herbz

Angst in bright costumes! (I have no clue what ‘colourful’ is supposed to mean. It’s a sport, ISU, not an elementary school classroom)

Davis and White had quite a few technical issues truthfully- Meryl especially. Her free leg was often visibly bent and she either missed or forced her edges a fair bit of the time. Charlie was the better of the two by a margin. H/D have a more solid technical foundation when it comes to the bladework but are much more limited in their lifts. I presume height is a factor there. But when Zach Donohue can keep upright, they’re getting the results right now based on the skating and not the style. What D/W had over others, other than impactful programs superbly suited to them- Marina is very good at her job- and Meryl’s excellent performance ability, was speed, but they didn’t really gain that through the knees quite the same way P/C (especially Cizeron) do so they didn’t create the same impression of ‘gliding’ that makes their particular lyrical style so effective. But then P/C have plenty of their own areas they could improve on technically too, which is why I’m so opposed to their scores being essentially maxed out. Having just checked it, D/W’s PCS from Sochi still absolutely hold up with V/M and P/C in Pyeongchang. I don’t necessarily agree with the scores for all of those teams all of the time, but it would seem reasonable to assume that 2014 D/W doing their Scheherazade with the USFSA behind them would be up there today with the judges and getting high marks in the more subjective components where style preferences might come into play (even if they shouldn’t). And watching their show programs from the last few years there’s a pretty clear improvement in their artistry and projection and I don’t see why that couldn’t translate to competitive ice. As ever, a huge part of ice dance is the politics. V/M earned every bit of the gold medal on merit, but you can still bet Skate Canada was pulling every string they had to ensure they weren’t screwed over. Gadbois is the centre du jour right now just as Canton was the quad before. Nobody can maintain that forever. In 2022 it’ll probably be something different again. Swings and roundabouts. That was much longer than intended, sorry!

Russian Nationals are happening right now, with Queen Aliya Mustafina somehow looking really quite good with the majority of her skills back despite giving birth not even a year ago. Her handstands on bars remain better than anybody’s. Stamina is an issue for Komova but she could still teach a clinic on leaps, and Melnikova has discovered consistency. How very un-Russian of her.

Hawayek and Baker are miles above Smart and Diaz. Miles. FB/S are better than them too. H/B would be 3rd on that list of teams. If both W/P and G/P both continue through the quad, Montreal has all 3 teams that will likely be competing for the third Canadian spot. 2021 will be a bloodbath. I’ve no idea what is happening with Marina. TSL are also saying that Igor and Pasquale might combine with Krylova now in Russia (which makes a whole lot of sense, Camerlengo is an excellent choreographer and Igor could use the injection of inspiration) and in that case I think C/B would be fine staying. ETA: If all of this comes to pass, Carreira/Ponomarenko could end up the #1 US team actually training in the US under an Igor/Pasquale combo by the next Olympics (I expect they’ll go a good bit further in the end than the Parsons or McNamara/Carpenter) There’s one couple that won’t be shifting an inch. I do love the off season coaching merry-go-round.

They were a Canadian team with real talent and potential who got inexplicably buried in favour of Gilles and Poirier (I know those two have their fans here and I do find their programs very engaging but she has major technique issues that get overlooked. P/I were much more skilled as a team). In a last gasp attempt to curry some favour back and turn the tide they left DSC for Gadbois but their style did not suit them in the slightest and Marie France choreographed them a heinous program to Streisand that was panned by everyone- in the same year she choreographed To Build A Home for P/C, so heaven knows she’s more than capable. So, they got dropped at Canadian Nationals, knew the writing was on the wall anyway, and then Virtue and Moir announced their comeback so they retired. Such a waste. She was a especially gorgeous dancer. Hawayek and Baker have the same kind of lightness and fluidity to their work and are in a similar position in their country’s ranking. I want them to succeed. I do love Marie France and Patrice collecting every power player in the game. They’re seriously savvy. Chock and Bates though?! Detroit will be a wasteland. I expect they’ll get turned away though at this point- Montreal is too full. I’m not sure how much longer they can hold out if they can’t move because the international judges seemed poised to drop them.

So it would appear that Hayawek and Baker are indeed off to Montreal (though it was fairly obvious when they started popping up in Gabriella’s Instagram comments). Sigh. I can only cross all my fingers that they don’t end up like Paul and Islam.

Tanith was the best NBC commentator by a country mile in Pyeongchang. She could definitely work on not needing to fill every gap but I will take her identifying choctaw edges every time over Tara and Johnny apparently watching ice dance for the first time in their lives. She does make a very good commentating team with Agosto on the GP circuit, they should use them more. Skating will miss Patrick. Unless singles is to become nothing but ugly crossover-ugly crossover-quad- ugly crossover- ugly crossover- 3A, there has to be room to reward this sort of virtuosity: (And for all the talk of Chanflation- he came 4th in Skating Skills at the Olympics. A nonsensical placement, anyone who has ever skated will tell you no active singles skater- and most of the dancers tbh- has such control over the blade) I’m still half expecting Aljona to rock up to Beijing with a new partner in tow! Congrats to Bruno and Sophie.

Madison Hubbell is engaged to Spanish ice dancer Adrian Diaz. I think Zachary might’ve possibly broken up with Adrian’s partner Olivia, based solely on the fact that they used to be positively disgusting on social media (seriously, I’ve known less gushy 13 year olds) but they went silent for a bit. Ah, the tangled web of ice dance. The thought of spending 8 hours a day week in week out in close contact with any of my exes brings me out in hives.

I’ve just caught up on some of their recent YouTube videos and I cannot get over how adorable they were as kids. Pretty sure at that age my brother was throwing spaghetti at me rather than gently fixing my hair :D

That’s a serious Hollywood agency. They’re clearly very marketable personalities. If this all takes off for them I expect we won’t see them competitively again. I’m glad they got that individual Olympic medal after years of being held back after their 2011 breakthrough. The more I think about it, the more I do not want H/B at Gadbois. They have such solid foundational skating skills and so much of Montreal’s open hold style choreography is counter to their greatest strengths. Corners of the internet would kill me for this, but watch H/B’s and P/C’s lifts and focus solely on the mens’ blades while supporting their partners in the air. Guillaume is hailed by everyone and yet his blades are often a bit shaky even on a flat, while Jean Luc is rock solid despite the limited height difference he’s navigating with Kaitlin. They’ve got everything they need to be proper contenders in 4 years- but they can’t get stuck in the US queue. They deserve better than to be third or fourth priority in a crowded training environment. Rink hierarchy should mean nothing in the eyes of the judges, but it does. With the Shibs out for at least a season, they should hotfoot it to Marina pronto.

Goodness! This must be the first time Yuna Kim will perform since 2014, opening ceremony aside? Quite the cast too.

I hate to say this, because Camerlengo is a genius and his choreography is nuanced, musical, intricate and showcases good skating skills, everything ice dance should be, but Kaitlin and Jean Luc need to make a coaching change for political reasons if nothing else. Their PCS were held back big time here. Canton and Marina is probably their best bet.

Yankee Polka for SD pattern 2020/21, please and thank you. Was last used in 2012 and gave us D/W's Giselle and V/M's The Waltz Goes On. * actually I think they would both struggle to master that pattern more than any of the others except maybe Golden Waltz. Fast footwork is not the forte of either. Would be a test.

I'm delighted for Weaver and Poje, who've had a rough ride in the last couple of years, but I sentimentally would've liked Cappellini and Lanotte up there too.

It shouldn't be scored higher, especially not with their respective Olympic performances, and I'll leave it there. If H/D can't pull it off now, I'm not sure they ever will.