The Dance Hall 6: We're All Off Our Rockers 2018-2019

[starrynight]

Yes seems like the rumours they were moving to Gadbois are unfounded. I think they are better served by staying with Morozov. I wonder what Ksenia is doing with Morozov?

 

[Ka3sha]

Yes seems like the rumours they were moving to Gadbois are unfounded. I think they are better served by staying with Morozov. I wonder what Ksenia is doing with Morozov?

According to Mozer, Ksenia went to NY for her leg treatment in the middle of May

Zahorski/Guerreiro are working with Christopher Dean on their new program(s)
https://www.instagram.com/jonathan_guerreiro91

 

[Emilia12]

From Andrei Bagins instagram. Looks like Weaver and Poje are still working with Morozov.

https://instagram.com/p/Bjcy_a-j1tg/

That's good! Wise decision

 

[supergirl573]

Yes seems like the rumours they were moving to Gadbois are unfounded. I think they are better served by staying with Morozov. I wonder what Ksenia is doing with Morozov?

Don't worry, she's too old for him.

 

[barbarafan]

Not really surprising after all the various rumors about where they might or might not be going.

I wondered because his wife seems to be having a great time in Moscow so I thought he was there but have now seen him in US with his daughter so I guess he is available. No telling though who they will use for chorea.

 

[Dobre]

Ice Dance Drama Post-Olympics 2018 Update


New Teams:
Galayavieva & Thauron (with Krylova).
Abachkina & Shchepytov (with Shpilband), rumored to be competing in juniors for France
Konkina & Vakhnov (Training with Liapina)
Wagret & Souquet
Chen & Sun
Alicia Fabbri & Ayer
Galiyanova & Lochhead
McIsaac & Circelli

Splits:
Lorenz & Polizoakis (She retired. He is on IPS).
Abachkina & Thauron
Pogrebinsky & Benoit (He retired. She is on IPS)
Polishchuk & Vakhnov.
Mysliveckova & Csolley
Biechler & Dodge
Konkina & Yakushev
Mansour & Ceska
Garabedian & Proulx-Senecal (She is on IPS)
Lopareva & Karpushov (He is on IPS)
Chen & Zhao
Song & Sun
Stairs & Royer
Fabbri & Pietrantonio
Wagret & Couryas (He is on IPS)
Damuleviciute & Kizala
Galiyanova & Tang
Han & Lochhead
McIsaac & Graham (He retired)
Taileffer & Chan (He is on IPS)
Giglava & Yegorov (He is on IPS)
Broker & Thayalan (He is on IPS)

Retirements:
Agafanova & Ucar
Robledo & Fenero

Not Competing the 2018-2019 Season:
Shibutanis

Coaching News:
Krylova is coaching in Russia.
Camerlengo working with Shpilband. Also will be working with Krylova during the summer.
Chock & Bates going to Montreal.
Hawayek & Baker going to Montreal.
Popova & Mozgov moved to Krylova.
Loboda & Drozd moved to Krylova.
Greg Zuerlein moved to Wheaton.
Komatsubara & Koleto moved to Montreal.
Maxim Stavisky is working with Krylova & Volkov.
Mueller & Dieck going to Gorshkov (Sounds like for their part-time training base outside of Germany)

Other News:
Carreira & Ponomarenko are moving up to seniors.
Lajoie & Lagha attended Skate Canada’s “Next Generation” camp (which seems to imply they are staying in juniors, at least for the JGP).

Note:
-I have taken both Polishchuk & Yakushev and Daria Drozd & Kizala off the new teams list for now. They were both identified as teams in the tango photo from Krylova’s camp; however, Yakushev and Drozd have both remained on Ice Partner Search and have both updated their profiles since the photo was shared. I will add them back onto the list if we have further evidence that they are confirmed teams. Just let me know.
-Cocca & Pietrantonio are also off the list as he is back on Ice Partner Search.

 

[aftershocks]

I enjoyed Sarah Rasher's rundown of the 16 best dance programs for 2017-18 season. There were so many wonderful performances, she had a hard time stopping at 16, and that's an increase to six additional from last season's 10. Included on her list are some performances I hadn't seen. It's great looking back and seeing performances I loved and as well as the ones I missed. Wow, what a discipline!

Soucisse/Firus did not make Sarah's list for either SD or FD, but the remarkable McNamara/Carpenter did for their very accomplished 4CCs FD (which the judges rated only 4th behind H/B, Soucisse/Firus, and Muramoto/Reed). So it's not about judges' scores, it's about the performances that move you the most:
http://thefinersports.com/2018/05/16-great-ice-dance-performances-of-2017-18/

Standouts on this list for me (aside from V/M, P/C, H/D) are Coomes/Buckland, Zahorski/Guerreiro, Hawayek/Baker, McNamara/Carpenter, Gilles/Poirier, Carreira/Ponomarenko, Stepanova/Bukin, but every choice is worthy and worth watching again. Rasher had such lovely and instructive things to say about all the skaters and their performances.

I was surprised to see Rasher's reference to H/D's program as somehow celebrating 'rape culture,' even though the program's execution (especially at Worlds) is just so raw, emotional and great that Rasher still has it on her list. For me, the program and the funky music is just about badass Madi and Zach rockin' it out and rising to the competitive challenges and obstacles they've faced in stellar fashion.


Also, I wondered who might have seen the PBS documentary on Ice Dance International (it premiered in April 2018 and it's currently still showing on some stations). I haven't seen it yet, but here's the trailer with a lot of familiar faces:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkyXd6aRl3E (Edward Villella, John Curry, Brent Bommentre, Ryan Bradley, Jean Luc Baker, Kaitlin Hawayek, Judy Blumberg, Dorothy Hamill, et al)

IDI's 2016 program promotion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toNBVv1Z-po

Edward Villella: "Skaters are heroes. They are willing. They are just so amazing, and they love what they do... The point is to keep adding to and seeking your potential."

 

[Dobre]

Ice Dance Drama Post-Olympics 2018 Update

New Teams:
Galayavieva & Thauron (with Krylova)
Abachkina & Shchepytov (Rumored to be competing in juniors for France)
Konkina & Vakhnov (Training with Liapina)
Wagret & Souquet
Chen & Sun
Stairs & Graham
Orihara & Royer
Alicia Fabbri & Ayer
Galiyanova & Lochhead
McIsaac & Circelli

Splits:
Loboda & Drozd
Lorenz & Polizoakis (She retired. He is on IPS).
Abachkina & Thauron
Pogrebinsky & Benoit (He retired. She is on IPS).
Polishchuk & Vakhnov
Mysliveckova & Csolley
Biechler & Dodge
Konkina & Yakushev
Mansour & Ceska
Garabedian & Proulx-Senecal (She is on IPS)
Lopareva & Karpushov (He is on IPS)
Chen & Zhao
Song & Sun
Stairs & Royer
Fabbri & Pietrantonio (He is on IPS)
Wagret & Couryas (He was on IPS. He is off it now).
Damuleviciute & Kizala
Galiyanova & Tang
Han & Lochhead
McIsaac & Graham
Taileffer & Chan (He is on IPS)
Giglava & Yegorov (He is on IPS)
Morrison & Rokachev (She is on IPS)
Broker & Thayalan (He is on IPS)

Retirements:
Agafanova & Ucar
Robledo & Fenero

Not Competing the 2018-2019 Season:
Shibutanis

Not Competing the GP for 2018-2019:
Weaver & Poje (They plan to be back for Nationals)

Coaching News:
Krylova is coaching in Russia.
Camerlengo working with Shpilband. Also will be working with Krylova during the summer.
Chock & Bates going to Montreal.
Hawayek & Baker going to Montreal.
Popova & Mozgov moved to Krylova.
Greg Zuerlein moved to Wheaton.
Komatsubara & Koleto moved to Montreal.
Maxim Stavisky is working with Krylova & Volkov.
Mueller & Dieck going to Gorshkov (Sounds like for their part-time training base outside of Germany)

Other News:
Carreira & Ponomarenko are moving up to seniors.
Lajoie & Lagha are staying in juniors, at least for the beginning of the season.

 

[mollymgr]

Ice Dance Drama Post-Olympics 2018 Update

New Teams:
Galayavieva & Thauron (with Krylova)
Abachkina & Shchepytov (Rumored to be competing in juniors for France)
Konkina & Vakhnov (Training with Liapina)
Wagret & Souquet
Chen & Sun
Stairs & Graham
Orihara & Royer
Alicia Fabbri & Ayer
Galiyanova & Lochhead
McIsaac & Circelli

Splits:
Loboda & Drozd
Lorenz & Polizoakis (She retired. He is on IPS).
Abachkina & Thauron
Pogrebinsky & Benoit (He retired. She is on IPS).
Polishchuk & Vakhnov
Mysliveckova & Csolley
Biechler & Dodge
Konkina & Yakushev
Mansour & Ceska
Garabedian & Proulx-Senecal (She is on IPS)
Lopareva & Karpushov (He is on IPS)
Chen & Zhao
Song & Sun
Stairs & Royer
Fabbri & Pietrantonio (He is on IPS)
Wagret & Couryas (He was on IPS. He is off it now).
Damuleviciute & Kizala
Galiyanova & Tang
Han & Lochhead
McIsaac & Graham
Taileffer & Chan (He is on IPS)
Giglava & Yegorov (He is on IPS)
Morrison & Rokachev (She is on IPS)
Broker & Thayalan (He is on IPS)

Retirements:
Agafanova & Ucar
Robledo & Fenero

Not Competing the 2018-2019 Season:
Shibutanis

Not Competing the GP for 2018-2019:
Weaver & Poje (They plan to be back for Nationals)

Coaching News:
Krylova is coaching in Russia.
Camerlengo working with Shpilband. Also will be working with Krylova during the summer.
Chock & Bates going to Montreal.
Hawayek & Baker going to Montreal.
Popova & Mozgov moved to Krylova.
Loboda & Drozd moved to Krylova.
Greg Zuerlein moved to Wheaton.
Komatsubara & Koleto moved to Montreal.
Maxim Stavisky is working with Krylova & Volkov.
Mueller & Dieck going to Gorshkov (Sounds like for their part-time training base outside of Germany)

Other News:
Carreira & Ponomarenko are moving up to seniors.
Lajoie & Lagha are staying in juniors, at least for the beginning of the season.

Is Krylova a city in Canada too?

 

[Dobre]

Is Krylova a city in Canada too?

Sigh. That reminds me that I have to edit out the "Loboda & Drozd moved to Krylova" line.

Falling in love with young dance teams:

 

[mysticchic]

@Dobre You forgot Weaver and Poje sitting out season (at least GP).

New news. ISU is now seeding, P&C, H&D and C&B as top 3. C&B is either just starting training or will start training in the next 2 weeks, so I think they will be doing the later GPs. Which means H&D will be at early ones (SA,SC or CoR) and PC at France/CoR/Cok (might be spain).

 

[RoseRed]

@Dobre You forgot Weaver and Poje sitting out season (at least GP).

New news. ISU is now seeding, P&C, H&D and C&B as top 3. C&B is either just starting training or will start training in the next 2 weeks, so I think they will be doing the later GPs. Which means H&D will be at early ones (SA,SC or CoR) and PC at France/CoR/Cok (might be spain).

I'm not sure that C/B wanting later GPs will supersede what P/C want as World champs. For example, I would not be surprised at all to see them go for NHK and IdF (4th and 6th). P/C are only back to training at the beginning of July, so later may also be better for them. And NHK always likes to go for the big names, and skaters tend to like competing in Japan.

In that case, C/B will likely have to do one early GP. The only other option would be H/D doing SA and SC back to back, which I don't really expect. Then you could have something like H/D with SA and the CoC replacement, C/B with SC and CoR, and P/C with NHK and IdF.

 

[Debbie S]

Then you could have something like H/D with SA and the CoC replacement, C/B with SC and CoR, and P/C with NHK and IdF.

That's what I would expect too, unless H/D want to do both North Am GPs to cut down on travel. I assume this means C/L are retiring, or at least sitting out the fall?

I guess the 4-6 seeds will be G/P, Bukin, Z/G?

 

[Dobre]

@Dobre You forgot Weaver and Poje sitting out season (at least GP).

I didn't. It's under the heading "Not Competing the GP for the 2018-2019 Season." The section right under the one about the Shibs "Not Competing the 2018-2019 Season."

If Cappellini & Lanotte elect not to skate the GP and Chock & Bates are seeded number three plus choose to compete the GP season, they will get whatever's left over. The same as they did in 2016-2017 when they had to skate back to back in Canada & Russia. Being seeded #3 is often not fun. But if Papadakis & Cizeron want SC or Hubbell & Donohue want it & feel like skating back to back (seems unlikely but maybe not impossible depending on what happens with the question-mark GP), then it's possible C&B could have later events. And if they aren't ready for SC, then they aren't ready for SC. I'd say at this point being healthy is the important thing.

 

[Dobre]

Someone was asking about Evgeni Platov recently, and I cannot remember which thread; but fyi, Andrew Torgashev is quoted in the U.S. men's thread as saying that Platov was one of his choreographers--along with Scott Brown--for Andrew's short program this season.

 

[VGThuy]

Maia Shibutani took part in the KPMG Women's Leadership Summit and on the main panel event at the 54:00 mark, Maia confirms she's going for 2022. I am assuming Alex is as well, .

^^^ You can watch Maia at the KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit 2 ways:

Via Periscope: https://www.pscp.tv/w/1dRKZgWlYLrGB

Facebook Live archived stream: https://www.facebook.com/LPGA/videos/vb.43279105683/10155348399765684/?type=3&theater

ETA:

This was the main panel event, moderated by NBC's Dan Hicks (starts after the 17-minute mark): https://www.pscp.tv/w/1mnxeoBajmQGX

 

[Spun Silver]

Maia Shibutani took part in the KPMG Women's Leadership Summit and on the main panel event at the 54:00 mark, Maia confirms she's going for 2022. I am assuming Alex is as well, .

Did she say "I" instead of "we"??

 

[VGThuy]

Did she say "I" instead of "we"??

Dan Hicks leads the question and addresses Maia. He says "Maia, you have your eye on..." she finishes the sentence and says "2022" to which Hillary Knight gives her a fist bump and Nancy Kerrigan has this impressed reaction, claps and says "wow!" and Hicks continues with "a third Olympics" as Maia is all smiles.

 

[Dobre]

Kudos to Maia for speaking at the summit. If the interviewer asked her what she has her sights on and she answered 2022, I'd say it tells us what she has her sights on. (She does love to skate). Whether Alex is on the same page, I'd think, will be up to him to tell us when & if he's ready. (My guess would be that he hasn't decided either way). In any case, they both looked to be enjoying themselves on the ice in the clips I've seen from their heroes & legends practices & appearances in Japan.

 

[Spun Silver]

It's hard to believe he wouldn't be with her on something so important. JMO but I think they've decided. Very good news indeed!

 

[VGThuy]

I really think he has to be on board because I don’t know if she’ll compete with anybody else.

 

[Dobre]

Oh, I don't think she would compete with anyone else. I just think she might still have her sights on convincing Alex.

 

[RoseRed]

Oh, I don't think she would compete with anyone else. I just think she might still have her sights on convincing Alex.

That's conceivable. Especially since there is a bit of an age difference, he could be less decided.

 

[nuge]

Who is Betina Popova's former partner skating with now please?

 

[Dobre]

Who is Betina Popova's former partner skating with now please?

Vlada Solovieva & Yuri Vlasenko competed together last season.

2018 Russian Nationals
Short Dance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZF1EoewWuo
Free Dance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s5rOJOysbw

 

[Dobre]

All right! So the lists are out. Thoughts everyone?

Mine:

McNamara & Carpenter and Nazarova & Nikitin are both scheduled for Skate America. I have tickets.

Competitive-wise, I'm thinking Internationaux de France will be interesting with Papadakis & Cizeron, Gilles & Poirier, Sinitsina & Katsalapov, Hawayek & Baker, and Popova & Mozgov. Final GP spots on the line.

And the battle in Finland looks interesting: Chock & Bates, Stepanova & Bukin, Guignard & Fabri, Hurtado & Khaliavin, McNamara & Carpenter, Popova & Mozgov, Carreira & Ponomarenko.

So are Mansourova & Ceska going to skate together after all? They are on the list. But so are Garabedian & Proulx-Senecal, despite the fact that she is on IPS.

Gilles & Poirier did not get an easy draw.

 

[believed]

I’m excited that Car/Pom got two spots!

 

[Dobre]

Japan threw away their third dance spot again. Even though they didn't give it to Fukase & Tateno last year, I thought they might give it to F&T this season after the young team met their world minimum scores late last season.

 

[levineismine]

Happy for a lot of the lower ranked teams to make their GP debut!
I wonder who will make the GPF along with H/D, C/B and P/C.
I would think S/B will be in, possibly G/P but their assignments are very competitive. G/F could have a shot but also have competitive fields. Other contenders are H/B, Z/G, maybe S/K?

 

[Dobre]

Don't know. Someone's going to nab a 2nd place at SA and NHK. (No one except Hubbell & Donohue at SA has ever medaled on the GP before. And outside of Papadakis & Cizeron, only Hawayek & Baker at NHK have ever medaled but not since 2014). Zagorsky & Guerreiro have both SA and NHK so the easier combination of fields on paper, but that doesn't always turn out in real life.

And just because a team has the tough fields doesn't mean they can't nab the highest plausible spots in both.

Or that one of the contenders to make the GP cut won't surprise for a win that will essentially guarantee a berth. Or that a contender to make the cut won't benefit from having someone above them withdraw.