Senior programas so far....

[L'amour]

I know its early but what you guys think about the senior programs so far?

I love abott's programs I really liek his style. Caro K was also impressive at NHK. I love Wagner LP choreo. I felt so bad about Mao, i kind like her programs but what is ahppening to her?

about dance...my favorite dicipline...I'm so dispinted with some of the progras this season. I don't really like the SD, its so empty, strange with some bizzare music cuts. I loved P/B FD, they have a lot of work to do but still, it a nice program. D/W tango its very Igor tango program, I thought D/W were going to skate to teh storieline of Il Postino...that would be a great program for them, showing a romantic and mature look, They chose a very safe program.

[nubka]

I really like Caro's LP so far. Of course, I admit that I love that piece of music so much, that I wouldn't care who skated to it or how they skated...I'll just close my eyes and listen!

[orbitz]

I thought Wagner's Malaguena LP looked tired. There was nothing new in either the musical arrangement or the choreographic approach to a piece of music that has been beaten to death by skaters at all levels.

Takahashi's speed and attack in his SP were wonderful. Probably the best since Yagudin. Does he have extensive dance training background? I thought the choreography was maybe a little bit obvious though.

[krenseby]

I really like Caro's LP so far. Of course, I admit that I love that piece of music so much, that I wouldn't care who skated to it or how they skated...I'll just close my eyes and listen!

I really enjoyed her LP as well. Who was it choreographed by?

[DickButtonFan]

So far the only one I like is mao's long but not her short.

I feel disappointed with both of flatt's programs. I think she would do great with more dramatic music. I wish she would get new programs along with agnes's sp. These girls have so much potential and their programs are dragging them down.

And I like Dai's sp.

[Jarrett]

... have been crap.

But seriously (at least for the ladies) only Carolina's SP was interesting. The rest was mess. We'll see what Laura, Mirai, Miki, Suzuki, and maybe Yu-na bring to the table later in the season. I guess I got spoiled last season. Mao's programs will be fine when she doesn't look like she is skating around in the dark but who knows when/if that will happen.

[blue_idealist]

Favourites for men:
Abbott SP & LP
Takahashi SP
Sawyer SP (I know it's recycled but he's doing it a lot better than last year. Also, his LP will be good once he's done it more than once).

Jeremy's was the only LP I really, really liked so far. Dai's was alright, but not a favourite.

Thumbs down for men: Amodio LP. I hate it, especially the crotch grabs.

Favourites for ladies:
Flatt SP
Murakami SP

Those were the only ones I liked a LOT yet. Mao's were good but she skated them so technically badly, that it took away from the enjoyment.

Thumbs down for ladies:
Flatt LP - the cute head movements and little dances that fit well with the theme and music of the SP did NOT work in the LP!!

The rest were alright.

Favourites in pairs: none yet. Besides Brodeur and Mattatall's, I don't even LIKE the ones I've seen. I don't hate them, they're just bleh. Even Pang and Tong at NHK!

Thumbs down in pairs: I didn't really hate any of the programs. But I didn't really like them, as said.

Favourites in dance:
Weaver & Poje SD
Cappellini & Lanotte SD - LOVE THIS!!
Ilinykh & Katsalapov FD
Shibutanis SD & FD are pretty good, too

Thumbs down in dance:
I&K SD - hate, hate, hate, hate the music!!

C&L's FD is a bit boring.

[DreamSkates]

Short program - Takahashi. That's about it, until I see all of them and later on in the season, maybe the programs will "sing" better and communicate something.

[smarts1]

I liked Wagner's Malaguena. It has a lot of potential and it's choreography empty compared to last year's LP, but we'll see what she does to it later in the year. I can't really say much about it because her timing just seemed to be way off that night.

Mao's LP also has a lot of potential. For some reason, she's doing well in the warmups and then she ends up missing everything in the LP. But she's also in the process of fixing her technique--we should give her the liberty of time, just as with Caroline.

Carolina's SP was also great, and I liked Murakami's LP (which also has lots of potential). What bugs me the most is that Korpi got the second highest PCS for the LP...

[casken]

Abbott's short and C&L CD sequence to "Que sera, sera" are the only things so far that I really like a lot. I'm getting more of a kick out of seeing the GW set to various pieces of music than I expected.

I will give credit to Takahashi/Tran for doing a pairs sp that wasn't painful to watch at any point and actually engaged me.

I might include the Czech dance team's "mishmash of cover songs" FD which is either fabulously awful or awfully fabulous.

[RockTheTassel]

I'm absolutely over Abbott's new LP. That's the only one I love so far. The short program has potential, but I wish he'd edit the arm movements. It looks so overdone and doesn't suit him.

Daisuke is a great performer, and I don't hate the programs, but I can't help but be disappointed with them compared to his programs from last year. Hopefully I'll like them more as the season progresses, but I doubt they'll top 'Eye' and 'La Strada'.

I really enjoyed Shawn Sawyer's programs, especially the LP. Looking forward to seeing those again.

I'm not a huge fan of ice dance, but I always love seeing Meryl and Charlie. Their new FD is wonderful.

I don't even want to talk about the ladies.

[~tapdancer~]

Abbott's SP and LP
Takahashi's SP

D/W's SD and FD
Shibtani's SD and FD
Weaver/Poje's SD

Takahashi/Tran SP

[Cloudy_Gumdrops]

I'm just gonna go with dance for now.

These are the programs I like:
- I&K's SD and FD
- Shibs SD
- Weaver & Poje's SD
- Gorshkova & Butikov's SD
- Hoffman & Zavozin's SD and FD
- Zhiganshina & Gaszi's FD
- Hubbells FD
- Kriengkrairut & Giulietti-Schmitt's FD. It's easily my fave FD so far and the lifts are wonderful.

Honorable mention to the Czechs, M&N just for the sheer hilarity of the random music combos.

Programs I don't like:
- Davis & White's SD and FD
- Shibs' FD
- Bobrova & Soloviev's SD
- Gorshkova & Butikov's FD
- Cappellini & LaNotte's SD and FD
- Pechalat & Bourzat's FD

Everything else I'm either undecided on or just too meh on to even care.

[Tak]

Just going by NHK and a few more I could find on You tube [so I havent seen everybody and videos sometimes dont give a true impression, but]

SD
Like -
Hubbells - interesting use of Addams Family music w/o miming the characters - but it works!
R/T - of all the programs I"ve seen, this is the one that really looks like a complete dance to me - not a program put together for elements and points, but a real dance. And the most successful at incorporating the CD into the program and not having it look out of place. My favorite.
D/W - I think the music makes me love this even more.
I/K - Re-watching the NHK, this is the program that keeps growing on me - it gets more interesting each time I watch it.
K/M - this is a jr team Kos-/M [ I cant even remember their names now] - but this was my favorite SD until I saw R/Ts.


FD
D/W - the softer side of D/W. I really liked this and I think it will only get better.
I/K - this program will stand out a mile at Worlds.
k/M - that jr team again. It's too bad they're doing a Chopin waltz Fd when the waltz is also SD theme, but I loved the FD too.

The real losers for me:
C/L - SD - that Doris Day waltz made me cringe, and FD looked like they were experimenting with doing a program where the music and the movement had absolutely no connection to each other whatsoever.

Shibs - technically good, but that style of dancing just puts me to sleep, I cant help it.

On the Fence:

W/P Fd - I think they need to skate this as all out camp. They've got the right tackiness in the costumes, and that cheesy opening heart sets the stage. But this doesnt work for me as a straight dance. It cries out for OTT camp - like the movie. The Duchesnay tango did this brilliantly - that is the look and feel they need to go for IMO. They are halfway there already, but they seem to be hesitating between the 2 interpretations. I say - commit to the camp and really go for it!

[briancoogaert]

My favorite SD so far is the one of Papadakis & Cizeron, a french junior team. I can explain it by the fact that the Viennese Waltz is one of my favorite CD, and that I prefer the dance on one rhythm.

[pani]

Pang-Tong SP & LP - simply beautifull
Takahashi-Tran SP
Yankovskas-Cauglin - LP
Kiira Korpi SP
Murakami SP
Amodio LP
Abbot LP
Takahashi - not porgrams, but his power and skating in SP and LP
D-W - SD
Shibs - FD
W-P - SD (my favorite this season so far)

[briancoogaert]

Oooops, the thread is just about senior ?!
So, among the senior team, I don't like any SD.
But Abbott's and Sawyer's both SP and LP are very good !

[Eris]

Actualy, I don't like a lot of programs right now. But still

SD
I/K - really love the darkness of this dance
W/P - very stylish

FD
P/B - nice story
Shibutani - light and lightness

Pairs
Takahashi/Tran - SP & FS
waiting for S/S

Ladies
Kanako's short and long
K. Makarova SP

Men
Abbot SP & FS
Takahashi FS

[Eris]

My favorite SD so far is the one of Papadakis & Cizeron, a french junior team.

I love it too.

[poths]

Not a void in sight! Utterly Dire.

The only thing of interest this year is the new partnerships in Russian pairs, although none of them have interesting CH either.

I like the fact that Korpii has FINALLY made significant improvements, but for the love of GOD land your jumps.

I don't know what to say about Mao

Or Kostner and her horrendous technical content, RETIRE> FFS

Takahashi has bottled out, seen all those programs before. Push the feckin envelope.

Abbott, yes you have a great feeling, but no - I'm not interested or moved by a skating geography teacher.

Amodio, you promised so much....

Ten , YOU promised so much too...

I'd love to take all of the US ladies, and lock them in a broom closet.
Ditto the Russian Junior Jumping beans. Wake me up when they're 18 and can still land shit.

The Stagnation is actually incredible and utterly depressing:
CapLan were better in the Junior Ranks.
D&W had better programs 3 years ago
The Kerrs are doing what they did in 2008
Pechalat are trying to be Delshoes
Virtue is now a gymnast and just won the world floor title

I don't know who any of the Russian men are!!!
If I have to watch an empty, no CH Van Der McCorkell programme again I'll vomit.

Leonova is so 1997 It knocks me off kilter.

Makarova could have challenged this season, had she found a choreographer with a brain.

Pang and Tong are still skating? Are you for REAL??

Who the hell were the Average Japanese pair and why did they medal at a GP

Katie Denney and her so called "Spunk", I call it TryfckingHard, can spunk off

That leads me back to Pechalat, because when the skating season is shit, at least there's Nathalie to look at.

Then I'm reminded that she's dating Square headed Verner who is also STILL skating. Like he's ever going to land shit.

I look forward to Halloween when I can throw Michael Huth on a bonfire for destroying two perfectly talented skaters and forcing me to hate/resent them for achieving with utter mediocrity.