Canadian Ice Dance 2018-19 season news & updates

From the above interview with Lajoie/Lagha:

IDC: How did you decide to re-team up after a brief split in 2015?

ZL: We didn’t train together for a while because we had different ideas. Then I moved here and Marie [Dubreuil] said we should get back together. We had a meeting and put ourselves on the right track with the same ideas.

ML: Marie really helped us with this.

I wish someone would do the same for a certain other Canadian (non-dance) team that could use that sort of help right now. COUGH COUGH.

Never gonna get over it; I'm telling you.

ETA: I enjoyed the interview with L/L, whose skating I love, but tsk tsk to Marjorie for responding to the "favourite book" question with "I don't read!" :duh:
 
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Good outing by G/P at Nebelhorn - RD score (77.40) higher than W/P got at Autumn Classic. And looks like he's going for a themed moustache again... though I didn't see a close up (looks kind of Gomez Adams-y). I like the idea of her dress, though don't love the huge white stripe. His suit seems a bit ill-fitting and doesn't quite match her dress.

I like the program as a whole, though quite often during it I noticed the large space between their bodies when in hold, and that when extending, their leg lines often don't match. But since they're going to get more competitive feedback this year, it'll be interesting to see how things go at Canadians.
 
Superb debut from Emmy Bronsard and Aissa Bouaraguia at JGP Czech Republic, currently in very narrow fourth place after the RD.

Their 56.04 score was only slightly lower than their 58.62 domestic score from Championnats, which is kind of impressive (maybe they should complain about being undermarked at Championnats, heh).
 
Superb debut from Emmy Bronsard and Aissa Bouaraguia at JGP Czech Republic, currently in very narrow fourth place after the RD.

Their 56.04 score was only slightly lower than their 58.62 domestic score from Championnats, which is kind of impressive (maybe they should complain about being undermarked at Championnats, heh).
Did these two skate last year? Can’t find any mention of them...
 
Bronsard/Bouaraguia finished in 4th place which is pretty spectacular given that she is just 13 and this is their first JGP season!

They really skated beautifully this week I only noticed them at que.summer skate and they really stood out
 
They really skated beautifully this week I only noticed them at que.summer skate and they really stood out
I first noticed them when the oniceperspectives Instagram posted a clip of their free dance over the summer, which was immediately very striking.

Coming so close to the podium in the first go is a real feat. Bronsard is a star; Bouaraguia is solid, but I think he needs to up his game a bit going forward.
 
Superb debut from Emmy Bronsard and Aissa Bouaraguia at JGP Czech Republic, currently in very narrow fourth place after the RD.

Their 56.04 score was only slightly lower than their 58.62 domestic score from Championnats, which is kind of impressive (maybe they should complain about being undermarked at Championnats, heh).

Just got around to watching them and echoing everyone else — Emmy IS a star. WOW!
 
Count me in on being impressed with Bronsard/Bouaraguia's debut, they could use a few more years on the JGP but Emmy is only 13 and her steps in the FD got marked level 4 while his were 2, really impressive at such a young age.
 
Emmy Bronsard is a star in the making. Their FD is adorable, even though I am starting to feel like The Greatest Showman is already getting overused. The floppy ponytail needs to go, though - while I was watching their FD, I kept getting scared that she was going to whip Aissa (or herself!) in the face with her hair. ;)
 
Superb debut from Emmy Bronsard and Aissa Bouaraguia at JGP Czech Republic, currently in very narrow fourth place after the RD.

Their 56.04 score was only slightly lower than their 58.62 domestic score from Championnats, which is kind of impressive (maybe they should complain about being undermarked at Championnats, heh).
She seems to be channeling her inner Tessa....now if he can learn a thing or two from Scott!
 
I'm very happy for Gilles/Poirier's first international win recently. However, I'm not impressed by either of Gilles/Poirier's program choices this season, which I find strange to say, because they've always been innovative and different. Perhaps, similar to Hubbell/Donahue, G/P may be emotionally and creatively exhausted after their previous competitively strenuous and chock-full of creativity seasons.

OTOH, I love the choices Weav/Po have made for this season. W/P are much improved and clearly more confident (I suppose particularly with V/M having left the scene). Interestingly too, W/P have chosen to forego the GP season in favor of taking a bit of a rest, right? And then gearing up for Canadian Nationals and Worlds. That might be a wise strategy for them. I doubt that either Gilles/Poirier or Hub/Don are interested in slowing their momentum and their hard fought for opportunities to grab medals and further establish themselves as top teams during this transitional season. Whereas W/P have a bit more GP hardware and may feel they have leeway to take a less busy competitive approach this season.
 
Not sure that a 26 city, across Canada tour is exactly “a bit of a rest” tho. :shuffle:
True but they do plan on perfecting their programs during the tour
So could be a tremendous asset to them.
No mileage issues there.
Meaning they will
Be performing them night after night.
 
True but they do plan on perfecting their programs during the tour
So could be a tremendous asset to them.
No mileage issues there.
Meaning they will
Be performing them night after night.
Well, yes, that was exactly my point in response to Aftershocks stating W&P were taking a bit of a rest and why I pointed out that they are doing a 26 city tour.
 
The tour is a great opportunity for them, however it does mean that they will be missing out on getting the feedback from judges that all the other teams will be getting this year.
 
Not sure that a 26 city, across Canada tour is exactly “a bit of a rest” tho. :shuffle:

True, but at least it's somewhat of a rest from the stresses of GP competition, albeit no rest from traveling and performing. :) I like W/P's approach and their programs this season. I had forgotten about their scheduled tour across Canada, so thanks for the reminder.

It could be that if the tour across Canada did not conflict with GP scheduling, W/P may have competed on the GP. But I think a break from GP is sometimes warranted. They can focus their energies on Canadian Nationals, 4CCs, and Worlds.
 
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With the JGP mostly done, and all the teams that will compete there having had at least one event, my thoughts turn to the eventual picking of who will accompany Marjorie and Zach to Junior Worlds this season. Junior nationals will obviously play a big part in that two, especially since the teams will have a few months to train -- which, for the newer teams especially, could conceivably lead to big changes the next time we see them (and also Fisher/Malette-Paquette, who presumably lost a fair bit of training time to whatever injury was keeping them out of the early JGP events, but still did pretty well on returning).

While it feels a bit unfair to say this, at this point I would have strong reservations about sending Fabbri/Ayer even if they finished second at nationals. Paul just seems error-prone at this point, and while the new partnership probably accounts for some of that, I would be much more inclined to go with the teams who haven't had those kinds of mishaps. And really, the only thing the #2 team is expected/needs to do is to finish at least tenth, which, combined with L/L's hoped-for podium placement would get another spot next year.

EDIT: Also, unrelatedly, Fisher and Malette-Paquette acquitted themselves well in Slovenia, especially given the aforementioned shortened prep time, but good Lord, they have the worst free program of any of the Canadian junior teams this season. I'm fine with doing a Les Miserables program, but (a) why are you using "I Dreamed A Dream", a quintessential solo number, as the main song, and (b) if you're going to do that, why use the Glee version that is a mother/daughter duet (notwithstanding that Lea Michele and Idina Menzel sound great)?
 
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Orihara & Royer won both the RD and the FD at Minto; and if I remember correctly, I believe she will be eligible to compete by Junior Worlds. The only teams O&R did not go up against at Minto were Bronsard & Bouraguia and Fisher & Malette-Paquette. We'll get to see how they do in their second events next week. D'Alessandro & Waddell are competitive in the free. Their question mark is the RD.

And really, the only thing the #2 team is expected/needs to do is to finish at least tenth, which, combined with L/L's hoped-for podium placement would get another spot next year.

At least 10th. OK, let's run the JGP Season's Best numbers.

168.12 Ushakova & Nekrasov (RUS)
166.52 Lajoie & Lagha (CAN)
165.63 Nguyen & Kolesnik (USA)
161.67 Shevchenko & Eremenko (RUS)
161.00 Khudaberdieva & Nazarov (RUS) (That's three Russian teams & therefore, the max at Junior Worlds, though someone else, of course, could make the team).
154.17 Kazakova & Reviya (GEO)
148.51 Gropman & Somerville (USA)
142.96 Demougeot & Le Mercier (FRA)
142.29 Popova & Byelikov (UKR)
141.60 Fisher & Mallette-Paquette (CAN)

Top-ten teams from last year's Junior Worlds not yet with a score on the table:
The Greens (USA)
Lagouge & Rahier (FRA)

Unlikely, as they are skating seniors, but not impossible:
Carreira & Ponomarenko (USA--though, of course, max of three U.S. teams)

Also France has a new team, Lopareva & Brissaud (she skated for Russia last season), who will likely be eligible by Junior Worlds; but France can only send two teams.

So . . . once again, as I said last season, I think the teams looking to make the top ten really need to be looking at defeating Popova & Byelikov. You don't know what's gonna really happen there with the U.S. or France; but you know you're going up against P&B for UKR. And they are just kind of a hover-around-tenth-place kind of team.
 
I love Ellie and Simon-Pierre, but I agree with @Colonel Green that their FD is a disaster. I would completely scrap the middle section (to "I Dreamed a Dream") and replace it with something else ("A Little Fall of Rain" or "A Heart Full of Love" or even "On My Own") entirely. The beginning and end sections are salvageable.

Is it just me, or does the hairstyle and dress she wears for this FD make Ellie look a lot like Alexandra Paul?
 
I like Fabbri/Ayer so much. Like there programs (esp first version), skating skills and they have good matching lines, but his mistakes .....
And next season he couldn't compete in juniors.
 

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