Kawaguti/Smirnov Cheer thread

[Belinda]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfAvT...layer_embedded

Not sure if I like this or not, nor do I know why the change in choreography.
Perhaps they've had to change to comply with this season's rules, or to increase the difficulty? The latest version seems to be less in tune with the music. I find it a bit of an uphill struggle to root for this team.

[julieann]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfAvT...layer_embedded

Not sure if I like this or not, nor do I know why the change in choreography.
Perhaps they've had to change to comply with this season's rules, or to increase the difficulty? The latest version seems to be less in tune with the music. I find it a bit of an uphill struggle to root for this team.

I'm not sure what changes in choreography you are talking about. The order of elements was the same as worlds and most of the choreography was left unchanged. Some of the changes I noticed were for the better.

The thing I noticed that was really weird was the first jumps were a 3T and 2T and it looked like Smirnov was setting up to do a second Axel if Kavaguti didn't fall, isn't that one jump too many? I'm assuming the second Axel wouldn't count.

BTW, Yuko looked pretty but they did look sluggish, they are all probably sick of having to do test skates. I just hope every element gets points, for all the teams.

[Belinda]

I'm not sure what changes in choreography you are talking about. The order of elements was the same as worlds and most of the choreography was left unchanged. Some of the changes I noticed were for the better.

The order remains the same but the performance starts earlier and partly because of that some of the little arm movements & footwork which used to highlight particular notes in the music are either gone or no longer in tune, however, if the change is for the better (for upping the difficulty etc?), I would be happy.

[easilydistracte]

K&S CoC SP
K&S CoC LP
CoC Pairs Podium
K&S CoC EXH
Gala Finale (Got this from where Lexxandra linked it in the CoC Gala thread.) All kinds of fun!

Major thanks to everyone who posted on YouTube so quickly! Awesome!

A few thoughts:

SP: Good new direction for them. Somewhat concerned about their death spiral and pairs spin, though. Seemed really slow on both; plus, the ending was really awkward--looks as if they may have messed it up. If they're going to do the Natalia Mishkutenok spin, I think they need to dial it up to warp speed. (Still want to see them in black leather for this. Would rather see Yuko as biker chick instead of lingerie model. That said, I like her new look. "She don't look like no little girl no more, that's for durn sure!")

LP: Glad that they kept it for another year. Should be great by Russian Nationals. (Liked the way they left the ice arm-in-arm and how Sasha made Yuko laugh in the K&C--about 9:25 in the video. Their partnership seems to be much warmer now than it has seemed in the past.)

Podium: Nice to hear the Russian National Anthem playing for a pairs podium. Yuko looks kind of teary-eyed during the flag-raising. [Unrelated comment: Zhang Dan is tremendously tall, isn't she? I can't help but think that she has the potential to be absolutely magnificent and imposing on the ice. Hope she and Zhang Hao can get it together eventually.]

EXH: Same number they performed at the Triumph of Tamara Moskvina gala. Choreographed by Bobrin & Bestemianova, maybe? I think their final lift may have come down, but they seemed to have invented some choreography on the spot to cover it up. Sasha tearing his shirt open?! Oh, my!

General thoughts: JMO but, there seems to be kind of a subtle but rather significant change in this team this season. Can't really put my finger on it, but they seem less anxious and just calmer in general. More settled, maybe? Don't really know how to put it into words. Whatever, glad that they're finally becoming a pair. I've read in various places that they're still hoping to put the throw 4Sal in the LP. Have mixed feelings about that and am a little confused, because I thought that they had been training a throw 3Flip/Lutz during the summer of 2010. Wonder why they abandoned it? Anyway, looking forward to the rest of the season.

[paskatefan]

I like them, and were very pleased with their free skate from Cup of China.

[Vash01]

I am rooting for them to win the world championship in 2012.

Yuko looked pretty- it was more than just the hairstyle, IMO. Can't really place a finger on it. It's hard to believe she is 29!

[Belinda]

I hated the SP at the test skate but a little modification has made such a difference and I love it now. RE LP they changed the order of elements and it feels like a different programme, but just as emotional as before. I hope they skate it clean this season. I love both programmes and if they skate clean and do justice to them and to their abilities, I don't care if they don't stand on the podium.
I think Sasha said they are practising quad, a huge error of judgement IMO. Yuko doesn't have a decent trajectory and her quad always looks like a sparrow helicoptering on to a bird table. They should concentrate on unison in jumps and spins (all the more visually stunning when they are in perfect unison because of the diffference in size), new lifts, spirals and steps. With twists & throws all they can do is to minimise damage by not crashin and falling.
Can some one explain please why in their LP they got Level 1 for the pair spin (the last element) at COC, whereas they got level 4 last season (Euro/Worlds).

[millipied]

A total rejuvenation. Out of the potential top 3 teams this year, I am definitely rooting for K/S to finally win. I am happy that it looks like it's not going to be V/T and S/S show.

[Vash01]

At this point I don't see V&T as a lock, even for a Russian championship. We have not really seen them in an international competition yet, and I do believe they are still developing. K&S have been skating together for a while and that could be the difference.

[millipied]

At this point I don't see V&T as a lock, even for a Russian championship. We have not really seen them in an international competition yet, and I do believe they are still developing. K&S have been skating together for a while and that could be the difference.

Well, V/T won Skate Canada with the highest score of the season among top contenders. I am also afraid that RF already have appointed the chosen ones to team n1 and V/T have to not show up to not take the Russian championshop title, even K/S skate the lights out.

[Vash01]

Well, V/T won Skate Canada with the highest score of the season among top contenders. I am also afraid that RF already have appointed the chosen ones to team n1 and V/T have to not show up to not take the Russian championshop title, even K/S skate the lights out.

Yes, they did, but I don't recall anyone saying they skated great or that they had a great program. The tone was that of disappointment- at least that was my perception. It will be too risky for the RSF (i was wondering what RF was?) to put all their eggs in one basket. I have been saying this for a while. Anything can happen- V&T may not develop (I admit that they are not my favorite pair at the moment but I am willing to wait), or one of them could have an injury

[julieann]

V/T may have the highest score so far but it also took them three competitions to get there. Cup of China and Skate America was only K/S and S/S first competition, so if you go back to V/T’s first competition at Nebelhorn the scores are more accurate in relation to each other. I’m going to wait until the GPF to pass too much judgment on any of them.

V/T weren’t “Russias #1’ at nationals last year and yet they somehow won anyway because they skated well and K/S didn’t.

K/S have two great programs, they just need to tweak a few things like that ugly death spiral in the short and for heaven’s sake FIX THE TWIST MOSKVINA! They also changed the second lift in the LP where he turns her in a full split; the one they did at the test skates was much better. I guess they had their reasons.

Yuko’s look is a great improvement; both her hair and make-up look great. They both looked very at ease and not nervous at all, I think that made their skating better. Even their exhibition program is cute, although if Smirnov is going to rip his shirt open he just shouldn’t wear one at all.

The top three for this year are clearly in a class by themselves so far and are very close in PCS so it will all come down to who does harder things, gets full levels and performs the elements perfectly. Anyone of them can fail or succeed.

I hope the road is that easy for V/T but I doubt it will be. Sochi is still over two years away and a lot can happen, Trankov has has trouble with his shoulder already this season so they are not immune to injuries. If the RF is so shortsighted not to care about the other pairs they may get burned.

[Belinda]

V/T capitalise on big elements. V/T is a marriage of convenience. We know they got together to win. Up to now no one seems to be expecting any moving story line from their performance. For example, no one said what a lovely Juliet Tatiana was, how innocent in the first half and how trangic in the end. The choreo is not helping them either in developing this side of the artistry. But I am hoping that Maxim will get enough inspiration from his rivals to demand more from Morozov. For example, Maxim noted that K/S this season is interesting (must be ref to their SP). My theory is that this has prompted him to reexamine their SP. That's why I thought that S/S's new LP might stimulate Maxim to reconsider their LP, which a lot of people find wanting.
K/S is different. When they got together, no one in RSF thought they were presentable at international competitions. Theirs is a marriage determined by fate. And ever since, we've been fascinated with their story. We expect from K/S, not big elements (which they cannot deliver), but great story. Watching K/S debuting their SP at CoC, Franca Bianconi of Raisport said that the programme suits Sasha but not Yuko, who prefers classical music; that she cannot portray the desperation of an abandoned woman. Now, who on earth would make such a demand of other skaters?
FS is first & foremost a sport, which means V/T have a better chance of winning than K/S. But we want more from this sport and K/S satisfies this need.

[Bournekraatzfan]

lovely LP at CoC...their fluidity and grace made me forget about the difficulty of their program. there was something almost ethereal about their program that was reminiscent of their SP to "The Swan." I am so happy they decided to remain eligible. Congratulations and best of luck to them

[millipied]

Reports are that Yuko got her shoulder injury again during the practice before SP and was even hospitalized. Hence the result. Too bad they did not withdraw. Heakth is more important. Get weel soon, Yuko and good luck in Free!

[easilydistracte]

Reports are that Yuko got her shoulder injury again during the practice before SP and was even hospitalized. Hence the result. Too bad they did not withdraw. Heakth is more important. Get weel soon, Yuko and good luck in Free!

Yeah, I've been wondering whether or not it would be better if they did withdraw instead of risking further damage to her shoulder, since they have another chance to make the finals through Cup of Russia. Haven't really heard how bad the injury is, though. Hoping she's doing okay and wishing them the best in the LP!

[topaz]

K/S win the Gold at NHK. Gutsy and beautiful performance from them today.

[easilydistracte]

So glad that they were able to come back from their SP yesterday with a beautiful performance in the LP today. It was great to see how happy they were after they skated (and also that they finally won in Japan!). I'm also glad that they'll be able to get a little bit of a break before Cup of Russia. (Yuko looked as if she were still experiencing some pain after the program.)

What I really like about them this season is that they seem to be skating with a lot of heart now. Though they are still somewhat reserved in their expression, they don't just "emote," but rather seem to perform with genuine feeling. It's really nice to see that change in them. Congratulations Yuko & Sasha!

[easilydistracte]

Thanks again to all who posted videos on YouTube. Have been debating whether or not to post these links since NHK--the network--has a habit of blocking videos that they consider copyright infringements on YouTube. Anyway, it's been a couple of weeks and these are still up, so here's some stuff from NHK Trophy:

K&S NHKT SP [A little iffy on the audio and visual quality.]
K&S NHKT LP [Ditto re: the audio and visual quality. Commentary is a little bit on the gushy side, also, I think.]
NHKT Pairs Podium

[There was a video of their EXH posted for a day or so, but it's since been blocked. No telling if these videos will be blocked at some future date. Oh, well.]

SP: Surprising performance, considering they had done so well just the week before at CoC. Felt really bad for them.

FP: Nice comeback for them, though still a bit shaky. Happy that they got through it as well as they did. The first time I watched this I got a bit teary-eyed at the end--first time in a long time that that has happened. Must have been a great relief for them to get through it without any major mistakes. Must have been such a surprise when they came in first!

Podium: They seemed rather giddy on the medal stand. Funny reactions when they were awarded the crystal trophies. (The trophies looked heavy.) I like how Sasha's so straight-faced when he makes Yuko laugh.

Re: Yuko's shoulder--various sources have indicated that she didn't actually dislocate her shoulder; the taping on both shoulders was done as a precautionary measure. Glad she's not injured.

Anyway, on to CoR!

[Sorry for the double post.]

Almost forgot: Yuko's 30th birthday was this past Sunday, the 20th. Here's hoping she had a good one!

[allezfred]

Reports are that Yuko got her shoulder injury again during the practice before SP and was even hospitalized. Hence the result. Too bad they did not withdraw. Heakth is more important. Get weel soon, Yuko and good luck in Free!

Just saw this post now. This is incorrect. Yuko did not injure her shoulder nor was she hospitalised prior to NHK.