US Nationals Exhibition Saturday 2/5 on NBC

[flyingsit]

My favorites were Jeremy's and Amanda & Mark's programs. I love pairs, but I hate pairs exhibitions that are just a bunch of adagio lifts thrown together and a random detroiter here and there. (I'm looking at you, Caitlin/John and Mary Beth/Rockne; MB/R have had that "program" for a while, they skated it at Michael Weiss' show back in the fall.)

[orbitz]

My favorites were Jeremy's and Amanda & Mark's programs.

I enjoyed Jeremy's program also. It was cute but not age/gender inappropriate cute like what Rippon had with his "I'm Yours" number last season. I was also suprised how good Amanda & Mark's number was. I was expecting 80's cheese, but they did quite ok with that performance.

MB/R have had that "program" for a while, they skated it at Michael Weiss' show back in the fall.)

That's not "a while". Skater normally skates the same exhibition number for one entire season. Fall 2010 - January 2011 falls under one season.

[~tapdancer~]

I'm cutting Mary Beth and Rockne all kinds of slack right now. They are far and away beyond what I thought they would be after skating together the short time they have. I loved how they looked together and can't wait to see how they progress. It was great to see them in the gala.

And I did adore Amanda and Mark's program. I love all things Disney and they skated that with authority...no cheese at all. Plus they were perfect for the roles! I'm so glad they are still competing. At the FOFS breakfast, they did an auction for dinner with Mark and Amanda...he was the "auctioneer" and he was wonderful. So personable and funny.

[Frau Muller]

THE skate of the broadcast, to me, was Rachael Flatt. Everything - the music, choreography, the look (the dress' sleeves with the flaming cuffs!), etc. The new Rachael is anything BUT 'flat'!

Ryan "Willy Wonka" Bradley was the next-best, for me. I am so looking forward to seeing this guy in exhibitions for years to come. Mr. Entertainment. Some compare him to Scott H. but I prefer to think of him as an American version of Candeloro (but keeping on his clothes).

Glad that they showed the two Novice-solo winners but I was really hopin' for Courtney Hicks. Or maybe she was ill and didn't skate in the live exhibition?

Biggest disappointment? After the classic beauty of pairs winners' Yankowskas/Coughlin's SP and LP, I was really looking forward to seeing another 'Protopopovian' elegant routine from them in the exhib. What a shame that they skated to yet another "generic Calla-and-Rocky" sort of modern number. What a waste! Evora/Ladwig, on the other hand, were simply divine in the Pocahontas routine.

Favorite dance exhibition? The Shib-Sibs!

Evan - gets his shoe-polish/hair dye from the barber of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. That's all I could think of as he skated. Sorry 'bout that.

Finally, ITA with the comments about Marley/Bru. And she really must get rid of that creepy frozen-fake smile. And should wear outfits that help elongate the neck. Sorry. Very talented, though.

[B.Cooper]

[QUOTE=Frau Muller;3066762]THE skate of the broadcast, to me, was Rachael Flatt. Everything - the music, choreography, the look (the dress' sleeves with the flaming cuffs!), etc. The new Rachael is anything BUT 'flat'!

Ryan "Willy Wonka" Bradley was the next-best, for me. I am so looking forward to seeing this guy in exhibitions for years to come. Mr. Entertainment. Some compare him to Scott H. but I prefer to think of him as an American version of Candeloro (but keeping on his clothes).

Glad that they showed the two Novice-solo winners but I was really hopin' for Courtney Hicks. Or maybe she was ill and didn't skate in the live exhibition?

Biggest disappointment? After the classic beauty of pairs winners' Yankowskas/Coughlin's SP and LP, I was really looking forward to seeing another 'Protopopovian' elegant routine from them in the exhib. What a shame that they skated to yet another "generic Calla-and-Rocky" sort of modern number. What a waste! Evora/Ladwig, on the other hand, were simply divine in the Pocahontas routine.

Favorite dance exhibition? The Shib-Sibs!
QUOTE]

Gotta agree with Frau Mueller...So good to see Ryan Bradley really enjoy his exhibition number, LOL! It would be a shame if SOI does not offer him a contract. Ryan is incredibly entertaining, and it showed in his SP and LP and EX programs this season.

Who would have guessed that Rachael Flatt would be able to make such a dramatic shift in her skating artistry this season. Gotta give it to her...she listens to the feedback/criticisms, and continues to strive to make changes. Really liked the version of "Your Song" she used from Moulin Rouge. And, I suspect she choregraphed the program herself as I think our group recognized the ftwk sequence from her new EOE SP.

John and Caitlin.....did not mind their EX piece so much as I suspect they needed a break from the roller coaster of emotions that they must have felt over the week in Greensboro. What an emotional win for them.

Shibs....just fabulous. Can't wait to see what new EX piece they come up with as they have used this piece for awhile now. They just keep getting better and better!

All in all, a good Gala! Nice to see most of the skaters, inspite of how tired they must have been, give solid performances with very few mistakes.

[TanithandBenFan]

Glad that they showed the two Novice-solo winners but I was really hopin' for Courtney Hicks. Or maybe she was ill and didn't skate in the live exhibition?

Courtney skated in the exhibition, but my memory is failing me right now as to what she skated to.

I wish Dean and Charlotte could've made the broadcast. They did their Charlie Chaplin FD from last year, and it was a big hit with the crowd.

[figure85]

Agree with the the comments on Marley/Brubaker. Don't get me wrong I'm so happy he found a partner and they are doing so well in such a short amount of time. Of course the focus is to continue working on techinque but AT SOME POINT they need to address the creepy factor. I HOPE the frozen fake smile will go away as she gets more comfortable in front of an audience.

The Shib-Sibs were awesome...and I usually don't like bro/sis teams but they were great.

I heart D/W on cuteness. I wasn't the biggest fan of last years ex. way too dark/sad/depressing...but this just makes me

Overall great show.

[moebius]

I think Rachel was over emoting in that exhibition, making it seem unnatural. Some skaters can be expressive without overdoing it, like Lambiel, thus making it look natural. Rachel isn't one of them and may never be, as it's something that can't become natural by practice. But at least she's trying. You can tell whose inherently artistic and who had to 'learn' it. Those who are inherently artistic are born with it.

[orbitz]

[QUOTE=B.Cooper;3066783]

Who would have guessed that Rachael Flatt would be able to make such a dramatic shift in her skating artistry this season. Gotta give it to her...she listens to the feedback/criticisms, and continues to strive to make changes. Really liked the version of "Your Song" she used from Moulin Rouge. And, I suspect she choregraphed the program herself as I think our group recognized the ftwk sequence from her new EOE SP.

The whole ina bauer into SLF sequence was lifted directly from her EOE program. I don't like it when skaters reuse choreography set to different music. It cheapens the original program somehow, IMO.



Ryan got some crazy s**t tricks. I hope he doesn't injure himself coming up with those things. The back flip from the curved entrance was out of this world insane.