Junior Worlds: Ice Dance Thoughts and Highlights

[gsk8]

USA’s Avonley Nguyen and Vadym Kolesnik moved up from third to capture the Ice Dance title after the Free Dance took place in Tallinn, Estonia, on Saturday afternoon. Maria Kazakova and Georgy Reviya from Georgia maintained second to win the silver—the first medal of any color for Georgia in this event, while Russia’s Elizaveta Shanaeva and Devid Naryzhnyy settled for bronze.

Nguyen and Kolesnik delivered a powerful performance to “Piano Concerto No. 2” by Rachmaninov which featured level 4 twizzles, spin, and lifts. The circular steps received a rare level 4, while the one-foot steps were graded a level 3 for her and 4 for him. All elements received positive grades of execution (GOE), and the 2019-20 Junior Grand Prix silver medalists finished first in the free dance with a new personal best of 108.91 points, rising to first overall with a total score of 177.18.

“I’ve dreamed about this moment for so long and to know that our work finally paid off, it just feels great!” said Nguyen. “We’re so happy, we’re elated, we’re just overjoyed!”

Honestly, it’s the biggest moment of my life happening right now,” said Kolesnik, adding that he felt they have done all they can on the Junior level. “We’ll have to discuss with our coach if we are going to move to seniors or stay junior. We’ll just work hard when we come back. Of course, we’ll have some rest, but we’ll get back to work as soon as we feel like it’s time.”

More...

Which programs were your favorites? Which team(s) do you think have shown the most improvement over the season and how?

Who are you looking forward to seeing next season? What are your thoughts on how the teams were scored at this event?

 

[heartyxo]

I was admittedly rooting for the Georgians, and I thought they were gonna get it after only being back 0.05 after the RD and being around a point and a half ahead of 3rd. Today they gave me chills and I didn't think either of the last 2 would beat them.

I was wrong. Avonley and Vadym came along. I'm haven't been the biggest fan of that FD all season (and I still can't believe Igor went so literal with the "mini C/B" idea, but I suppose he had to replace them in his heart somehow ) but today they were impeccable and they really earned it. I would have maybe had it slightly closer between the top 2 but I think the order was right. Their reaction to winning was the most wholesome thing of this entire event :luv17:

I really enjoyed Elizaveta and Devid too, and they said they're staying junior so they're definitely top contenders for Junior World Champions next year.

I love ice dance, my favourite discipline and I'm now looking forward to senior dance in 2 weeks time!

 

[MGstyle]

Personally it would have been a tough choice, I love both of the two top teams but they are so different in their style it's almost impossible for me to compare. Both carry the magical twinkle aorund them as they perform, but I do admit today that twinkles were wee bit more intense with Avonley and Vadym. I was totally enthralled! I can't be happier with the outcome.
I will be looking forward to seeing more of Maria and Georgy in Montreal, hope they will make a big splash!
And oh, the last but not the least, watch out for the Utashin mania to grow even stronger next season!!! Their growth will be so exciting to follow!

 

[kmw227]

The best event of the competition for me, mostly because I had no idea who I wanted to win! I love all three teams that ended up on the podium, so I would've been thrilled no matter who won. But man, Avonley and Vadym were just impeccable today and they absolutely deserved it. Also, their reaction to winning was my favorite moment of the entire competition :luv17:

I can't wait to see how Maria and Georgy transition to the senior ranks and I can't wait to watch them grow! Their free dance is my favorite of the entire season and I'm so excited to hopefully see it one more time in Montreal

I was SO impressed with Elizaveta and Devid as well. I really liked them this season, but this event made me love them! They're staying junior for one more year, and I have no doubt that they'll be a top contender for gold next year. :yes:

Besides the podium, I also really enjoyed Davis & Smolkin, Wolfkostin & Chen, Brown & Brown, and Yoshida & Nishiyama. There was an insane amount of talent in this event, junior dance is going to be stacked for many seasons to come!

 

[Colonel Green]

- after the RD it looked like Nguyen/Kolesnik might be out of luck for the gold, but they fought back to win. Happy for them; the senior field in the US is daunting, so if they're moving up they've got a bit of a slog ahead.
- Kazakova/Reviya made little impression on me last year, but I've become a big fan this season, kind of disappointed for them here, but silver isn't nothing.
- Shanaeva/Naryzhnyy were stealth favourites of mine after last season's first JGP (the rest of the season was a big disappointment for them after that), and I've enjoyed their rise to Russian #1 this season. I hope they can hang on to that next year.
- Ushakova/Nekrasov, back after missing most of what initially looked like it would be a season of them vs. the Americans. I really don't get the judging of these two; they're fast, but it's frantic and often uncontrolled-looking, and I really don't understand how their free dance even satisfies the requirement to skate in a manner matching the music, which to my eyes them didn't do.
- Davis/Smolkin, really nice ending to the season.
- Wolfkostin/Chen, see what happens when you don't fall? Clearly judge favourites, if they stick it out I'm sure they'll go far.
- Makita/Gunara, impressive for them to come atop the three Canadian teams here.
- Bronsard/Bouaraguia, fun, his twizzles are still a problem and his height might soon be one.
- D'Alessandro/Waddell, fix the damn combination spin already.

 

[dancelion21]

K/R's free dance is so unique, but they weren't as clean today as N/K. Both free dances are so different and I loved both of them. N/K's free dance really highlights the lightness and maturity of their skating, and also shows off their beautiful lines. It's re-using C/B's free dance music, but frankly, I don't mind. Rach 2 is my favorite piece of classical music ever, and C/B's Rach 2 is one of my favorite free dances of theirs. It's a unpopular opinion, but it's one that I'm proud to hold.

K/R have to move up to senior, and I think that N/K will as well. There isn't much to gain from them staying in Junior another year, and they're bound to join the dogfight that is US Senior Ice Dance eventually anyway. Joining now will allow them more time to build a reputation for 2026, or 2022, if citizenship checks out. I don't think S/N should move up because they still have eligibility and Russian ice dance is so competitive that another year in Junior to build a stronger reputation would be really helpful.

Fingers crossed that we get to see K/R's free dance at worlds this year, the choreo step is so fun.

 

[Shani]

I thought you could not compete at Junior Worlds and senior worlds in the same season any more?

 

[Colonel Green]

I thought you could not compete at Junior Worlds and senior worlds in the same season any more?

No, that’s allowed.

It’s usually not done in ice dance because you need to heavily revise your RD, but for some teams from small feds that’s not a problem.

 

[heartyxo]

Rach 2 is my favorite piece of classical music ever, and C/B's Rach 2 is one of my favorite free dances of theirs. It's a unpopular opinion, but it's one that I'm proud to hold.

Thank you it's great! I still think their 2016 worlds FD is one of the best skates they’ve ever done and I’ll stand by that. It was kind of a mess until then but once they pulled it together it was so good

 

[readernick]

I second the love for all the teams on the podium. N/G were magical in the free dance. Their flow and maturity are just sublime. They really created an amazing moment. I believe they will move to Seniors. Hopefully he is able to get citizenship. They are a perfect pairing.

K/R were not as clean in the FD, but their dance was still fabulous due to the transitions and interesting choreographic choices. It will be interesting to see their journey as Seniors.

Shanaeva/Naryzhnyy are really lovely skaters. They have great edges but don't have the speed of the two top teams, yet. Their RD was fabulous, but their FD material didn't suit them as well. I imagine they will be in contention for next year's JGM.

Ushakova/Nekrasov are just messy. Nothing against them personally but they are so frantic. I don't understand their style.

Davis/Smolkin have grown a lot this year. She has a lot of performance quality and he has charm.

Wolfkostin/Chen really have a bright future. Their basic skating really makes them stand out. And my two favorite terms Utana/Shingo and Brown/ Brown both had good performances. I hope they both shine next year on the JGP.

 

[Lovechihuahua]

This is the victory of Technical Controller, Shawn RETTSTATT from US and Judge3, John MILLIER from US, that all.
Shame on the judging, and the judges can only bully the skaters from small and powerless country like Georgia.

 

[chuckm]

This is the victory of Technical Controller, Shawn RETTSTATT from US and Judge3, John MILLIER from US, that all.
Shame on the judging, and the judges can only bully the skaters from small and powerless country like Georgia.

Millier is just one judge. There were 8 others. For your information, Judge #4 ranked Ushakova / Nekrasov 1st, Shanaeva / Naryzhnyy 2nd, Kasakova / Reviya 3rd, and Avonley / Vadym 4th. BTW, Millier didn't give N/K the highest marks---the German and French judges did.

As for Rettstatt, he can influence the outcome only if there is a disagreement between the two TSs, who were from Canada and Netherlands.

And don't assume Canadian judges and callers are pro-US either. The Canadian judge placed Kazakova / Reviya 1st, then the 3 Russian teams, and had Avonley / Vadym 5th.

 

[bybybybeeby]

honestly cant agree with the result,
in ID even 1 point at RD is a big gap to recover...
But mostly avonley, her skill was the weakest of all three. I cant still understand how judge gave their step levels like that when her edge is flat and so vague.
Even they got gold medal from here, i dont think their future at senior event will be
successful. I even rooted for Merily/White known for not having decent skating skills
in the past but N/K... if Avonley doesnt improve it’s only a circus on ice. without edge
qualities.. idk. at this moment her skill seems like even worse than sigle skaters.

Overall Shanaeva Naryzhnny had the best skating skills, edging quality but i think
their coaching staff made big mistake changing their fd a bit. But they were so good
with both artistry and technics, seems like they will have bright future as Ted said after
RD. They already seems like a senior team. i agree. But given by the fact it was their first
JWC,it was obvious judges wont prefer them. It’s what it is.. so my finger cross for them
for upcoming year. Also I hope theor coachs understand how FD score are judged by judges.
They need to set up good strategy to earn more goes with spins or charater steps. S/N
has much potential to stood up but coaches are kinda outdated. Not knowing the trend of
these day’s scoring system. Hope they use shanaeva’s remarkable dancing ability next year.

georgian team, they had the best program of three... wasnt my taste but
many ID fans loved their FD this season. They hd some mistake with combo spins
but besides that they earned big goe scores at every elements so it was fully enough to win N/K if judges gave them the right scores with the gap between RD scores.

 

[litenkyckling]

I still would've given it to K/R - they just have something for me where I can't look away and I believe in what they are doing. But hey - silver isn't bad and coming from a small fed I think they can make a splash at seniors next year. Obviously I'm not saying that they are like P/C but their circumstances are similar in that they are JW Silver medalists, have something a bit different about them, and don't have any domestic rivalry to keep them from going to championships every year from the get go. I really hope they make the FD at worlds because I love this program.

N/K were great, but I just can't buy into them for some reason. I find all the mini lifts too distracting. I actually prefer his skating to hers and for me, this FD felt like kids playing dress up in adults clothing. I think I'm in the minority with this opinion though. Interested to see if they will move up or not - they don't have to and they'll get far more experience if they stay junior so...

S/N again were so good, but I preferred their FD before they made the slight music change to it. Maybe next year will be their year! But 100% the top Russian team here - U/N are erratic at best and D/S just don't have that spark for me.

Thrilled for M/G as they really are my favourite of all the Canadian juniors - they have such a lovely and engaging quality about them. B/B have such a great FD but I find their height distracting - I don't find them to be a super well matched team. She's fantastic though (I'd actually love to see her with Kolesnik ). D/W are I team I truly do not get the hype for - I wish Nadiia and Peter had taken their place tbh.

Y/N are so joyful - such a great team for Japan and I think they really have had a dream first season together. I'm also so pleased for Emily Rose Brown and James Hernandez - I've always preferred them to Sasha and George and was looking forward to seeing them at worlds. They are the highest placing GB team at JW since 2014 (when Smart/Buckland were 10th). Finally, I'm a fan of Val/Colmor Jepsen - they have some lovely qualities and I'd like to do see them go far.

A good event - but I didn't watch in real time and I looked at the results throughout the day so I didn't really watch this with any element of surprise!

 

[theharleyquinn]

I enjoy all of the skaters on the podium. N/K definitely have that Igor stamp on them. I hope next season they start cementing their own style because Igor's style of ice dancing has become quite dated to me (see: the second wind that C/B have gotten since leaving that camp).

 

[GoneWithTheWind]

I still would've given it to K/R - they just have something for me where I can't look away and I believe in what they are doing. But hey - silver isn't bad and coming from a small fed I think they can make a splash at seniors next year. Obviously I'm not saying that they are like P/C but their circumstances are similar in that they are JW Silver medalists, have something a bit different about them, and don't have any domestic rivalry to keep them from going to championships every year from the get go. I really hope they make the FD at worlds because I love this program.

N/K were great, but I just can't buy into them for some reason. I find all the mini lifts too distracting. I actually prefer his skating to hers and for me, this FD felt like kids playing dress up in adults clothing. I think I'm in the minority with this opinion though. Interested to see if they will move up or not - they don't have to and they'll get far more experience if they stay junior so...

I totally agree, about both K/R and N/K.

Whilst Avonley and Vadym's skating is beautiful and smooth, their free dance doesn't move me and I don't find it original or particularly remarkable, very well skated, yes, but not memorable (for me). I'm sure many others will disagree...
On the other hand, for me, Maria and Georgy have something special that makes me want to watch their programs, their free dance is original, with clever transitions, and they seem committed to performing to the music, which isn't necessarily easy to skate to. I too hope they make the free at Worlds, it would be great to see 'In The End' one more time.

I enjoyed all three Russian teams, but Arina and Maxim were my favourites of the trio. Their free dance, although a little bit messy, was fast, fun and character-driven, which I really enjoyed. I really look forward to seeing them next season. I enjoyed Elizaveta and Devid's rhythm dance more than their free, and am glad they were able to take home a small gold medal, to go with their overall bronze. It was also nice to see Diana and Gleb skate well, they've improved as the season has gone on, and it was good to see them earn new SBs at Worlds.

Of the teams outside the Top 5, I enjoyed Loicia and Theo's remixed Carmen, they really capture the character well. Katarina and Jeffrey are another team I really like, they skate so smoothly and their free dance is really soft and lovely.

I was pleased to see Miku and Tyler top the three Canadian teams and I enjoyed both of their performances here. I enjoyed the second half of Emmy and Aissa's free dance, which they seem more relaxed in and more able to have fun with, for me, the Space Oddity section at the start doesn't really work. Natalie and Bruce didn't have the best outing in the free dance here, it's going to be interesting to watch all three teams next year and see who will come out on top.

 

[dorispulaski]

When a dance team makes a noticeable mistake, there is always a price to pay. Thus Nguyen and Kolesnik in the RD, and Kazakova and Reviya in the FD. The order of finish was correct imo.

What I would like to know, is why more Russian dance teams do not go to Nikolai Nikonov for choreography? He gave the Georgians one of the most memorable free dances of the season, senior or junior.

This was a very well skated event in general.

I particularly enjoyed Utashin, Makita & Gunara, and Brown and Brown in the R D. They all seemed to be having such a good time!

And N&K were magical in the FD.

 

[readernick]

I had, honestly, never heard of Nikolai Nikono prior to seeing the Georgian's free dance but I totally agree about this amazing choreography. This dance is so much better (imho) than any of the Russian senior teams' choreo. He should be utilized more.

 

[Dreamer57]

Well, I thought most ice dance training centres in Russia prefer to use their own choreographers?
Khudaiberdieva / Filatov also list Nikolai Nikonov as choreographer (they have the same coaching team as K/R).

I really enjoyed this event, such great skating made it lovely to watch. I'm glad to see S/N get all new SBs, hopefully they can reach more new heights in their final year of juniors.

 

[Olibritt]

N/K were great, but I just can't buy into them for some reason. I find all the mini lifts too distracting. I actually prefer his skating to hers and for me, this FD felt like kids playing dress up in adults clothing. I think I'm in the minority with this opinion though. Interested to see if they will move up or not - they don't have to and they'll get far more experience if they stay junior so...

I was having problems trying to put that same thought into words, thank you, "kids playing dress up in adults clothing" was the expression I was looking for.

They are amazing and I can´t wait to see them grow and develop on the ice. But their looks were absolutely distracting, especially her makeup and costume. I know it's difficult to combine a "theme for grownups" skated by a very talented young woman that looks younger than her real age (18) but, to be honest, I would have enjoyed it more if they skated in their training clothes and no-makeup.

Apart from that, it was a great final, I didn´t really have a favorite so I didn´t care for the order of the podium, I just enjoyed and found all of them amazing and so different!