Kharis RALPH Asher HILL

[pani]

New FD
http://www.youtube.com/user/Tatjana2.../1/JuP_uX0qXIk
I must say - i am a fan. There FD look so difficult and have so many interesting moves. And entery into this rotational lift
i know it will be hard for them to take place in team for WCh, but i cant waite to see this interesting dance at GP/

[Debrah]

Wow, they look quite improved with a far more mature look on ice since last season, and I too like this new FD and am interested in watching it devlop over the season.

[clarie]

I loved it. What an improvement for previous years. I think a little tweaking and perhaps some more "attitude" will benefit them. Love the rotational lift, and the elements go with the music very nicely........cudos to them. Correct me if I'm wrong but they will be at Skate Canada, right?

[pani]

I loved it. What an improvement for previous years. I think a little tweaking and perhaps some more "attitude" will benefit them. Love the rotational lift, and the elements go with the music very nicely........cudos to them. Correct me if I'm wrong but they will be at Skate Canada, right?

They will be at SA. Sad they will have nly 1 GP event.

[Pratfall]

I'm really pleased with their improvement ! ( There's always room for more, but finally, I think they're going in the right direction )

I don't know where they would be on the points list in case of teams withdrawing. Could they be in line for a possible 2nd. assignment ?

I think this dance could be very good for them at Nationals , anyway.

[Habs]

I'm glad to see her in a lovely costume for a change!
I like this team a lot.

[blue_idealist]

I like it.. I think they might have more success with this one than the one from last season

[Emdee]

I too love this new program. Hopefully this will develop in the right direction over the season.

[~tapdancer~]

I do think they look more mature, definitely an improvement over last season. But I could hardly make it through this program because of the music, not their skating. Really don't like the music. And another thing I noticed...he's improved more than her. I found myself watching him more. But overall, they have definitely made strides in their presentation.

[Pratfall]

That's odd..I think she's the one who shows greater improvement.

[pani]

http://www.youtube.com/user/Tatjana2.../0/ZpZS7u92Y4A

Kharis and Asher SD from Nebelhorn.

[Pratfall]

Thank goodness her costume is now more filled in !

[Rafter]

I agree they have improved. Their FD looks quite good for this time of the season. Lots of difficulty, transitions, complex holds. Unfortunately she'll never have the look of a dancer with her body type. She still needs to work on posture - she's still piking forward at the waist and her shoulders look up in her ears.

It will be interesting to see if they can challenge Paul & Islam.

[Pratfall]

I thought Kharis' shoulders looked much improved in the FD but not so much here.. and Asher is still noticeably sway-backed. But some improvements have been made.
The corrections they needed to make in their posture are going to take more than a few summer months to correct. I hope they keep up with their increased dance training..
I hope they lose the series of chest-drops at the end ( a hold over from their African program )..just because you can do something doesn't mean it suits you.

[overedge]

I Unfortunately she'll never have the look of a dancer with her body type. She still needs to work on posture - she's still piking forward at the waist and her shoulders look up in her ears.

What?!?! She looks very well proportioned and healthy in the Nebelhorn clip. What is this alleged problem with her "body type"? And I don't see her shoulders being up in her ears, either.

[Rafter]

She just doesn't have that long-legged, lean body type that a lot of female ice dancers have. It would help if she pointed her toes more.

As for her posture, it's definitely not great. To me she looks very stiff through the shoulders and because she doesn't have a long neck, her shoulders look "up" and therefore tense.

That said, I really do see improvements in this team. Their FD is looking great for this time of the year. Perhaps with C&Ps split, they were getting more attention this summer.

Curious to see if they'll be able to challenge P&I for that 3rd spot to worlds.

[Pratfall]

There's no use pretending that problems don't exist or haven't existed in the past. R/H have needed to work on these areas for at least a couple of years. ( And I would argue should have been all along.)

There's no use pretending that some skaters don't have a less ideal body type than others , and don't need to make an effort to compensate..Every skater needs to be able to look at themselves with a critical( in a good way ) eye....Look at Mery'ls stretch and attention to position ,which compensates for not having long legs. (Her comment about her one wish would be to have longer legs , shows her awareness of her own physical make up .)

According to Carol Lane's interview with pj , R/H have been doing much more dance than usual over the summer ( Better late than never.)

I'm very glad to see progress being made , but there's more yet to be done.

Kharis kept her shoulders down through pretty well all of their FD , but not in the SD , especially in the faster parts.If she keeps up the extra dance training ,it will become natural to raise her arm, but not her shoulder.

It should also result in better stretch , point and leg position for both , and much needed improvement in the way Asher holds his back.

We haven't seen them yet , but if P/I are healthy and have continued their own progress , I don't think R/H can challenge for 3rd . They could very well hold on to 4th ahead of H/G , though.

[Proustable]

We haven't seen them yet , but if P/I are healthy and have continued their own progress , I don't think R/H can challenge for 3rd . They could very well hold on to 4th ahead of H/G , though.

Given the near 20 point difference between them and H/G, I'd say fourth is pretty secure (barring Gilles/Poirier storming the gates).

That said, I think Meryl could afford to pay even more attention to position than she does, but we might be talking about different things.

[Pratfall]

Well, I wasn't trying to take this thread on a " let's critique Meryl " trip.

My point is about striving to improve in all areas. In the years I've been watching Meryl, she's always improving,trying to make the most of her attributes ... and that ethic is universal at her club.

It hasn't been universal at R/H's school , the same faults have been obvious , to one degree or another, in many , many of their skaters. So this improvement in R/H is very encouraging to me ... I'm hoping the same effort will filter down the ranks.

[DORISPULASKI]

I like the FD quite a bit, but I do wish they would not use Harlem Nocturne for the Rhumba in the SD. That so does not work to set a Latin mood.

And I also noticed the improvement in Kharis-it's very hard to change things as basic as posture and stretch, and neither happens over night. I'm sure they will continue working on these issues now that they obviously understand that work is needed.

And Kharis' FD costume was also a nice one this year. The SD one, I understand has changed since summer competitions? It could use to change a bit more.