2015 Rostelecom Cup Ice Dance FD

lennicky said:

Am I the only one who liked IZ's free dance more than SK's one?

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No, that dance was absolutely sublime.

The Fed made their choice in favour of Nikita and his shadow Vika... IMO the wrong choice

bramweld said:

The scores for S/K were a shameful insult to the sport. Their performances were uninspiring and had no creative content and riddled with mistakes. Katsalapov was quite aware of this for both the SD and FD. They skated almost as if they knew their place was secure if they remained upright. Even with I/Z's fall they were infinitely more impressive this weekend. When you count the number of balance checks and dirty turns made by these two, how could they have almost the same score as W/P? The GOE and PCS do not make sense. The dishonest scoring was clearly visible and their plans will fail ultimately.

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Don't be so bitter. Yes, I agree they were overscored, they got too high GOE for almost ALL of their elements, too high PCS for choreography, transitions and probably interpretation. But it doesn't mean they were bad. They still were very, very good. Their style is different from Ilinykh/Zhiganshin and Bobrova/Soloviev, and that's great. Just enjoy your favorite team, they skated good, and they will skate better, no need to trash the competition, like you constantly do with Sinitsina/Katsalapov and Bobrova/Soloviev.

And please, count this 'number of balance checks and dirty turns made by these two' and then Weaver/Poje's, I'd really appreciate your detailed analysis. Thank you.

MsLiinincre57 said:

The Fed made their choice in favour Nikitand his shadow Vika... IMO the wrong choice

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Let`s see how the rest of the season will pan out. They are very good FD dancers, but are losing a lot of ground to the top teams in the SD, because it`s more difficult to hide her weaknesses there. Their PB in the SD is still far away from the rest of the top teams.

Snow63 said:

Don't be so bitter. Yes, I agree they were overscored, they got too high GOE for almost ALL of their elements, too high PCS for choreography, transitions and probably interpretation. But it doesn't mean they were bad. They still were very, very good. Their style is different from Ilinykh/Zhiganshin and Bobrova/Soloviev, and that's great. Just enjoy your favorite team, they skated good, and they will skate better, no need to trash the competition, like you constantly do with Sinitsina/Katsalapov and Bobrova/Soloviev.

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Bitter? I'm not bitter. I didn't write that they were overscored, you did that just now. I only wanted to point out that their programs are not complex enough to receive really really high scores, how's that making me bitter? I would say that I'm realistic. And I can understand that (as mentioned before) because they need results this season. And they had a very good GP season already. Their programs next season will show us how good they can really be.

MsLiinaLii said:

The Fed made their choice in favour of Nikita and his shadow Vika...

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I don't think so. In fact, I don't think the Russian Fed has chosen any team at this point as their No. 1. Concerning IZ and SK, the situation now is 1:1. IZ achieved better results last year, SK have been doing so this year so far. IMO it's the next season that will decide the Russian team ranking.

surimi said:

I don't think so. In fact, I don't think the Russian Fed has chosen any team at this point as their No. 1. Concerning IZ and SK, the situation now is 1:1. IZ achieved better results last year, SK have been doing so this year so far. IMO it's the next season that will decide the Russian team ranking.

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I do wonder if we can get a D/W vs V/M kind of rivalry between these two couples. By that, I mean that they push each other. B/S are also a threat but they are not above either of them at the moment, though we have yet to wait for their second GP. Imo, all three are going to Euros, but it will depend on the results there who is going to Worlds.

S/K look better in hold. Their lines and style of movement match and they move as a unit nicely while in hold. Because their movement style is so similar it makes what they do in hold look cleaner, grander and practiced. I/Z on the other hand tend to look messier and unmatched in hold. Once they break free they are able to showcase themselves better. Their method of movement is very different from one another . Elena is extremely dramatic and for example has a very distinctive way of rotating and extending her arms. It is so Elena and it is what makes her interesting but it sometimes creates too much of a visual difference between the two that they dont look like a matched team in that respect. This is just an observation of a certain aspect of these teams and certainly does not speak to all the other many components of what makes these teams who they are.

psusanne said:

Bitter? I'm not bitter. I didn't write that they were overscored, you did that just now. I only wanted to point out that their programs are not complex enough to receive really really high scores, how's that making me bitter? I would say that I'm realistic. And I can understand that (as mentioned before) because they need results this season. And they had a very good GP season already. Their programs next season will show us how good they can really be.

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I'm so sorry, I quoted wrong post :hopelessness::hopelessness::hopelessness: Jesus, I'm a moron Please, accept my apology.

I edited my post.

Snow63 said:

I'm so sorry, I quoted wrong post :hopelessness::hopelessness::hopelessness: Jesus, I'm a moron Please, accept my apology.

I edited my post.

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I see, no problem!

moon said:

S/K look better in hold. Their lines and style of movement match and they move as a unit nicely while in hold. Because their movement style is so similar it makes what they do in hold look cleaner, grander and practiced. I/Z on the other hand tend to look messier and unmatched in hold. Once they break free they are able to showcase themselves better. Their method of movement is very different from one another . Elena is extremely dramatic and for example has a very distinctive way of rotating and extending her arms. It is so Elena and it is what makes her interesting but it sometimes creates too much of a visual difference between the two that they dont look like a matched team in that respect. This is just an observation of a certain aspect of these teams and certainly does not speak to all the other many components of what makes these teams who they are.

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I want to applaud you for this great analysis. What you say is 100% correct and it shows that you know a lot about the sport and dancing in general.

moon said:

S/K look better in hold. Their lines and style of movement match and they move as a unit nicely while in hold. Because their movement style is so similar it makes what they do in hold look cleaner, grander and practiced. I/Z on the other hand tend to look messier and unmatched in hold. Once they break free they are able to showcase themselves better. Their method of movement is very different from one another . Elena is extremely dramatic and for example has a very distinctive way of rotating and extending her arms. It is so Elena and it is what makes her interesting but it sometimes creates too much of a visual difference between the two that they dont look like a matched team in that respect. This is just an observation of a certain aspect of these teams and certainly does not speak to all the other many components of what makes these teams who they are.

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This is exactly right, and why I think S/K have more room to grow right now than I/Z. In this competition, I think the placements were very much correct, but again a shining example of using PCS and GOE like ordinals instead of how they were intended. There were 3 groups, really. The Belarussians and Koreans were simply not at the same level as the middle group. Both looked like developing junior level teams more than GP ready senior teams. I/Z, G/F and S/K are solidly in the middle of the pack. You've captured perfectly the difference between the 2 Russian teams. I think I/Z would benefit from moving to the Krylova and Camerlengo rink to break down their skating to the basics so they can achieve the oneness, while not sacrificing the drama in their programs. Elena is losing her posture a little, which would be awful to see continue. And I think they would benefit from skating with the strong teams in Detroit. I think S/K are on the right track. There was a clear focus this year on quality of movement and lines. They need more complex choreography, less open holds and side by side skating, and even more attention to lines and body position (especially her). They did not deserve the high scores they received, but they are the top of the middle group. G/F are ok. They were solid, but I didn't see a lot of nuance in their expression or in their movements and choreography. I really love the music, and found this to be a lot of uber-drama. There's a lot more "dance" possible here. The top group is very much in a league of their own, even though the scores don't reflect this. C/L are improved over last year, and they put in very solid performances here. It was fun to watch, pleasing, and strong. They had a few little bobbles, and Ana really hung on at the end. But it was definitely worthy of 2nd by more than the marks imply. W/P have really improved their dance since SC. It was stronger, more sure, grew in emotion throughout, and I expect it will continue to evolve over the season. They have the most complex choreography of any team this season, have ambitious material to translate to the ice which they do well, and their marks were a little low here. I agree they should change back the first lift, or change up some of the hold positions in the middle and at the end of this lift.