The Dance Hall 5: Ice Dance Fans 2017-2018

[levineismine]

I've heard G/F are staying, but not until 2022. I would consider the source pretty reliable but do not quote me 100%.
Personally I think they can go for a national title and see how next season goes in terms of GP medals and maybe Euros.

 

[mysticchic]

I've heard G/F are staying, but not until 2022. I would consider the source pretty reliable but do not quote me 100%.
Personally I think they can go for a national title and see how next season goes in terms of GP medals and maybe Euros.

they should get 2 GPs for the coming season

 

[levineismine]

For half an hour of pure entertainment, watch the ice dance FD presser https://youtu.be/-5Nu9PELPRg
Secret bets, limbos, drunk celebrations and lots of love between the medalists

 

[clairecloutier]

I’ve seen G/F live twice and have really enjoyed them both times, I found them smooth, with very good performance quality.

What I like best about G/F is the quality of their partnering. They seem so at ease with each other, they skate quite close to each other, and there is never any reaching or hesitation in their connections, it’s just very sure.

 

[kittysk8ts]

They need a great program to impulse them correctly.

I saw them live at Skate Canada in 2013 and they were lovely. I feel they are undermarked as well. They have fabulous elements which are woven nicely into their FD and performance-wise they are good as well. All IMHO, of course.

 

[EYGH]

I really like G/F too but not their lifts. Also as much as Anna is always very well dressed, Charlene doesn't know how to choose a dress that will flatter her. I hope this will change next season as they will be Italy n°1 team.

 

[firstflight]

The reason I said putting Z/G ahead of G/F was quite a statement is because of the circumstances: Same flight in the FD. Same music partially. In Italy. Many commentators have said this is G/F’s best work ever. G/F had a reasonably clean and emotional skate that was superbly received by the audience.

And it’s not just about passing the Italians. At Europeans, there was a 5 point gap in PCS between Z/G and their compatriots, S/B, that dropped to only a bit more than 2 pts here in Milan. So I’m curious to see next season if Z/G maintain this end of season momentum and actually challenge for Russian gold.

 

[Anyasnake]

Well, we have our first new Gadbois team and it is Japan's Komatsubara /Koleto : https://www.instagram.com/p/Bgwyro2gSk7/?taken-by=timkoleto

IIRC, they were coached by Barbara Fusar-Poli ?
Also, Japan has unfortunately one spot for Next year's World held over there, and he did wrote that he was a bit heartbroken on twitter (They came very close to have 2).
It will also be Gadbois' 2nd Japanese team in Seniors.

 

[firstflight]

Well, we have our first new Gadbois team and it is Japan's Komatsubara /Koleto : https://www.instagram.com/p/Bgwyro2gSk7/?taken-by=timkoleto

IIRC, they were coached by Barbara Fusar-Poli ?
Also, Japan has unfortunately one spot for Next year's World held over there, and he did wrote that he was a bit heartbroken on twitter (They came very close to have 2).
It will also be Gadbois' 2nd Japanese team in Seniors.

Yeah, they were very close, but I think that M/R should be proud of placing in front of teams that were looking to beat them and/or had beaten them earlier this season (S/F). Realistically, they were not going to beat H/B, so 11th is the top they could have placed barring some Donohue-level FD disaster from a top-10 team.

 

[Dobre]

Kudos to the dancers for skating so many strong programs at Worlds after a looong season!

I am going to miss so many teams from this & the last couple quadrenniums. One of the most beautiful things about dance is that the top athletes stay in long enough to really develop at the highest level and for us as fans to appreciate and count on seeing them year after year, competition after competition.

True for all the top dance teams.

But personally, I want to say that whether they decide to continue competing or move on in their lives, I have so much respect & love for the paths Anna & Luca, Maia & Alex, Kaitlyn & Andrew, & Ekaterina & Dmitri have taken this quadrennium. Remember the first time I saw every one of them perform and feel so blessed to have seen them all skate at the highest international level over the past four years. To see them grow into leaders for their countries and the larger sport, face down obstacles, blaze new trails for the younger athletes in ice dance, and rise to the occasion under immense pressure. To see how they have all dealt with adversity with class. RESPECT.

 

[allezfred]

Or we could get 1000 Grease programs!

Grease would be preferable to Ghost: The Musical.

 

[PRlady]

You guys are missing some great musicals. Pippin, Oliver, Camelot, Guys and Dolls, South Pacific, King and I, Candide, Showboat, KIss Me Kate, even Hair! There’s tons to choose from and yet we get Les Mis, POTO and WSS over and over again.

Maybe somebody could tango to Hernando’s Hideaway this coming year.

 

[cocotaffy]

Great Ice Dance competition from most the teams down to the first group. Outside of the top contenders I'm most excited to see how all those following teams will develop: Wang/Liu, Lauriault/ Le Gac, Muramoto/Reed, Lorenz/Polizoakis, Hurtado/Khaliavin, Beaudry-Fournier/Sorensen.
I would think G/F would want to finally have couple of years as the first Italian team, moving up the rank at Europeans. Seeing how thrilled W/P were post World here, I guess they might do the same and enjoy a bit of time being back at the first spot maybe till Montreal.

 

[Miloune]

Great Ice Dance competition from most the teams down to the first group. Outside of the top contenders I'm most excited to see how all those following teams will develop: Wang/Liu, Lauriault/ Le Gac, Muramoto/Reed, Lorenz/Polizoakis, Hurtado/Khaliavin, Beaudry-Fournier/Sorensen.
I would think G/F would want to finally have couple of years as the first Italian team, moving up the rank at Europeans. Seeing how thrilled W/P were post World here, I guess they might do the same and enjoy a bit of time being back at the first spot maybe till Montreal.

The team that must feel down at the moment is C/B... their program this year wasn't a great idea and the rise of H/D didn't help.
To be honest I never really saw why this team was so up in the ranks before so I'm not shocked by their results but that must be tough to swallow.
Péchalat on Eurosport loves them and thinks they're being pushed down because they are now considered USA number 3 by their federation...(nevermind that their program was meh and that they've made lots of errors those past 2 years.. ).
I almost feel the reverse has happened : I think they were pushed up when the US fed lost D/W, but now they found someone else so they let them down again. A bit like W/P, except now W/P is back to Canada number 1.
So will C/B continue or not?

 

[cocotaffy]

So will C/B continue or not?

I remember reading somewhere they were interested to keep on but it might depend on the state of her ankle. They were understandably skating much more carefully and slower this year.

 

[Anyasnake]

I remember reading somewhere they were interested to keep on but it might depend on the state of her ankle. They were understandably skating much more carefully and slower this year.

Are they doing stars on ice this year ? Because sometimes all you need is one month completely off the ice. No training, nothing. Otherwise you cannot properly heal...

 

[RoseRed]

Are they doing stars on ice this year ? Because sometimes all you need is one month completely off the ice. No training, nothing. Otherwise you cannot properly heal...

I think they said she may need surgery. Not sure though.

 

[MsZem]

Grease would be preferable to Ghost: The Musical.

Slutty costume changes

 

[Sylvia]

Are they doing stars on ice this year ? Because sometimes all you need is one month completely off the ice. No training, nothing. Otherwise you cannot properly heal...

Chock/Bates are not doing SOI this year. Hopefully Chock will take care of her injury (has she stated that surgery will be required?). Here's what she said right after their FD (ISU Quick Quotes):

We haven’t thought about next season yet, we have a few things to get in order before we start that process, but we’re in a very good place and we want to stay in this good place before we proceed. We heard that they are doing some changes to the rules, but we’ve been focused on what we are doing this week and haven’t paid much attention to what’s been changing.

 

[Debbie S]

Chock/Bates are not doing SOI this year. Hopefully Chock will take care of her injury (has she stated that surgery will be required?).

In the Worlds preview article (with the infamous Zach Donohue quote about giving medals to the Shibs), it was stated that Madison's injury will require surgery. But that wasn't a direct quote. The Oly Channel guy doing the broadcast with Tanith said after their SD that Madison would be having surgery after Worlds.

I hope the surgery and recovery go well. I would imagine she'll be off the ice for a couple of months afterward, but I haven't heard/read anything definitive.

 

[thvu]

I still can't get behind all these programs to musicals. I really hope I'll be proven wrong!

 

[Wyliefan]

I've just been looking at the updated roster at Gadbois, and it struck me that, assuming W/P and G/P stay in and stay at the top in Canada for at least another year (and assuming no coaching changes), next year we'll have three Gadbois teams fighting for Canadian bronze.

We've seen a lot of great dance rivalries lately, but I think this next quad may take it up a notch!

 

[topaz]

You guys are missing some great musicals. Pippin, Oliver, Camelot, Guys and Dolls, South Pacific, King and I, Candide, Showboat, KIss Me Kate, even Hair! There’s tons to choose from and yet we get Les Mis, POTO and WSS over and over again.

Maybe somebody could tango to Hernando’s Hideaway this coming year.

Oliver – I don’t want to see a programs that depicts Nancy/Sikes relationship.


I would like to see:

• Tommy– Who
• Xanadu
• The Producers
• Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
• Dreamgirls
• Hairspray
• Porgy and Bess
• Anything Goes
• Sunset Boulevard
• Wicked
• Cotton Club
• Jelly’s Last Jam

I’m sure we’ll see pieces from Cabaret, Chicago, POTO, Hamilton,

 

[caseyedwards]

Rent seasons of Love!!!

 

[VGThuy]

If somebody wanted to go bluesy and dark, The Wild Party by LaChiusa would be a great score to use.

The trick to picking good showtunes is picking one that would work as a standalone and understanding what the songs are about. A lot of those songs many not work out-of-context without the story, characters, and plot progression leading up to the songs. The ones that do are the ones may think are slight songs when they're really not. I hope the dancers for the SD actually research the purposes of the songs and what they actually mean when we had so many programs where they and their choreographers just thinking they're cutesy or danceable.

I'm afraid of getting some badly edited medleys.

 

[Yehudi]

There’s also Kurt Weill. I’m sure Fred and Ginger, Gene Kelly and other old Hollywood musicals would also fit the bill.

 

[Deleted member 74551]

If someone wanted jazzy and dark and not Chicago, the other The Wild Party (technically Off-Broadway!) by Lippa also has some good numbers. It always tickled me that those two Wild Parties were running at the same time.

Anyone who uses POTO should get a deduction for lack of originality There is so much scope for something different here. Try Jason Robert Brown somebody, his scores are lush.

I will throw out my usual policy of ubering a team based solely on skating skills and go all in for any Russian team, or any team at all really, that uses something from Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812. I'm still mourning the loss of that gorgeous show.

 

[Wyliefan]

Oliver – I don’t want to see a programs that depicts Nancy/Sikes relationship.

Doesn't have to. Someone could use "I'd Do Anything," for instance.

 

[Dobre]

The key, for me, with musicals is don't overdo it. People want to try to tell the whole story in 2 minutes. Not possible. Pick a great scene. Or maybe a subplot with a couple minor characters. One or two songs. NOT four or five. You can't do everything.

Brainstorms:
Be Italian--Guignard & Fabbri
Sweeney Todd--McNamara & Carpenter
I'm a Woman from Smokey Joe's Cafe--Hubbell & Donohue
One Singular Sensation from A Chorus Line--The Parsons
Nothing Like a Dame from South Pacific--Chock & Bates
Something There from Beauty and the Beast--Stepanova & Bukin
Shall We Dance from The King and I--Wang & Liu (I don't really care who does this, but I must have a Shall We Dance, and the guy has to have at least some personality. Liu could do it, and she could sell Anna).
Show Me from My Fair Lady--Muramoto & Reed
All 'Er Nothing from Oklahoma--Hawayek & Baker

I wasn't going to suggest My Fair Lady because it's been done exceptionally well, but the
Eliza & Freddy relationship in Show Me is different and would totally work for Chris & Kana.

Also I know someone else said the implication based on the rhythms implies a more danceable rhythm, but if I remember correctly, the march is one of the options. And if Marie-France taught us nothing else during the waltz/march season, it was that a march rhythm can be added to about anything. So I don't think all teams will feel compelled to ixnay the dramatic/power ballad stuff. Though hopefully they will stretch for something beyond the oh-so-popular numbers that have been done to death.

 

[VGThuy]

Chris and Kana also did an exhibition to "All I Need is the Girl" from Gypsy. That's actually a great number to use.

ETA: Maybe should start a thread about songs/musicals that would work for the SD and after one year, we can send it to every ice dancer so we could increase the chances of not getting a thousand Chicago, POTO, Les Miz, etc. programs.