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

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muffinplus

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I've really liked Guignard and Fabbri since I first saw them a couple of years ago...I really enjoyed last year's programs ( they even made overused La La Land charming). The new FD is definitely more original and less conventional choice, but I can't say I'm totally in love with it. But it's def. better than quite a few programs seen already. I think it might need to grow on me a bit...
 

lauravvv

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What's with the whole 70s/80s feel for the FDs this year??
To me Bowie is not 70s or 80s (especially a song from 1969 :lol:), to me he is above and beyound years or decades. But I would have wanted to hear only Bowie originals, yes.

At least Bronsard/Bouaraguia (Canadian juniors) have that in their FD, but the problem is that 'Space Oddity' has nothing to do with the other two Bowie songs they are using ('Fame' and 'Let's Dance') - neither musically, nor thematically.
 
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casken

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To me Bowie is not 70s or 80s (especially a song from 1969 :lol:

Oh I acknowledge I'm making a broad generaliztaion. There is just a weird feeling to a lot of these FDs I've seen so far that I don't know exactly how else to describe.
 

Wyliefan

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I think the costumes are hurting them a bit in the RD. Mack & Mabel doesn't scream sparkly tuxedos to me. They could really go all out with some sort of early movie diva costume for Piper. And they should play up the self-discovery angle of "Look What Happened to Mabel." I get that they're going for something that reflects the mood and the movements of silent film comedies, and that's a good start, but it needs more.
 
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casken

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On a positive note, Chiara Calderone was a nice discovery.

I was surprised when I found out that she was coached by Mauri and not Babs, since she has all of Babs facial expressions and mannerisms down pat. She also has almost Nobunari Oda-esque knee bend at times, so I'm a fan.
 

Bigbird

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I know FB fell today but that FD is just everything. The difficulty, the choreography, the passion the acting. I might as well just like what I like and not care about the placements.

EDIT: I hate to say this but to give Krylova a school was a waste of time. She has absolutely no taste, regardless. How could she dare give that garbage to Thauron and partner for a RD? I stand amazed. They need to find a new coach. She is clueless. Popova and Mozgov had better material with their previous coaches.
 
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Orm Irian

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Decry my taste if you must, but I thoroughly enjoyed G/T's rhythm dance. If there's a musical I was not expecting any ice dance team to even know about, let alone skate to, it would have had to be Daddy Cool, but they not only went with it, they brought it. It came off very well for so early in the season!
 

Dobre

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Wang & Liu's RD:

https://www.weibo.com/6361703010/I6TF68WMP?type=comment

OK, I think that's a pretty cute Chaplin number. I mean, of all the teams to start their program off with a line about "A Look-Alike Contest." Very nice lines. Nice unison. Does exactly what they need. Shows they are a well-polished team regardless of the height difference & pokes fun at it. Uses their own uniqueness as a strength. Costumes totally work.
 

dramagrrl

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I agree with the poster who said somewhere upthread that G/P's FD might work a lot better if they switched to the original version of "Both Sides Now", which is lighter and less... ponderous, for lack of a better word. Right now the music makes the whole program seem plodding, which is unfortunate because there are some nice moments of choreo in it - they just don't seem to go with the music the way the program is currently constructed. I also agree that the brown costumes need to go ASAP.
 
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casken

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The problem with G&P, and this for a few seasons now, is when they alternate conceptional, themed FDs (Willy Wonka, Hitchcock, Vincent) with stripped down "just them and the music" FDs (all the other ones) every other season, the more stripped down stuff is never as effective because they are relying more on their dance ability, rather than story telling, and that is not their (well her) strength. She doesn't have the greatest stretch or extension, either through her legs or her back and arms, so none of the positions she's hits really read. It always shows up in the compulsory sections of SD/RDs as well.

If you gave this same FD to P&C or even S&K, it probably would more effective simply based of the striking positions they can hit.
 

muffinplus

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I've now rewatched Guignard/Fabbri FD a few times... my overall impression is that it still seems .... strange :lol: to me, definitely not boring.. Not entirely sure what the idea of the program, but I appreciate that it's not run of the mill.
 
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Andora

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I was expecting the worst with G&P after reading this thread. :lol: While it now occurs to me the older-Joni/newer version of Both Sides Now would maybe be better for an exhibition in terms of mood, the program isn't so bad. Neither program was skated with any sense of confidence, so I'll try to keep an open mind as they get stronger. But I agree with many sentiments about the music edits + instrumental addition being... not great. And the ending sort of just happens like a quick death for a tertiary character.

I'm going to have to keep an open mind for a lot of programs this year. 😬 Nothing was skated particularly well this weekend, but I think G&F's FD looks like it could be great with more miles. FB&S I probably like because I adore them, but it still feels meh after their awesome flamenco. My ubers-in-training, Lajoie & Lagha, look like they could have a bananas RD, but that free... I hope it was just badly skated, though I do love that Zachary is stepping up and forward performance-wise.
 

barbarafan

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G/P's FD doesn't work at all and their RD isn't much better. I had such high expectations for their Mack and Mabel program, but it seemed too clown-y.

And is it just me or have the choreographic slides been underwhelming compared to last year's?
Compared to Gaddbois slides they were blah..unless they had a prob.in the middle that made it look bad..It seemed to me they almost stopped..I would have to go back and look again to be sure.
 

barbarafan

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I was actually including the Gadbois teams in those with underwhelming slides.
I will look again...Fear and Gibson I liked but I loved Fabbri/Ayer slides at championets Quebec. This is their first Gaddbois season but I liked their slides last yr as well. The are competing next week in Quebec again and I am interested in improvements.
 

Gris

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When you try very hard to recreate the magic from a previous program, the charm is probably lost in the process, which is what I think has happened to G/P's FD this year. It has a few nice moments but overall seems bland, and I agree that their costumes need a change. Hers looks okay to me but his is just :yikes:
 

maatTheViking

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When you try very hard to recreate the magic from a previous program, the charm is probably lost in the process, which is what I think has happened to G/P's FD this year. It has a few nice moments but overall seems bland, and I agree that their costumes need a change. Hers looks okay to me but his is just :yikes:

I agree as I was watching them I was thinking that it might work if he had either black pants or glittery shards on his pants too - it looked too much too me like was trying-but-not-trying to appear naked... or maybe that was just my screen but :yikes:
 

firstflight

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And this season we add another G/P initials team- Green/Parsons. I think the FD is actually a good vehicle for them to introduce themselves to the world. It was IMO one of the more entertaining and interesting FD’s from this past weekend.
 

VALuvsMKwan

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I think they will run out of ways to make choreo slide creative to be honest...

Reminds me of the lyrics to "Stereophonic Sound" from the musical "Silk Stockings" by Cole Porter:

It's not enough today to see a dancer at his ease,
He's got to throw his back out and come sliding on his knees,
He's got to have: glorious Russian ballet or Modern ballet or English
ballet or Chinese ballet or Hindu ballet or Bali ballet
or any ballet and stereophonic sound...and stereophonic sound.
 

Dobre

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I did say last season that I thought the choreo slide has the potential to be a rather short-term gimmick, and I do still think so. Having said this, however, I have also already mentioned on this thread that I really liked two slides from the first JGP event in France, both of which I thought fit the style of the programs and helped tell the stories the athletes were trying to tell. The major problem I see with a lot of choreographic slides is that they kill the skaters' momentum. And that can very easily lead to a hole in the program if you then have a stop or choreographic posing also and a choreographic spin . . . and choreographic footwork that only goes across the short axis of the ice. Anyway, you have to be careful about the construction of a program as a whole and keep the sense of speed & flow going. Use those choreographic elements as real highlights but make sure they don't turn into stoplights.

I liked Fear & Gibson's new choreo elements fine. I thought the final third of the program was entertaining (the part following the final music switch). The problem I had with their program is that the choreography doesn't really kick into the program until after they finish all the major elements. They are mostly focused on getting those elements done rather than "Striking a pose"--at least any interesting ones--when the music asks for it prior to the completion of those major elements.

Of course, I've only seen it once. And they will gain more confidence with the program throughout the season. But I did feel this was an issue with the choreography throughout the first two thirds of the program, and I do think the program as a whole is unbalanced at the moment. Better to have a strong ending and weak beginning than the reverse but still worth improving throughout the season, I think.
 

Dobre

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Ushakova & Nekrasov are off the lists for both events on the JGP.

Door is open for 1. the JGPF title and 2. a 6th spot into the final.

(Looks like Khudaberdieva & Filatov may be moved to Italy, which--if true--should even out the field among the current silver & gold medalists).
 

lauravvv

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Ushakova & Nekrasov are off the lists for both events on the JGP.

Door is open for 1. the JGPF title and 2. a 6th spot into the final.
A pity. It should have or at least could have been their season in theory. Of course, there is still a possibility of them returning with great success to the Junior Nationals and Worlds, but after missing the whole JGP season it becomes less likely.

But I think Nguyen/Kolesnik at least would have fought with U/N for the JGPF title anyway, so it's not like they would have been guaranteed that win.
 
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