2017 Four Continents Free Dance

[Ares]

I think Charlie always had excellent lines and posture, alongside the flair, while Meryl improved to catch up with him towards the later state of their careers. I remember both Eurosport commentators and Kurt Browning saying their eyes were more drawn to Charlie when D/W were on the ice.

Interestingly I've always thought V/M physically ill-matched. She seemed and still seems too tall and big-boned for him. It's worse this season because, while I know Tessa has never been the leanest of ice dancers, the weight she has put on during their off-time is still visible after a season of hard training and high-level competition.

You're really picking on Tessa. She's alright and I don't feel and never felt that she was too tall, too big-boned or too fat whatever for him. Some changes in your body just naturally occur over time, look for her photos in Gym if you still have some doubts. Very fit and works hard for that off-ice as well. I don't understand your complaining at all.

 

[Mathman]

I did specify that it was their packaging, not necessarily related to his actual person. I was answering a post that specifically talked about his hair. Their hair styles certainly contributed to the mis-match impression.

I mean. "Let's hear it..." :

But speaking of mis-matches, this gives me a chance to comment on Chock and Bates. Evan is quite content to frame and present Madison. And it's a good thing, too. If they were both Madisons, we wouldn't be able to tell who was the over-the-top diva and who was the over-the-top diva.

 

[VIETgrlTerifa]

I mean. "Let's hear it..." :

But speaking of mis-matches, this gives me a chance to comment on Chock and Bates. Evan is quite content to frame and present Madison. And it's a good thing, too. If they were both Madisons, we wouldn't be able to tell who was the over-the-top diva and who was the over-the-top diva.

Or it could have been another Ilinykh/Katsalapov, who provided excitement on the ice (when they did well or really messed up) and off the ice. Those two plus Morosov were two flames plus a tank of gasoline.

 

[alain06fr]

P/C can't feel safe anymore. Neither V/M if they make mistakes, but judges held them up little bit.

Well... P/C & V/M are not that naive! None of the skaters think this way! Believe me!

 

[VIETgrlTerifa]

Well... P/C & V/M are not that naive! None of the skaters think this way! Believe me!

I think it's safe to say that V/M and P/C are still the favorites for the gold, but I do think the Shibs hit a level they never hit before and served notice that both teams need to be on. Not that they weren't already going to be on for Worlds because no top skater goes to Worlds trying to do less than their best. Just a little more pressure added.

 

[Ares]

I dislike TSL's treatment of the Shibs, but it's not like the Shibs need them for anything. They have much more exposure and fans and views than TSL can dream of, and Dave and that unknown opera singer know that. Regarding the tweet, however, I don't think TSL was overtly bashing the Shibs with it, though it's questionable that TSL neglects any other mention of the Shibs. It's true. Both the Shibs and C/B received the same score from Sharon Rogers, which is fine, except her scores were much higher than for V/M. What really is questionable is that score for skating skills. In what universe do V/M deserve a 8.75 in SS? It was blatant nationalism. I also see one judge pressed the button to deduct V/M for "violation of choreography restriction". I wonder which judge that was. She needs to be called out on it.

I was wondering what caused that discussion & drama about American judge and thanks to your post after browsing few pages back I discovered why. Such judging is detrimental for this sport.

 

[slider11]

I mean. "Let's hear it..." :

But speaking of mis-matches, this gives me a chance to comment on Chock and Bates. Evan is quite content to frame and present Madison. And it's a good thing, too. If they were both Madisons, we wouldn't be able to tell who was the over-the-top diva and who was the over-the-top diva.

I know it's a sore subject for some, but I agree that the distinction between Madison and Evan is distracting. Evan's former partner, Emily Samuelson, emoted a sweet, romantic vibe and Evan was her prince. Probably not the truth in the real world but that chemistry worked for them on ice. Madison is definitely the scene-stealer in this current team and maybe that's good for him but, for me, it just doesn't exude the same dynamic on the ice.

 

[VIETgrlTerifa]

I know it's a sore subject for some, but I agree that the distinction between Madison and Evan is distracting. Evan's former partner, Emily Samuelson, emoted a sweet, romantic vibe and Evan was her prince. Probably not the truth in the real world but that chemistry worked for them on ice. Madison is definitely the scene-stealer in this current team and maybe that's good for him but, for me, it just doesn't exude the same dynamic on the ice.

I don't really have an issue with the theme of routines, but it was just that with Emily, Evan didn't disappear because the choreography allowed Evan time to shine and really exposed his strengths as an ice dancer apart from showing off Emily. I also think the choreography with Yaro and Yuri was a bit more intricate and gave them both ample moments, though some of their music choices were questionable (what was with that horrible 2009 Worlds FD they gave them?). With Igor's packaging, it looks like he relegated Evan to the background. To me, that was the biggest change with the partner switch. I do think it got better with this year's programs and I'm noticing Evan more than I had since he teamed up with Madison.

 

[Astrid56]

I don't really have an issue with the theme of routines, but it was just that with Emily, Evan didn't disappear because the choreography allowed Evan time to shine and really exposed his strengths as an ice dancer apart from showing off Emily. I also think the choreography with Yaro and Yuri was a bit more intricate and gave them both ample moments, though some of their music choices were questionable (what was with that horrible 2009 Worlds FD they gave them?). With Igor's packaging, it looks like he relegated Evan to the background. To me, that was the biggest change with the partner switch. I do think it got better with this year's programs and I'm noticing Evan more than I had since he teamed up with Madison.

On Christopher Dean, Evan said:

Chris has an idea in his head and sees what he wants to do and is very good at just executing it. And if something didn't work, he would have something else ready to go."

"In two days, we had the whole free dance mapped out, steps and everything, and then went back and polished it," Bates said. "I think we spent 20-24 hours on the ice with him, over six or seven days."
The result, both skaters think, is something special.

"From a partnering perspective, his choreography requires really good, sensitive leading from the man," Bates said. "What we've done before has been powerful, fast and open choreography. This is more nuanced."

 

[Ares]

Well... P/C & V/M are not that naive! None of the skaters think this way! Believe me!

I know, but they're going to feel breath on their neck more than before I think. I don't expect anyone to make it close with Evgenia in Helsinki for contrast.

 

[alain06fr]

I know, but they're going to feel breath on their neck more than before I think. I don't expect anyone to make it close with Evgenia in Helsinki for contrast.

Yeah.. We all expect the ice dance competition in Helsinki to be breathtaking, which is great Like the Men competition!
Now, each couple has so much stuff to focus on. Honestly, they don't have time to care of the others. Each time I attend the last practice (SD or FD) before the competition, I really have this strong feeling each team is in his bubble.

 

[Celine]

Maia and Alex both fell during the Free dance warm up. It was explained by another poster that Alex skidded on a costume crystal, lost his edge and they both fell as they were in hold. So lucky that they were not in a lift. That could have been so dangerous.

Maia apparently found the crystal and gave it to the referee. Alex could not do the full warm up because he damaged his blade and had to repair it before they skated. Sounds like they had to keep their heads calm and was fortunate nobody got hurt.

There needs to be a better way to search the ice and remove debris like crystals or feathers or flower debris before these skaters put all of their full year of effort out there for 3 or 4 minutes, at the risk of something completely fluky happening like stepping on a crystal.

 

[shiroKJ]

Maia and Alex both fell during the Free dance warm up. It was explained by another poster that Alex skidded on a costume crystal, lost his edge and they both fell as they were in hold. So lucky that they were not in a lift. That could have been so dangerous.

Maia apparently found the crystal and gave it to the referee. Alex could not do the full warm up because he damaged his blade and had to repair it before they skated. Sounds like they had to keep their heads calm and was fortunate nobody got hurt.

There needs to be a better way to search the ice and remove debris like crystals or feathers or flower debris before these skaters put all of their full year of effort out there for 3 or 4 minutes, at the risk of something completely fluky happening like stepping on a crystal.

It happened quite often during warm-up in US nationals, where the skaters found crystals on the ice. They're always on the lookout during warm-up for things like that apparently.

 

[klutzy]

Of course Tessa's completely slim and fit, that said, I do think she and Scott aren't a great match visually--her ideal partner would be a bigger than Scott, but obviously, they make up for this in other ways. Still, Tessa and Gabrielle Papadakis are around the same height, but Cizeron is so tall that that Gabby looks like a delicate fairy next to him. He's five inches taller than Scott.

It's a matter of proportion rather than weight or fitness.

On the flip side, you have the pairs teams where the biggest guys are teamed with the tiniest women and the disparity can be visually jarring. Yay for Sui/Han, who are more
evenly matched.

 

[all that]

Of course Tessa's completely slim and fit, that said, I do think she and Scott aren't a great match visually--her ideal partner would be a bigger than Scott, but obviously, they make up for this in other ways. Still, Tessa and Gabrielle Papadakis are around the same height, but Cizeron is so tall that that Gabby looks like a delicate fairy next to him. He's five inches taller than Scott.

It's a matter of proportion rather than weight or fitness.

On the flip side, you have the pairs teams where the biggest guys are teamed with the tiniest women and the disparity can be visually jarring. Yay for Sui/Han, who are more
evenly matched.

Guillaume is only an inch or two taller than Alex Shibutani, yet Guillaume looks gangly at times in a way that Alex does not. I wonder if it's just a matter of needing to match lines better with Gabriella?

 

[Ice Diva]

Guillaume is only an inch or two taller than Alex Shibutani, yet Guillaume looks gangly at times in a way that Alex does not. I wonder if it's just a matter of needing to match lines better with Gabriella?

:noshake:Guillaume is way taller than Alex: Guillaume is 186 cm = 6'1", Alex is 182 cm = 9' 9&1/2". I would never describe Guillame as gangly; he's wonderfully proportioned with his long torso & legs -- he's the epitome of grace & beautiful, balletic positions. Gabby is 166 cm = 5' 5" - a 20 cm difference, whereas Alex and Maia have a 22 cm height difference.

As for "all that's" comment above about Tessa & Scott not being a great match -- I completely disagree. They are a great match physically and visually because of their closeness in height (15 cm diff) which allows them to create intimacy and chemistry as they look into each other's faces during their programs. Scott is 5'9" and Tessa 5' 4"+ (and around 110 lbs btw). This is also so with Hubbell and Donahue who have only a 17 cm difference in height and again, the magic of their dance is they gaze into each others eyes as they dance. Of course less height diff does mean some lifts can be more challenging. IMHO the dance couples with a great deal of height difference look very odd, awkward. Pairs too for that matter.

 

[NanaPat]

:noshake:Guillaume is way taller than Alex: Guillaume is 186 cm = 6'1", Alex is 182 cm = 9' 9&1/2".

4 cm difference = 3.5 inches difference? Not a chance. You've converted Alex's height incorrectly. It's safer to subtract first, then convert. You get 1.6 inches height difference that way. I wouldn't call 1 1/2 inches "way taller".

 

[Ice Diva]

4 cm difference = 3.5 inches difference? Not a chance. You've converted Alex's height incorrectly. It's safer to subtract first, then convert. You get 1.6 inches height difference that way. I wouldn't call 1 1/2 inches "way taller".

:howell: you're right! The converter I used was off. Alex is 5' 11", Guillame 6 ' 1.2"

 

[4everchan]

:howell: you're right! The converter I used was off. Alex is 5' 11", Guillame 6 ' 1.2"

alex and i : same height... we are twins woot

 

[NanaPat]

alex and i : same height... we are twins woot

Sorry to inform you that 182 cm = 71.6 inches, which rounds to 6' not 5' 11". You'll have to stand up really straight to get the extra .6 inches!