucú Paloma; Pink Panther Mambo (?) FD: Pirates of the caribbean soundtrack Maria Golubtsova & Kirill Belobrov NEW SD: Kaboom - Ursula 1000; Love Freedom - DJ Maksy; Hip Hip Chin Chin - DJ Maksy FD: Hallelujah - Leonard Cohen Olga Giglava & Yegor Yegorov SD: Besame Mucho - Michael Bolton; Shall We Dance - John Altman; Can I Tico Tico You - Abreu/Bega FD: Daydreams - Abel Korzeniowski; The Adjustment Bureau (soundtrack) - Audiomachine; Akkadian Empire - Audiomachine USA Alina Efimova & Alexander Petrov Somerville FD: Umbrellas of Cherbourg Allie Rose & JT Michel FD: Bonnie and Clyde theme Amanda Miller & Daniel Tsarik FD: Four Seasons Avonley Nguyen & Vadym Kolesnik SD: cha cha, rhumba, and mambo rhythms FD: West Side Story Caroline Green & Gordon Green SD: Chilled Mambo - the Mambo Molly and the 5 Alarms; Donde Esta Tu Amor - Son By Four; Music from Samba Latina soundtrack FD: Music from Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor - Alexander Borodin; Stranger in Paradise - Sarah Brightman Chloe Lewis & Logan Bye SD: Carino - Jennifer Lopez; Como Ama Una Mujer - Jennifer Lopez; On the Floor - Jennifer Lopez ft. Pitbull FD: Child of Light OST by Coeur de Pirate ("Final Breath; "Place de République" and "Metal Gleamed in Twilight") Christina Carreira & Anthony Ponomarenko SD: Quizas, Quizas, Quizas - Sarita Monitel; Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps - Pussycat Dolls; Conga - Gloria Estefan FD: Dance for Me Wallis; Abdication (from "W.E." soundtrack) - Abel Korzeniowski Claire Purnell & Lucas Purnell FD: Fiddler on the Roof Daria Popova & Cameron Colucci FD: La La Land soundtrack Eliana Gropman & Ian Somerville SD: Mas Que Suerte - Beatriz Luengo; De Hombre A Mujer - Donato & Estéfano; Samba Hey - El General FD: Zavedi Me - Hari Mata Hare; Nyah - Hector Teixeira Pereira & Hans Zimmer; No Ronees Das Conmigo - Tangos De La Reponpa - Susi Elliana Pogrebinsky & Alex Benoit SD: "Baddest Girl in Town" (Pitbull feat. Mohombi and Wisin);"Lo So Che Finera" (Anna Tatangelo); "Bailar" (Deorro feat. Elvis Crespo) FD: Desire (Rock Blues) [I Put a Spell on You (perf. Annie Lennox); original composition] Emma Gunter & Caleb Wein SD: Se Escaparon - Bombon; Huele A Peligro - Myriam Hernandez; Pasame La Botella - Banda Agua Caliente FD: I Give Up - Elija Bossenbroek; Crimson Sky - Calm Music for Studying Isabella Amoia & Luka Becker SD: Caramelo; Angel de mi corazon; Caramelo (Sugar's Dance Remix) - Olga Tanon FD: Code Name Vivaldi; Arwen's Vigil; Michael Meets Mozart - Piano Guys Jocelyn Haines & James Koszuta FD: Sinatra Medley Julia Biechler & Damien Dodge SD: Into You (Rhumba remix) - Ariana Grande; I Know You Want Me -Pitbull FD: American Woman - Lenny Kravitz; I Put a Spell On You - Joe Cocker; Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes Kaitlin Hawayek & Jean-Luc Baker SD: Get Busy - Sean Paul; Soha Mil Pasos - Isabelle & Félicien; Fireball - Pitbull FD: Liebestraum (last season's FD) Karina Manta & Joseph Johnson SD: Right Now -Pussycat Dolls; Fireball - Pitbull FD: Moulin Rouge ("One Day I'll Fly Away" and "Your Song" - perf. Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman); Choreography by Christopher Dean Katarina DelCamp & Maxwell Gart FD: Motown music ("I Feel Good" and "Try a Little Tenderness") Lorraine McNamara & Quinn Carpenter SD: Mambo Italiano - Orietta Berti; El Perdedor - Enrique Iglesias; Big Bagz - Alex Romano FD: Anime Contro Vento by Medialuna Tango Project Madison Chock & Evan Bates NEW SD: Marc Anthony medley FD: "Imagine" by John Lennon Madison Hubbell & Zachary Donohue SD: "Cuando Calienta el Sol" - Talya Ferro; "Le Serpent" - Guem; "Sambando (Los Ritmos Calientes)" (x) sneak-peak FD: Across the Sky Instrumental - Rag N' Bone Man; Caught Out In the Rain - Beth Hart sneak-peak Maia Shibutani & Alex Shibutani SD: Perez Prado FD: Coldplay: Paradise Molly Cesanek & Nikolay Usanov FD: Romeo & Juliet Nicolette Fey & Caleb Niva FD: A Thousand Years - Christina Perri Rachel Parsons & Michael Parsons NEW SD: Mambo Molly - Mambo Molly; Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime - Zuchero FD: La Partida - Victor Jara; Sikuridadas & Quiaquenpita - Inti-Illimani[South American music, based on the contemporary ballet “Ghost Dances”] Sophia Elder & Christopher Elder FD: Alice in Wonderland soundtrack Coaching Changes: GERMANY Kavita Lorenz and Joti Polizoakis will train with Marina Zoueva (previously coached by Igor Shpilband) ISRAEL Isabella Tobias and Ilia Tkachenko will train with Marina Zoueva, Oleg Epstein, Massimo Scali and Johnny Johns (previously coached by Igor Shpilband and Adrienne Lenda) RUSSIA Tiffany Zahorski and Jonathan Guerreiro will train with Elena Kustarova and Svetlana Alekseeva (they were previously coached by Alexander Zhulin) Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov will train with Alexander Zhulin (they were previously coached by Elena Chaikovskaia, Marina Zueva and Massimo Scali. Splits/Retirements: CANADA Elysia-Marie Campbell & Philippe Granger Sabrina Bédard & George Waddell Priya Ramesh & Brandon Labelle Mira Samoisette & Dominic Barthe Yohanna Broker & Matthew Korkoian Alexa Linden & Addison Voldeng (x) JAPAN Emi Hirai & Marien de la Asuncion (x) KOREA Lee Ho-jung & Richard Kang-in-Kam (x) LITHUANIA Taylor Tran & Saulius Ambrulevicius (x) RUSSIA Elena Ilinykh & Ruslan Zhiganshin (x) USA Anastasia Cannuscio & Colin McManus (x) Danielle Thomas & Daniel Eaton Charlotte Maxwell & Ryan Devereaux (x) New Partnerships: AUSTRALIA Chantelle Kerry & Andrew Dodds (x) CANADA Molly Lanaghan & Dmitre Razgulajevs (x) Olivia McIsaac & Elliott Graham (x) Ellie Fisher & Simon Pierre Mallet Paquette (x) GEORGIA (?) Diana Davis & Fedor Varlamov (x) GREAT BRITAIN Sasha Fear & George Waddell Eleanor Hirst & Adam Miller (x) Tish Marsh & Elliot Verburg (x) LITHUANIA Allison Reed & Saulius Ambrulevicius MEXICO Megumi Tsutsumi & Devin Dickey RUSSIA Alisa Lozko & Adian Pitkeev (x) Elena Ilinykh & Anton Shibnev (x) USA Avonley Nguyen & Vadym Kolesnik Isabella Amoia & Luca Becker Allie Rose & JT Michel Daria Popova & Cameron Colucci Nicolette Fey & Caleb Niva Amanda Miller & Danile Tsarik Competition Schedules: Challenger Series
Maximum Scores: Junior SD: 80.20; Junior FD: 106.50; Junior Total: 186.70 (x) Senior SD: 85.30; Senior FD: 124.70; Senior Total: 210.00 (x) Other news: Spain: Olivia Smart and Kirill Khaliavin got spanish nationality South Korea: Alexander Gamelin is eligible for the Olympic Games Denmark: Help Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Sorensen so that they can participate at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games; UPDATE: The appeal was not successful (x) Poland: Kaliszek/Spodyriev - Injury news Russia: Stepanova/Bukin will have choreography from Tchernyshev whereas Sinitsina and Katsalapov's will be from Zhulin; Bobrova/Soloviev working with Radu Poklitaru for Free Dance Minto Summer Skate 2017: Junior SD FD / Senior SD FD Chesapeake Open Results (x) Lake Placid Results (x) Entries for the Junior Grand Prix of Brisbane (x) Entries for the Junior Grand Prix of Salzburg (x) Entries for the Junior Grand Prix of Riga (x) NEW The most important competition of the season took place in Helsinki between March 29th and April 2nd. While the podium may have ended up as most people predicted, as well as the teams present in the top ten, there was a great deal of unpredictability in how these results came about. All in all, it was quite an exciting event. Here are the results: The most important competition of the year, the World Championships, begin on the 29th. However, the short dance takes place on the 31st of March, with the free dance happening on the 1st of April. Predictions of this event where extremely hard to come up with, since the field is deep and anything can happen. Virtue and Moir are chasing their 3rd World Title, but so are Papadakis and Cizeron. Many medalists are present, like Maia and Alex Shibutani, Madison Chock and Evan Bates, Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje or even the 2014 World Champs Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte. Here are my predictions:
Other couples to watch:
There are a couple of other couples I will be keeping an eye on. Starting with Guginard & Fabbri and Tobias & Tkachenko who may challenge the top 10. Also, I am extremely curious to see how well will the Spanish team of Olivia Smart and Adria Diaz place. Moreover, I really like the programs of Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Sorensen of Denmark, particularly their short dance. The Chinese team of Shiyue Wang & Xinyu Liu is another one to keep an eye on, and so is the Korean team of Yura Min and Alexander Gamelin. The second French team of Marie-Jade Lauriault and Romain Le Gac is another one to watch: they have an amazing skating quality. Additionally, the Turkish team of Alisa Agafonova & Alper Ucar has been having great results this season. Lastly, I have really liked the British team ever since the Lombardia Trophy, so I will be watching Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson. The World Championships are right around the corner, so I decided to compile the median results that some of the most relevant teams on the field have achieved this season. Why the median and not the average? Because the median is less sensitive to outliers (either a really high or low score), being a better measure of what the couples may earn in PCS. On what concerns the short dance, no surprises occur in the top 3 teams. However, the most striking event is that Chock and Bates show up only in 7th place in PCS, with Hubbell and Donohue a point behind them. Also, Gilles and Poirier are placed below Stepanova/Bukin. This is somewhat enlightning to what may happen, since these values where obtained as the median of the most relevant competitions these teams entered (Grand Prix Events, Final, Europeans and/or Four Continents). However, since nothing is complete without the techinal component, all may change depending on the base values these teams are able to achieve. Nevertheless, a question I find relevant is what would happen is all teams achieve the same levels? Who will have the largest TES? Putting it differently, which team is receiving more GOE's by the technical pannel? For that, I came up with a simple formula: (TES-Base Value)/(Base Value). Why this and not simply looking at the amount of GOE? Well, because I would be comparing teams with different base values which may be the source of lower GOE's. Therefore, this formula is the "growth rate" that the panel of judges implements over the base value, being comparable across teams (and time, but that analysis I will save for another day). So here are the results from the median "GOE factor" that the couples achieved in the aforementioned competitions, along with the average: Here, there are surprises. The judges are giving a higher growth rate to Papadakis and Cizeron, followed by the Shibutanis and Virtue and Moir in the short dance. Moreover, Chock and Bates show up in 7th again and Hubbell/Donohue in 10th! And what to say about Gilles and Poirier in 12th... In this case, there is a somewhat relevant difference between the median and the average. Just look at Weaver and Poje, for instance. Hence, if things go smoothly, we may have the outcome of the first column. Let's look at the Free Dance statistics: On what PCS are concerned, there isn't a huge surprise. Maybe the placement of Weaver and Poje vs Chock and Bates, but that ordering is actually a plausible one to happen. What about GOE's? In the Free Dance case, it is not as surprising as in the short. However, Chock and Bates show up in 8th, which together with the sixth place in PCS may be evidence that things may not be in their favour this season. Another thing to notice is that here, Gilles and Poirier are aheah of Weaver and Poje. I am not going to take many conclusions regarding this (even though it did help me decide on my prediction of who will be in the top ten. The ordering still remains unknown. However, this may shed light on any surprising results that may take place.
In the deepest field of ice dance of a couple of years, anything can happen. And the data is showing us just that. Between the 20th and 26th of December all eyes were in Russia due to nationals. In this case, however, only senior teams competed, as the junior nationals would take place from the 1st to the 5th of February. Here are the results: Right now I will be commenting on what went down. Short Dance:
Free Dance:
The European Championships took place between the 25th and the 29th of January. While the winners of the Ice Dance event were the ones expected, it did not come as easily as one might have thought. The podium was easy to guess, even though the distinction between silver and bronze was minimal.
Some surprises were in store for the Russian teams, with the second and third places at Russian Nationals having lower results than expected. For Israel, however, this championships turned out to be quite successful. The results are presented below: The European Championships started yesterday with the ladies and pairs short programs. Today, the dance event begins with the short dance. Hence, let’s take a look at the most prominent couples in this competition. 1st: Being two times European and world champions, Gabriella and Guillaume are the front runners to get the gold medal. This season, they have only lost to Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada, which are not present here. In fact, their main competitors are North American teams, which causes little doubt that they will be the winners, being, in my opinion, light years ahead of any of the other partnerships in this competition. However, it will be interesting to see what changes did they make to both their short and free dances, since they are playing catch-up to the Canadian team. The scores they get here will have to make a statement that they will be going to worlds to win, so great performances from them are to be expected. 2nd: The World Champions of 2014 did not have a great start of the season, mainly because they encountered Virtue/Moir and Chock/Bates in Skate Canada and both Virtue/Moir and Papadakis/Cizeron in the NHK Trophy, missing the grand prix final. However, they had enough time to improve both dances. Moreover, their free dance is endearing, receiving a great deal of support from the audience. They will be battling the silver alongside Bobrova/Soloviev. The reason I put they first is because, even if they fall behind in the short dance, I’m expecting them to move ahead in the free dance. 3rd: This team won the Russian Nationals again, being the first in line to place well at Worlds. As a result, they will want to score higher than their best achieved at the Rostelecom Cup this season. However, falling short of this in the Grand Prix Final may pose a question mark as to how they will do here. Having improved a lot since the beginning of the season, they are going to make it difficult for the Italian team to get the silver. 4th: Another team with great progress this season, Stepanova/Bukin will likely get the fourth place here. This is a team to keep an eye on. After all, they are the second Russian team and they have been getting better and better scores. They still have a lot to improve, but the speed with which they perform each element is quite impressive, aiming at getting higher grades of execution. 5th: This is a risky prediction, putting them in front of Sinitsina and Katsalapov. Nevertheless, the latter got the place here in a non-incontestable way. If you ask me, Ilinykh/Zhiganshin would likely do better here. This Italian team has been proving its value, with a fantastic free dance last season and great programs this season, showing how versatile they are. If they manage to get great levels in their elements, they will likely end up in fifth. 6th: Another team that got good results this season, Tobias and Tkachenko have two very different programs that are worth watching. Even though the free dance is set to the same tune as Guignard and Fabbri, they are quite different. The Italians got a better result at Skate America, and I am expecting the same to happen here. 7th: Having a not so great season, barely making it to this year’s Europeans, this Russian team wants to prove that the federation should send them to World instead of Stepanova/Bukin. Even though that seems highly unlikely, we never know. Moreover, they want to prove they are a force of Russian ice dance, proving the choice of sending them and not Ilinykh/Zhiganshin to be the right one. While Sinitsina is quite good in the short dance, having surprising me with a great midnight blues, the free dance did not have, until now, the perfection necessary to get solid results. Let’s see how much better did they become since Nationals. 8th: This Polish team has been impressing me throughout the season. While I love the Danish team better, I think the Polish will be ahead. But, who knows, I might be surprised. 9th: As much as I want them to place higher, they will have to nail their levels in the short dance, as they did in the Autumn Classic, and that they have not been able to repeat since. That being said, it is a quite entertaining and lovely short dance and they have a fantastic free dance. If they manage to get their levels, who knows, maybe they place ahead of Sinitsina/Katsalapov (a little delusional, I know). 10th: This will likely not happen, but I decided to risk it and predict that the second French team in the Nationals will close the top ten. Why? I really like their skating quality and they have been showing promise. If they manage to connect more with each other during their programs, they may end up higher than expected. So, I guess placing them here is not that farfetched as it may seem. They actually may be close to this placement. Other teams to watch:In the penultimate event of the Grand Prix Series, the couples taking place in the Final are beginning to secure their spots. In this competition, two teams were looking to do so: Canadians Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje and Americans Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani. Weaver and Poje needed a first place finish (due to their third place at Rostelecom), which provided an interesting competition among the top two teams here. On the other hand, there was the debut of Sinitsina/Katsalapov of Russia, who certainly wanted to outshine fellow Russians Stepanova/Bukin and, possibly, have great performance to have a shot at being in the final. The final results were the following: 4. Victoria Sinitsina/Nikita Katsalapov (Russia) – Total of 171.94 points
5. Natalia Kaliszek/Maksym Spodyriev (Poland) – Total of 150.78 points 6. Shiyue Wang/Xinyu Liu (China) – Total of 149.8 points 7. Anastasia Cannuscio/Colin McManus (USA) – Total of 141.17 points 8. Linshu Song/Zhuoming Sun (China) – Total of 130.9 points 9. Hong Chen/Yan Zhao (China) – Total of 117.32 points Alexandra Paul and Mitchell Islam (Canada) withdrew before the beginning of the short dance. The Finlandia Trophy was the last event of the Challenger Series to take place before the start of the Grand Prix Season. Some surprises were in store, with Russians Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin winning gold ahead of the favorites, the Americans Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue. Here are the results of this competition: 7. Cecilia Törn/Jussiville Partanen (Finland) – Total of 126.93 points
8. Taylor Tran/Saulius Ambrulevicius (Lithuania) – Total of 117.63 points 9. Emi Hirai/Marien de la Asuncion (Japan) – Total of 102.03 points 10. Olesia Karmi/Max Lindholm (Finland) – Total of 101.02 points |
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