2016 Worlds Short Dance

[dcnative]

I like Madison even more after watching that press conference video.

 

[yuna13]

Not sure what you mean by the American look like "politics", but I don't think S/S or C/B were any less spontaneous than P/C.

i meant that their answer are always the same i listen to their teleconference they said the exact same things like politicien always repeating themself. but to their defense journalist always ask the same question . i just like people not being always serious and proper.

 

[gsk8]

All photos of the top 20 now uploaded on twitter
https://twitter.com/goldenskate

 

[slider11]

I just watched the top five teams... For me, the weakest team was chock and bates... for how they skated today.... yet, I liked their ballroom style a lot. I was thrilled with Piper and Paul's performance, mind you, I preferred the previous music.. i guess I may be the only one as it seems many like this new version..... The shibs were great too.... I thought both Andrew and Gabby had slight bobbles on twizzles .... I'd probably rank the top 3 teams closer in points in this order : Shibs, P/C, G/P, then put W/P and thennnnnn C/B.... but that's why I am not a judge I am over the moon with both Canadian teams being in the final group but not so sure one of them will hit the podium which is disappointing.... I am quite sad for W/P because their program is my favourite SD this season as it really IS a waltz in opposition to P/C who are not even using a proper waltz beat piece... yet, are gorgeously skating though...

Agreeing with you 100%! I, too, actually liked the Beatles Baroque music but apparently this change of music is just what the judges wanted with Gilles and Poirier. I am sad for Weaver and Poje. It seems their dream of gold will not happen this year. I truly love their style and passion. I think only the Shibs have the chance to pass P/C. And as fluid and passionate as P/C are, I did detect ragged moments. Can they keep this going for 4 min? Will P/C repeat last year's captivating FD? The order of skating is perfectly set up for the Shibs to win (skating last) but they'd have to be perfect. I am hoping for a Shibs, P/C, Weaver/Poje podium in some order.

 

[alain06fr]

Regarding the press conference after the short dance, t's true that answers given by S/S and C/B sounded like "political" answers, especially if we compare them to P/C's answers (and laugh in between answers) !!

Well, as someone else explained, Gabriella and Guillaume were a bit like kids but it's not real surprise. They never take seriously those things which are not worth to be taken seriously. It's the same when they train in Montréal. During short breaks, they are just like kids but as soon as they start working on their programs, they become immediately completely focused on the technical, athletic and artistic sides. That's the way they are.

In Bratislava (Europeans), Guillaume posted a very funny pic about press conferences :
http://igp360.com/guillaumecz/1172756987302248170_310845126

BTW, did anyone notice Gabriella and Guillaume wear their European Gold Medal during the press conference?

 

[Layback11]

https://salchowsandswarovskis.wordp...world-championships-blog-extravaganza-part-1/

A blog post in which I make ridiculous puns and have many Shib-feelings.

 

[4everchan]

re press conference... well... P/C's English is nothing stellar.. so automatically, they will sound more genuine, in the moment.etc... let's not read into silly things and focus on the blades?

 

[Alex D]

What do you mean as uneven? As in Inconsistent? Yes they were very inconsistent, but the judges didn't care at all! That awful Ghost program placed 1st at Euros in 2013 which they almost won. At least when they skated clean they were in the mix for medals.

What he is pointing at, is most likely the fact that Elena was too dominant in their relationship. All eyes were on her and this is not how it should be. The male part needs to be strong and equally present, as seen by the French or Maddy and Evan and of course Bobrova & Soloviev in the past.

I fully understand everyone who misses them, but from a neutral perspective and the artistry level, it was the best thing that could happen to both skaters and Nikita has massively improved and is a very good male part these days.

 

[Alex D]

i meant that their answer are always the same i listen to their teleconference they said the exact same things like politicien always repeating themself. but to their defense journalist always ask the same question . i just like people not being always serious and proper.

You need to come to Nebelhorn some day, we always laugh a lot during press conferences and Madison and Evan are very entertaining and friendly. I agree what you said though, too many questions by journalists are very poor, poor in the aspect of always the same and too serious.

 

[Ryan O]

I feel bad for Paradis & Ouellette that they didn't make the Free Dance.

I wasn't expecting that.

 

[Giselle]

What he is pointing at, is most likely the fact that Elena was too dominant in their relationship. All eyes were on her and this is not how it should be. The male part needs to be strong and equally present, as seen by the French or Maddy and Evan and of course Bobrova & Soloviev in the past.

I fully understand everyone who misses them, but from a neutral perspective and the artistry level, it was the best thing that could happen to both skaters and Nikita has massively improved and is a very good male part these days.

Then I strongly disagree. To me, Nikita looked evenly matched to Ilinykh, both technically and presence-wise. He was a very good male part back when he skated with Elena too! Nowadays Ruslan disappears next to Elena and Nikita drags Viktoria around the ice

I agree that it's the best thing that could've happen to Nikita and Elena for their own personal lives/sanity since they didn't get along and it affected them on ice but I'm not sure it was the best decision for their career. Unless they are all aiming for 2022 and not 2018.

 

[katha]

What he is pointing at, is most likely the fact that Elena was too dominant in their relationship. All eyes were on her and this is not how it should be. The male part needs to be strong and equally present, as seen by the French or Maddy and Evan and of course Bobrova & Soloviev in the past.

I fully understand everyone who misses them, but from a neutral perspective and the artistry level, it was the best thing that could happen to both skaters and Nikita has massively improved and is a very good male part these days.

I agree that Nikita has improved a lot, and is a more nuanced performer and way more considerate partner now. But I don't think I/K were unbalanced. Their appeal was that you had two very strong skaters and charismatic performers in one team. Nikita was a good balance and a lighter counterpoint to Elena's heavy drama, and when push came to shove like in Black Swan...he could match her in dramatics as well. Where I did always find them slightly jarring is that...I'm no expert, so I don't quite know how to phrase it, but: It's like their styles of skating and performing didn't always quite mesh? If they were on and the program was right, their contrasts made for compelling drama. But sometimes they just seemed off, like both of them were somewhat skating to their own drummer.

That said, short-term I/K would have been medal contenders. But unstable as they were, I don't have the (IMO rose-colored) certainty of other fans that they would have won anything. If they didn't get it together for four years with the judges basically begging them to produce so they could reward them, who says it would have ever been any different? OTOH, they don't owe me. Their lives and careers are their own. Who am I to decide what's best for them short-term and long-term on a professional and personal level? It's always easy to make great pronouncements and judgements from my couch, but I don't have any say. And that's as it should be. Neither do other fans/haters/whatever. The Russian fed funds them (at least partly), so they're accountable to them. If the fed feels dissatisfied with any of the pairs, they can always intervene. But as I already said, in this situation it's not any of the individual pairs IMO. In the specific case at Worlds here, S/B and S/K seem on a good career trajectory for themselves. It's just that the Russian dance program as a whole has seen better days.

 

[3T3T]

That was an absolutely amazing performance by P/C. I was blown away by it, they were head and shoulders above the rest of the field, it was probably one of the best short dances I have ever seen. The music perfectly captured the dance, which is not something I can see for a lot of the couples.

Not so sure I would agree with the scores for both US teams, I'm sure they got all the levels but on CC, PE & IT they were scored generously. I enjoyed W/P, they are probably under a lot of pressure after their 4CC's performance and the return of V/M, not sure if they can make the podium. I didn't enjoy G/P, it just seemed so mismatched. Surprised to see C/L not making the final flight, still they can move up but maybe not to the podium.

Two of my favourite dances were G/D, again would have given more on the PCS and I see from the protocols they lost on the levels. I would have them as my favourite US team. I also enjoyed S/K, if they skated later they could have broken 70 or at least being close to it. I quite liked the Armenians (via Canada) and the German couple.

On whole do people think the dances were overmarked? A lot of teams scored 70+

 

[Ryan O]

Boy did changing the music COMPLETELY change the entire nature of that program for G/P. It's an entirely different program. The original was a wonderful cheeky parody of court dancing, etc, with a smirk to the rules. This is just poppy and bright and fun and totally different. Very very interesting and revealing about how much difference music makes in a program.

Yes, it appears that Carol Lane made the correct decision to change the SD music for G/P.

Going into Worlds I was thinking that maybe G/P should make a coaching change at the end of this season if things didn't improve, but it looks like Carol Lane is still on her game.

 

[Osmond4gold]

I feel bad for Paradis & Ouellette that they didn't make the Free Dance.

I wasn't expecting that.

I feel similar, and not being able to see their exquisite LP again...oh well, in my heart, "sail on silverbird"!

 

[solani]

I wonder what Virtue/Moir doing/working at. I have a feeling that they're going to be very dissapointed at the end of this Olympic cycle. I didn't expect P/C doing so well in the SD, they were stellar. And they hit the levels, they didn't do that last season. I don't think that Virtue/Moir are capable of winning against them under this system if P/C remain healthy. P/C are only getting better and better. And they got the chemistry, even if Cizeron is arguably the better skater (but who's better than him?) they really feel as a team and I'd say her presentation skills are slightly better. After yesterday I'm pretty sure no team is going to beat them for a long time. Got my predictions messed up, but who cares.

 

[Alex D]

Then I strongly disagree. To me, Nikita looked evenly matched to Ilinykh, both technically and presence-wise. He was a very good male part back when he skated with Elena too! Nowadays Ruslan disappears next to Elena and Nikita drags Viktoria around the ice

I agree that it's the best thing that could've happen to Nikita and Elena for their own personal lives/sanity since they didn't get along and it affected them on ice but I'm not sure it was the best decision for their career. Unless they are all aiming for 2022 and not 2018.

I loved them as juniors, but after Bern and Sheffield something changed and for me the magic was gone. But as always, it´s a very individual observation from my part that doesn't need to match yours and you don´t become Olympic champion if you are bad that´s for sure!

When I see Nikita and Victoria, I always feel something, so I would disagree about the dragging. They look so lovely together, strong eye contact I like that.

@ Katha

It's like their styles of skating and performing didn't always quite mesh?

This was my big problem with them as well after Bern, the two cute kids had grown up to a men and a lady, but if we wanted to see one unit, we often saw two souls on ice, you said it right, she had Drama and Fire, while he seemed more reserved almost afraid, at least from my perspective. I remember something a few years ago, Nikita looked so down and sad, she totally happy and on fire - it was such a miss match, but ya I really don't want to talk bad about their last years, I always appreciated their youth and fresh skating, they lifted up the scene for sure and I am grateful to have witnessed it at the ice rink.

Without them, we would probably not be where we are today at this sport, they had a major impact on other skaters, especially the young kids who are juniors now.

On whole do people think the dances were overmarked? A lot of teams scored 70+

I actually felt the scoring to be pretty good, just Nikita & Victoria lost a tiny bit in their PC´s, but they had a tiny mistake, just like the others except the leading two and Piper & Paul, so I would say it was good judging. That being said, Maddy and Zach and Gilles & Poirier seemed to be held a bit too low for my taste.

Those round about 34 in the PC´s, could easily be a whole mark or two higher, the passionate Hallelujah and the naughty and unique dance deserved more credit from my point of view.

It´s thin ice that I move on now, but I would say the Canadians were "punished" for being different and not strict within tradition, while the Us Americans got a slight punishment for their starting number.

But overall, we are talking of slight nuances, I have seen a lot worse scoring in the past years and it was a result, I could accept, but there is always something to improve.
The performance, choreography and interpretation mark of the Canadians needs to be higher in my books, they had all levels, super strong balance, a good attack and it was like they really had what the Beatles once had, when they create the LSD song . It was so spot on with the music, outfits, expression - bit more brave judging would have been nice.

Of course, I did not sit at the ice rink, so my view is not the one of a judge at this event.

As for the "high scores".

I think that the "last" event at a season will have the best performances, therefore scoring high is not unusual. These skaters work so hard all season and the goal is to have your best skate when it really matters.
Therefore, I never look too much at the isolated scores of former events and there is still a lot of space as scoring goes. The average PC´s were something in the high 8s, low - mid 9s and GOE had a mix of 1-3.

But yes, the ISU want´s to push the scores, the judges are asked to score high, as world records as seen with the Japanese Hanyu are publicity for the sport.

Damn, now I wrote so much again, sorry about that.

 

[machin]

re press conference... well... P/C's English is nothing stellar.. so automatically, they will sound more genuine, in the moment.etc... let's not read into silly things and focus on the blades?

Still ways better than your french I guess

For french people, I'm actually surprised how good they are at english speaking. Anybody can write it though, but you basically can spend 7 years learning english in french schools while remaining silent. BBC is the best to learn to speak IMO.

 

[invisiblespiral]

Watching my way through the people I missed in the top 8...

P/C: They did have really messy twizzles, though. But everything else was beautiful and fluid.

G/P: Someone burn their costumes. And this dance is really really weird.

H/D: This dance has won me over.

C/B: I hope they do just as well in the FD!

 

[bartlebooth]

Still ways better than your french I guess

For french people, I'm actually surprised how good they are at english speaking. Anybody can write it though, but you basically can spend 7 years learning english in french schools while remaining silent. BBC is the best to learn to speak IMO.

In Italian schools it is pretty much the same.
I agree that their English is quite good - especially Gabriella's. Guillaume's accent is a bit thicker, but, all in all, they both manage well.