2018 Skate Canada: Ice Dance Pre-game chat

[GS Forum Staff]

Entries as of 10/5/18

Piper GILLES / Paul POIRIER	CAN
Haley SALES / Nikolas WAMSTEEKER	CAN
Carolane SOUCISSE / Shane FIRUS	CAN
Shiyue WANG / Xinyu LIU	CHN
Marie-Jade LAURIAULT / Romain LE GAC	FRA
Robynne TWEEDALE / Joseph BUCKLAND	GBR
Victoria SINITSINA / Nikita KATSALAPOV	RUS
Anastasia SKOPTCOVA / Kirill ALESHIN	RUS
Olivia SMART / Adrian DIAZ	ESP
Madison HUBBELL / Zachary DONOHUE	USA

 

[AlexRus]

Dance in order of Season Best of this season (got at Challenger Series and previous GP Events)
In ( ) - previous best, only for skaters who have not best of this season.

1 Madison HUBBELL / Zachary DONOHUE USA 200.82
2 Victoria SINITSINA / Nikita KATSALAPOV RUS 196.42
3 Piper GILLES / Paul POIRIER CAN 194.12
4 Olivia SMART / Adrian DIAZ ESP 180.07
5 Marie-Jade LAURIAULT / Romain LE GAC FRA 176.46
6 Carolane SOUCISSE / Shane FIRUS CAN 172.27
7 Shiyue WANG / Xinyu LIU CHN 165.06
8 Anastasia SKOPTCOVA / Kirill ALESHIN RUS (155.15) may be way better
9 Robynne TWEEDALE / Joseph BUCKLAND GBR 153.59
10 Haley SALES / Nikolas WAMSTEEKER CAN 142.48

 

[nocturnalis]

Hubbell and Donahue are going to win, but I want Gilles and Poirier to win.

 

[Lester]

Hubbell and Donahue are going to win, but I want Gilles and Poirier to win.

Me too! Well Zach can still gift them a medal

 

[NoNameFace]

Me too! Well Zach can still gift them a medal

*shade has entered the room*

(yes, I'm petty like this)

More seriously, I find this field very interesting, lots of teams that can score well and produce quality performances. I am quite interested how Anastasia and Kirill will fare among Gadbois sea, PSquared and Vikita, hope for a strong debut as I really liked them in junior ranks. It will be also interesting to see how Marie-Jade/Romain, Olivia/Adrian and Carolanne/Shane will stack against each other.

Yes, Hubbell/Donohue looks to be a confident winner, even before competition started, but ice is always slippery and it's important to constantly improve and push forward. The most exciting thing looks to be a rivalry for silver between Piper/Paul and Viktoria/Nikita - and what is best in it is that both teams look confident in their respective aesthetics, styles, the ball is in their court to push as for strong execution and memorable impression to be made.

Overall, I hope for a fantastic weekend of Ice Dance.

 

[AlexRus]

Dance - best scores for RD and FD.

RD:
1 Madison HUBBELL / Zachary DONOHUE USA 79.11
2 Piper GILLES / Paul POIRIER CAN 77.4
3 Victoria SINITSINA / Nikita KATSALAPOV RUS 75.96
4 Olivia SMART / Adrian DIAZ ESP 72.61
5 Carolane SOUCISSE / Shane FIRUS CAN 70.79
6 Marie-Jade LAURIAULT / Romain LE GAC FRA 69.29
7 Shiyue WANG / Xinyu LIU CHN 63.6
8 Robynne TWEEDALE / Joseph BUCKLAND GBR 59.61
9 Haley SALES / Nikolas WAMSTEEKER CAN 54.11
FD:
1 Madison HUBBELL / Zachary DONOHUE USA 122.39
2 Victoria SINITSINA / Nikita KATSALAPOV RUS 120.46
3 Piper GILLES / Paul POIRIER CAN 116.72
4 Olivia SMART / Adrian DIAZ ESP 107.46
5 Marie-Jade LAURIAULT / Romain LE GAC FRA 107.17
6 Shiyue WANG / Xinyu LIU CHN 101.49
7 Carolane SOUCISSE / Shane FIRUS CAN 101.48
8 Robynne TWEEDALE / Joseph BUCKLAND GBR 94.92
9 Haley SALES / Nikolas WAMSTEEKER CAN 88.37

 

[Nika09]

If there's even a slight chance for Smart/Diaz for GPFinal I want it to become true. This season I like them so much! RD particularly, my favorite Tango in ID so far I'd say. Go Olivia and Adrian!!

 

[BillNeal]

I hope Wang/Liu can finally break into the Top 5 at a GP. They have made some great strides since moving to Montreal just a few months ago. Given that the ACI panels (judging and TP - they actually received the highest BV at ACI RD) was more conservative/strict , their SB looks low compared to S/D, S/F, L/L in RD and S/D, L/L in FD. However, when they went H2H with S/F at ACI they were only a point off and not too far behind S/D, so it's definitely possible.

 

[Ice Dance]

VERY big head-to-head between Gilles & Poirier and Sinitsina & Katsalapov.

If there's even a slight chance for Smart/Diaz for GPFinal I want it to become true.

They have a bad draw. The fields they are in are two of the deepest fields on the GP because Sinitsina & Katsalapov were not seeded last season. In order for Smart & Diaz to finish higher than 4th at SC or 5th at IDF, they would have to defeat teams they have never defeated. This happens, but in order to make the GPF, you're probably going to need at least a 2nd & a 3rd. Hawayak & Baker may still be a question mark at IDF, but even so, 4th place would be a good finish for S&D at either of these two particular events. There are some teams that could give them a run for their money for those placements so I genuinely mean this. Think S&D have a very good shot at 4th at SC though. (And, really, one never knows what to expect from S&K).

I hope Wang/Liu can finally break into the Top 5 at a GP. They have made some great strides since moving to Montreal just a few months ago. Given that the ACI panels (judging and TP - they actually received the highest BV at ACI RD) was more conservative/strict , their SB looks low compared to S/D, S/F, L/L in RD and S/D, L/L in FD. However, when they went H2H with S/F at ACI they were only a point off and not too far behind S/D, so it's definitely possible.

I agree that 5th is possible. Interesting head-to-head, particularly with S&F and L&L. We should remember that Skoptcova & Aleshin aren't on the scoreboard yet.

 

[pearly]

After days of thinking I finally voted for H/D here, but I would really like it if another team could challenge them just to mix things up a bit.

 

[litenkyckling]

I think that H/D will probably win BUT I'd love to see Piper and Paul win this one. I'm just not really feeling either of H/Ds programmes this season - both of them have almost a half hearted feeling to them and I know that they've said that they struggled for inspiration this year. I feel like Piper and Paul are trying to push themselves further, and so yeah I'm keeping my fingers crossed for them.

 

[pearly]

I think that H/D will probably win BUT I'd love to see Piper and Paul win this one. I'm just not really feeling either of H/Ds programmes this season - both of them have almost a half hearted feeling to them and I know that they've said that they struggled for inspiration this year. I feel like Piper and Paul are trying to push themselves further, and so yeah I'm keeping my fingers crossed for them.

I'm not feeling their programs either, unlike last year. Jackie Wong says the FD is super special amazing live, but I'll wait for a more reliable source to confirm that.

 

[NoNameFace]

I think that H/D will probably win BUT I'd love to see Piper and Paul win this one. I'm just not really feeling either of H/Ds programmes this season - both of them have almost a half hearted feeling to them and I know that they've said that they struggled for inspiration this year. I feel like Piper and Paul are trying to push themselves further, and so yeah I'm keeping my fingers crossed for them.

I'm not feeling their programs either, unlike last year. Jackie Wong says the FD is super special amazing live, but I'll wait for a more reliable source to confirm that.

I can imagine that 'super special amazing live' is a subjective feeling if it comes to the reception/impression/how program itself resonates within person watching it, they definitely looked impressive from execution standpoint and that could be under 'super special amazing live' feeling too. But yeah, I cannot simply shake and omit the feel of void, emptiness and detachment about material, kind of mismatched expression/interpretation (or too little/lack of thereof) in both programs actually - it's a bit like they want to infuse these programs badly, but don't know with what substance. And that jarred ending in FD, completely in opposition to the rest of the dance...It clearly shows that the material was uninspired to them from the moment of creation - they can execute it flawlessly and try to infuse as much emotion into it as possible, but when it does not flow along with construction, choreography, music, it looks/feels detached.

 

[BillNeal]

I'm not feeling their programs either, unlike last year. Jackie Wong says the FD is super special amazing live, but I'll wait for a more reliable source to confirm that.

PJ Kwong also raved about their FD on CBC. Though for me, I'm also not a fan of either of Hubbell/Donohue's programs. For their RD, part of reason is that they are using music from Maria de Buenos Aires and I can't help but compare their interpretation to W/Ps, who made something special out of it. Putting the music aside for a moment, FD seems nice but it's missing that 'soul' that their free dance had last year, seems somewhat monotonous until the tragic ending, lifts looked somewhat sloppy, and overall program lacks innovation. It may grow throughout the season but imo, the basis of the program lacks potential.

 

[WeakAnkles]

PJ Kwong also raved about their FD on CBC. Though for me, I'm also not a fan of either of Hubbell/Donohue's programs. For their RD, part of reason is that they are using music from Maria de Buenos Aires and I can't help but compare their interpretation to W/Ps, who made something special out of it. Putting the music aside for a moment, FD seems nice but it's missing that 'soul' that their free dance had last year, seems somewhat monotonous until the tragic ending, lifts looked somewhat sloppy, and overall program lacks innovation. It may grow throughout the season but imo, the basis of the program lacks potential.

The program screams "Creative Block." Interestingly enough, the Shibs had the same problem the year after they won their first bronze medal, with Marina giving them essentially a carbon copy of their bronze winning FD.

As I said elsewhere, without the beginning voiceover and Sudden Ending Death Pose, who would know this is about Romeo & Juliet and not, say, Ed & Marge from Cranston?

The RD grew on me from its first outing, but no, it doesn't come close to capturing WePo's take on the same music.

Both programs need tinkering. In the case of the FD, I'd say Major Tinkering. To at least a certain extent, they're coasting on reputation.

 

[WeakAnkles]

Ah, I won't be here on Saturday - have a family obligation that was just sprung on me today (my Mom's foster brother is visiting from Ireland, and they wanted to keep it a surprise. Which it certainly was--at least to me!). if someone could do the PBP for the FD, which I believe is happening on Saturday, that would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Ice Dance]

I think the program screams we-went-on-tour-and-didn't-think-about-our-music-until-July. Plus, we didn't have time to develop any new lifts or major elements either.

But apparently H&D have plenty of time to stand still & stare at each other, which they did for excessive amounts of time at SA (during their practice run-through and during the announcement for other athletes). Enough. I'm all for setting the stage as soon as you step out onto the ice for your performance. But, otherwise, not impressed.

They skated the FD much better at SA than at the U.S. Classic, and if they perform their elements well, I expect them to win SC. But I wish Weaver & Poje were going to be here because I'd like H&D to really consider a different FD.

 

[CoyoteChris]

Just for fun, you can spot Susan Hubbell haunting the front seats during practice and interacting with H/D. Her hair is now longer than when I took this shot (it was Nats.) (I showed her this pic at SA). I need a better camera...

 

[LadyB]

Hubbell and Donahue are going to win, but I want Gilles and Poirier to win.

Exactly my sentiment. I totally love both Piper & Paul's programmes and I would go mad if they win it.

I also shout for SinKats and hope they'll be on the podium. All the best to Smart/Diaz.

Looking at the list, I'm really, really looking forward to this competition. Healthy skates to all the couples!

 

[IceDancingQueen]

I'm not feeling their programs either, unlike last year. Jackie Wong says the FD is super special amazing live, but I'll wait for a more reliable source to confirm that.

The British Eurosport presenters loved it too. You definitely can’t deny their quality but agree with everyone that that extra special something is missing. Piper and Paul’s programmers are so great, I too would love them to win!