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

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It frustrates me that they can’t at least tame Katsalapov’s twizzles. But S/K’s superior qualities over S/B are fundamental. Sinitsina is a much stronger skater and natural mover than Stepanova. Katsalapov is also a much better dancer than some people here give him credit for. There’s official BTS footage on YouTube of the whole competition and a close up really shows the classically elegant hands and arms that he is capable of. The clarity and intention is best of all male ice dancers today.
 
Dobre said:
Don't worry, @Eisfee. I'm sure you're not the only one. And I love reading your posts so keep sharing them:).

Not sure if this will help, but possibly:

I don't think the overwhelming sense of negativity on the boards that you're probably feeling really has much to do with S&K at all but is more of a knee-jerk trend that seems to happen on the boards 90% of the time a dance team climbs onto the World podium. In part because it is so hard to follow up a great set of programs with another set that people love equally, in part because maintaining a top-three spot at the World level is a different competitive challenge that athletes have to learn, and in part because "momentum" is just much harder to achieve when you are already top 3 in the World than when you are 4-8th and almost every outing can be seen as a climb. Teams that climb just need one surprise win to impress. Fans of teams that are already ranked top 3 find that their favorites are expected to win practically every portion of every competition every time out. Two completely different non-comparable standards.

Anyway, we all know that having your heart attached to a medal-winning dance team can be tough. As a Shib fan, I've experienced it. I've zero doubt that Hubbell & Donohue, Weaver & Poje, Cappellini & Lanotte, and Chock & Bates's biggest fans have experienced it. A lot of us in The Dance Hall know where you are coming from even if we are most emotionally attached to different teams.

In case it helps, a few techniques I've used:

1. Fan threads can be a beautiful safe place to go. A good place to celebrate without the negativity of people who prefer another team. And a good place to discuss what could make ones' favorites' programs stronger without worrying that one's thoughts may be misinterpreted.

2. It's always OK to skip the play-by-play. Whenever I have a favorite team competing, I'm always so nervous that I don't want to hear any negativity. Sometimes I'll just go into the play-by-play and try to pepper the thread with my positive thoughts without reading the other comments. (It makes for pretty nonsensical conversation sometimes, but at least it's positive nonsensical conversation, LOL). In any case, one can always go back & read the thread after the event is over and there is less stress.

3. I don't use the ignore feature, but I hear it's a lovely way to avoid negativity that always seems to come from the same direction. Another method is to just skip a page of discussion after a rough competition. This one I've definitely used;).

Anyway, this wouldn't be the Dance Hall without so many of us that have different opinions and love so many different teams!
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Thank you so much for this replay!
You are right and I will try to follow your words!!:-)
And by the way, I always like your posts here!! Have a nice day and enjoy the competitions today!!
 
I definitely don't have anything against Sinkats winning, they are much better skaters and even though they have their issues, every team does.
I hate how it's become so common to accuse teams of not deserving their achievements because of how they apparently are off the ice. Even if all those rumours about Elena and him leaving Canton are true, it doesn't change that they're an amazing team. As a long time CB fan, I get it, with the whole Emily thing, which was so ambiguous and no one will ever know the truth behind it, becoming an excuse for attacking them.
I think it's fine to point out teams weaknesses, but it shouldn't be rooted from things from their personal life, it should be based only on their skating.
 
bcash said:
It frustrates me that they can’t at least tame Katsalapov’s twizzles. But S/K’s superior qualities over S/B are fundamental. Sinitsina is a much stronger skater and natural mover than Stepanova. Katsalapov is also a much better dancer than some people here give him credit for. There’s official BTS footage on YouTube of the whole competition and a close up really shows the classically elegant hands and arms that he is capable of. The clarity and intention is best of all male ice dancers today.
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Respectfully I disagree. Sinitsina may be considered the better skater, but the better mover and performer is Stepanova and in my eyes their team is smart enough to construct programs so that this weakness is not as glaring as it was in the past. The skating skills of S/K appear better, because all they're doing is using their long powerful limbs to do progressives and cross overs. I also believe this is a matter of taste, a genuine style preference. IMHO, the FD as skated yesterday was in no way superior to S/B, it was pedestrian. On almost every lift there was a wobble or shake, the effort was visible and he as usual barely contained the twizzles. That's how I saw it yesterday. Bukin has progressed enormously. IMHO, he now has the better posture and extension and artistry. Nikita is good in practice but in competition he is sloppy and he was sloppy yesterday and they also wobbled on their slide. All of TATs extra PR in the past really turned me off from these two, but what was done to them yesterday was really below the belt. OTOH, T/M have superior skating skills say some, but they had a visible error on their combination. Our pairs champions may not have the same skating skills, but they were on fire today, they were slightly wobbly on their combination but they held it together with great artistry and cleaner elements, they earned that victory even though they were 3 points behind. S/B earned their gold, they were only 1.3 points behind and even with all the visible errors S/K made they put them in second. Nah, respectfully, that gold medal is fake news.
 
Ka3sha said:
I loved I/K as a team, love Elena and Nikita as ice dancers, but the time had shown that these two deserved each other.
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More like time will show him using all of his eight years to get to the place he and Elena were at in 2014. In truth I see an immature and vulnerable young girl (she was only 16 when they went to Morozov and Nikita was much less mature than his tossed out of Michigan days), without the protection of a father, without any family, which is vital in a patriarchal society like Russia, sandwiched between a tempermental and egotistical young man and a sexual predator. IMHO, she did well to get out when she did. The real pity is that there are or were few talented male ice dancers in Russia.
 
Bigbird said:
More like time will show him using all of his eight years to get to the place he and Elena were at in 2014. In truth I see an immature and vulnerable young girl (she was only 16 when they went to Morozov and Nikita was much less mature than his tossed out of Michigan days), without the protection of a father, without any family, which is vital in a patriarchal society like Russia, sandwiched between a tempermental and egotistical young man and a sexual predator. IMHO, she did well to get out when she did. The real pity is that there are or were few talented male ice dancers in Russia.
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Let's just not go there, please.
 
Ka3sha said:
Let's just not go there, please.
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Not a problem. Over and out.

TBH, I want to go forwards. I truly am impressed by some of the up and coming Junior Russian ice dancers and really look forward to their development once this quad is over. I'm also curious to see how Dennis Samhokin (spelling may be wrong) will develop as an ice dance coach, the pool of successful coaches seems rather limited at the moment.
 
I am happy to see Stepanova & Bukin gaining some love after Russian Nationals and bringing in a great crowd reaction at home😍. I don't think it was perfect, but I think that their programs are gaining strength from the late start to their season and that they really attacked this competition. This is such a great time of year as a dance fan to see teams kicking up the performance level.

I also thought that Shevchenko & Eremenko did a really good job at Nationals--skated about as well as they could have done and kudos for a gritty debut season in which the road was not easy, the improvement was consistent, and they did their job.

Nice to see Zagorski & Guerreiro back on track and throwing their hats in the ring for what I think could be a very tough battle among maybe 5? teams for those final three spots in the Worlds top ten.

And kudos to Sinitsina & Katsalapov for coming back from a disappointment at the GPF and dealing with the very tough task of defending a National title with one of your closest rivals at your elbow. That's a big challenge and also a pretty significant learning experience.
 
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Also, here's a 'behind the scenes' video from Day#2 at Russian Nats. It features top ice dancers warming up in the ballroom, coaches reactions and Skoptsova/Alyoshin rooting hard for Tiff/Jon :)
www.youtube.com

Золото Синициной и Кацалапова и первое чемпионство Алиева: за кадром ЧР-2020

Яркая и эмоциональная борьба за золото чемпионата России в танцах на льду не оставила равнодушных. А в соревнованиях мужчин все решили ошибки. Виктория Синиц...
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com
 
Ka3sha said:
coaches reactions and Skoptsova/Alyoshin rooting hard for Tiff/Jon :)
www.youtube.com

Золото Синициной и Кацалапова и первое чемпионство Алиева: за кадром ЧР-2020

Яркая и эмоциональная борьба за золото чемпионата России в танцах на льду не оставила равнодушных. А в соревнованиях мужчин все решили ошибки. Виктория Синиц...
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com
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I was so touched at S/A & the coaches giving them so much support, and even more touched by how the whole rink seemed to be behind them.

I seems everyone wanted a happy ending after last season's train wreck FD.

Tiff said it really helped, as she was understandably incredibly nervous, especially as they were going into the FD in exactly the same position as after last season's RD, same ranking, same points gap with 4th place and even starting in the same place in the rink. She said "I was so nervous, but I wanted it badly so I made it happen"
 
taz'smum said:
I was so touched at S/A & the coaches giving them so much support, and even more touched by how the whole rink seemed to be behind them.

I seems everyone wanted a happy ending after last season's train wreck FD.

Tiff said it really helped, as she was understandably incredibly nervous, especially as they were going into the FD in exactly the same position as after last season's RD, same ranking, same points gap with 4th place and even starting in the same place in the rink. She said "I was so nervous, but I wanted it badly so I made it happen"
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Saw that and was touched too. I am so over the moon for Tiff and Jon!
 
Per GS, Chris Reed has retired.

The link posted as the source is here (in Japanese):
https://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20191231-00000057-jij-spo

I saw Chris & Cathy live for the first time at the 2009 Worlds and Chris & Kana at 2016 Skate America. Kudos for a full career in the discipline! 12 seasons at the international senior level. 11 trips to Worlds. His bronze medal with Kana at the 2018 Four Continents Championships was the first major international medal by a dance team representing a country from Asia.
 
Muller & Dieck win their first German Nationals title. The battle between these three dance teams in Germany has been one of the closest the last couple seasons. I have to hand it to M&D both for coming through the transition up to seniors and coming back from a tough season last year. Four silver medals at Nationals. Missed out on Europeans during the Olympic season when the German champions pulled out at the last minute. A huge transition to move to Russia for coaching last year, and M&D really struggled. (Maybe in over their heads with the programs). This season, switching to Krylova, dialing it back a bit, and skating a solid season. Anyway, they win the title and win a pretty tight season-long battle for the spot at Europeans. The berth at Worlds is still to be determined.

Lots of movement in European ice dance at the National level this season, in Germany, Spain, France, Great Britain, & Italy. Muller & Dieck, Smart & Diaz, Galyavieva & Thauron, and Urban & Steffan (now Janse van Rensburg & Steffan) all defeating teams they lost to last season. Ditto for the British & Italian junior national champions.
 
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I was randomly browsing through USFS Fanzone and it looks like that McNamara and Carpenter have switched back to their 2017-18 FD music for the rest of the season.

Lorraine McNamara and Quinn Carpenter - Figure Skating - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone

Lorraine McNamara and Quinn Carpenter (57) Feb. 18, 1999 | Feb. 24, 1996 - CAREER ACCOMPLISHMENTS World Junior champions (2016) World Junior silver medalists
usfigureskatingfanzone.com usfigureskatingfanzone.com

2019-20 SEASON NOTES
RD Music: "It Was a Good Time" and "Maybe This Time" by Liza Minelli
FD Music: “Anime Contro Vento” by Medialuna Tango Project
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Oh! That's interesting. I had really thought they might go back to last year's program, but this is a surprise. I like the tango FD. It's very them and highlights their strengths at storytelling and drama. Plus, of course it has been longer since we have seen it. It's a bigger technical revision challenge than going back to last year's program though. They will have to make all those post-Olympic season changes to meet the new rules.
:GnP1:🍀
 
Nikolaj Sorensen posted this update today re. his knee injury/surgery (back on 12/16/19):

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www.instagram.com www.instagram.com
 
Do people think they could still go to Worlds and maybe 4cc if they're ready? They're Canada's 2nd best team and I'm sure they could get a medical bye if they are ready to go.
 
I hope they might be ready for worlds, and I’m sure they’d get a medical bye. That said, I’d much rather then take all the time they need for his knees to properly heal and rehab. It’s not worth it to wreck an ice dancer’s knees. Remember Shabalin and his way too quick return to the ice?
 
heartyxo said:
Do people think they could still go to Worlds and maybe 4cc if they're ready? They're Canada's 2nd best team and I'm sure they could get a medical bye if they are ready to go.
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4CC is too close, but it sounds like they're hoping for Worlds. No doubt that Skate Canada will send them if they're ready, based on the season they've had to date.
 
Sylvia said:
16 ice dance teams from 7 countries for 4CC (preliminary entries were published yesterday):
http://www.isuresults.com/events/cat03109432.htm
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I'm happy that Fukase & Cho were added:) .

Also always glad to see more 4CC dance teams! Though technically 7 countries are represented, but I think the athletes are really only from 5? (Min & Eaton are both from the U.S., and I don't know where Maxine Weatherby was born but Yerzhanov's bio says he is from Palm Beach). If Sorensen makes it back for 4CCs, that would be 6.
 
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