Junior Rhythm & Free Dance

[Yuri]

I am here! One of the benefits of working from home as a self-employed consultant.

 

[PRlady]

Easy for me to say, on the couch at 5:45 PM with an ice pack (rough dental work today.)

 

[Karen-W]

Guess I’m the only one here for the FD. Whatsamatter you gotta work or something?

I should be driving to work right now, but I went out to my car and discovered the driver side front tire is completely flat, sooooo, I've decided to work from home instead and will hopefully be able to get it fixed after work today.

 

[Wyliefan]

Hope the pain goes away soon, @PRlady.

Ben is quite chatty, but I don't really mind it; he's very educational.

 

[skipaway]

Carhart could be Levito’s little sister.

 

[Wyliefan]

I love both Carhart/Bledsoe's and the Fugates' FDs. Such creativity in the junior ranks.

 

[PRlady]

I wasn’t paying attention to who’s who and watched that FD thinking this little girl is a pleasure to watch. Now I remember I really liked one of the older sisters who was on the JGP.

 

[Allen]

I just saw the flag jacket people without their jackets...wonder what happened there?

 

[her grace]

Stapert/Korotcov

Much better twizzles than in RD, skating with nice maturity, curve lift looked a bit uncomfortable but managed, strong edges and lifts, good comeback

 

[her grace]

That is not a great FD score

 

[Allen]

That was an enjoyable first group

 

[TanithandBenFan]

I wish they’d put the total FD score on the screen before the total overall score. I do enough math at work lol.

 

[PRlady]

Igor has four Junior teams here? Hmmmm. Maybe a comeback for him after years of utter IAM dominance.

 

[her grace]

IAM hasn’t ever dominated the U.S. junior dance scene

 

[her grace]

Deych/Hu

Got a bit far apart on twizzles, fantastic unison, he’s looking a lot more visible in the choreo than earlier this season, would love to see them develop consistency as their technique and basics are outstanding

 

[Karen-W]

Igor has four Junior teams here? Hmmmm. Maybe a comeback for him after years of utter IAM dominance.

Eh... We've seen successful junior coaches whose teams struggle with the transition to senior success - especially in the US.

 

[her grace]

Feige/Middlekauf

Nice twizzles, could use more surety in the steps and turns, lots of flexibility for her, a few spacing issues, nice musical engagement

 

[kwanfan1818]

It's been a while, but unlike Kiliakov, for example, Spilband has had teams that made the transition to senior success.

 

[PRlady]

And the award for fugly costumes in this event is won easily by this team.

 

[her grace]

Fischer/Fischer

Now those are some one foot turns nice speed, I want more expression and presenting of the elements, twizzles got off sync, cool hydroblade move

 

[Lizziebeth]

And the award for fugly costumes in this event is won easily by this team.

Both are bad and they are a total mismatch together

 

[her grace]

Vaclavikova/Lissauer

Nice twizzles, missing some of the unison that the teams who’ve been together longer have, nice basics, impressive lifts, good choice of music that doesn’t demand speed but lets them breathe and float through the dance

 

[PRlady]

My goodness, I’m with Ben. What a lovely, mesmerizing dance. I’ve heard of William with another partner but not her, they are a team to watch.

 

[HaNguyen]

The team of Vaclavikova/Lissauer is really good. Aboian/Veselukhin may have some competition next year.

 

[TanithandBenFan]

Really love what Melissa and Denis have going on in their camp. V/L are such a good match. Just need to work on William’s posture and attention to detail.

 

[her grace]

My goodness, I’m with Ben. What a lovely, mesmerizing dance. I’ve heard of William with another partner but not her, they are a team to watch.

She skated for Slovakia and was a part of an impressive JGP team there. I was sad they split.

She’s a better size match for Lissauer, though, than Renzi was, and I’m excited to see how they develop under G/P.

ETA: checked out her bio: I didn’t know she’s the sis of Lukas Vaclavik, who represents SVK and Tadeas Vaclavik who represents CZE in men.

 

[Yuri]

I also agree with Ben that Aneta and William skated a mesmerizing program! Totally agree with the judges that they have the best free dance among the first two groups and deserve to lead going into the final warm-up group. They put some pressure on the almost tied 3rd and 4th place couples to skate clean and maintain their medal positions. Another team to watch for Team Melissa and Denis in Newington CT!

 

[HaNguyen]

I wonder if Aneta should start applying for US citizenship now so that they can be available for the Olympics in 2034.

 

[Spikefan]

Glad I chose to take the train rather than drive to St. Louis, I get to watch skating. Really enjoyed the first two groups.

 

[her grace]

Excited for final group! Everyone there but A/V are looking for first junior national medal (Deych/Hu earned pewter last there, but being in 2nd with 4 to go—it would be difficult to repeat).

U.S. has 3 spots for Jr Worlds. A/V and R/R are BOW favorites having both qualified for JGPF this season. Last spot is up for grabs. I don’t believe anyone in Sr will be chosen this year. USFS doesn’t always follow straight jr national results so JGP performance(s) could come into play for the decision-making process, and Kouevi/Homawoo struggled there. C/Z finished 5th in their one event. Deych/Hu’s best finish was 4th. V/L haven’t competed internationally yet as she had to sit out after representing Slovakia last season.