Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir # 47: Come What May...

[yurokis40]

I predict victory for our team, this is not sochi 2.0 their Canadian Coaches Marie france and Patrice are on their side this time, they will have the same fire and intensity like they had in Vancouver plus I expect the Korean crowd to favor them over the French.

 

[lauravvv]

I predict victory for our team, this is not sochi 2.0 their Canadian Coaches Marie france and Patrice are on their side this time, they will have the same fire and intensity like they had in Vancouver plus I expect the Korean crowd to favor them over the French.

I am hoping, but the season so far hasn't indicated that.

 

[LeahMaria]

So, do you guys think that Scott and Tessa are a couple? I have seen them say in interviews that they aren't but they just seem so in love in their programs and my husband and I think they seem like the perfect couple, just like we are. Do you think they are just keeping it a secret?

I started following Scott and Tessa during their first Olympic Season in 2010 when they won the gold medal. Since that time they have always maintained that they are not a couple except on the ice; that they love each other as friends, and have the highest respect for each other’s talents, abilities, and work ethic, but they insist that they are not “in love.” Every once in a while when this comes up during an interview, they have thanked their fans for letting them know that the romance they portray on the ice seems real and they have said that this shows they have done their job. Sounds plausible, but who knows, really!

 

[pani]

I am hoping, but the season so far hasn't indicated that.

The worst thing is predermination. And if in other disciplins a lot off depend from your skating, not the same in ice dance.
I saw PC at ECh and they didn't show there best, but got WR. And honestly SD for me was dissapointed, they look much better on TV. In SD i prefer a lot off other teams and after saw them in Moscow can't get why VM were second in SD at GPF.

 

[lauravvv]

The worst thing is predermination. And if in other disciplins a lot off depend from your skating, not the same in ice dance.

Yes, that's really sad. The most talented ice dancers don't always have to "wait their turn" now, but predetermined results ( as long as the "anointed" team doesn't make huge mistakes) are still a real problem.

I saw PC at ECh and they didn't show there best, but got WR. And honestly SD for me was dissapointed, they look much better on TV. In SD i prefer a lot off other teams and after saw them in Moscow can't get why VM were second in SD at GPF.

I thought their SD looked much better at GPF than at Euros also on TV. I think the impression from this program depends a lot from the performance at the particular competition - and I don't mean technically, but the expression, the mood with which they skate it. While Tessa and Scott's SD is so well choreographed and interesting in itself that it is (or would be) interesting even when they are not fully "on" in their performance. While P/C have some good and captivating dance moves in their SD, their step sequences in particular don't look like anything special or interesting in terms of choreo to me, no matter how well skated. Which is strange, as Tessa and Scott, and also Hubbell/Donohue have such wonderful step sequences in their SDs.

Sorry for talking about P/C on this thread again, but I was not the one who started it this time (I don't mean you, pani).

 

[MR-FAN]

I thought their SD looked much better at GPF than at Euros also on TV.

Yep. Also Cizeron was sick at Euros

 

[Sonata]

I have a good feeling about Virtue and Moir. They look so FIT. They are exuding confidence. They LOOK like they should be two-time Olympic champions. And I can't get over how thrilled they look to be part of the team again. This is what the Olympics is about.

My bad feeling is only due to predetermination. Is Rogers truly going to be the USA judge???

 

[pani]

Yep. Also Cizeron was sick at Euros

So, what? They are very slow skaters compare to the others. I mean why they got WR for not even best skating?

 

[Debrah]

All indications suggest V/M will peak at the Olympics, while P/C seemed to have peaked at GPF, we will all just have to wait and see who delivers best on the day. Each team is truly the absolute, very best, in terms of what they each bring to the table; it is just a different flavor of great -- sort of traditional ballroom on ice but with modern, hip twist versus lyrical contemporary movement brought to the ice. Each approach has it own appeal to fans the world over. Gadbois school is simply filled with an embarrassment of riches; some like V/M have reached the zenith, become even more legendary, leaving a lasting legacy and rich body of work and are ready to move on to new challenges, others are just coming fully into their own rich potential's, perhaps destined to carry out the next epic battle of giants during the next quad -- P/C, H/D, other's are still actively cooking, a very promising yet tender crisp nouveau cuisine - S/F...

I think V/M 's experience as 2X successful Olympians + being generally viewed/admired as idols/icons by other dance teams, supported by legions of uber fans, as well as armed with 2 quality dances that have grown, changed and evolved over the season, has the best shot for Olympic gold, IMO, despite the GPF win by P/C and the supportive rah, rah, high Euro scores for visibly inferior performances. Why am I being stubborn and not falling into Euro vision for P/C supremacy? Because P/C are bringing a knife to a gun fight, granted it's a really big, shiny croc knife but V/M have turned in their .22 revolver, they upped it to a machine gun at their National's and I am betting by now they will instead be packing a really, really big, surface to air missile blaster to the O' games, that is going wipe out ALL other contender's weapons, not just P/C's Dundee knife. V/M understand you never show all your cards till the last hand, timing is everything in life -- peaking at the right time, showing GROWTH, still bringing something fresh in terms of actual performance on the day, going all in and fully in charge, is absolute to one's Olympic quest. I think they will yet surprise and shine brilliantly, come what may...

I think V/M this season have been playing an excellent, even brilliant, long game, letting the youngster's chase hard, letting them catch up, maybe lead for a bit, letting everyone chasing run out of gas while a superstar surge of perfection likely carries V/M to undeniable victory on the day!

I look at incredible yin/yang, man/woman interplay detail, lots of subtle nuances added each time out, hinting at the epic performances yet to come, that by opening day will allow even freeze frame picture perfection thru harmonious body line, perfectly expressed facial emotion, electrifying off the hook, male/female chemistry. We can expect theatrical performances each telling us a story of evolution, within the Latin SD and MR FD, by showcasing everything that Scott and Tessa have pushed themselves to learn and become as fully rounded, realized ice dancer's over the 20 years of skating together! I am betting on them to win gold over P/C's very pretty, lyrical free dance, Yeah I like P/C just gliding round, and round the ice, but why do they always use the same introspective, never changing type of impersonal connection, and as wonderful as that lyrical movement over the ice is; and I really do get how special and epic what they do is, and that it must be see live at the rink to fully appreciate it, still I am almost over it, I want to see growth, something more, from them whatever that more turns out to be. Maybe they will deliver it at this games, maybe not. BUT, I guess I am saying I prefer more variety. I want to see change not only from season to season but over the course of a season too. I have seen the P/C free dance program many times before -- season after season, and over the course of this season but thus far it's very much the same lovely movement over the ice, always delivered with the deeply introspective never changing facial expression, along with impersonal type of chemistry tween partner's each and every time and the last time at Euro's it had some miscues - maybe they are even getting a bit bored performing the same old, same old! The free dance is just performed to different music each season, truth be told, and there's nothing wrong with doing that in an Olympic year is a safe bet, esp., when they are the best team doing lyrical and as lot's of FSU folks clearly enjoy their status quo; go P/C! Thanks for providing some genuine competition for V/M to bring out their best selves yet!!! Myself I like a spicy variety that leaves me reeling from the vast journey of emotions, and jaw dropping awe, I feel, as I watch Scott and Tessa relate and respond to one another so expertly, always with blind trust, (Tessa flying backwards with blades on, while believing Scott will always catch her and him knowing she won't rip him to pieces while flying into him) each knowing the other partner will be there exactly where they should be for every step, leap of faith, twizzle, lift and dance spin, while mostly in dance hold - 2 complete fully realized, epic goose bump inducing performances, so come what may, they are forever ingrained and golden in my heart, what about yours? I am going to miss them so very much. But it ain't over yet folks, the fat lady still has to sing a few more times, and I am going to enjoy them and the battle of all these great superstar teams right till the very end...

 

[MR-FAN]

So, what? They are very slow skaters compare to the others. I mean why they got WR for not even best skating?

V/M still hold the SD world record

 

[pani]

V/M still hold the SD world record

On how many points? And in FD PC were very slow too, spin and lift didn't go with music in fast part, but again - best ever score. Is this about sport?
I saw SS SD this season and you know what? They were much better then PC early of this season.

 

[MR-FAN]

On how many points? And in FD PC were very slow too, spin and lift didn't go with music in fast part, but again - best ever score. Is this about sport?
I saw SS SD this season and you know what? They were much better then PC early of this season.

You can criticize their SD (I personally don’t like it), but you cannot fault their Moonlight Sonata

Don’t read too much into world records. V/M and P/C said at the start of the season that records are gonna be set and broken throughout the season.

And hate to say it again, but skating order is gonna be crucial, more so in the Team event than individuals (If both teams skate clean, whoever wins the team portion will win the Ice Dance gold)

 

[arakwafan2006]

I can’t even think about it. I can’t read the posts. I also can’t believe we are about to find out what’s in store for them. To me, this will be a great Olympics because at the top, anything can happen with the favorites. I’m terms of being a fan that’s a sore loser , dance is the only event that will be painful if my team doesn’t win. Tessa and Scott are my team.

 

[pani]

You can criticize their SD (I personally don’t like it), but you cannot fault their Moonlight Sonata

Don’t read too much into world records. V/M and P/C said at the start of the season that records are gonna be set and broken throughout the season.

And hate to say it again, but skating order is gonna be crucial, more so in the Team event than individuals (If both teams skate clean, whoever wins the team portion will win the Ice Dance gold)

I can post my opinion about what I saw on ice, sorry. They are too slow and this FD is too simple. This is how I saw this from arena.

 

[kittysk8ts]

I can post my opinion about what I saw on ice, sorry. They are too slow and this FD is too simple. This is how I saw this from arena.

Thank you for your feedback @pani. It is ALWAYS helpful to hear from those who were actually there.

 

[Shayii]

This news clip is interesting because of the practice clip spliced in. I think it was taken while they were reworking MR. The musical ending is the same as it is now, but the choreography is a bit different. www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3lq_xTyhcU
www.metronews.ca/sports/2018/02/01/olympic-preview-ice-dancers-virtue-and-moir

 

[MR-FAN]

This news clip is interesting because of the practice clip spliced in. I think it was taken while they were reworking MR. The musical ending is the same as it is now, but the choreography is a bit different. www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3lq_xTyhcU
www.metronews.ca/sports/2018/02/01/olympic-preview-ice-dancers-virtue-and-moir

... I prefer the ending from Nationals

 

[Shayii]

... I prefer the ending from Nationals

That’s the ending they’re sticking with the one Nationals. This one looks old like when the first started reworking or maybe the video was cut in a weird way. I don’t think they changed the Nationals ending.

 

[allezfred]

I can post my opinion about what I saw on ice, sorry. They are too slow and this FD is too simple. This is how I saw this from arena.

Must have been in a different arena than the one I was in.

 

[Alilou]

Must have been in a different arena than the one I was in.

@allezfred you and @pani each see through your own lens. I doubt either one of you is less biased than the other.

 

[Shayii]

I forgot to post this earlier when I saw it today. Zach Donahue talking about Tessa and Scott: http://mysticseasons.tumblr.com/post/170284227578/stars-on-ice-olympictalk-with-starsonice-what

 

[Zazy]

You can criticize their SD (I personally don’t like it), but you cannot fault their Moonlight Sonata

It's my least favourite of their FDs since their Gadbois makeover, and V/M's FD is very meh as well... certainly no choreographic masterpiece for either of them. To me, H/D have the best FD by a mile, which is interesting, considering they're #3 in their camp.

And hate to say it again, but skating order is gonna be crucial, more so in the Team event than individuals (If both teams skate clean, whoever wins the team portion will win the Ice Dance gold)

Have P/C confirmed that they're doing the team event? This isn't like Sochi where both US and Canada were medal contenders. France is unlikely to make the freeskate even with a 1st place SD from P/C, and they beat V/M last time they competed head-to-head. No reason to risk losing the SD a week before the "real event," with likely no shot at a comeback in the FD.

 

[MR-FAN]

Have P/C confirmed that they're doing the team event? This isn't like Sochi where both US and Canada were medal contenders. France is unlikely to make the freeskate even with a 1st place SD from P/C, and they beat V/M last time they competed head-to-head. No reason to risk losing the SD a week before the "real event," with likely no shot at a comeback in the FD.

True... But I don't think they'd want V/M to go "unchallenged" (for lack of a better word) in the team event. Judges can get super generous with the scores, and that won't bode well for P/C going into the main event

 

[allezfred]

@allezfred you and @pani each see through your own lens. I doubt either one of you is less biased than the other.

I never said I didn’t have biases, but Papadakis/Cizeron were significantly better than any of the other teams at Europeans. In all aspects of their skating. To suggest otherwise as @pani is doing points to the fact that she doesn’t have a clue about what constitutes good ice dance. It’s also very disrespectful.

I may critique Virtue/Moir’s programmes, but I would never post that they are weak skaters. Because that would not be true.

 

[MarieM]

So, what? They are very slow skaters compare to the others. I mean why they got WR for not even best skating?

OMG how can you even say that? This is so untrue pani. Sorry.

 

[lauravvv]

OMG how can you even say that? This is so untrue pani. Sorry.

Unfortunately I haven't been able to see P/C (and also Tessa/Scott) live, but what pani said is definitely not the impression I get when watching on TV/video. Of course, the impression from TV can be quite different from the impression one gets when watching live, but comparisons can still be made when watching videos from the same competition which are often also showing different skater's performances from the same camera angles.

I get how one who doesn't understand a lot from ice dancing can mistake skating to fast music and fast feet movements/steps for "fast" skating when watcging on TV/video, while disregarding skating to slower music with longer, "slower" steps and probably actual better ice coverage as slow skating. I think you are sometimes "guilty" of this too, MarieM. But I thought that shouldn't be a problem when watching live, as you can see the actual movement across the ice and the overall ice coverage so much better. Although I guess it's still possible to not take into consideration the means with which skaters achieve the speed/movement across the ics - whether it's with many fast crosovers and other simple steps etc., or with fewer long strokes and/or more difficult steps. Apparently, when one is really biased, nothing can prevent them from seeing everything the way they want to see it - whether watching on TV/video or live.


Sorry for not responding directly to you about this, pani. But, as I haven't seen P/C skate live, I have no wish to engage in direct arguments, especially as I am also primarily a Tessa and Scott fan.

 

[butyrskafanatic]

I predict victory for our team, this is not sochi 2.0 their Canadian Coaches Marie france and Patrice are on their side this time

Papadakis & Cizeron's main coach is Romain and Virtue & Moir's main coach is Patrice.

 

[elisa_p]

In Pani’s defense..if she feels they were slow at that competition than that’s her opinion and she’s entitled to that (as biased as that may seem). Lots of people have critized almost every aspect of V/M, D/W and pretty much every elite level skater out there. Was that all disrespectful as well? P/C are not exempt from this. As always..if one doesn’t agree than it might be best to ignore and move on because you’re never going to sway anyone’s opinion one way or the other. As always I assume this is all based on comments that are not personal attacks of skaters because that needs to be always called out period.

That said..getting back to Tessa and Scott..one more week and I can’t believe this is the end. I’m very nervous for them...I really want them to have the skate of their lives and for them to really enjoy this expirence.

 

[ohashibiles]

Virtue & Moir truly have the best Olympic record of all time whether it is a gold or silver in Pyengcheong. An Olympic Gold, an Olympic silver, an Olympic Team silver, and another Olympic Gold/Silver and Olympic Team Gold/Silver, nobody in the history of ice dancing comes close as far as the Olympics goes, not even Klimova & Ponomarenko or Gritschuk & Platov.

 

[ohashibiles]

V/M still hold the SD world record

and deservedly so. Just a splendid and enchanting SD complete with top notch technical difficulty and skills. Perfectly suited to their style and IMO a better vehicle for their skating than the Mouline Rouge FD even if I like that program also.