The Dance Hall 7: Tripping the Light Fantastic 2019-2020

[marbri]

The only two videos still working for me were SinKats and TiffJon.
Very strong debut for SinKats, felt the theme and lightness of the music was carried all the way through. Good program for them.
Felt the exact opposite for TiffJon. The junior CAN dance team had a very fun program to that soundtrack last year that I expected something much much better from a Senior team. Horrible edit and the choreography really missed an opportunity to use the music better to create something interesting. Wasted opportunity as on paper this musical choice for these two skaters should have been a slam dunk.

 

[Bigbird]

The only two videos still working for me were SinKats and TiffJon.
Very strong debut for SinKats, felt the theme and lightness of the music was carried all the way through. Good program for them.
Felt the exact opposite for TiffJon. The junior CAN dance team had a very fun program to that soundtrack last year that I expected something much much better from a Senior team. Horrible edit and the choreography really missed an opportunity to use the music better to create something interesting. Wasted opportunity as on paper this musical choice for these two skaters should have been a slam dunk.

Unfortunately I have to agree. K/A are not good at styling their teams and showing them off to their best. The sad thing is Tif and Jon have improved a lot but this program wastes their talent.

 

[Andora]

Just one of his knowledge gaps just like that ill-fitting lift at the end. They wouldn't dare use the Gene Kelly version. That would be for the likes of P/C and that really good team that Igor had in 1999. Their names slip me. But it fits them.

Do you meant Silverstein and Pekarek? I still LOVE this program nearly 20 years later.

Interesting to look back at Igor's Liz Coates years.

 

[dramagrrl]

Do you meant Silverstein and Pekarek? I still LOVE this program nearly 20 years later.

Interesting to look back at Igor's Liz Coates years.

A friend and I were talking about this FD (S&P's Tori Amos program) a few days ago and both agreed that it is one of two exceptional programs that Igor has ever produced. (The other was Punsalan and Swallow's tango FD in 1998.) Everything else Igor has choreographed himself has been either unremarkable or a rehash of something that was already unremarkable in its initial form (IMO). The Tori Amos FD is actually one of my favourite FDs of all time and when I watch Igor's work today, I almost always say in my mind, "I can't believe the same person produced that amazing Tori Amos FD!"

 

[RoseRed]

Kazakova & Reviya were due for an original piece of music after R&J and Carmina Burana. I am glad their team selected one. They lost because they had a Basic on their second pattern and a bunch of level 2s on the footwork sequences. (Same problems they had last season). Had exactly the same issues at the JGPF last year.

This was an important result.

So we have a win for Nguyen & Kolesnik, Shanaeva & Naryzhyy, & Khudaberdieva & Filatov. We have Ushakova & Nekrasov yet to skate. If they make it back, that's probably 4 JGPF spots. Two up for grabs?

I'm looking at the entry lists & Russia has shifted teams since I last checked. Khudaberdieva & Filatov have been assigned to Poland instead of Russia. (Nguyen & Kolesnik and Demougeot & Le Mercier are there). Davis & Smolkin are assigned to Russia with Shanaeva & Narizhnyy.

Kazakova & Reviya are signed up to compete against Ushakova & Nekrazov in Croatia. If Ushakova & Nekrasov show, K&R will probably be 2nd. So their most likely task is to outscore Davis & Smolkin and--to be on the safe side--Demougeot & Le Mercier, though Nguyen & Kolesnik and Khudaberdieva & Filatov could take D&LM out of the picture via placements. Kazakova & Reviya have over 5 points on Davis & Smolkin. I would expect the scores in Russia to be high, but 5 points is a lot in dance and K&R will have the last say in that battle.

I think France moves Demougeot & Le Mercier to Italy? Scores at the end are usually pretty high also. D&LM--who skated at home to start off--have 0.84 on Davis & Smolkin before D&S go skate at home in Russia.

I noticed that Andreeva/Desyatov were also moved from JGP Russia, and replaced with Zhukova/Karpov. They aren't currently listed for any events. That suggests to me that maybe they missed Lake Placid due to some sort of injury and not visa issues? I wonder if we will end up seeing them on the JGP.

 

[Dobre]

I noticed that Andreeva/Desyatov were also moved from JGP Russia, and replaced with Zhukova/Karpov. They aren't currently listed for any events. That suggests to me that maybe they missed Lake Placid due to some sort of injury and not visa issues? I wonder if we will end up seeing them on the JGP.

Yes, I think it was already implied in one of the Kiss & Cry threads that their issue was not visa-related. Considering how high A&D placed at Russian Junior Nationals last year, it does see like they would be listed somewhere if they were likely to be ready to compete. Though they are listed on the sub list for Italy (while Tarusina--whom we know is injured--is not).

 

[VGThuy]

I found the cover of 'In the End' that Kazakova / Reviya used quite weird and wish they'd go for the original. The choreography is really intriguing though.

I agree. I hate how so many contemporary female singers sound like that now, like trying to make an already great song sound "edgier" when to me it sounds sounds like she's trying too hard. I'm ready for a new style of singing to take over. I also liked parts of the program (especially the opening and choreo step) but wasn't a fan of the program as a whole. It seemed a bit too mature for them IMO. I didn't really buy it.

 

[Bigbird]

Do you meant Silverstein and Pekarek? I still LOVE this program nearly 20 years later.

Interesting to look back at Igor's Liz Coates years.

Yes. They had a quality. I still watch their dances.

 

[starrynight]

They wouldn't dare use the Gene Kelly version. That would be for the likes of P/C and that really good team that Igor had in 1999.

What’s so sacred about the Gene Kelly version of Singing in the Rain? As far as I can recall, skaters use it all the time? (I enjoyed Keegan Messing’s SP to it in the 2017-2018 season). Isn’t it basically a war horse? (Also my apologies if this is a joke that is going over my head I can never tell sometimes).

 

[deegee]

the s & k rd vid posted above was blocked for me, so in case that was so for others, here's an unblocked one i found

Виктория Синицина - Никита Кацалапов. Предсезонные контрольные прокаты по фигурному катанию

Смотрите ритмический танец в исполнении серебряных призеров чемпионата мира 2019 Виктории Синициной и Никиты Кацалапова в рамках предсезонных контрольных про...

www.youtube.com

i like this even more than the spanish team's grease rd! s & k pull of the light and fun theme so well... their expressions don't seem forced or cloying at all. good for them!

 

[escaflowne9282]

the s & k rd vid posted above was blocked for me, so in case that was so for others, here's an unblocked one i found

Виктория Синицина - Никита Кацалапов. Предсезонные контрольные прокаты по фигурному катанию

Смотрите ритмический танец в исполнении серебряных призеров чемпионата мира 2019 Виктории Синициной и Никиты Кацалапова в рамках предсезонных контрольных про...

www.youtube.com

i like this even more than the spanish team's grease rd! s & k pull of the light and fun theme so well... their expressions don't seem forced or cloying at all. good for them!

I hate that I like this. This is the second season in a row that they've done this to me with their RD.
Nikita actually has charm .

 

[deegee]

I hate that I like this. This is the second season in a row that they've done this to me with their RD.
Nikita actually has charm .

i feel this SO.HARD. (although i didn't really like the rd last year quite as much)

 

[bcash]

The current ending to this RD seems to be a placeholder, or at least I hope it is. Because is looks very much like their FD’s ending last season.

 

[Colonel Green]

Виктория Синицина - Никита Кацалапов. Предсезонные контрольные прокаты по фигурному катанию

Смотрите ритмический танец в исполнении серебряных призеров чемпионата мира 2019 Виктории Синициной и Никиты Кацалапова в рамках предсезонных контрольных про...

www.youtube.com

I can only imagine Nikita's rage when he saw that the camera was not focused on him in the opening.

Jokes aside, very nice program; a better fit than I would have guessed, honestly.

 

[vanillashake]

Wow they look improved even from last season! If there is a team who can improve enough to challenge P&C by 2022 it is definitely this team IMO.

 

[MarieM]

Well if they actually did any footwork, we could tell, but Nika&Vika don't have that at all.
Their FD ... the RD is good, the FD is last year without the content. Ah yeah, they used the "Hey, here is a veryyyy difficult lift" tactic. Same for all elements. What a waste.


Popova still can't skate, the RD is vulgar, the FD a disaster. Why ?
Tiff&Jon aren't ready, I don't like the RD, and the FD is too bland.

 

[vanillashake]

Well if they actually did any footwork, we could tell, but Nika&Vika don't have that at all.
Their FD ... the RD is good, the FD is last year without the content. Ah yeah, they used the "Hey, here is a veryyyy difficult lift" tactic. Same for all elements. What a waste.


Popova still can't skate, the RD is vulgar, the FD a disaster. Why ?
Tiff&Jon aren't ready, I don't like the RD, and the FD is too bland.

Wow you really are a grumpy cynical dance lover.

 

[casken]

Is there enough of a tempo/mood change in S&K's FD to satisfy that requirement? Does the requirement still even exist?

I actually liked the mood they created and it certainly felt more cohesive than last year's FD, but it did seem all on one level.

P&M's FD was a hot mess. I like them, but yikes.

 

[MarieM]

I mean it's still early, but those programs are at the moment a hot mess alltogether.

Popova hasn't learned yet how to become an ice dancer. I sure would love her to, because watching her on the floor is always a treat. Yet on the ice, she doesn't ice dance. I wonder why on earth would Krylova let them skate that program like that. It could be great, it falls flat AND vulgar. Something that I never thought possible after that RD of theirs, you can't top that. Yet, they DID!

Nikita still is the same. They're doing the easy twizzles, not steps into elements, but they disguise that with "WOW" tacticts. Won't work this season, their programs are not as well choreographed nor rehearsed. The RD is a killer, the FD too, but not in the same way. And I'm not sure about the tempo either.

As for T&J, I don't get the RD music at all. It's empty. The FD is Sweet Dreams without the moves or the interesting lifts, I know they had to take them out, yet the program feels flat at the moment. I don't have high hopes at all.

I got pissed watching (wasting my time watching) Tarassova&Morozov nightmare FP. Explaining the mood.

 

[Amantide]

Wow you really are a grumpy cynical dance lover.

That's why I love @MarieM she is like a Russian ballet old teacher at the Vaganova Academy.

 

[mjb52]

this thread has made me want to see what Shevchenko/Eremenko would do with a program to Tori Amos, I could see that really suiting them.

 

[chantilly]

S and K FD was ok. Their RD is much better. I do love the way he moves. I just wish he could sometimes harness his wildness just a bit. They just lack polish and control and finesse a lot of the time. There’s some lovely moments and elements but it just feels forced. But I do love their speed and attack. Having said that. I still prefer H and D, G and P and of course P and C. I think they have the political momentum though.

 

[clairecloutier]

I’m disappointed with S/K’s free dance. It’s so bland. I feel like they could do so much more than this. Dullsville. (Maybe it will grow on me?)

I like the “Survivor” concept for Tiff/Jon. I feel like the music cuts need some work though? The second song doesn’t come in until quite late in the program. And then you’re just getting into it when it suddenly switches back to “Survivor.”

 

[Wyliefan]

I had "Survivor" stuck in my head all evening. But I think I'll enjoy the program when they get it up to speed. At least it's not emo, thank God!

 

[hlp728]

I guess I may be in the minority, but I LOVE Popova/Mozgov’s FD and RD. They as a team, remind me of cult films (e.g. doesn’t appeal to the mainstream, unconventional, dash or heap of camp, sometimes a guilty pleasure for some). Their programs at times have moments of “it’s so bad, it’s good” along the lines of the movie Showgirls.

People are cracking me up with their comments about this Cabaret RD like “it’s vulgar”and their costumes are OTT. Have you watched the movie or broadway musical or even read the book they were based on? It’s supposed to be lewd, vulgar, campy, etc. Betina and Sergey have the Sally Bowles and MC characters down pact. Their costumes have similar traits to the movie and musical like the stockings; they definitely made it their own.

In the FD, Betina should where a catsuit similar to the body suits Freddie wore like the black and white harlequin print. It could look really cool in the rotational and stationary lifts with a print like that. Her dress kept getting in the way of the lifts and it just didn’t suit her or the program. They might as well go all out in this program, it’s their trademark/style.

Yes to more Tori Amos programs and add Kate Bush, Bjork, and Sade to the list of underutilized music in figure skating.

 

[Enchanted]

Betina can’t wear catsuits as I don’t think they are allowed in the FD. The girls have to wear skirts. IMO, this is a rule ISU should change but it probably won’t happen.

 

[Amantide]

She can use leather miniskirt on top. Like Isabelle Delobel did when they skated to The Untouchables.
I love that costume.

 

[happycamper2554]

I’m disappointed with S/K’s free dance. It’s so bland. I feel like they could do so much more than this. Dullsville. (Maybe it will grow on me?)

He had an injury so they were late to starting programs. I think it will grow and end up being better then last year's free. love the short already though.

 

[Ka3sha]

Yes, Zhulin said that they they stating working on new programs only in June since Nikita had an injury - doctors suspected a torn ligaments, but fortunately it was ‘just’ a sprain.
I absolutely loved their RD - they are light , fast, skating with ease and joy. And Victoria is shining in this program. I hope they will work on their stationary lift a bit more.
Don’t know what to think about their FD for now. It isn’t bad or hideous (thanks Zhulin), but it pretty blah. Of course the impression will change for better as the season goes , but with Worlds being in Montreal this year I’m not sure it will be enough for the podium.

 

[vanillashake]

I personally think the most truly interesting quad was 99-2002/2003. You had 4 or 5 significant medal contenders every year, and no one truly dominant team, but you had one team that was more consistently the one to beat and a major gold contender everytime where nobody else was everytime in Anissina & Peizerat. Fusar Poli & Margalio, Lobacheva & Averbuhk, Bourne & Kraatz all won a major title at some point. Drobiazko & Vanagas won a collection of bronzes at worlds, Europeans, GPF, even if they were never more than a bit contender.

The most open and competitive quad of all was probably 2003/2006 but it was almost a little too open to the point of insanity at times. The 2006 Olympics had literally 8 or 9 teams with a good chance to medal. Denkova & Stayviski went from a top 2 team for about 2 years to off the 2005 worlds and 2006 Olympic podiums, to winning the 2006 and 2007 worlds. Navka & Kostomarov were for the most part the dominant team, but after that lots of things flipped around constantly.

2007-2010 was interesting for dance standards too. The 2008 and 2009 World Championships each had a team winning since the alternate team wasn't there. Delobel & Schoenfelder really only won in 2008 since Domnina & Shabalin who were the heavy favorites missed by injury, but Domnina & Shabalin then won in 2009 only since Delobel & Schoenfelder who were the heavy favorites missed by injury. Both teams were off injuries and layoffs and badly subpar for the 2010 Games. Belbin & Agosto continued to be regular medal contenders but never winners. Virtue & Moir built through the quad to peak perfectly to dominate in 2010. Davis & White snuck up at the end to grab Olympic silver. Teams like Khohklova & Novitski, Faiella & Scali, Kerrs, Pechalat & Bourzat each took turns as bronze contenders, and a couple of them snuck out a major event bronze, and K&N a Europeans win.