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 2nd 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 4th-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 2nd 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 4th
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 5th
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.
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