Skate America 2015! Pairs and Ice Dance

Level 2 Waltz. Level 4 Face.

Pairs

Our reigning World Silver Medalists, Sui Wenjing and Han Cong, were the decisive winners of this event. I was not terribly surprised, but I was nonetheless excited because they are my team. Sui and Han have been around at the top level of the pairs’ world since they were wee children (this is China, of course. Their real ages have always been a question mark), and their growth into mature, refined, truly adult skaters over the past couple of seasons has been astonishing to watch. After years of giving the American ladies the same recycled choreography, Lori Nichol has apparently found her calling in working with the Chinese pairs. Somehow, even an old warhorse like Samson & Delilah feels fresh on this team. Sui and Han have always had the talent to be World and Olympic Champions, and they finally have the vehicles to pull it off.

Watching this long program again compared to the other pairs at the event, I find that the quality of the lifts, twist, and throws are in a completely different league. Spins and side-by-side jumps continue to be an issue. The pair spin in the short program was invalidated by the technical panel, which put them in 2^nd heading into the long program. Han wiped out on a triple salchow in the long program, which he cannot afford to do against the top Canadian and Russian teams later in the season. Sui is such a diva in the best way possible. She is giving it 110% in this program, and she is completely unfazed by her partner’s mistake. They were nailing throw quad salchows in practices, but they elected to leave it out in competition. They didn’t need it to win, but their scores are going to shoot through the roof once it’s in. The other top international pairs should be sweating after Skate America.

I am incredibly proud of Alexa Scimeca and Chris Knierim for pulling off the silver medal in a tough field. Our U.S. National Champions are our first truly internationally competitive pairs’ team in over a decade. Alexa and Chris absolutely nailed their short program in a competition where many top teams faltered. We need to talk about this program. Alexa Scimeca clad in leather from head to toe skating to Metallica and serving face for days is everything I needed this weekend. Our girl wants to be the best in the world, and she was skating like she believed she already was.

When Alexa and Chris unexpectedly found themselves in first after the short program, I had a feeling the free skate wasn’t going to be pretty. Many skaters struggle when they do better than they think they’re going to in the short, and nobody expected the Americans to beat both the World and Olympic Silver Medalists here no matter how well they skated. They nailed the opening quad twist, but things went off the rails quickly after that. Side-by-side jumps give this team fits, and they both went down on the triple salchow. Chris went on to miss the triple toe, and every other element felt tight and overcooked. The performance level really plummeted as the technical elements failed. This was an important lesson for Alexa and Chris. They’ve really upped their technical content and worked on their lines and extension to put themselves on the same level as the top international pairs. Now they have to learn to compete with them and own their position. They still managed to hang on to the silver medal, which gives them a great chance at qualifying for the Grand Prix Final. This is an exciting time for U.S. pairs.

I’m also elated for our surprise bronze medalists, Julianne Seguin and Charlie Bilodeau of Canada. I was a big fan of this duo on the junior circuit last season, and it’s great to see them getting great results so early in their senior career. The other top teams should be nervous about how good this team is for how new they are. They are very polished and have superb performance quality. Their grandiose orchestral arrangement of “A Whiter Shade of Pale” in the long program could really suffocate a young team, but Julianne and Charlie skate up to the music. If they really want to climb the international ranks, they need more difficult technical content. We’re getting to the point where pairs need quad elements in the long program to win medals at Worlds. Still, Julianne and Charlie are a joy to watch. The Canadian pairs’ renaissance continues.

I am sorry to serve the NBC-style commentary drama…..but this weekend was an absolute disaster for Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov. A brief history lesson for the uninitiated – the reigning Olympic Silver Medalists entered last season looking absolutely unbeatable. They proceeded to lose the Grand Prix Final to a strong Canadian pair that was doing throw quad salchows and side-by-side triple lutzes, and everything went downhill from there. Stolbova and Klimov withdrew from the 2015 World Championships, not due to injury, but to focus on improving for the 2016 season, as though they couldn’t bear to win the silver medal again. It was a controversial move that reeked of poor sportsmanship. Now here we are seven months later ready to evaluate their progress. Their decision to skip Worlds has only invited extra scrutiny as they started a new season. This was not the statement they wanted to make.

There is much to admire about this team. They have the classic Russian lines that purists crave in a top pair, and their speed and power across the ice are incredible. They really are a striking team with a commanding presence. Ksenia Stolbova has the competitive intensity of a Russian woman who knows what she wants and will stop at nothing to get it. Her partner tends to succumb to nerves, and she has been known to shoot him well-placed death glares on the ice to let us know what she thinks of his performance ability. I always worry for his personal safety after competitions where they don’t skate well. For a team that allegedly spent all summer working on new technical content, there wasn’t much to see here. They can still barely complete an adequate triple twist while the top Chinese teams (and now the Americans too!) are nailing quads. The throws were looking shaky (including a complete miss on a throw triple flip in the short program), so I see no real danger of any quads on that front. They did add a triple toe + triple toe+ double toe combination in the long program, which is difficult. There has always been a coldness to their presentation, and I saw no real improvement to their connection. The short program to Annie Lennox’s cover of “I Put a Spell on You” needs some real sexual sizzle to work. They don’t have it. The long program is more effective. Their music choice is the score to a documentary about Donald Rumsfeld……a deliberate choice for Worlds in the USA? For a team that is hungry for the top spot at Worlds and beyond, finishing fourth at Skate America is an unacceptable result. It will be an uphill battle to the Grand Prix Final, and they may even have trouble domestically with the return of Olympic Champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov and two other strong Russian pairs that are jockeying for a spot on the Worlds team. Someone pass the popcorn.

It amazes me that even the 4^th-ranked Chinese pair has such superb quality on their lifts, twists, and throws. We need to kidnap Yao Bin and make him coach our U.S. pairs from infancy. Wang Xuehan and Wang Lei were impressive in the short program, but they crumbled under pressure in the long after unexpectedly finding themselves in bronze medal position among some of the world’s top pairs. She is absolutely exquisite. He is a bit gangly and awkward. As the Chinese are wont to do, she is paired with a man ten years her senior, thus raising questions about longevity. I like this pair and look forward to seeing more from them as the season progresses.

Tarah Kayne and Danny O’Shea are more what we expect from our top U.S. pairs. Decent quality on the big elements, but lacking in refinement and pretty basic in packaging. I would like Tarah to spend some time at the ballet barre and really learn to extend those limbs. Their performance quality is quite good, and they have a believable connection. No one needs to be skating to Barbra Streisand caterwauling through “Music of the Night.” Who are all these old queens picking the music this year? Tarah and Danny put in sturdy performances at Skate America, even (unsuccessfully) going for a throw quad salchow in the long program. I think they have a very good shot at taking the second U.S. pairs’ spot at Worlds. They had a respectable showing here in a difficult field.

Ice Dance

To the surprise of no one, Madison Chock and Evan Bates won this event in a walk. The reigning World Silver Medalists have had a difficult go of it so far this season. This year’s short dance compulsory pattern is the Ravensburger Waltz, and it’s giving everyone fits. Madison and Evan are already on their third short dance of the season. According to the IceNetwork propaganda machine, our U.S. National Champions had barely managed a run through of the new program prior to Skate America. The previous programs were scrapped because domestic judges complained about the lack of a clear waltz rhythm in the music. I certainly didn’t hear a clear ¾ pattern in the weird Italian faux-opera version of “Unchained Melody” they’re now using, even though Tanith Belbin’s commentary tried to convince me otherwise. The compulsory pattern in the short dance proved problematic for Madison and Evan. U.S. ice dance legend Judy Blumberg was on the technical panel, and she is a notorious compulsory Nazi. The National Champions received no favors from Ms. Blumberg on home ice, scoring only a level 2 on their first waltz pattern. Even USA cheerleader Tanith Belbin noticed a lack of fluidity and ease in Madison and Evan’s pattern – an absolute crime for a Viennese waltz. It was fine for this field, but there is work to be done before they face the real World medal contenders later in the season.

The free dance performance was fine, but not particularly inspired. Rachmaninoff’s 2^nd Piano Concerto is beyond overused. Madison and Evan can do lovey-dovey romance well, but it’s not new or original. Madison Chock has gorgeous posture and extension, and she can sell a program. Her skating skills are still weak for a top ice dancer. She really struggled through the twizzles here. Evan is an amazing skater, and he presents her well. I need more drama. Madison is capable of giving us sex, as in last year’s memorable paso doble short dance. I would love to see more artistic risks, but as Tyra Banks would say, they’re always resting on pretty. With the reigning World Champions out with injury, the Americans have an excellent shot at the World title in Boston. While they are a quality team, their success does speak to the relative weakness of the international ice dance field in the absence of Davis/White and Virtue/Moir.

The silver medalists were more of a surprise, but I saw it coming when there were judges from Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan on this panel. The unexpected split of Olympic Bronze Medalists Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov has left the Russian Skating Federation scrambling to find another top dance team to put its political weight behind. Nikita was here with new partner Victoria Sinitsina for a second go at the Grand Prix. Last year was a disaster for this team. There were performances with multiple falls – almost unheard of in ice dance. Elena Ilinykh and her new partner won Russian Nationals while Nikita and Vika failed to advance to Worlds. Things were looking better in Milwaukee, but I don’t agree with the result. This is one of the most unevenly matched teams in this field. Nikita is a truly amazing talent – certainly one of the two or three best male ice dancers in the world. Vika is a nice skater, but she is not on the same level. He has star quality for days, and she doesn’t really register. It’s a major partner downgrade from Elena Ilinykh, but I think that’s what he was hoping for. All reports indicate that those two were too much ego for the same team.

It is seriously tacky for Nikita to do “Swan Lake” with a new partner in the short dance, as that is his and Elena’s signature Olympic music. I do enjoy that Vika is portraying the White Swan in this version…..she does not have the Elena Ilinykh Black Swan intensity inside of her. The best thing I can say about the free dance is that it’s inoffensive. It’s a step in the right direction after he was grabbing her ass last year. Skaters dip into the Andrea Boccelli bucket when they want to skate around looking pretty. There is nothing artistically profound going on here. This is ice dance! In Russia! Turn up the drama. I found it comical that this team was within three points of the Americans in the free dance even with two deductions for extended lift violations. The Russian political machine is hard at work this season.

I really felt for Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, who got railroaded a bit here. Piper and Paul are a very balanced team with superior skating skills and more intricate programs than their Russian rivals. The Canadians perhaps dug their own grave a bit with a truly bizarre short dance. I fail to see the connection between their Beatles and Mozart selections. Is there supposed to be one? And their neon Sgt. Pepper suits are a little too Stars on Ice for me. I get that it’s ice dance and it’s ok to take fashion risks, but please don’t hurt my eyes. The free dance is much better. Piper lacks the classic posture and extension of other top dance ladies, but they mask it well with innovative lifts and unique choreography. There is a very modern quality to this team that I appreciate. This bronze medal is surely a disappointment for a team that is looking to return to the Grand Prix Final and improve on their strong sixth place finish at Worlds. I would go back to square one on the short dance – everyone else is doing it!

Kaitlyn Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker keep knocking on the door of the top tier of the ice dance world, but it still just isn’t quite working out for them. The talent is there. Jean-Luc has incredible basic skating skills, and Kaitlyn is a born performer. They were amazing when they won Junior Worlds two years ago, and I expected them to dominate the senior ranks quickly. I really like their short dance. These two have a lovely balletic quality that is well-suited to The Nutcracker. At this competition, they received only a Level 1 for their first waltz pattern, and Kaitlyn botched the twizzles. The performance quality was there, but this team always throws away points on technical elements. Kaitlyn’s tutu is beautiful, but it engulfs her and obscures her leg line. The free dance is a mess. I’m not just saying that because I hate The Theory of Everything. I appreciate the drama, but Jean-Luc acting out Stephen Hawking’s degeneration from ALS is a bit tacky for me, and it doesn’t work when it’s surrounded by twizzles and step sequences. The music is pleasant, but it doesn’t do much for them. I’m not sure if this is going to be their year to break through. The U.S. dance field is insanely competitive, and Kaitlyn and Jean-Luc could very well find themselves in 4^th place at Nationals again.

Anastasia Cannuscio and Colin McManus are another duo looking to break through the upper echelon of U.S. ice dance and make it to Worlds. I see great improvement this season, particularly on the artistic side. Their expression is lovely in the Cinderella short dance, and they really use their music. The free dance…..I don’t get it. Beethoven going deaf is an interesting concept in theory, but you have to give me more than Colin grabbing his ears every few seconds. Nice performances here, but a bit lacking in impact. They will probably stay at around 5^th place at Nationals.

This was a disappointing first Grand Prix outing for Anna Yanovskaya and Sergey Mozgov. The reigning World Junior Champions create a strong impression on the ice. She has legs for days, and he is incredibly handsome. You want them to skate beautifully, but they don’t. Transitions in and out of technical elements look very awkward and labored. They don’t have as much speed or power as the other top teams. Their leg lines do not match much of the time. They need to be doing lifts that emphasize her gorgeous limbs, but many of their positions are unappealing. A note to all skaters: I liked The Great Gatsby. The soundtrack is great. You can’t skate to it. There is no way to use Lana Del Rey and Fergie in the same program and have it not seem completely slapped together. Russia’s next great hope for the future has some work to do before they can really contend at the highest level. 

That settles it for this week! Join me next weekend as the Grand Prix series continues at Skate Canada. 

2015 Skate America! The Men and Ladies

This weekend, the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series kicked off in the cheesetastic city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin with Skate America 2015. There have been some B-level international events over the summer and early fall, but this was the first competition of the season that really and truly mattered. Some of the best skaters in the world faced off for the first time in the lead-up to the 2016 World Championships in Boston. There were some triumphs. There were some not triumphs. Join me as I take us through a journey of the men and ladies of Skate America

Men

The United States Figure Skating Association can rejoice. A U.S. man won this event for the first time since Evan Lysacek did it in 2009. And to top it off, it was an unquestionably heterosexual man who can land quads. The coverage on IceNetwork and NBC all week has made much of the New Max Aaron. Yes, our jump-drilling boy is now an artiste who took ballet classes over the summer and has learned to connect with his music on a deep, personal level. Let’s be real – Max Aaron is never going to be artistic. I saw improvements this weekend, but when you’re starting from Tonya Harding level, the only way to go is up. There is still a distinct hockey player quality to his skating, and he really lets his performance quality drop when difficult elements are approaching.

Still, something seems to be working with Max’s new approach to training, because I saw a competitive fire in him at Skate America that was completely lacking last season. I wasn’t surprised that he nailed the short program. He skated early after a slew of low scores, and the crowd was on his side. I am incredibly impressed with how he handled the long program coming in as the unexpected short program leader. Max doubled out of the second half of his planned quad salchow + triple toe combination at the start of the program. In the past, the wheels would have flown off and that would have been the end. But he kept his focus up, most memorably nailing a quad salchow in the second half of his program. Max is typically a skater who scores 6’s and 7’s in program components. He got 8’s across the board in the long program here. Accurate? I don’t think so, but program components tend to rise the more consistently you land quads. I imagine Max’s scores will continue to increase as he puts in more performances like this. It’s hard to believe, but Max could really be in the mix for the podium if he keeps up his performance level through Worlds.

The performance of the long program for me was definitely from Shoma Uno, the reigning World Junior Champion. At 17, he displayed maturity and artistry beyond his years. His complete command of the ice is incredibly impressive for somebody so small in stature. Turandot has been done to death in figure skating, and it’s easy to get buried under the weight of that music, but Shoma matched the intensity and then some. It was a living room standing ovation moment. The costume confuses me. It’s very St. Patrick’s Day Irish step dance class recital. The Japanese Figure Skating Federation can afford better styling for their future star. Shoma actually outscored Max Aaron in the long program, but a fall on a quad toe attempt in the short program cost him the gold medal. Shoma’s jumps are worrisome.  He looks very off-axis in the air much of the time, and his landings tend to be wild. There is no flow out of those jumps. Everything is landed by the skin of his teeth. The quality of his other elements is so high that his substandard jumps are very jarring.  Shoma is the opposite case of many top juniors who successfully transition to the senior ranks – he already has the quality and refinement, but he’s missing reliable jump technique. I will have to light a candle and say a prayer every time he takes the ice.

Jason Brown’s bronze medal finish here might be a disappointment for many fans, but it’s honestly better than I expected in this field. Jason tends to gain confidence as the season goes along, and he’s looked very rough in early season events this year. He also put the quad toe in his long program for the first time here. He landed the jump cleanly in practice for the first time a whopping two weeks ago. It surprised no one that he underrotated and wiped out on the element here. Jason is a joy to watch, but he has no margin for error given that he has the easiest technical content of the top skaters in the men’s field. He won last year’s U.S. National Championships on spins, footwork, and program components. That’s honestly how he won the bronze here too, as his feet did not seem to be beneath him at any point in the competition. 

Jason’s programs are full of transitions and intricate choreography. Even when the jumps fail him, he does not abandon his performance quality. I would still like to see more maturity from Jason’s presentation. The short program is pure Cheese-Whiz. Winks and finger guns galore. The long program is pretty, but it doesn’t go anywhere. I need more drama. It would help if he lost the ponytail. He needs to pull a Michelle Kwan, cut off all his hair, and give us the angst. Find your inner Russian darkness.

Yan Han can usually deliver a good short program, but you can always count on him to fall apart in the long. The judges were very ready to put him on the podium here. His jumps are huge and beautiful, and he has incredible basic skating skills. The presentation is there, even if it never feels authentic. It’s like when the football player decided to be in the high school school musical for kicks and giggles. I did enjoy his decision to skate to “Kissing You” from Romeo + Juliet. His sparkly black top looked very ready for Beijing’s top gay bar. Unfortunately, single axels and toe loops kept him off the podium here.

Konstantin Menshov reminds us that Russians have internal drama and angst that the rest of us can never hope to understand. He has told us that his long program is about his personal struggle against his inner demons. As he chose to skate to “Mad World” from Donnie Darko, we can only assume said demons take the form of giant evil bunny rabbits. He actually skated to the Adam Lambert cover of that song from American Idol……because figure skating. At the age of 32, Konstantin deserves respect for delivering two quads in the short program. He popped almost everything in the long program, but hey, it was a long weekend.

Ross Miner seems like a really nice guy. It doesn’t surprise me that his idea of edgy is skating to the music of Queen in faux-leather. He has a very pleasant quality to his skating. Ross is a hard worker, but he was very winded by the end of his long program. I fear that persistent injuries have really impacted his training regimen, and he’s going to continue to get buried in an increasingly tough U.S. men’s field.

Denis Ten…….oy. The reigning World and Olympic bronze medalist had a pretty abysmal go of it at his first competition of the season. Denis truly has the whole package. His dream posture and edge quality speak to the OCD perfectionism of coach Frank Carroll.  When he’s on, his jumps are huge and picturesque. Denis is never ready to go at the beginning of the season. His training life is always full of drama. He is usually ill, injured, or facing visa problems. This year his new boots weren’t working for him. I always cast a little side eye at skaters who pin their woes on boot problems. However, Frank started sharing that Denis has a hip injury, which was very apparent after the long program. He was practically limping off the ice. If he really was injured, I question the wisdom of letting him compete at this event. After three years of medaling at the Olympics or Worlds, he doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone. We’re used to Denis bombing his Grand Prix events and showing up ready to go at Worlds. I think he should sit out his next event and focus on delivering at the big events in the spring.

The regression of Takahito Mura from absolutely dominating the beginning of last season to scraping out the bottom of his first Grand Prix assignment this year has been truly astonishing to see. He got through two quads at the start of his long program here, but things went to hell in a handbasket after that. Taka has excellent skating skills, but presentation has never been a strong suit. When the jumps are gone, his long program feels very, very long. In fact, I asked my viewing partners why I was not able to fast forward live events. I appreciated his very ornamented top, as it was quite appropriate to the theme of Howl’s Moving Castle. Perhaps it impeded his jump rotations? Things to consider…

Florent Amodio…..bless. Short program: Triple salchow, triple axel, triple lutz+double toe. There are ladies’ skaters who present more technical content than that. He went for the quad salchow in the long program, but it wasn’t really close to rotation, and it was a hard fall. Florent remains an entertaining and very French performer. He actually failed to complete a spin at the end of his long program…a difficult mistake to make. Still, there are very few skaters who can hold the audience in the palm of their hand through a long and convoluted IJS step sequence the way Florent can. One has to wonder how long Florent will continue competing at this level, as he never looks trained and gets increasingly poor results. Some people are born for show skating.

Ladies

The winner of this event was the 15 year-old Russian wunderkind du jour. The rate the Russians pump these girls out is almost as astonishing as the rate at which they burn out (more on that later). This year’s model is named Evgenia Medvedeva. The reigning World Junior Champion has those Russian nerves of steel. When she took the ice in her short program, you could see in her eyes that she knew she was going to win. Somewhat controversially, Evgenia backloads both of her programs with jumps to maximize that 10% technical score bonus for second half jumps. There is a lot of pleasant skating and spinning for a couple of minutes, and then a non-stop jump drill. To her credit, she tends to land them. She even extends her arms over head on almost every single jump to maximize those grade of execution marks. It’s a nice flourish, but after the fourth jumping pass with flailing arms we’re like……ok, we get it. 

Evgenia’s presentation is lacking, but she does display more refinement than her Russian peers. She has nice, expressive arms and does not hit any offensive positions. Her spins display excellent speed and centering, and there are no garish, hyperextended flexibility moves. I would like to see more deliberate choreography and true connection to the music. There is lots of aimless Russian arm waving in both programs, but not worse than any of her compatriots. With these young Russian girls, one has to wonder how long the jump technique is going to last. Evgenia’s jumps look quite secure, and she jumps from her legs rather than her arms. I think that bodes well for longevity, but the test of puberty is a difficult one to pass unscathed. As it stands, she will be a force to be reckoned with this season.

This event was a mixed bag for Gracie Gold. On the one hand, she showed up here looking very trained and in excellent shape. She was looking much faster and stronger than she usually does at this point in the season, and her jumps were huge, confident, and secure. Gracie is a vision on the ice. Frank Carroll is a miracle worker. The refinement and maturity were unmatched by anyone else in this event. Her presentation is still very beauty pageant. Gracie is not a Michelle who feels the music in her soul of souls. But she does present well to the audience, and I could tell the crowd was engaged. 

Gracie does not have that killer instinct of an Evgenia Medvedeva. After nailing the triple lutz+triple toe combo at the top of her short program, she tensed up and performed a double flip. This would ultimately cost her the gold medal at this event. Gracie’s long program was excellent until she doubled a planned triple salchow at the end of the program. Popping is unacceptable in the current judging system. Go for the triple and fall. One must also question the wisdom of placing a triple flip in Gracie's short program. This has never been a strong jump for Gracie, and it's a high-risk element in the short. She will get more points for a well-executed triple loop than a questionable flip even though the flip is worth more points. Gracie’s program components were through the roof here. The judges were ready to give her the win. Her goal of winning Worlds in Boston is a very possible one, but she can’t throw away easy points. The Russian girls certainly won’t. A styling note: I know we’re skating to Firebird, but does the dress have to be so damn literal? Keep the red, lose the feathers.

Satoko Miyahara no doubt felt disappointed by the outcome of this weekend’s events. The reigning World Silver Medalist has been consistent all summer and fall and performed very well here in both programs. Satoko is a very musical, graceful skater with beautiful spins, excellent edge quality, and perfect OCD posture. She is also a very tiny girl. Despite mature packaging, she reads very young on the ice. Despite good basic skating skills, she doesn’t generate much speed and power, and she covers less ice than the other top ladies. Most damning of all, her jumps are very small. Her grades of execution are always going to be lower than the likes of Gracie Gold’s, and international technical panels tend to slam her for underrotations, fairly or not. Satoko is a fan favorite, and many observers are upset over her bronze medal finish here. The best Satoko can do is continue to be consistent and hope other top ladies falter, as they did at the last World Championships.

Skate America saw a strong Grand Prix debut from Kazakhstan’s Elizabet Tursynbayeva, who finished a surprising fourth. Let’s be real: this girl is 10, right? She looks like a child. Regardless, I was very impressed by Elizabet’s competitive prowess and her strong skating skills for someone so young. I noticed a stark contrast between Elizabet and similarly petite Satoko Miyahara. It seemed like there wasn’t enough ice in the rink for this girl to cover! The OCD perfectionist in me would like to see Elizabet straighten her free leg and pay more attention to her lines. She has a lovely, soft, expressive style that would be strengthened by better extension. I want to know why Brian Orser is making this poor girl skate to Yentl and “Send in the Clowns.” This is not a charity event at a gay retirement home. Let’s give this girl something a bit younger to work with.

This was also the Grand Prix debut of Karen Chen, who has been the next Great American Hope for the past four seasons or so. Karen has some truly remarkable qualities. She flies across the ice without any effort, she knows how to sell a program, and she has a heavenly, Kwan-like spiral that we have not seen from a top ladies’ skater in years. Consistency has always been an issue for Karen. After a stellar short program, she completely collapsed in the free skate after missing her opening lutz+toe combination. Even when she’s skating well, she is prone to underrotations, and international technical panels do not give her the benefit of the doubt. There’s usually drama in Karen’s training life. This year, she has apparently tried 14 different pairs of boots this season and nothing is working for her. I wonder if the Russian girls who have been consistently beating her on the junior (and now senior) international stage have the luxury of trying on so many damn boots. Karen has the talent to be a top contender, but it’s going to take consistently delivering two programs under the big lights for her to be taken seriously by international judges. We also need to talk about the styling. I get the French flag tribute on the long program dress, but it’s a little too fabulous for Les Miz. I don’t think Eponine had access to a bedazzler. Please bring something more muted to your next event.

Yulia Lipnitskaya…….no words. Ok, I will find some. It’s sad to see the wheels continue to come off, as I do really like her. It’s just time to have a come to Jesus moment and accept that the jump technique that served her so well as a 15 year-old doesn’t work anymore. I saw this coming in Sochi. The jumps were small and scary, and she still had some growing to do. She can fake it through a short program, but the long program always proves that the emperor has no clothes. She still has that incredible flexibility, but she looks like she hates her life when she’s on the ice. And off of it, actually. Note how she looked positively suicidal in the Kiss and Cry after both programs. Her coach said the goal was for her to just survive both programs. This girl has an Olympic Gold Medal (in the team event……but still). It’s hard to watch her at this point. It must be difficult for her to go through such a terrible career low while her young training mate Evgenia Medvedeva is doing so well. A note about the short program: is it a cruel joke to make this girl skate to Elvis? She looks like she wants to be literally anywhere else in the world but on the ice during that program.  The Lisa Frank rainbow explosion dress just adds to the absurdity of it all.

Mariah Bell’s Grand Prix debut certainly went better than I thought it was going to, considering some real trainwrecks at her early season events. She is such an engaging skater with some beautiful qualities. I don’t think the jumps are secure enough for her to really be a contender internationally right now, but I hope she continues to push herself through U.S. Nationals. The long program dress though…..I get it. Born on the 4^th of July = Vietnam angst = broken American dreams = tattered American flag. But sometimes less is more. I point to Nancy Kerrigan’s simple yet iconic all-white Vera Wang dress from her program to the same music.

There unfortunately isn't much to say about the rest of the ladies at this event. There was not a lot of great skating happening. As Nancy Armour of the Associated Press says.....figure skating needs a gong sometimes. 

Pairs and dance tomorrow! Stay tuned!