2015 Cup of China! Pairs! Ice Dance! Oh My!

The on-ice death: an essential feature of any good Russian pair program.

Pairs

 
The surprise winners of this event were Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov, who have been around the top tier of the pairs' field since I was 18. I admire the skaters who push through to their mid-30's, but these two scare me. They always skate like they're teetering on the edge of disaster, like when she dislocated (and then relocated!) her shoulder on a throw fall in Vancouver, or when he almost dropped her into the audience on a lift at 2013 Worlds. Their technical elements never feel secure to me. And yet they keep increasing their technical content, and I will probably need some Xanax to make it through their long program all the way through Worlds. Their throw quad salchow has always been hit or miss (usually miss), and now they are adding a throw quad loop to the mix. The salchow was good here, but the loop was questionable, though she did kind of land it. I'm obsessed with their long program. Yuko is always giving me maybe a little bit too much (believe it or not, it is possible), but she is well-suited to the dark, plodding drama of Tchaikovsky's Manfred Symphony. It is an intricate program with lots of real moments. I believe she dies at least three times during this program, which is a shortcut into my heart. Sasha, for his part, projects much more here than he usually does, and I live for the part where he stomps angrily and skates after Yuko. I usually frown upon skaters who repeat programs across seasons, but I will give Yuko and Sasha a free pass because I love this one so much. Still, the quality of most of their elements is so scratchy that I don't think I'd have put them in 1st place. You really never know what these two are going to do, but they proved that they're in the mix for the Worlds podium if they skate relatively well.

This was a disappointing result for Sui Wenjing and Han Cong, though they did improve upon their scores from Skate America in both programs. They omitted their throw quad salchow because Sui tweaked her ankle in practice earlier in the week. The gap in base value (along with Sui suffering a fluke fall on nothing in the long program) caused them to just barely lose to the Russians. Even with the watered down technical content, Sui and Han do almost everything with much higher quality than Kavaguti and Smirnov. The twist is higher and cleaner, the throws have better height and distance, the lift positions are more attractive and difficult, and their skating is much smoother and more pleasing to the eye. The Russians have better side-by-side jumps, but overall I don't think the gap in quality on the other elements was accurately captured by the judges. Sui is a competitive girl, and she was visibly unhappy with losing at home. She is a total star, and I love watching her skate. Despite the loss, the top Chinese team sailed into the Grand Prix Final, and will no doubt be prepared to showcase their full technical difficulty. They'll be in contention for the gold medal.

Cup of China is always the chance for the host country to show off its insane depth in pair skating. If Sui/Han are contenders for the gold in 2018, then China has already found a team to replace them once they retire. Yu Xiaoyu and Jin Yang, the reigning World Junior Champions, are an already remarkably polished team for their young age, and they have that pristine Chinese quality to all of their technical elements. Unlike the other top Chinese pairs, even their side-by-side jumps are good. I do have to throw a little side eye for them keeping BOTH of their programs from last year, as though they were masterpieces or something. This team does need better packaging, as their long program is a total snooze. It's time to let Lori Nichol work with them now that they are seniors. At least the costumes are nice. They missed their first throw quad salchow attempt in competition, but I think they'll start landing it consistently. Their technical scores were through the roof here. If they can skate cleanly at Worlds, they're in the mix for a medal despite being kind of robotic. The talent is undeniable.

Much like at Skate America, Wang Xuehan and Wang Lei had an excellent short program followed by a really rough free skate. She has lovely expression, but she cannot land the side-by-side jumps to save her life. They'll probably miss out on Worlds in a packed Chinese pair field. We'll gladly take them in the USA.

Kristina Astakhova and Alexei Rogonov are decidedly not my favorite Russians. They lost me in the short program. Just in case you didn't know what The Artist was about, he is literally wearing film strips on his pants and a sequined clapboard on his vest. The long program is a variation on a classic Russian pair/dance theme: one partner is "broken" and the other one tries to fix them. This time, there are gears on both costumes and a giant keyhole on her back for him to "wind her up." They skate the program to actual dubstep music. It's all a bit much. There is a certain sloppiness about this team that I don't appreciate. Russian pair skating is all about those beautiful lines and a powerful, commanding presence on the ice. This team is a little too extra for me.

This was a pretty terrible showing for Lubov Iliushechkina and Dylan Moscovitch, which is a shame as I really like them. They're a really striking pair, and they're definitely two skaters who seem to naturally fit together. Luba has that dream flexibility and wonderful performance quality. Dylan's incredible core strength makes him an ideal partner for a girl who can hit some stunning lift positions. I love the passion they throw into their Led Zeppelin short program, and they clean up nicely for the more traditional Rachmaninoff free skate. Luba in particular looks like a million dollars in that long program dress. She can't get the side-by-side jumps, and I'm not sure if it's ever going to happen. She had a fall on a triple salchow in the long program that looked like she had never landed that jump in her life. They also completely bailed on a lift in the long program, which is inexcusable as the lifts are their selling point. Program components were lower than I thought they should have been, but that happens when you're inconsistent. Luba and Dylan really need to have great skates at their next event in order to keep up with a Canadian pairs' field that is leaving them in the dust.

Ice Dance

One does not typically see upsets happen in ice dance at Grand Prix events, but former World Champions Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte made some serious moves last weekend in their quest to regain their form and their title. I've always liked Anna and Luca. They're very attractive people, and they're naturally engaging performers. Their styling is always impeccable, though Anna's hair was a bit wild in the free dance here. They've always been pleasant, but even at their best they don't leave much of an impression. They don't get much power out of their edges, and I'm left yelling "PUSH! FASTER!" during their step sequences. Like a good Italian couple, they're skating to music from a variety of Fellini films in the free dance. It's well-done, but it's all a bit one-note. All of their programs tend to run together over time. I was a bit mystified by their win over the Americans here. There could be politics at play. My favorite French dance diva Nathalie Pechalat let it be known that there was an Italian on the technical panel, which could have swung some close calls in Anna and Luca's favor. One must also be wary of the power of their coach Marina Zoueva, though she was notably absent from this event. It's not like Marina to leave her top teams to fend for themselves at major international events, and it's tempting to read into how much she is really invested in this team. After a disappointing 2015 season, Anna and Luca are at least on the right track this year.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates should be worried. When you're gunning for the World Title in ice dance, you can't go losing to teams you beat last year. Madison is an absolute star, but she is prone to mistakes when the stakes are high. She had issues with the short dance twizzle sequence, which caused the team to only receive a level 1. I really thought they had done enough to win over the Italians in the free dance, but they only received level 2s on each of their step sequences. Technical calls are subjective, and this is usually a team that maximizes levels on technical elements. The big shocker to me was that they lost to the Italians on program components. Coach Igor Shpiliband is a political mastermind, and Madison Chock is his girl. He looked very puzzled by the scores in both segments in the Kiss and Cry. Is he getting outmaneuvered by his old coaching partner Marina? Or do the judges not want to see this team on top of the Worlds podium? For their part, Madison and Evan are a good team, but they're not undeniable. I made my thoughts about their programs clear after Skate America, and my opinion hasn't really improved. I imagine we'll be seeing some major changes between now and the Grand Prix Final as they try to figure out what went wrong in Beijing.

The bronze medal was probably a disappointing finish for Elena Ilinykh and Ruslan Zhiganshin. Elena Ilinykh is my single favorite person in figure skating. She will serve you face and body for days while giving you picture perfect extension. She has the shades of Pasha Grishuk/Maya Usova crazy that we crave from our ice dance divas. We were ready for Elena to dominate ice dance after Sochi, but she and Nikita Katsalapov tragically split, leaving a massive void in the dance power rankings. I enjoy Elena and her new partner much more than Nikita and his, but the magic isn't really there. Ruslan is a bit stiff and awkward, and his sub-par skating skills are really dragging my girl down. This short dance....is anyone really buying "Somebody to Love" as a waltz? Apparently Ruslan's refusal to match Elena's leg line in the waltz pattern is a choreographic choice. This is an absolute crime in my book. The Frida free dance is a lot of fun even if it doesn't make any sense. The British Eurosport commentators were really scratching their heads over it. Elena told us earlier in the season that she worried she was too sexy to play Frida Kahlo. She might have been right, but I was living for it. Ruslan really struggled here. The program basically came to a dead stop on several occasions coming into and out of difficult elements. I just don't think this partnership is strong enough to ascend to the very top of the dance world, though I am always rooting for my girl.

There wasn't much to discuss after that. Any competition where 3 of the 8 ice dance teams are from China is going to be a little rough. I thought Kaitlyn Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker looked stronger in the short dance than they did at Skate America. Unfortunately, Kaitlyn came down with a stomach bug and they had to withdraw from the free dance. She still needs to cut some fabric from that tutu!