2015 Europeans Short Dance Jan 28

[Alba]

Besides, I really don't understand bitterness from the towards I&Z, despite understanding the bias for C&L. I&Z components marks are not that high compared with what they got during all season:

I&Z GPF results

CoC: TES 30.20+PCS 30.28
CoR: TES 31.03+PCS 33.09
GPF: TES 28.47 + PCS 32.78
Europeans: TES 36.08 + PCS 33.86

Therefore, the big difference was made thanks to the TES here, not the PCS which they always got. Even in the GPF with their worse skate.

 

[Alba]

Oh now, after P&C skated, according to Maurizio C&L are definitely better than P&C and they don't deserve their PCS and they shouldn't be in first place either. Oh god help me.

 

[Alba]

[NOTE: the other commentator said he asked Tanith the same question - I don't recall her being asked, but she had definitely voluntarily praised I/Z's chemistry for either COR or GPF FD - can't remember which]

Yes, she spoke very well about them after CoR.

Agosto sounds like fun.

 

[Meoima]

The question was put to him: What do you think about I&Z. Did you like their skating.

Bare in mind that his tone sounded absolute, and replied right away: No at all. They are nothing special, but you know they are the Russian no.1 so they were overscored. Ruslan in particular is not good, and he is diminished with this change.

Then again, later after M&K skated: You know in Russia there is nobody that good now that's why the FED are pushing so much I&Z, but they know that they are not good.

Again, after C&L, skated: I&Z scores are too much. It's so wrong, there is no comparison between I&Z and C&L. C&L are soo much better in the component aspect.

Hah so I/Z score is like a slap in his face!!!!:disapp:

 

[bramweld]

Margaglio is not being honest. He knows that I/Z are great. If you look back to COR SD, he has to force himself to look away in the beginning of I/Z's SD. Zueva's mouth was practically agape the whole time she was watching I/Z practice. He knows they're very good, exceptional even. As for his comments regarding C/L they're hilarious. Anna and Luca were visibly nervous and were trying way too hard. I actually think they were better at Nationals.

 

[bramweld]

Oh now, after P&C skated, according to Maurizio C&L are definitely better than P&C and they don't deserve their PCS and they shouldn't be in first place either. Oh god help me.

Absolute nonsense. Nobody could pay me enough money to sprout such utter rubbish.

 

[bramweld]

Then again, later after M&K skated: You know in Russia there is nobody that good now that's why the FED are pushing so much I&Z, but they know that they are not good.

So I guess he lumps S/K into that group?

 

[Alba]

Absolute nonsense. Nobody could pay me enough money to sprout such utter rubbish.

That's what I'm saying. He really must be pissed off because of S&K, because he never expose himself so much. Never. Even during the Olympics, which is a much bigger deal. It's amazing. :scratch:

So I guess he lumps S/K into that group?

I thought that too. He's so biased that he is doing a disservice to his couple.

p.s. Again in the end about I&Z, during the overall results: Much Ado About Nothing.

Edit: Sorry, the last comment "much ado about nothing" was about M&K. I listened again because I was checking the recording.

 

[WeakAnkles]

Well for a palate cleanser - I'm catching the Universal Sports feed right now, and some highlights from Ben Agosto (sidebar: l really love seeing him - he's got the best attitude ever - always!) on I/Z:

- Incredible job putting together difficult programs in such a short time
- good unison ... good speed ... nice deep edges, very well executed for step seq
- really is an amazing job that they've done in such a short amount of time
- didn't feel like they skated to their full potential here, looked like maybe they were a little nervous, holding back just a little bit
- [when asked if he was surprised at how good the chemistry is between them] yes is surprising, chem not always a natural thing ... definitely a team to keep watching ... will be making waves in the future [NOTE: the other commentator said he asked Tanith the same question - I don't recall her being asked, but she had definitely voluntarily praised I/Z's chemistry for either COR or GPF FD - can't remember which]

Bonus snippets for S/B:

- [Stepanova] has very long legs and looks like she knows how to use them
- Love for the twizzles - unbelievable, spectacular
- Starting to see a lot of distance between their hips, you don't ever want to feel like you can go and skate between them [omg he is cracking me up]
- nice knee/ankles through step seq
- Like energy, speed and leg-lines
- Not wow'ed by their musicality, but they're very young ...

Anyway, Ben >>> Maurizio because he's never made Babs mad so ... But seriously though I love both Ben's and Tanith's commentaries - they can be highly critical and honest but are very respectful about it and try to say something good for balance; they have personality too but also take care to point out technical stuff. I always feel like I learn a lot from Tanith, and now Ben too!

I think he's right on about S/B. I find it hard to believe that they were put above Testa/Csolley and Hurtado/Diaz. Loads of potential, but yes, they often skate far apart and they just didn't have the sharpness of T/C or the flair and ambiance of H/D today. But potential galore; no doubt about that.

ETA: And frankly this is the first time I saw real chemistry between I&Z. Probably because HE is making a visible and concerted effort not to be overwhelmed by her charisma. He stepped up.

 

[Sandpiper]

I like S/B, and I'm also ice-dance-technical-clueless, but even I can see they need to work on skating closer at the hips. It gets really distracting at times. Judging from the summary, Ben Agosto's commentary is spot-on (for I/Z too).

Still, I think S/B have solid presentation for a young team. And they try interesting things--sometimes it's a sit twizzle that wows people, sometimes it's a strange lift that splits opinions, but better than same-old, same-old.

 

[meteorlight8]

The question was put to him: What do you think about I&Z. Did you like their skating.

Bare in mind that his tone sounded absolute, and replied right away: No at all. They are nothing special, but you know they are the Russian no.1 so they were overscored. Ruslan in particular is not good, and he is diminished with this change.

Then again, later after M&K skated: You know in Russia there is nobody that good now that's why the FED are pushing so much I&Z, but they know that they are not good.

Again, after C&L, skated: I&Z scores are too much. It's so wrong, there is no comparison between I&Z and C&L. C&L are soo much better in the component aspect.

Whoa - I wasn't expecting total mudslinging against I/Z - that's just SO unprofessional! What did he say about S/B? He's really doing himself and S/K a disservice with these comments though.

 

[Alba]

Whoa - I wasn't expecting total mudslinging against I/Z - that's just SO unprofessional! What did he say about S/B? He's really doing himself and S/K a disservice with these comments though.

He said they are very very good. They have made that quality jump from junior to senior and are much better than the other russian couple. I think he was referring to M&K in this case.

Then he started to speak so well about the russian school.

 

[Sandpiper]

Okay, finally caught up on C/L, who I managed to miss the first time around. I thought they were very good. The choreography matches the music well, and the elements look... nice. If they skate well in the free, there would be nothing offensive about them placing Top 2.

But I dunno if I'll remember this SD tomorrow, the way I'll remember I/Z's. Anna also looked like she was trying too hard (I know some have said that Elena overdoes it, and I can see why they think so... but at least on Elena it looks like it's coming from her, not any kind of "my choreographer made me do this.")

He said they are very very good. They have made that quality jump from junior to senior and are much better than the other russian couple. I think he was referring to M&K in this case.

Then he started to speak so well about the russian school.

No need to take him seriously... he's clearly as consistent as I/K of old were.

 

[Alba]

Okay, finally caught up on C/L, who I managed to miss the first time around. I thought they were very good. The choreography matches the music well, and the elements look... nice. If they skate well in the free, there would be nothing offensive about them placing Top 2.

I do think Anna and Luca skated very well indeed. There is a huge improvement from the last time I saw them. But I don't think they are better skaters than I&Z, at all. I don't think I&Z were overscored here, they got more or less the same PCS they got during the season, with a lower TES.
I don't think C&L deserved 9s, although to be fair I don't think they deserved some 7's they received either. That was too harsh.

However, his comments were not just because C&L were competing. He was constantly bashing I&Z, even before C&L skated. He just couldn't handle himself against them.

 

[Sandpiper]

I do think Anna and Luca skated very well indeed. There is a huge improvement from the last time I saw them. But I don't think they are better skaters than I&Z, at all. I don't think I&Z were overscored here, they got more or less the same PCS they got during the season, with a lower TES.
I don't think C&L deserved 9s, although to be fair I don't think they deserved some 7's they received either. That was too harsh.

However, his comments were not just because C&L were competing. He was constantly bashing I&Z, even before C&L skated. He just couldn't handle himself against them.

Oh, maybe I should've separated the two parts of my post. I didn't mean to imply Margaglio was insulting I/Z for C/L. I just wanted to mention my feelings about C/L's SD, and in the meantime, respond to the whole Margaglio situation.

I'm actually surprised by how high I/Z were scored. I fully agree with it, of course--in fact, I would've put them in the lead. But I thought the judges would throw them several points behind P/C and C/L as long as the French and Italians skated well. So in light of my cynical expectations, I really can't complain about scores.

 

[Alba]

I'm actually surprised by how high I/Z were scored. I fully agree with it, of course--in fact, I would've put them in the lead. But I thought the judges would throw them several points behind P/C and C/L as long as the French and Italians skated well. So in light of my cynical expectations, I really can't complain about scores.

I was afraid about that too. I was surprised indeed, because I thought they were still skating early, and the judges might held them down waiting for C&L and P&C. Glad they didn't but went with them. Now in the free it's a different discussion.

 

[YagsFan]

Ok, maybe this should be in a stupid questions thread, but I'm hoping for some help here. Everyone using the dance couple's (and I guess it happens in pairs too) initials instead of names really leaves me in the dust! I just don't think of them that way; I think in terms of names. (I understand the usefulness of this shorthand in this context, but I just can't do it, lol!) Anyway, I've made myself a cheat sheet, and think I have most mastered, but for the life of me I can't think who MK is! Help!

 

[Sandpiper]

Ok, maybe this should be in a stupid questions thread, but I'm hoping for some help here. Everyone using the dance couple's (and I guess it happens in pairs too) initials instead of names really leaves me in the dust! I just don't think of them that way; I think in terms of names. (I understand the usefulness of this shorthand in this context, but I just can't do it, lol!) Anyway, I've made myself a cheat sheet, and think I have most mastered, but for the life of me I can't think who MK is! Help!

Ksenia Monko/Kirill Khaliavin, in this context. (Could mean Michelle Kwan in another context. ).

 

[Alba]

Ok, maybe this should be in a stupid questions thread, but I'm hoping for some help here. Everyone using the dance couple's (and I guess it happens in pairs too) initials instead of names really leaves me in the dust! I just don't think of them that way; I think in terms of names. (I understand the usefulness of this shorthand in this context, but I just can't do it, lol!) Anyway, I've made myself a cheat sheet, and think I have most mastered, but for the life of me I can't think who MK is! Help!

The thing is that many names, I mean full name and last name, are difficult to write correctly, or too long. That's why I use the initials, for example.

Anyway, M&K are Ksenia Monko and Kirill Khaliavin.

 

[WeakAnkles]

Ok, maybe this should be in a stupid questions thread, but I'm hoping for some help here. Everyone using the dance couple's (and I guess it happens in pairs too) initials instead of names really leaves me in the dust! I just don't think of them that way; I think in terms of names. (I understand the usefulness of this shorthand in this context, but I just can't do it, lol!) Anyway, I've made myself a cheat sheet, and think I have most mastered, but for the life of me I can't think who MK is! Help!

Monko/Khalivan from Russia. Grrr, I meant Khaliavin. See? Initials help hide one's spelling errors and make you look Smarter and With It.

And yes, I often need a good brain fart to clean out the cobwebs when I try to remember things like which C/B or H/D is someone referring to. But there's only one thing you have to do: memorize every single Ice Dance partnership in history. See? Problem solved! and