Canadian Pairs 2012

[clarie]

Wow, just Wow. Thanks for posting that. I'm thinking that Nats was a shot in the behind for them. They have really improved in every facet of their skating. I'm hoping great things for them this year.......very impressive .

[Subway]

Wow, just Wow. Thanks for posting that. I'm thinking that Nats was a shot in the behind for them. They have really improved in every facet of their skating. I'm hoping great things for them this year.......very impressive .

I've been a fan for a couple of years but never imagined this from her. Her knees are so deep and soft now.

ETA - there's things this team isn't saying. So her re-aligned body, her stretch and line - everybody notices, it's obvious "even" in the bodysuit she's wearing in the lp. Bodysuits show every flaw. I just recognized that's why she's wearing the bodysuit.

[Shayii]

The LP everyone's talking about.

Yay! This was so good. They're the first team to really make me start watching pairs more after I saw their LP at Skate America last season and I searched for their thread here, I didn't realize they didn't have one. Anyways I really like both their programs and something tells me they will do amazing this season.

[geoskate]

The fight for the national title this year just got really interesting.

One additional benefit of M-T/M's improvement is that it give Duhamel/Radford even more incentive to work very hard this season. There's a real rivalry now, I think!

[Ziggy]

The LP everyone's talking about.

The SP is incredible but this is disappointing.

The music is very constant, there is a lack of light and shade and the program just falls incredibly flat.

Their basics have definitely improved but the choreography seems rather mediocre.

Very strong on the jumps but lifts need work. Some of them were slow and tentative.

[Pratfall]

On the Contrary... When we see this with proper volume levels..as we would in an arena or on TV..this music will be great. I love that this is an unusual arrangement of the music ( familiar , yet a bit surprising ), and think it will cast a spell...I really like it .

I know I've said this before, but I don't know if I said it here .Dylan made a vast improvement season before last, in extension, line etc ( took more ballet , I believe ) and he's only continued..he's more fluid, in his torso , as well

Now, it's Kirsten ! Wow! She's done some fabulous work .. I hope they have a good year..I expect to be thrilled by them.

[maggylyn]

.. I hope they have a good year..I expect to be thrilled by them.

Me too! I really like what I've seen.

[Emdee]

My estimation is with the right conditions, lighting and miles on the program the performance will draw us in.

Cannot wait to see it in GP.

[julieann]

The SP is incredible but this is disappointing.

The music is very constant, there is a lack of light and shade and the program just falls incredibly flat.

Their basics have definitely improved but the choreography seems rather mediocre.

Very strong on the jumps but lifts need work. Some of them were slow and tentative.

I think they may have got the "we landed everything" credit with that score. I'm not sure the international judges will be that generous once they start competing with the best in the world esp P/T, V/T and S/S. They scored 127.44, that's over 10 points then their personal best free skate.

I know you can't compare scores but I hope there isn't a huge surprise if they only score high teens or low 120s at Cup of China especially considering the couples who will be there. I was a good skate but it wasn't great, the twist was low and she landed on his left shoulder, the spin was wonky, lifts were slow, ds was slow. They did land all the jumps and throws with great posture but I would love to see the protocols to see where the points really came from.

[Proustable]

I think they may have got the "we landed everything" credit with that score. I'm not sure the international judges will be that generous once they start competing with the best in the world esp P/T, V/T and S/S. They scored 127.44, that's over 10 points then their personal best free skate.

I know you can't compare scores but I hope there isn't a huge surprise if they only score high teens or low 120s at Cup of China especially considering the couples who will be there. I was a good skate but it wasn't great, the twist was low and she landed on his left shoulder, the spin was wonky, lifts were slow, ds was slow. They did land all the jumps and throws with great posture but I would love to see the protocols to see where the points really came from.

In fairness, that is far and away their best free program performance. It should be a few points ahead of everything else they've done.

I tend to agree with Ziggy about being underwhelmed, but because they've improved so much technically and because it's early in the season, I'm still impressed.

[Ziggy]

On the Contrary... When we see this with proper volume levels..as we would in an arena or on TV..this music will be great. I love that this is an unusual arrangement of the music ( familiar , yet a bit surprising ), and think it will cast a spell...I really like it .

Volume doesn't really have anything to do with it though. The music just varies very little throughout. There are hardly any variations in tempo, not many accents, it's just very samey throughout.

And there isn't exactly much going on in terms of choreography. They have a few highlight moves here but there aren't even many upper body movements. An arm being raised here and there and that's it.

I know that it's much harder stamina wise to create a good free program but when compared to their transitions and choreo packed SP, this looks like a very half-arsed effort.

And whilst the jumps were very much on, non-jump elements still leave a lot to be desired. Their lifts looked much stronger last season.

[manhn]

I'm not concerned about the lifts (although the lack of variation concerns me). As with every other pair, the lifts are done at the second half of the program for those extra points. It's still early in the season. They lack a bit of stamina.

[nylynnr]

Heavy critique for a new FS done at a summer comp in early August. Fair enough, but the program at Indy would certainly have put M-T/M on the Canadian world team, and may have defeated the bronze medalists' FS in Nice. Agree on the repetition of the lunge entrance; it only counts as a difficult feature once, so no need to include twice.

[shan]

Heavy critique for a new FS done at a summer comp in early August. Fair enough, but the program at Indy would certainly have put M-T/M on the Canadian world team, and may have defeated the bronze medalists' FS in Nice. Agree on the repetition of the lunge entrance; it only counts as a difficult feature once, so no need to include twice.

Oh but there's a fair amount of praise for it too!

[Ziggy]

Well the choreography and transitions can get fleshed out as the season progresses.

But it's the music that's the main issue here, IMO. It's repetitive and doesn't exactly give much room for interpretation.

[Sylvia]

Cross-posting these 2 videos (skated today) from the Québec Summer Championships thread in Kiss and Cry:

Duhamel/Radford SP: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/24607362

Natasha Purich/Sebastian Arcieri (new Junior team) SP: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/24606779

ETA that Skate Canada has announced their 3 JGP pairs for Linz, Austria (cross-posted in the JGP Entries thread in Kiss and Cry):
Brittany Jones/Ian Beharry
Hayleigh Bell/Alistair Sylvester
Natasha Purich/Sebastian Arcieri

[Ziggy]

Wow, Duhamel/Radford's SP is really packed with transitions as well.

I'm actually a little worried there's too many of them for them to perform their elements comfortably at this stage.

Choreography is fun and playful and really requires more perk from them to sell it.

I actually think that M-T/M's SP would work better for D/R and D/R's would work better for M-T/M.

[hohoho]

Purich/Arcieri hopefully improve over the next few weeks. Purich may have to get used to no immediate success like she had with Shultz

[skatingfan04]

Wow, Duhamel/Radford's SP is really packed with transitions as well.

I'm actually a little worried there's too many of them for them to perform their elements comfortably at this stage.

Choreography is fun and playful and really requires more perk from them to sell it.

I actually think that M-T/M's SP would work better for D/R and D/R's would work better for M-T/M.

Wow, I really liked that. I think it was a huge step up for them. And, given the fact that the program didn't look terrible here, so early in the season, I think it should be smooth enough by the time major competition ramps up. Really could have done without the annoying guy who started moaning half way through the music, though.

[geoskate]

Both Duhamel/Radford and Moore-Towers/Moscovitch are starting off the season at a considerably higher level than at the same point in their season last year. Hopefully both teams continue to improve from this already high level. If they do, it could make for a very exciting competition at Canadian nationals.

For reference, last season Duhamel/Radford's short program at the Quebec Summer competition scored 45.14 (!). They also skated at the Mid-Atlantics, where their short program score was 54.38. Moore-Towers/Moscovitch skated at Thornhill as their first competition of the season. Their short program score was 55.35 and their long program score was 101.87.