Figure Skating Champions SURVIVOR: Ice Dance ROUND 4

[SamuraiK]

Another ice team bites the dust.. this time the only top russian team with less politikal power than your tipical OES team

10TH PLACE: LOBACHEVA & AVERBUKH (46.60%)

The remaining contenders are (changing Links):


01. Oksana Grishuk & Evgeny Platov - RUS - 1994,1995,1996 & 1997 Worlds and 1994 & 1998 Olympic Champions.
02. Angelica Krylova & Oleg Ovsiannikov - RUS - 1998 and 1999 World Champions.
03. Marina Anissina & Gwendal Peizerat - FRA - 2000 World and 2002 Olympic Champions.
04. Shae-Lynn Bourne & Viktor Kraatz - CAN - 2003 World Champions.
05. Tatiana Navka & Roman Kostomarov - RUS - 2004 & 2005 World and 2006 Olympic Champions.
06. Albena Denkova & Maxim Staviski - BUL - 2006 and 2007 World Champions.
07. Isabelle Delobel & Olivier Schoenfelder - FRA - 2008 World Champions.
08.Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir - CAN - 2010 & 2012 World and 2010 Olympic Champions.
09. Meryl Davis & Charlie White - USA - 2011 World Champions.

Already Eliminated:
11th Place: Domnina & Shabalin (29.65% votes)
12th Place: Fusar-Poli & Margaglio (48.77% votes)

Vote and enjoy

[SamuraiK]

Can we get rid of Bourne & Kraatz now, please?? Hydroblading is cool but hardly an outstanding legacy to the sport.

[blue_idealist]

Delobel and Schoenfelder, again, for the same reasons as last time. Sorry, not voting for B&K, they're one of my favourites.

[Macassar88]

Ewww how are Bourne and Crap I mean Kraatz still here?

[miffy]

DelSchoes for me - I know this is an unpopular view on FSU but I always felt they were a bit overrated. Good dancers, good creativity, not an all time great IMO.

[judgejudy27]

I will vote DelSchoes next round for sure, assuming B&K finally get their overdue axe.

[kwanette]

I know that I am in the minority, but I loved B and K..

I voted N and K..I couldn't watch him.

[gingercrush]

This is a conspiracy against all of Canada. Why do you Americans hate the better country of Canada

[shady82]

I didn't like N/K very much and always had a difficult time understanding why they were at the top so consistently. I'll try to analyze what they accomplished so I know where they should place in this group>

The 2004 gold should have gone to D/S. I didn't think either of N/K's programs were gold-worthy. A lot of the programs from 3rd and down seemed comparable. I was never able to see why N/K was superior at that competition, or that year.

I don't have a problem with N/K winning in 2005 and 2006. However, there were good arguments for other teams winning those years as well. N/K had the political advantage, so they could pull ahead off other teams who gave performances of similar levels.

The other team that probably should be eliminated is B/K. I personally preferred A/P's FD in 1998 to Riverdance. The other placements B/K received were generally appropriate, including the 4th at the 2001 Worlds and 2002 Olympics. They deserved gold in 2003 and I liked Adagio much more than anything N&K produced though. But I think B/K should go. N/K were definitely a medal-deserving team in 2005 and 2006, though the field in 2006 was extremely weak.

[Cherub721]

DelSchoes for me - I know this is an unpopular view on FSU but I always felt they were a bit overrated. Good dancers, good creativity, not an all time great IMO.

I agree with the first sentence but will go even further and say I don't think they were good dancers or particularly creative. I voted for Delschoes; IMO B&K should have left in earlier rounds and I'm not wasting votes on them anymore.

[skateboy]

DelSchoes, goodbye.

[SkateBlades17]

DelSchoes

[DaiKozOda]

I voted for Bourne & Kraatz again pretty much for the same reasons.

They were a team that pulled out some entertaining moments but technically they weren't really outstanding.
Bourne's posture sometimes looked awful and I didn't really liked most of their compulsories.
After they started working with Tarasova and Morozov everything about their expression just looked weird and somehow disconnected. She was so much more agressive and extroverted than him that sometimes I even felt sorry for the guy cause he just looked like he didn't wanted to be there.

In terms of performances in big championships. I think they got much more than they deserved which is ironic cause they were a team famous for complaining about judging decisions.
During the Champions Series Final in 1996/1997 season, that they won, I was totally puzzled with the result considering that Krylova & Ovsyannikov skated so well.
In the 1999 World Championships, their OD was really slow when compared with the other top couples in the competition. In the FD they had an obvious mistake in a lift right before the end and the judges chose to ignore it... Despite the mistake they got the bronze.
In the 2001 Worlds, their FD to "March with Me" was totally OTT in a bad way. The over dramatic style simply didn't suit them. Everything about their expression there seemed fake.
Don't even get me started about the FD at SLC... I'm still wondering how they (together with Poli & Margaglio) could finish ahead of Drobiazko & Vanagas.
Still, I think they got their world title fairly with a really decent skate. (Eventhough it was one of those moments in which I was nervous for Viktor cause Shae-Lynn was looking super agressive lol).
In their favor, I think that the OD from 2001 and the Riverdance program were entertaining and nice to watch.

[DaiKozOda]

Sorry but I couldn't resist to post this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzwYX...feature=g-vrec

[allezfred]

The 2004 gold should have gone to D/S. I didn't think either of N/K's programs were gold-worthy. A lot of the programs from 3rd and down seemed comparable. I was never able to see why N/K was superior at that competition, or that year.

No it shouldn't and thankfully didn't. Navka/Kostomarov had an amazing OD that season (the straightline steps to "Ain't No Sunshine" ) and the Pink Panther/Austin Powers FD was quit daring when you consider that most teams trying to win their first World title go with dramatic FDs. It was a real risk that deservedly paid off.

Denkova/Staviski should definitely go before Navka/Kostomarov as they have the same amount of World titles, but no Olympic medal. Plus Albena never sorted out her wedgie.

Sorry but I couldn't resist to post this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzwYX...feature=g-vrec

[Macassar88]

No it shouldn't and thankfully didn't. Navka/Kostomarov had an amazing OD that season (the straightline steps to "Ain't No Sunshine" ) and the Pink Panther/Austin Powers FD was quit daring when you consider that most teams trying to win their first World title go with dramatic FDs. It was a real risk that deservedly paid off.

Denkova/Staviski should definitely go before Navka/Kostomarov as they have the same amount of World titles, but no Olympic medal. Plus Albena never sorted out her wedgie.

Agree with all this. Although I feel like when it comes to drama, Denkova and Staviski can't be beat by many.

[Cherub721]

No it shouldn't and thankfully didn't. Navka/Kostomarov had an amazing OD that season (the straightline steps to "Ain't No Sunshine" ) and the Pink Panther/Austin Powers FD was quit daring when you consider that most teams trying to win their first World title go with dramatic FDs. It was a real risk that deservedly paid off.

N&K's OD was the best, but it doesn't matter so much because it was 6.0 so there was no opportunity to build a lead, unless you think D&S should not have been top 2. Both pairs had excellent blues and ok jives, but Navka's blues was just drool-worthy... that straightline.

IMO, N&K and D&S should have been 1-2 in that order in the CD/OD, so under 6.0 it would be whoever had the better FD. IMO that would be D&S because there was so much hidden difficulty in that program. The lifts were very innovative, they did sbs mirror twizzles which seemed at the time, and they were on fire skating all out at Worlds. N&K's Pink Panther really had a lot of posing and vamping (I always say they were voguing out there a la Madonna ) and the lifts were similar to their ones from the previous year... just not enough to take the world title.

The only thing N&K had above them was the lines.... I remember Tinami posting that Albena looked like a side of beef in those lifts, which honestly is kind of true. I think that was a legitimate critique, because a lot of people at the time said "oh D&S are just short and don't have the long legs of Navka to be able to create those lines" but in fact Albena improved tremendously in that area under Linichuk. N&K were far more polished but I don't think that alone was enough to give them the gold.

(FTR, I think N&K should've beaten D&S for bronze in 2003 and that they deserved their golds in 2005 and 2006).

[Macassar88]

N&K's OD was the best, but it doesn't matter so much because it was 6.0 so there was no opportunity to build a lead, unless you think D&S should not have been top 2. Both pairs had excellent blues and ok jives, but Navka's blues was just drool-worthy... that straightline.

IMO, N&K and D&S should have been 1-2 in that order in the CD/OD, so under 6.0 it would be whoever had the better FD. IMO that would be D&S because there was so much hidden difficulty in that program. The lifts were very innovative, they did sbs mirror twizzles which seemed at the time, and they were on fire skating all out at Worlds. N&K's Pink Panther really had a lot of posing and vamping (I always say they were voguing out there a la Madonna ) and the lifts were similar to their ones from the previous year... just not enough to take the world title.

The only thing N&K had above them was the lines.... I remember Tinami posting that Albena looked like a side of beef in those lifts, which honestly is kind of true. I think that was a legitimate critique, because a lot of people at the time said "oh D&S are just short and don't have the long legs of Navka to be able to create those lines" but in fact Albena improved tremendously in that area under Linichuk. N&K were far more polished but I don't think that alone was enough to give them the gold.

(FTR, I think N&K should've beaten D&S for bronze in 2003 and that they deserved their golds in 2005 and 2006).

I think that the FD could have gone either way because the two FD's were so different and good in different ways. But I preferred Navka and Kostomarov's because it was different. And I love Tatiana more than I love Albena. (Although Albena is one of my favorite female ice dancers too)

[nuge]

Sorry have to vote B/K again.That terrible March with me FD full of twizzles and the horrible screechy music.

I'm loving these Dance threads .

[vivika1982]

The only thing N&K had above them was the lines.... I remember Tinami posting that Albena looked like a side of beef in those lifts, which honestly is kind of true.

Oy,double Oy. For the last few days with all pork, beef, chicken legs and etc. association I felt like I am in meat market. Obviously when watching pairs or ice dance teams the girls get most of the attention but what about the boys or (translated in carnivore’s language) what are they chopped liver.

(FTR, I think N&K should've beaten D&S for bronze in 2003).

Mmmmm NOPE they shouldn't have.