Thank you so much, canadablue! It's so much better than most exhibitions that competing ice dancers usually do. Really nice choreography, and they gave a great performance, especially Alexandra.
You're welcome,
lauravvv and
skatingfan04! It's really impressive how much content there is for a gala program. I wish more teams did difficult dance programs like these. I's why many of us are fans of the sport in the first place, we want to see more!
Looks like some people had trouble with the file - here it is on youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EADBq9R3YSQ
Clarie I think they have a different type of connection. Piper and Paul have a pretty good connection on and off the ice. It's a more youthful one.
I think what people mean by "connection" is important here. For many ice dance fans, connection is about the partners' ability to interact with and adjust to each other's movement so that they match and skate as an inseparable unit, rather than a more superficial characterization of how they "act" on the ice. There's actually an awesome quote by Mitch himself from a recent interview:
"“Movement and your ability to dance and have a connection with a partner and move with another person is vital, and it’s a lot of what makes up our sport and I think that’s incredible,” says Islam. “I know Alex and I both enjoy that aspect probably more than anything — the ability to have a connection and to be able to move as one is something that we both really enjoy, and it’s something that like I said has come naturally to us.”"
http://www.twofortheice.com/lifted-by-success-paul-and-islam-hold-to-foundations/
G/P do not have near the same degree of difficult interdependent movement that P/I do in their programs, they don't skate as one. So by this definition of connection, G/P are by far the inferior team. Some people seem to find their playful vibe entertaining, but that's just a preference, not a way to decide which team is better. Similarily, P/I's subtle romantic thing is exactly my cup of tea, but it's not why they should be beating G/P, and not what I would mean if I praised their connection.
While I agree that Paul is a superior skater I believe that Piper has a long long way to go. I enjoy Paul and Piper more but I can see that together Paul and Islam are a superior team. Unfortunately they have been error prone in the past excepting last year. Their FD at Skate Canada was just wonderful.
Even though it's kind of a moot point when both skaters, in theory, need to meet the criteria for the mark they receive, I'm curious what specific aspects of Paul's skating people think are consistently superior to P/I's? (Other than his back - do you mean his posture, or just the way he's built?) Perhaps he was better at one point in time, but P/I's smoothness and power have improved dramatically, and attempting to synch up with Piper for a few seasons hasn't done Paul's skating any favours.
While P/I had some spectacularly unfortunate injuries and errors up until last season, it's something that they've been steadily overcoming and shouldn't be something that counts against them going forward. (It may, in real terms, but reputation judging is supposed to be a thing of the past.) I also don't think G/P can be held up as a good example of consistency. They have routinely struggled to get their twizzle levels, often making visible errors in that element, and they've been blessed with their sloppy execution being ignored at certain competitions.
