2017 4CCs: Ice Dance recap

[VIETgrlTerifa]

OK, I just saw the NBC TV coverage. They only showed the top two, Virtue and Moir and Shibutani and Shibutani.

Let me get this out of the way first. Has there ever been such a lovely lady on ice as Maia Shibutani?

At the risk of getting yelled at for talking about women's beauty and not to say there aren't a hundred other beautiful women currently competing, but IMO Maia Shibutani has become the most beautiful woman competing in figure skating right now.

 

[bwayrose7]

At the risk of getting yelled at for talking about women's beauty and not to say there aren't a hundred other beautiful women currently competing, but IMO Maia Shibutani has become the most beautiful woman competing in figure skating right now.

I completely agree! She has such a serene elegance to her and carries herself with such grace. I wish I was half that graceful

 

[VIETgrlTerifa]

Honestly though, I think every female ice dancer is utterly beautiful.

 

[all that]

I used to think that Tessa wasn't all that beautiful, but she seems to be glowing with happiness this season, and it's hard to look away.

 

[SnowWhite]

Phelps didn't automatically get slotted at the top after coming back the way V/M are. He also got beat a couple of times and that won't happen to V/M barring something totally unlikely. They messed up their last twizzle in the FD and they still beat the Shibs. It's the worst part of skating and it's never gonna change. So again, congrats in advance, give email the gold now. Give C/Z the silver and the Shibs the bronze.

Because after two years off, they're still the best team (IMO at least). If they didn't skate as well when they came back, they wouldn't be winning. No one handed all their wins to them this season. The idea of the Olympics is for the best athlete/team in that sport to win (not saying it always works out that way, people have off days, etc, but the aim is to have the best of the best). If they're still the best and willing and motivated to compete, why not be there? Phelps competed at five games. No one was saying he was being selfish for competing in 2012 after he won everything in 2008. Any good competitive athlete wants to win. Nobody says the Chicago Blackhawks are selfish for trying to win the Stanley Cup again after winning it three times in the last few years. No one said the Patriots should have stayed home and let someone else have it because they'd already won (all the cheating aside with them). Nobody said Usain Bolt should not run the race to give Andre De Grasse a turn. Nobody thinks Sidney Crosby should skip the Olympics because he's already been there and won that. Nobody is sitting around calling Roger Federer selfish for winning another Grand Slam.

They are all athletes who want to win. That's pretty standard with competitive athletes. They don't owe it to anyone else to step aside if they can still win.

Also who is C/Z?

 

[bramweld]

I know I'll probably get slammed but here goes: I don't like V/M coming back. Don't get me wrong they're obviously great, great skaters and they'll probably win Gold next yr. And that's my point. They already have an Oly gold AND silver, what more do they want? Wonder how P/C feel about it? Or the other 2 Canadian teams who got bumped down a notch in the pecking order? Or Chock/Bates who now won't get a medal. Sure, you can argue if they're still the best why not compete? I'm sorry, to me it feels a bit selfish and self serving. BTW, I feel exactly the same way about Koster in the ladies tho shes no lock for a medal the way V/M are. So go ahead, lay into me, I can take it.

This is a sport. If you need another team to retire to earn your medal you don't deserve that medal in the first place. Enough. V/M were not satisfied with how things ended in Sochi, they owe no one anything if they want to extend their careers I think comments like these are just exceedingly ugly. JMHO.

 

[all that]

When asked about V/M's return, W/P said they looked forward to it because they (W/P) wanted to compete and win against the best. That's how most true competitors feel, in my experience. It's thrilling to push yourself against the best. No real competitor wants to win in a less competitive field when they could try to win in a more competitive one.

 

[Rossig]

When asked about V/M's return, W/P said they looked forward to it because they (W/P) wanted to compete and win against the best.

What else could they say? While I belong to those people who think V&M have every right to compete and have no obligation to let others to win gold medals now, I also think it's naive to think that W&P were happy about V&M's decision and looked forward to competing against V&M again.

 

[Winnie]

When asked about V/M's return, W/P said they looked forward to it because they (W/P) wanted to compete and win against the best. That's how most true competitors feel, in my experience. It's thrilling to push yourself against the best. No real competitor wants to win in a less competitive field when they could try to win in a more competitive one.

I'm sure W/P are aware that's how they should feel. Doesn't mean that is how they actually feel. Just like you can acknowledge V/M are talented ice dancers who technically have a right to compete and also be aware that ice dance is a subjective and political sport where all things are not equal. It's a complex situation and there's room to see many sides of the situation.

 

[nocturnalis]

OK, I just saw the NBC TV coverage. They only showed the top two, Virtue and Moir and Shibutani and Shibutani.

Let me get this out of the way first. Has there ever been such a lovely lady on ice as Maia Shibutani?

That said, Johnnie Weir made the point that the Shibs had beefed up their music since Nationals. By making it not so minimalist they were able to get more interpretative oomph. (They did lose to Chock and Bates in the long dance at Nationals.) I cn see where Johnnie is right. Still, I also liked their commitment to the original concept.

But Virtue and Moir were beyond exquisite. I think I will pencil in the Shibs for the bronze in Finland. Can they get higher? Can Chock and Bates make a run at the podium?

Tessa Virtue. She literally can do everything Maia can, but better. Similar posture, better edging, better dancing, better at supporting herself in and out of lifts, better carriage in lifts, better dancing in hold, better body movement, better extension, and better at emoting. I love Maia too, but I'm not going to deny facts.

 

[Winnie]

Tessa Virtue. She literally can do everything Maia can, but better. Similar posture, better edging, better dancing, better at supporting herself in and out of lifts, better carriage in lifts, better dancing in hold, better body movement, better extension, and better at emoting. I love Maia too, but I'm not going to deny facts.

She can't twizzle better.

 

[mrrice]

I think beauty is required to be an Ice Dancer. Even for the Men. Alex Shibutani looks a GQ Model and his body looks good in everything. I still think David Pelletier and Anton Sikharulidze are two of the best looking men ever to skate. https://ewedit.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/david-pelletier-jamie-sale.jpg?w=612

 

[Mathman]

Plus, easy for White to say, he got his Gold.

But here's the thing. Davis and White did not win their gold medal by sitting around waiting for last year's champions (Virtue and Moir) to retire. They won the gold medal by beating them.

Now it's Papadakis and Cizeron's turn (or Maia and Alex, or Chock and Bates or Weaver and Poje). If you want to be the best, beat the best.

 

[nevergonnadance]

This is a sport. If you need another team to retire to earn your medal you don't deserve that medal in the first place. Enough. V/M were not satisfied with how things ended in Sochi, they owe no one anything if they want to extend their careers I think comments like these are just exceedingly ugly. JMHO.

Exactly, this is b.s. I read Katia Gordeeva's autobiography, how the fourth place team in Lillehammer was pissed at them because if they hadn't returned, the 4th place team would be on the podium. Screw that. Be competitive with G&G if you want a medal, that's the answer. VM aren't being handed their placements. They're the best in the world. If fans don't want the best in the world competing, IMO, that's a problem.

I think the Shibs are far and away the second best ice skaters on the planet, and I think I've shared my opinion of Papadakis/Cizeron. But as for twizzles? Yes, Maia and Alex are fabulous, and i love the fourth rotation. However, before one can say they're better, I'd look at the set up, the entrance, the prep and the exit. VM's is more difficult.

I just get frustrated because IMO too many ice dance fans look at performance and choreography instead of actual skating (the blades and does skating factor into transitions, set ups, exits, entrances), and also look at an element in isolation and not what leads into it (set up time) and the exit. Elements shouldn't be isolated, although, unfortunately, the rules tend to reward that.

 

[matcha]

Tessa Virtue. She literally can do everything Maia can, but better. Similar posture, better edging, better dancing, better at supporting herself in and out of lifts, better carriage in lifts, better dancing in hold, better body movement, better extension, and better at emoting. I love Maia too, but I'm not going to deny facts.

lol

 

[Mathman]

I think beauty is required to be an Ice Dancer. Even for the Men.

I would say rather that all ice dancers scrub up nicely.

One of my faves in terms of appearance was Sergei Sakhnovsky (dancing with Galit Chaik for Israel back in the day). He was so striking in appearance, I couldn't take my eyes off him.

Here he is as the Phantom of the Opera (the original "starfish" hands )

http://c7.alamy.com/comp/H22HJX/gal...i-of-israel-perform-the-free-dance-H22HJX.jpg

 

[GGFan]

I don't think it's difficult as human beings to feel two ways at once. I am loving every moment of the comeback, but I have felt bad for some of the teams. Life is an expectations game. Some teams thought they were gone (even though they didn't officially retire) and I'm sure it was a tough pill to swallow having them back.

However, I also have to give V/M props. This success wasn't preordained. To me the tendency is for human beings to move on and look for something that's fresh. That is, the French came along and it was time for the new generation to take over. V/M nipped all of this in bud by coming back stronger I believe. They improved their movement quality, enhanced their presence on the ice, and have just been plain out dancing other teams with their step sequences, etc. That's not them sitting on their laurels. That's them upping the ante and pushing the other teams to follow.

 

[Mathman]

Also who is C/Z?

I think it is C/Zeron and Papadakis?

 

[mrrice]

I would say rather that all ice dancers scrub up nicely.

One of my faves in terms of appearance was Sergei Sakhnovsky (dancing with Galit Chaik for Israel back in the day). He was so striking in appearance, I couldn't take my eyes off him.

Here he is as the Phantom of the Opera (the original "starfish" hands )

http://c7.alamy.com/comp/H22HJX/gal...i-of-israel-perform-the-free-dance-H22HJX.jpg

Those EYES........And you're right about his giant hands. You know what they say.

 

[Mathman]

Tessa Virtue...I'm not going to deny facts.

Me, neither. Tessa was breathtaking at the Four Continents Free Dance that they just showed on U.S. TV yesterday.

Not that you can make me switch.