Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir #48: Long Time Running

elisa_p

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That gala is beautiful and I think it’s a fav of mine. I was thinking how lucky we are because over the last 10+ years V/M have put down some amazing performances...even when I’m not a huge fan of a program they’ll throw it down and it just magically transforms into something more for me. So in that regard..what have been some of your favorite V/M competition programs over the years? Some of my fav’s

2006 Worlds SD and FD performances of Assaination Tango and Valse Triste
2007 Worlds FD go Umbrellas - this was magical
2010 Olympics - let’s face it all three programs were magnificent
2011 worlds Night and Day SD (I think this is the corrrct year. It’s the waltz tango SD and she’s in this beautiful grey dress)
2013 worlds Carmen (my only regret of their career is that they didn’t manag to perform this to their fullest potential. It is a masterpiece)
2014 Olympics OD to Dream a little Dream
2016 NHK FD to Latch (I know Latch isn’t everyone’s favorite but it is one of my favs and they perfectly captured the emotion in this comp. I always makes me feel like i’m watching a romance novel come to life when I watch this skate)
2017 Worlds OD to Prince - but literally any version of Prince does it for me
2018 Nats OD and FD and of course Olympics OD and FD. Simply perfect.

As a fan how could I have asked more of them? Look how many different programs and performances they have given me over the years. ID has been incredibly lucky to have them.
 

forthewin

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About their twizzles, I'd like to point out V/M did different sets of twizzles in SD and FD. They always design them to suit the music and bring the originality every time. I think it's really rare and a high standard to that. People used to say D/W and now The Shibs have great twizzles, but they often do the same kind over and over again year after year, no matter what kind of music they're skating to. To me that's much less pleasing artistically.
 

Sonata

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858
Yes that's it! I think she was injured this season too right? Their posture, lines and carriage in this is exquisite. Honestly I could watch them all day long.

Count me in as someone who has always loved their 2011 SD! When he does a spread eagle in a squat position while she curve backward around his thigh like a donut? I mean what? It's an underappreciated move. Beautiful position (despite my description).

This has always driven me crazy. Isn't the beginning of their SD "Anniversary Song"? I'm not familiar with the Night and Day film - not sure if they play it in that film.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekduN2N0eTY

I've always pictured the story behind this as a couple dancing to a Victrola at a wedding. That SD is all about dance. :)
 

zilam98

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1,625
Agree with every word about V/M :) And re P/C, I truly think we will see them delve into different material during this next quad. I personally think that this was not the season to expect them to do that. But that is just my piddly little opinion.
It's going to be sad without V/M going forward (and others retiring) but I always find the new landscape of the post Olympic season, interesting.

Anyway, I digress.

Back to V/M - I just watch Aliona and Bruno's FS again and noticed Mrs. Virtue and Mrs. Moir giving them a standing O. It was probably pointed out by someone here at the time, but I think I missed it. Cute :)

the furthest i can imagine them expand is by doing psychedelic rock like v/m's pink floyd. i'd wager a bet they won't do anything else than ethereal lyrical. good if they can really expand further, but i won't be surprised if they don't/can't
 

dramagrrl

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The reporters who covered the Olympics for the Toronto Star wrote a compilation article about their favourite moments of the Games. FSU's "favourite" journalist, Rosie DiManno, wrote about V&M in hers. It is the second favourite moment in the article.

Excerpt:

They’d done their CBC interviews and their radio rightsholder interviews and their wire service interviews. I was worried they’d have run out of words by the time they got to the huddled masses of scriveners.

And then they came flying at us — the Canadian reporters who’ve shared all their skating moments. Group hug!
 

RoseRed

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the furthest i can imagine them expand is by doing psychedelic rock like v/m's pink floyd. i'd wager a bet they won't do anything else than ethereal lyrical. good if they can really expand further, but i won't be surprised if they don't/can't
I think there are things they can do that will suit their floaty, airy style, while being more different from what they've shown this quad. I have a few very different pieces/styles of music in mind that they could probably work with.

I don't think they're likely to ever be quite as versatile as Tessa and Scott, since T&S were so good with different styles in compulsories and ODs right from the beginning, whereas P/C have improved in the SD, but still often look slightly uncomfortable with different dance styles to me. Most teams aren't of course. But I do think they'll want to challenge themselves. That might not mean doing, say a flamenco FD next year. It could be more like choosing very different, maybe hard to skate to music that suits their style, which would still be an artistic challenge - just a different type.

What I'm hoping is that they try something very different next year, and then later if they want to come back to this style, they try using different types of music (not that all their music this quad is the same). Some Asian instrumental music I've heard has a light airy quality that would suit them, but it would still be significantly different from what they've been doing. And I wouldn't mind seeing that, since we don't get a lot of that type of music in figure skating. Or my Dad mentioned this album he has of duduk (Armenian ancient double reed woodwind instrument made of apricot wood) music with orchestration that could work for them, while still being different from their last few FDs.

But wow, I got really off topic here.
 

zilam98

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1,625
I think there are things they can do that will suit their floaty, airy style, while being more different from what they've shown this quad. I have a few very different pieces/styles of music in mind that they could probably work with.

I don't think they're likely to ever be quite as versatile as Tessa and Scott, since T&S were so good with different styles in compulsories and ODs right from the beginning, whereas P/C have improved in the SD, but still often look slightly uncomfortable with different dance styles to me. Most teams aren't of course. But I do think they'll want to challenge themselves. That might not mean doing, say a flamenco FD next year. It could be more like choosing very different, maybe hard to skate to music that suits their style, which would still be an artistic challenge - just a different type.

What I'm hoping is that they try something very different next year, and then later if they want to come back to this style, they try using different types of music (not that all their music this quad is the same). Some Asian instrumental music I've heard has a light airy quality that would suit them, but it would still be significantly different from what they've been doing. And I wouldn't mind seeing that, since we don't get a lot of that type of music in figure skating. Or my Dad mentioned this album he has of duduk (Armenian ancient double reed woodwind instrument made of apricot wood) music with orchestration that could work for them, while still being different from their last few FDs.

But wow, I got really off topic here.


wow, v/m were only versatile in the SD? they're the only team in the last 2 quads that have attempted a wide variety of musical styles and themes in their FREE DANCE and excelled in them BOTH technically and artistically
 

RoseRed

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wow, v/m were only versatile in the SD? they're the only team in the last 2 quads that have attempted a wide variety of musical styles and themes in their FREE DANCE and excelled in them BOTH technically and artistically
You completely missed my point. Which was, that V/M excelled in a lot of different styles very early in their careers.

Focusing only on their first senior quad, because the comparison was with P/C and what they've shown so far and sometimes people make the point that they're younger than V/M so they haven't had time, their FDs were Valse Triste, Umbrellas, Pink Floyd and Mahler. None of those are the same of course, and Pink Floyd was really different (ad I loved it). But you really see the diversity when you also look at the CD and OD. The Russian folk dance, the flamenco, the tango OD. And also doing so well with the Tango Romantica, Golden Waltz, Rhumba, etc. They had to skate in those different styles, and they did it so well, that it was obvious super early that they excel in a wide range of styles. With Dark Eyes, I remember the commentators being shocked at how well these two Canadian kids pulled off that style.

I'm also not sure why you jumped on that, when my whole point was that V/M had shown that they had great versatility right from the beginning of their careers. You seriously had no reason to make that into a negative comment. Take a breath.
 

zilam98

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You completely missed my point. Which was, that V/M excelled in a lot of different styles very early in their careers.

Focusing only on their first senior quad, because the comparison was with P/C and what they've shown so far and sometimes people make the point that they're younger than V/M so they haven't had time, their FDs were Valse Triste, Umbrellas, Pink Floyd and Mahler. None of those are the same of course, and Pink Floyd was really different (ad I loved it). But you really see the diversity when you also look at the CD and OD. The Russian folk dance, the flamenco, the tango OD. And also doing so well with the Tango Romantica, Golden Waltz, Rhumba, etc. They had to skate in those different styles, and they did it so well, that it was obvious super early that they excel in a wide range of styles. With Dark Eyes, I remember the commentators being shocked at how well these two Canadian kids pulled off that style.

I'm also not sure why you jumped on that, when my whole point was that V/M had shown that they had great versatility right from the beginning of their careers. You seriously had no reason to make that into a negative comment. Take a breath.


missed your point? you clearly stated "compulsories and ODs". that's why i bolded that part of your reply. here again: "since T&S were so good with different styles in compulsories and ODs right from the beginning." NOT ONCE did you mention their FDs so there!

people will always point out "oh there's always the SD, why bother even experimenting with different styles in the FD?" my point is that even in the FDs, v/m did not just rest on some thematic and artistic limitations. they took risks and tackled varying themes in their FREE DANCES as well. they did not just rest on expanding their artistic visions on the varied themes on the short dances alone
 

RoseRed

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missed your point? you clearly stated "compulsories and ODs". that's why i bolded that part of your reply. here again: "since T&S were so good with different styles in compulsories and ODs right from the beginning." NOT ONCE did you mention their FDs so there!

people will always point out "oh there's always the SD, why bother even experimenting with different styles in the FD?" my point is that even in the FDs, v/m did not just rest on some thematic and artistic limitations. they took risks and tackled varying themes in their FREE DANCES as well. they did not just rest on expanding their artistic visions on the varied themes on the short dances alone
And you continue to completely miss my point, even though I've explained it in detail. Not sure why you seem to be looking for an argument, but I'm done with this conversation.
 

zilam98

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And you continue to completely miss my point, even though I've explained it in detail. Not sure why you seem to be looking for an argument, but I'm done with this conversation.

you only mentioned p/c potentially expanding their FD styles, but not put that in context of the versatility of v/m's FDs, so detail? what detail?
 

lauravvv

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missed your point? you clearly stated "compulsories and ODs". that's why i bolded that part of your reply. here again: "since T&S were so good with different styles in compulsories and ODs right from the beginning." NOT ONCE did you mention their FDs so there!

you only mentioned p/c potentially expanding their FD styles, but not put that in context of the versatility of v/m's FDs, so detail? what detail?
I really don't understand what you have against RoseRed. She was comparing SDs/ODs in that part of her post. I think she wanted to emphasize V/M's versatility also in ODs/SDs in comparison to P/C exactly because people usually mention FDs to prove a team's versatility, but it can actually be seen also in how well they do the different styles in the ODs/SDs. Emphasizing/putting more accent on SDs this time clearly doesn't mean that RoseRed thinks that Tessa and Scott have not been versatile in FDs, simply it's more obvious than the ODs and SDs, so that's why she likely felt that those had to be mentioned specifically, as I said.

Or do you think RoseRed was absolutely obliged to mention FDs although those are obvious to everyone here, and now when she did not, she is a "bad" fan?
 

Steph

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you only mentioned p/c potentially expanding their FD styles, but not put that in context of the versatility of v/m's FDs, so detail? what detail?
@RoseRed cited V/M's unusual career-long versatility in the ODs and SDs as an indicator that they were likely to be the more versatile team generally.

You've caromed off to something that no sensible reading of her post supports and really ought to step off.
 

Xiaoxue

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I really appreciate RoseRed’s post praising V/M’s interpretation of different styles, yet at the same time was able to sincerely consider their rivals’ skating and their interpretation of music. I am also one of those people who are looking forward to seeing how P/C grow in this area of their skating. I especially like the suggestion of Asian music. Japanese Zen music come to mind for me when I read that.

But back to V/M, during their early days, they had to do compulsories in addition to the Original dance, and so in a way, they were a) forced to; or b) were given more opportunities to learn to express and interpret a wide range of music. Of course, their natural talent of being able to hear the nuances of different styles of music is also an integral skill that has led to their success.

I wonder at how people can so easily dismiss this aspect of ice dancing and consider P/C as being equal or better than V/M at this moment in time. From last year’s jazz OD to this year’s ballroom Latin OD, I found myself noticing the American teams, among others, who were able to express the music really well, much better than P/C. However, the judges marks consistently went against that. And then to compare them to V/M was just incomprehensible to me.

Note to P/C fans who may be upset when reading this post, I am also a fan of their skating, but I don’t think they’re at that level yet to be considered equal to V/M. In a few more years, maybe, but not right now.
 

elisa_p

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I also think a lot of it boils down to personal preference in terms of what qualities someone thinks is important to become great ice dancers. Personally for me being able to interpret a wide range of styles is quite important but that might not be the case for some. It’s something I love about V/M...their body of work is amazing and if you take a hour to watch their dances from over the years back to back their versatility really shines through.
 

kittysk8ts

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Yes that's it! I think she was injured this season too right? Their posture, lines and carriage in this is exquisite. Honestly I could watch them all day long.
Yes, this was after her 2nd second surgery. They had skated at 4CC a few months earlier and withdrew during the FD because she tweaked something during a lift.
 

Judy

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In this article there’s this twitter post that points out that VM drew to skate 20 (both SD and FD), won on the 20th of the month, and they’ve been skating together for 20 years. They also skated exactly at 11:11. I mean if that’s not the universe aligning for them, I don’t know what is. And I can tell you guys this now but I’m a bit superstitious. I love Sui/Han and wanted them to win for that reason (though I love Savchenko/Massot too and would have been happy either way), but there’s another reason I wanted S/H to win. I don’t know if you guys ever noticed, but everytime S/H and VM skate at the same competition in recent years, they finish in the same position whether it’s first or second. So when S/H won silver I was like yep that’s it no gold for VM. Thank goodness I had some sense talked into me and I was told correlation≠causation. Ok story time is over lol.

There’s a lot of links in the old thread, I’m pretty sure I posted it there. If I have time later or I’m not being too lazy maybe I’ll make a huge post in here with everything we have so far. If someone else likes doing that sort of thing, please go for it!

They have skated together more than 20 years though.
 

kittysk8ts

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They have skated together more than 20 years though.
But just barely. They are currently in their 21st year together. Started in 1997. If you noticed any of Tessa's training outfits at the Games, at least one of them had an XX on the back and she has been signing her Twitter and Instagram posts "XX", therefore @Shayii's post is accurate :)
 

ddtpdx

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"- anything feels fresh when Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir skate to it."

from NBC's 18 things to remember from figure skating in PyeongChang

3. Virtue and Moir Master the Field
Forget Moulin Rouge being perhaps the most-used music in figure skating – anything feels fresh when Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir skate to it. The Canadian ice dance team returned two seasons ago after two seasons away, but after a golden run in 2016-17, were slight underdogs to rivals (and training mates) Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron. Say what you want about Papadakis’ costume malfunction in the short dance (more on that later), but it was Virtue and Moir who delivered their knockout punch in the short dance (their stronger program), then staved off the French for gold with a triumphant close as Satine and Christian. It’s a second individual gold, third gold overall and record fifth Olympic medal for Tessa and Scott, now the most decorated figure skaters – ever. Will they retire? “Give us a minute,” Moir joked after I asked him in their podium press conference. Regardless, they’ve further cemented their legendary status.
 

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