Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir #48: Long Time Running

Just to add now that I’ve watched more of the talk, they mentioned that they had the same feeling of being done after Sochi as they do now and that they’re not sure of their future plans. I imagine that contributes to them not wanting to jump to a retirement announcement until they’ve settled and really reflected. Even though I’m sure they will...

They also mentioned something about saying “yes” to everything they can right now. So them doing random things together and apart is probably just following that policy of saying yes and trying everything that’s out there.
 
Hopefully this includes shows in central Europe!

Ok, I'll be superficial for a moment: Looking at the pictures of Scott at his niece's school and the ice show, I just wonder about his hair! Why?? He looked so good in Korea and now he is back at helmet hair.:yikes:;)

I’ll join you in being superficial for a second! If there is a single thing I don’t like about Scott Moir, it’s when he lets his hair get like this :p It was perfect at the Olympics. In 2017 when it was flying around during Prince I was surprised he could even see what he was doing. And then there was the terrible manbun in the off season dance videos, that was even worse...

Anyway, glad they’re planning on doing shows for a good few years yet! They’ve had some great exhibitions in the past and I’ll never tire of their skating.
 
I would take longer-hair Scott over the typical hockey-boy cut he sported for years before the comeback. :P
 
Just to add now that I’ve watched more of the talk, they mentioned that they had the same feeling of being done after Sochi as they do now and that they’re not sure of their future plans.

Okay, I find this really hard to believe. They got Team Silver and Individual Silver in Sochi after having had been Olympic gold medalists in 2010. This time around, their second Individual Gold and Team Gold - with those gold medals probably being the reason they came back to begin with. The feeling has got to be somewhat different in the aftermath of this Olympics as compared to Sochi.

IMO they just don't want to deal with having to make an announcement about retirement from competition, and attend a bunch of press conferences, and participate in a bunch of interviews. They are busy people, especially Tessa!
 
B&K aren't the best example for this kind of thing. Their split was actually pretty acrimonious because Victor decided less than a year after they won their world title that he didn't want to skate professionally/in shows and Shae-Lynn told the media she was shocked with his decision.

I digress to say that I loved loved loved their FD that won them their world title.

And I loved their Riverdance as well. I don't care to analyze it all all in terms of technical difficulty. For me, it is one of the most engaging Free Dances of all time. So much fun, so much energy!

:scream::scream:
 
I digress to say that I loved loved loved their FD that won them their world title.

And I loved their Riverdance as well. I don't care to analyze it all all in terms of technical difficulty. For me, it is one of the most engaging Free Dances of all time. So much fun, so much energy!

:scream::scream:
I will join your digression to say that I also loved Riverdance and will love it forever despite all the hateration and revisionist history. And if push came to shove and someone forced me to choose my favourite FD of all time (or at least in my many many years as a huge skating fan), I would probably choose B&K's High Society from 97-98, tied with V&M's Mahler. B&K's "Return to Innocence" from 96-97 is also one of my favourite exhibition skates in any discipline of all time and as far as compulsory dances, I thought their Golden Waltz was beautiful. (In case anyone can't tell or wasn't around FSU in the B&K heyday, I was perhaps even more of an uber of B&K than I am of V&M. :D)
 
Okay, I find this really hard to believe. They got Team Silver and Individual Silver in Sochi after having had been Olympic gold medalists in 2010. This time around, their second Individual Gold and Team Gold - with those gold medals probably being the reason they came back to begin with. The feeling has got to be somewhat different in the aftermath of this Olympics as compared to Sochi.

IMO they just don't want to deal with having to make an announcement about retirement from competition, and attend a bunch of press conferences, and participate in a bunch of interviews. They are busy people, especially Tessa!

I don't think they meant that their feelings are the same post-Olympics. They're obviously much happier and more content now! Rather, they're saying that they also thought they were done after Sochi and they remember how they were wrong now that they feel done after PC. I also think they're obviously done and think they know that deep down, but I get what he was trying to say mentality wise.
 
I credit B&K for my love of ice dance. Prior to seeing them, I used to use the ice dance portions of competition as a cafeteria break. I love Irish music and loved Riverdance. They were my prelude to Tessa and Scott. I also do enjoy most of Shae-lynn's choreography and think her great enthusiasm for skating is so amazing. Canada has been so lucky. I remember after Vancouver T&S saying they could still go out and about without being noticed - bet neither one of them can now.
 
I'm not getting the critique about the PR strategy? For years now, Tessa has had her own brand, and the team brand. She is continuing the team brand through almost non-stop touring until July. During breaks, she's promoting her individual brand. She's doing the same thing she did pre-Olympics: she promotes both.

I'm sorry my posts brought up all this Tessa bashing. I will answer this and move on.

None of this is new, the weird PR has been around for a while. But post-Olympics there are a lot of new eyeballs who weren't necessarily paying attention before. It's a key time.

I just think with the number of new people who became aware of them recently, they're going to be mostly interested in them as a team. And instead of that, Tessa's PR is mostly solo stuff. Even when she's touring, it's mostly pictures of herself, rarely with Scott. She and her team aren't stupid - they know what most people want to see (especially considering how they marketed themselves at the Olympics). I'm not sure what the thinking is exactly but it can come across as if, in order to promote her own brand, she's downplaying her team brand. Or that she cares more about her solo stuff than the team stuff. (Please note I'm not saying this is the case!) Of course some fans will get bitter.

Which is why I think bringing Scott in once in a while, whether it be a short interview in her day-long media thing, or having more (current) pictures of him on her social media would be a good idea at this point. Who knows, maybe Scott is dead-set against any of it, even pictures. But after the Olympics, when what they've done together is still somewhat fresh in people's minds and their team brand is very much still active (with the touring), it makes sense to offer more of a balance between the two brands. And I think there's some symbiosis there, it's not zero-sum.

But Tessa and Scott owe nothing to the fans and can do what they want. I find it a bit puzzling that Tessa lists business as an interest because she doesn't seem to have the best business instincts but it is what it is. At least they have a real agent this time around.
 
And if push came to shove and someone forced me to choose my favourite FD of all time (or at least in my many many years as a huge skating fan), I would probably choose B&K's High Society from 97-98, tied with V&M's Mahler. B&K's "Return to Innocence" from 96-97 is also one of my favourite exhibition skates in any discipline of all time and as far as compulsory dances, I thought their Golden Waltz was beautiful. (In case anyone can't tell or wasn't around FSU in the B&K heyday, I was perhaps even more of an uber of B&K than I am of V&M. :D)


My favorites of all time are D/S 'The Piano', K/P 'Air' (Bach), and V/M 'Mahler' or 'Valse Triste'.

I can't choose between those two programs for V/M - 'Mahler' was such a subtle and sophisticated program, and V/M made a masterpiece of it. Valse Triste was simpler, but pure ice dance - no acting, no drama, no heavy themes, not much interpretation. Just pure dancing to the music by two ice dance legends.
 
My two favourite V&M performances (as opposed to programs) will always be Mahler at the 2010 Olympics (magnified by the fact that I was lucky enough to be in Vancouver to see it live) and MR at the 2018 Olympics, but along with Mahler, my other favourite V&M FD is Umbrellas of Cherbourg (2007-08). I also thought their Russian medley when they were still juniors (2003-04) was adorable (and also super difficult for a junior team - more difficult than most senior teams were even attempting that year).

My favourite OD/SDs from them are "Puttin' on the Ritz"/"Call Me Irresponsible" from 2004-05, "And the Waltz Goes On" from 2012-13, and of course, the Prince medley from last season. I agree with a poster above who said that s/he didn't feel exhibition programs were really their strong suit, but my favourite exhibition program of theirs was "Tennessee Waltz", which I thought was really lovely.

(To digress, my other non-VM favourite all-time FDs aside from B&K's "High Society" were the Duchesnays' "Missing" and "Missing 2", B&K's 94-95 Blues/Swing medley, B&K's Riverdance, Silverstein/Pekarek's Tori Amos medley from 99-00, Belbin & Agosto's Four Seasons from their last season as juniors in 99-00, and P/C's "To Build a Home" in 2015-16. Honourable mentions to D/W's "Samson and Delilah" in 2008-09, Crone/Poirier's "Eleanor Rigby" from 2010-11, and Shibs' "Fix You" from 2015-16.)
 
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I just saw a commercial for Yves St. Lawrent (sp?) scent for men on TV.

That might be something Scott could do, if he were the type. But I don't think he is.
 
My two favourite V&M performances (as opposed to programs) will always be Mahler at the 2010 Olympics (magnified by the fact that I was lucky enough to be in Vancouver to see it live) and MR at the 2018 Olympics, but along with Mahler, my other favourite V&M FD is Umbrellas of Cherbourg (2007-08). I also thought their Russian medley when they were still juniors (2003-04) was adorable (and also super difficult for a junior team - more difficult than most senior teams were even attempting that year).

My favourite OD/SDs from them are "Puttin' on the Ritz"/"Call Me Irresponsible" from 2004-05, "And the Waltz Goes On" from 2012-13, and of course, the Prince medley from last season. I agree with a poster above who said that s/he didn't feel exhibition programs were really their strong suit, but my favourite exhibition program of theirs was "Tennessee Waltz", which I thought was really lovely.

(To digress, my other non-VM favourite all-time FDs aside from B&K's "High Society" were the Duchesnays' "Missing" and "Missing 2", B&K's 94-95 Blues/Swing medley, B&K's Riverdance, Silverstein/Pekarek's Tori Amos medley from 99-00, Belbin & Agosto's Four Seasons from their last season as juniors in 99-00, and P/C's "To Build a Home" in 2015-16. Honourable mentions to D/W's "Samson and Delilah" in 2008-09, Crone/Poirier's "Eleanor Rigby" from 2010-11, and Shibs' "Fix You" from 2015-16.)


My favourite VM programs were Hip Hip Chin Chin (short dance) AND their Funny Face (free dance).
 
I'll always remember their Prince SD, Stay for exhibitions, Farrucas OD and Carmen as my personal favourite of their FDs.
 
I'm sorry my posts brought up all this Tessa bashing. I will answer this and move on.

None of this is new, the weird PR has been around for a while. But post-Olympics there are a lot of new eyeballs who weren't necessarily paying attention before. It's a key time.

I just think with the number of new people who became aware of them recently, they're going to be mostly interested in them as a team. And instead of that, Tessa's PR is mostly solo stuff. Even when she's touring, it's mostly pictures of herself, rarely with Scott. She and her team aren't stupid - they know what most people want to see (especially considering how they marketed themselves at the Olympics). I'm not sure what the thinking is exactly but it can come across as if, in order to promote her own brand, she's downplaying her team brand. Or that she cares more about her solo stuff than the team stuff. (Please note I'm not saying this is the case!) Of course some fans will get bitter.

Which is why I think bringing Scott in once in a while, whether it be a short interview in her day-long media thing, or having more (current) pictures of him on her social media would be a good idea at this point. Who knows, maybe Scott is dead-set against any of it, even pictures. But after the Olympics, when what they've done together is still somewhat fresh in people's minds and their team brand is very much still active (with the touring), it makes sense to offer more of a balance between the two brands. And I think there's some symbiosis there, it's not zero-sum.

But Tessa and Scott owe nothing to the fans and can do what they want. I find it a bit puzzling that Tessa lists business as an interest because she doesn't seem to have the best business instincts but it is what it is. At least they have a real agent this time around.

They have had an agent for quite a while.

Not sure what you mean by Tessa doesn’t have good business sense.
 
I'm sorry my posts brought up all this Tessa bashing. I will answer this and move on.

None of this is new, the weird PR has been around for a while. But post-Olympics there are a lot of new eyeballs who weren't necessarily paying attention before. It's a key time.

I just think with the number of new people who became aware of them recently, they're going to be mostly interested in them as a team. And instead of that, Tessa's PR is mostly solo stuff. Even when she's touring, it's mostly pictures of herself, rarely with Scott. She and her team aren't stupid - they know what most people want to see (especially considering how they marketed themselves at the Olympics). I'm not sure what the thinking is exactly but it can come across as if, in order to promote her own brand, she's downplaying her team brand. Or that she cares more about her solo stuff than the team stuff. (Please note I'm not saying this is the case!) Of course some fans will get bitter.

Which is why I think bringing Scott in once in a while, whether it be a short interview in her day-long media thing, or having more (current) pictures of him on her social media would be a good idea at this point. Who knows, maybe Scott is dead-set against any of it, even pictures. But after the Olympics, when what they've done together is still somewhat fresh in people's minds and their team brand is very much still active (with the touring), it makes sense to offer more of a balance between the two brands. And I think there's some symbiosis there, it's not zero-sum.

But Tessa and Scott owe nothing to the fans and can do what they want. I find it a bit puzzling that Tessa lists business as an interest because she doesn't seem to have the best business instincts but it is what it is. At least they have a real agent this time around.

Maybe, just maybe... Scott is busy chilling out/recovering/partying/playing video games/handcrafting Victorian lampshades and doesn't want to be all over Tessa's instagram right now? Or they could have just decided they need a break from each other for a bit. Or maybe they've discussed their dreams for the future and Tessa is interested in developing a high-visibility personal brand and Scott wants less media attention. Or maybe he's renovating his house. Or or or.

As you said, they don't owe anything to anybody, so nitpicking this stuff is pointless. There's nothing wrong with saying, "I wish I saw more of Scott on Tessa's social media. I wonder what he's up to," but framing it as a criticism of Tessa is a bit extra.
 
I keep seeing suggestions about favourite programs and I’m agreeing with all of them!

Speaking of Bourne and Kraatz, here is some old footage showing them giving V/M on ice feedback. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SmpfqkVskOs

Wow that’s cool I had never seen that.

Yes B&K got me into ice dance ... then the talking about the corrupt judging grew from there. There were many programs I loved by B&K.
 
Maybe, just maybe... Scott is busy chilling out/recovering/partying/playing video games/handcrafting Victorian lampshades and doesn't want to be all over Tessa's instagram right now? Or they could have just decided they need a break from each other for a bit. Or maybe they've discussed their dreams for the future and Tessa is interested in developing a high-visibility personal brand and Scott wants less media attention. Or maybe he's renovating his house. Or or or.

As you said, they don't owe anything to anybody, so nitpicking this stuff is pointless. There's nothing wrong with saying, "I wish I saw more of Scott on Tessa's social media. I wonder what he's up to," but framing it as a criticism of Tessa is a bit extra.

They are currently on a Canada wide tour together then vacation I guess since she said she is doing a trip to France.
 
Tessa & Scott are jointly doing Gold Medal Plates (Antwerp, Belgium and Flanders and Reims, France from June 7-14, 2018, which is during a break in their Fantasy on Ice shows in Japan): https://goldmedalplates.com/home/auction-trips/belgium-france/
They're booked for shows continuously through July. This is their schedule:
...
April 27th - May 17th- CSOI
May 25th - July 1st- Fantasy on Ice (Japan)
May 20th - 22nd- All That Skate (South Korea)
Jun 7th - 15th- Gold Medal Plates (Belgium/France)
July 6th - 8th- Dreams on Ice (Japan)
Stars on Ice rehearsals are underway in Halifax this week (tour kicks off there on Friday).
 
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I hope those shows pay them well???

I'm sure they do. Tessa and Scott are two time OGM, one time OSV, and have a host of national and other titles.

I doubt they come cheap. Their agent would know their value in the marketplace and negotiate accordingly for their performance, interview and event fees.
 
I hope those shows pay them well???
What Japanfan wrote + I highly suspect that, apart from something like Art on Ice in Switzerland (and perhaps Intimissimi on Ice in Italy), the shows in Japan as well as the South Korean All That Skate are the highest paying skating shows overall anyway. As we know, Japan especially is a country where figure skaters are considered stars of high caliber. And, seeing that most Japanese shows don't spend so much money on different special effects (mainly light), dancers, acrobats etc., like Art on Ice does, I guess they spend that money on paying skaters and choreographers (and, sometimes, live singers or musicians) instead.

I don't know about Canadian Stars on Ice. I suspect they probably pay less for one show day, but it's a lengthy tour, so skaters end up earning quite a lot anyway.
 
CSOI builds recognition nationally which is also important for their brand. Even if they do other things with their lives they can come back for this for a few years if they want to.
 
I have always had a feeling that CSOI was a very positive, bonding experience for those who skate. I remember seeing them on bikes having a blast in Victoria and this past year was so positive and successful for the competing skaters - I bet it will be super fun.
 

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