Ice Dance SD Report - 2013 Cup of China | Golden Skate

Ice Dance SD Report - 2013 Cup of China

Joined
Jan 22, 2004
2013 Cup of China
Ice Dance – Short Dance
Quickstep plus one or two following rhythms: Foxtrot, Charleston, Swing
Pattern Dance: Two Sections of Finnstep skated one after the other (Section 1 followed by Section 2 with Step #1 skated on the Judges’ side)

Detailed Classification
Judges Scores

Links to other Cup of China reports:
Pairs – Short Program


Disclaimer: The GOE values listed next to the elements are ones I would award if I was judging the event and they’re intended to give you a general impression of how each element was executed. I try to describe each of the elements in detail but there's not always time to be as precise as I would like.

I try to pay a lot of attention to detail and attempt to notice various errors that judges might have missed. I realise that I’m being very critical but I try my best to apply the same high standard to all of the skaters.

Any questions, comments, criticisms and discussion are all very welcome.

1. ZHANG Yiyi / WU Nan /CHN/
Quickstep: Swing With Me by Jessica Simpson
Foxtrot: He Is Trump
Quickstep

quickstep 1 [-1] – footwork quite frantic and not very precise, edges quite shallow
quickstep 2 [-1] – struggled to hit the right edges even more than on the first part
twizzles: arms bent into clockwise arms extended into arms folded [0] – very fast rotation, synch a tiny bit off in places though and entry was quite long and deliberate
midline not touching step sequence [0] – skated quite close together
catchfoot rotational lift [0] – could use a little more speed and extension, entry quite long

Their edges were quite shallow, you would expect much stronger skating skills from an Ice Dance team (to be fair to them, however, their best result so far was 14th place at 2012 Junior Worlds). Their upper body movement was quite stiff.

They showed a lot of expression and really attacked the program, though, which sets them apart from the other two Chinese teams who don’t have very strong performance skills.

2. HUANG Xintong / ZHENG Xun /CHN/
Quickstep: Sing Sing Sing
Foxtrot: The Umbrellas of Cherbourg by Michel Legrand
Quickstep: Sing Sing Sing

They have withdrawn.

3. YU Xiaoyang / WANG Chen /CHN/
Foxtrot: This Business of Love by Domino
Quickstep: Dancing Fool by Barry Manilow

twizzles: arm above and catch into clockwise arms above into arms bent [1] – quite fast and well synchronised
midline not touching step sequence [0] – could use some more speed and flow, skated quite close together though
quickstep 1 [-3] – she fell near the end of the pattern, it looked like they went for more speed than they could handle
quickstep 2 [-2] – tentative and insecure, they seemed shaken by the fall and also missed some steps at the start as a result
split rotational lift [0] – a little cautious, entry quite slow, rotation speed not too bad eventually though, nice extension from her

The program lacked character and their movements lacked projection and conviction. They seemed to be just going through the motions.

4. Alexandra ALDRIDGE / Daniel EATON /USA/
Quickstep: Man with the Hex
Foxtrot: The Business of Love (from "The Mask" soundtrack)
Swing: Hey Pachucco (from "The Mask" soundtrack)

quickstep 1 [0] – didn’t manage to hit all the right edges but their movement was quite bouncy and effervescent, in character of the music
quickstep 2 [0] – likewise
twizzles: arm above and catch into arms on hips clockwise into arms on hips [1] – fast rotation, solid throughout
not touching circular step sequence [0] – ok but could use a little more speed and flow
catchfoot rotational lift [-1] – a little slow, didn’t cover a lot of ice, set-up was quite cautious (instead of the element just ‘blending into the program’)

They showed quite good attack and expression and they seemed to have presented the program to the best of their ability, really going for it.

The choreography could have used some more character and some highlights, however. Something that would make it stand out from the crowd. It didn’t seem to have a very strong concept behind it.
5. Pernelle CARRON / Lloyd JONES /FRA/
Foxtrot: De-Lovely by Cole Porter
Quickstep: Anything Goes by Cole Porter

circular not touching step sequence [0] – quite light over the ice, could use a little more speed though
spread eagle curve lift with her in layback [1] – well-balanced
twizzles: arms bent and to the side and raised free leg into clockwise arms extended behind into arms bent [-2] – short, unexpected entry; not a lot of rotation speed though, he was off-balance throughout on the last set and stepped out doing the last few turns on the other foot
quickstep 1 [-1] – footwork not very precise or controlled
quickstep 2 [-1] – edges a little weak

They went for ballroom character and managed to capture it quite well (although the program could have used some fleshing out). She was expressive throughout but he wasn’t much of a presence.

They have been together for four years and after all this time, they are still ‘skating small.’ He still hasn’t managed to catch up with her and there is quite a jarring contrast between his and hers basic skating and technical ability.

6. Madison CHOCK / Evan BATES /USA/
Quickstep: Hollywood by Puppini Sisters
Foxtrot: There's No Business Like Show Business by Annie Get Your Gun
Charleston

quickstep 1 [1] – sharp and bouncy footwork
quickstep 2 [-1] – a little scratchy, edges not very precise and well-defined
twizzles: arm above and catch(hers off-balance and she did one more revolution than him) into clockwise arms folded(his exit a little skiddy) into arm above and folded [-1] – quite good rotation speed (+1-1-1)
midline not touching step sequence [0] – he was a little tense and his edges weren’t very strong
rotational lift with change of position [0] – a little tentative, her positions weren’t fully extended

An effervescent and bouncy dance with a lot of choreographic detail throughout. They have managed to capture the quickstep character very well.

Her expression was very over-the-top (which was appropriate for this style and music) and next to her, he seemed shy and awkward. Technically, this didn’t work very well and neither did their Finlandia Trophy performance. I wonder what is going wrong as I remember their elements being very sharp last season.

7. Nathalie PECHALAT / Fabian BOURZAT /FRA/
Slow Foxtrot: Big Spender by Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields
Quickstep: Sing Sing Sing by Louis Prima
Charleston: Mein Herr by John Kander

twizzles: arm bent and catch into clockwise arm above [1] – decent rotation speed and synchronisation, quite a short entry
midline not touching step sequence [2] – deep edges, good flow
quickstep 1 [1]
quickstep 2 [0] – bouncy footwork but edges not very pronounced (they missed all of the keypoints)
spread eagle straight line lift with changes of position [2] – well balanced, changes of position flowed well and were quite seamless

They went with a musical theme for their program. There was a lot of detail in their upper body movement throughout, it was timed well to the music and the program had a good layout over the ice surface. They skated with decent flow throughout but speed and power were lacking somewhat.

The program was quite open and it lacked a strong concept that would tie everything together and give purpose to their movements. They didn’t show anything particularly original and creative. It was skated to the music, their movements had appropriate character and the expression was good bad but they are capable of better. They have shown concept and story driven programs that really stood out in the past.

They had an interesting exit from the lift with her kneeling down. Surprisingly, they have received a one point fall deduction for it and most of the judges seemed to have perceived that as a mistake as well (only two judges gave positive GOE for that element). After reviewing it, it looked to me that one of her knees was touching the ice but the other wasn’t (although I cannot say for certain because of the camera angle). Two knees on the ice count as a fall, one doesn’t. It seems that Shpilband has successfully appealed that deduction as initially the protocol and the detailed results showed them being deducted for a fall. But later, that was removed and their points total was increased by one. As for the judges, it looked to me that they were in control on the lift from entry to exit and personally I didn’t see the reason to deduct them on that element.

8. Ekaterina BOBROVA / Dmitri SOLOVIEV /RUS/
Quickstep: Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friends by Marylin Monroe
I Wanna Be Loved By You by Marylin Monroe
That Man by Caro Emerald

quickstep 1 [1] – fast, light over the ice, could have been more controlled though
quickstep 2 [0] – similarly to the first pattern
twizzles: arms folded into clockwise arm above(his a little off-balance, synch a bit off) into arms on chest [0] – rotation speed not bad (+1-1)
midline not touching step sequence [1] – decent flow
spread eagle straight line lift with changes of position [1]

Fast and light over the ice. They managed to generate a lot of power despite having skated a large portion of the program in closed holds. Which is something they should be commended on, given how open most of ice dance programs are nowadays.

Their timing seemed off in places, however and the program was quite a generic ballroom dance with limited upper body movement, not a lot of character and nothing unusual or creative about the choreography. It looked surprisingly safe for a team planning to contend for an Olympic medal.
 
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