Davis & White #15: The Polka Connection

[shan]

Being snowbound has it advantages, I get to rewatch M/C programs
As long as the electricity lasts...

Sounds fun!! I hope your electricity stays on.

[shan]

Twelve Top Winter Sports Moments Of 2012 includes Meryl and Charlie.

[DORISPULASKI]

A fancam version of their GPF SD was just uploaded this week!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvPq57PGpdc

The same fan uploaded their GPF FD as well
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1M_3TzHrdo

Medal Ceremony
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvkYE...GNtPQ&index=15

I love being able to see the whole pattern of the dance on the ice

[Cyn]

Twelve Top Winter Sports Moments Of 2012 includes Meryl and Charlie.

I realize this is the Meryl and Charlie thread (and for them making the list), but also major for Ashley Wagner making the list as well!!

[shan]

A fancam version of their GPF SD was just uploaded this week!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvPq57PGpdc

The same fan uploaded their GPF FD as well
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1M_3TzHrdo

Medal Ceremony
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvkYE...GNtPQ&index=15

I love being able to see the whole pattern of the dance on the ice

Thanks Doris!! It is great to see the ice coverage.

[circuscandy]

Twelve Top Winter Sports Moments Of 2012 includes Meryl and Charlie.

It's nice to see some attention for them. I hope that we get a lot more, because they really, really do deserve it. I also hope that at some point the US will put more value on ice dance, especially as we've done so well in it over the last decade, but that's an even longer shot. Alas!

[Judge Dred]

It's nice to see some attention for them. I hope that we get a lot more, because they really, really do deserve it. I also hope that at some point the US will put more value on ice dance, especially as we've done so well in it over the last decade, but that's an even longer shot. Alas!

Ice Dance will probably always be regarded as the junior partner to singles and pairs

[~tapdancer~]

Ice Dance will probably always be regarded as the junior partner to singles and pairs

And that's a shame. But for some of us it's our favorite discipline and thanks to internet skating, I've gotten to see much more ice dance than I ever did in the past. And at least NBC is smart enough to showcase Meryl and Charlie since they actually are the Americans bringing home the most medals especially since the last Olympics.

And Doris, thanks for the links to the fancam vids. Wow. There's nothing like seeing Meryl and Charlie from the stands (especially live). Their ice coverage and their speed is so evident that way. Those twizzles in the SD!! Wow...just amazing.

[circuscandy]

And that's a shame.

It really is. The best US skaters of the last four years, people who deserve so much attention and respect, are virtually ignored because they skate in a discipline many people view as lesser. It's my favorite of the disciplines because of the extensive choreography. I love wall-to-wall choreography.

When I was young/during the 90s, I had no idea ice dance even existed. It wasn't until about 2001 that a Canadian friend of mine became obsessed with the Russian ice dancers. We were both Irish dancers and were really delighted by Bourne and Kraatz's Riverdance program (if not the costumes...), so there was an added layer of interest. Of course, that was right in time for the entire fiasco of the 2002 Olympics, when I covered my Irish dance website with support buttons for Salé and Pelletier. A life-changing moment. (As for dance, I rooted for Bourne and Kraatz out of internalized Canadian solidarity. I mean, I am in a state that sits right beneath it...)

[Whitneyskates]

First let me say that I adore Ashley, and if she were to medal at Worlds and/or the olympics, I would be rediculously happy. But I can't help but shake the feeling that if Ashley medaled at worlds that USFSA would throw Meryl and Charlie under the bus, and the little promotion they receive from them would vanish, because let's face it, it's a ladies star they want.

[circuscandy]

First let me say that I adore Ashley, and if she were to medal at Worlds and/or the olympics, I would be rediculously happy. But I can't help but shake the feeling that if Ashley medaled at worlds that USFSA would throw Meryl and Charlie under the bus, and the little promotion they receive from them would vanish, because let's face it, it's a ladies star they want.

I've had similar thoughts, especially if they all make it to the Olympics as viable gold medalists. Hopefully they'll be given equal focus, but I doubt it. I mean, Ashley's success has been so exciting to watch, made even more enjoyable by the fact that I really love watching her. But she'd probably consume all of the focus.

Ohh, alas, poor ice dance. If magical wizard hair and a Disney princess can't make the people flock to you...!

[mia joy]

I'd say you have to grow to love ice dance. You have to watch an amount of programs, you have to get to know the discipline and understand its nuances to truly appreciate it. Thus, a person who only watches FS from time to time, come Worlds or Olympics, is not likely to find ice dancing as fascinating as the other disciplines, because at first glance, the others are so much more spectacular with jumps, throws, high air lifts, quads. It took me several years to mature as a skating fan (and well, in my case, also to mature and grow up as a person) before I fell for ice dancing completely. Now it's by far my favourite discipline, the choreographies are so complex, so full, it's the one discipline able to make me feel like I'm watching a movie when I watch it. Plus, the pair spins and step sequences in ice dancing are the most impressive of all and dare I say, ice dancers are the best actors of them all.

[circuscandy]

I'd say you have to grow to love ice dance.

That is an absolutely good point. I watched Worlds on my laptop while in class last spring. It was nearing the end, so the big guns were on the ice, and a friend of mine was sort of watching along. Around the time Meryl and Charlie Die Fledermaus'd, my friend got up and said, "That looks weird," and left.

I was like...

I think a love for dance and/or artistry-based athletics makes it easier to enjoy ice dance more quickly, and for the rest it's probably an acquired taste. Although it's become so blatantly athletic now that I think it's finally getting more of a moment in the sun, in terms of respect. I admit that in the early 00s the costumes were a little off-putting, but I'd seen far worse in Irish dance competitions, really, so I got over it

[TanithandBenFan]

I fell in love with ice dance when I saw Jamie Silverstein and Justin Pekarek skating in "off the rack" clothes to a Sting medley at the 1999 Nationals Exhibition. It was modern, fresh, and I couldn't wait to see more!

I'm so glad the costumes around the world have toned down (I give a lot of credit to Team Canton for setting the bar with classy costumes).

[mollymgr]

Happy New Year to all and a Happy Birthday to the one and only Meryl Davis!!!

[shan]

Oh yes, Happy Birthday to Meryl!!

[Jessiebanana]

It wasn't until Tanith/Ben, Dubreuil/Lauzon, that generation and the change in the judging system that I could respect ice dance. The level of athleticism was just nowhere near anything I would call a competitive sport. If they were doing ice shows as artists, that would be one thing and I could see that, but they weren't. The costumes were ridiculous, in that they were there for shock and awe, not so much for aesthetics or as part of the musical representation. Some people say the new costumes are boring, but what's exciting about OTT that all end up looking the same? I think if we were all asked to sketch a typical old school ice dance costume, our sketches would look similar. As a dancer I hated the lack of actual dance and attention to lines in ice dance. It was more like moving interpretive theater. I don't like the old Russian and European ice dancers. I don't get the hype.

[Whitneyskates]

Happy Birthday Meryl!!

[lauravvv]

It wasn't until Tanith/Ben, Dubreuil/Lauzon, that generation and the change in the judging system that I could respect ice dance. The level of athleticism was just nowhere near anything I would call a competitive sport. If they were doing ice shows as artists, that would be one thing and I could see that, but they weren't. The costumes were ridiculous, in that they were there for shock and awe, not so much for aesthetics or as part of the musical representation. Some people say the new costumes are boring, but what's exciting about OTT that all end up looking the same? I think if we were all asked to sketch a typical old school ice dance costume, our sketches would look similar. As a dancer I hated the lack of actual dance and attention to lines in ice dance. It was more like moving interpretive theater. I don't like the old Russian and European ice dancers. I don't get the hype.

Seems like you haven't seen that much ice dancing from 80s and from the beginning of 90s. Perhaps you watched some, didn't like it, and then just gave up on all of it without watching further. Otherwise you would have noticed that there was quite a lot of dancing, especially in ODs. And other ice dancers/programs that didn't have much dancing in the conventional sense, still had beautiful lines. I just have no time or wish to go deeper into it now.

[literaryfreak]

Happy New Year to all and a Happy Birthday to the one and only Meryl Davis!!!

Yes! Happy (belated) Birthday to Meryl, who will safely go down in ice dance history as one of the greats, and one of the loveliest persons, both inside and out.