The Dance Hall 9: Bring the Bling or No Beijing 2021-2022

[Fadeevfanboy]

Nikita has said that he needs back surgery and they want to continue after the back surgery is done. Wouldn’t it make more sense for their future careers to get the surgery as soon as they get back to Russia so they have more time to recover and can miss less of next season?

Ah well, what do I know. It would be near impossible to keep three spots with StepBuk and Diana Davis. StepBuk are looking at fourth, at best, behind the French and two American teams. Can Diana Davis place ninth? Probably not. They were 14th at the Olympics. They’re never beating the top six teams, and I doubt they can beat teams like F-B/S, F/G, S/D, or H/B (at least they shouldn’t be beating them)

Yeah Russia has NO chance at 3 spots without S&K come to think of it.

 

[Andora]

Laurence Fournier Beaudry has some serious arms.

I loved KMT's IG story about her and Nikolaj being "Milk Bags" on the couch, and Laurence being a real athlete in the living room. Her physique is astounding. You could see her six-pack peeking out in her RD costume.

I would never want to go to a coach who doesn't even bother going to the Olympics to support her team! WTF?? She thought being in the commentary booth was more important than her coaching job?

To be fair to Carol Lane (which is not like me...) only one coach could go to the olympics, so Juris made sense.

But she never seems to travel with them if she has an opportunity to commentate? That seems strange considering how dedicated she's been to Paul over his career. And I don't know how I'd feel about that as a skater considering them as a coach.

I have gotten the impression over the years that Carol and Juris don’t want to take direct competitors of Piper and Paul.

Anyone else they have taken on have been ranked quite a bit lower.

It will be interesting to see what they do when Piper and Paul retire.

And I think that decision has actually worked AGAINST Piper & Paul. G&P, imhvo, would have benefitted from training with more teams at their level to push them. Lane & Razgulajevs had a definitive hierarchy in their school, and I wonder how that works for their other teams.

With Piper & Poirier retiring, they will atleast be the Lanes #1 team, unless someone new comes in. That should help them. Although I am not convinced the Lanes are that good anyway.

Bold mine - agreed. Their interesting choreography seems a necessity more than anything. Now with an IAM campus in Ontario, I'd like Scarborough ice dance school to sharpen up, or they could see dwindling returns.

Plus, I'm not convinced S&F will be their top team while Juris's son is still competing.

 

[Fadeevfanboy]

Plus, I'm not convinced S&F will be their top team while Juris's son is still competing.

Ooops I forgot that element. Definitely will have a personal agenda there.

S&F's career has seemed doomed from the moment the Danadians started competing for Canada, and they lost their first meetings with Lajoie & Lagha by small margins, which only balooned from there. I applaud them for continuing and trying, but ugh.

 

[CassAgain]

I still remember Worlds in 2003 in the US. The atmosphere was really unpleasant for some of the skaters in the ice dance competition. It really brings down the atmosphere as a whole IMO. Whereas, for example, 2000 in Nice, A/P got their standing Os and there were some jeers for F-P/M (not cool), but the Italians got a much more enthusiastic response in general compared to some of the pairs in Washington.

Shen and Zhao got a great reception in pairs, so maybe the programs just didn't connect with the audience.

 

[Fadeevfanboy]

Shen and Zhao got a great reception in pairs, so maybe the programs just didn't connect with the audience.

That is very possible but there was a strong NA propaganda pushing the idea Bourne & Kraatz were the greatest thing to hit ice dance since Torvill & Dean, and weren't winning everything simply due to bloc judging. It was similar to the NA propaganda for Sale & Pelletier in the pairs, except even more unjustified as B&K were even less competitive/deserving of being the top and dominant team than S&P were. So with this being their final worlds and everyone there badly wanting them to win; for the record I was glad they won this year, and do think they deserved it as Lobacheva & Averbuhk's program this year was a horror show. I can imagine the crowds were less than pleasant to any competitive European team. The 98 worlds in Minneapolis was even worse as NBC and CBC had pushed the ridiculous idea Bourne & Kraatz were the biggest victims of judging ever, and didn't just waltz to the Olympic Gold due to bloc judging. There was bloc judging going on in Nagano but B&K were not even close to the biggest victims (that would be teams like Punsalen & Swallow and Drobiazko & Vanagas).

 

[Debbie S]

I still remember Worlds in 2003 in the US. The atmosphere was really unpleasant for some of the skaters in the ice dance competition. It really brings down the atmosphere as a whole IMO. Whereas, for example, 2000 in Nice, A/P got their standing Os and there were some jeers for F-P/M (not cool), but the Italians got a much more enthusiastic response in general compared to some of the pairs in Washington.

I was there and thought the audience was pretty enthusiastic. Yes, it was pro-B/K but I thought it was respectful to everyone, including all Euro teams. I do remember when L/A were introduced to polite applause and they skated out to their starting position and everyone was quiet, Averbukh looked out at the audience and started clapping his hands to presumably try to get more applause. I thought that was kind of obnoxious...just skate your program, dude.

 

[skatingguy]

I still remember Worlds in 2003 in the US. The atmosphere was really unpleasant for some of the skaters in the ice dance competition. It really brings down the atmosphere as a whole IMO.

I don't see anything particularly unusual about the audience reaction. I think this has become more skating urban legend that the 2003 audience was cruel to the skaters they didn't like.

 

[LeafOnTheWind]

I was at 2003 Worlds and I didn't notice anything off either. Lobacheva and Averbukh had a program that was intended to be North American friendly and it wasn't. I didn't get any anti-Russian vibes. It was just confusion and polite applause at the end.

 

[Fadeevfanboy]

They might have reacted volatilely had they won, which would have been bad, but since it didn't happen we will never know.

I do think the 98 crowds were much worse then 2003. Especialy in the dance event. So I don't feel 2003 should be singled out in anyway.

Also the 2001 crowd in Vancouver was much worse, in the dance event anyway, than 2003. They walked out en masse and had a protest from the stands when Bourne & Kraatz did not medal, even after their sloppy FD with badly out of sync twizzles at the end that should have dropped them to 5th easily, but still kept them in 4th and missing the bronze by .1 somehow. I do think their SD at those worlds was undermarked mind you, but the crowds there were horrid, super biased and nationalistic, and much worse than 2003. They were also awful during the pairs event.

I was so glad when Bourne & Kraatz retired as the North American delusion on them was through the roof, and talk from idiotic NA fans of dance judging not being corrupted and rigged would never end until B&K retired. North American fans at the time honestly thought they should have been the Virtue & Moir of that era, as comical as that sounds today.

 

[thvu]

I was so glad when Bourne & Kraatz retired as the North American delusion on them was through the roof, and talk from idiotic NA fans of dance judging not being corrupted and rigged would never end until B&K retired. North American fans at the time honestly thought they should have been the Virtue & Moir of that era, as comical as that sounds today.

There are still fans today that believe Riverdance should have medaled in 98!

 

[escaflowne9282]

There are still fans today that believe Riverdance should have medaled in 98!

Well, all of these years later, it finally won silver in Beijing!

Vindication!

 

[manhn]

I did a marathon in Nagano two years ago (actually 3), which took you along various Olympic landmarks. After I passed the White Ring, I lowered my head somberly. I ain't ashamed.

 

[Fadeevfanboy]

I will I admit I loved watching Riverdance. But it would have been an absolutely fabulous exhibition number. The kind you tour with for years as pros and use in galas often. Not a great competitive number with all that side by side skating and barely any real dancing. And their original dance at those Games was almost a junior dance, so it is moot.

 

[VGThuy]

L/A’s rock n roll FD in 2003 Worlds was lucky to get any applause. What an awful program from two people who didn’t know how to dance to American music.

That said, I do think the crowd still felt fired up about 2002 and the ISU’s corruption in general. Every time Chinquanta made an appearance, the arena busted out booing him.

But you know who got loud applause there? Navka/Kostomorov. I always suspected that after the FD, the crowd wanted them to medal over Denkova/Staviski because D/S’s program was a bit slower, strange, and not as crowd friendly while N/K zoomed across and had choreo the crowd enjoyed. Zhulin wasn’t so bad back then…and it helped his teams weren’t vying for gold either.

 

[Bigbird]

Rewatching the FD, I've got to say Zorro was stellar. Must be my favourite FD of the night. Zorro and of course Picasso from the IAM school. Diaz must be pretty proud.

 

[I❤️Marina&Sergai]

Has anyone seen the Canadian team, coached by Carol, and their Spice Girls RD? It is amazing!!

Do you have a link?

 

[I❤️Marina&Sergai]

L/A’s rock n roll FD in 2003 Worlds was lucky to get any applause. What an awful program from two people who didn’t know how to dance to American music.

That said, I do think the crowd still felt fired up about 2002 and the ISU’s corruption in general. Every time Chinquanta made an appearance, the arena busted out booing him.

But you know who got loud applause there? Navka/Kostomorov. I always suspected that after the FD, the crowd wanted them to medal over Denkova/Staviski because D/S’s program was a bit slower, strange, and not as crowd friendly while N/K zoomed across and had choreo the crowd enjoyed. Zhulin wasn’t so bad back then…and it helped his teams weren’t vying for gold either.

I remember that programme and it was really good, there were times with N/K and P/B that Zhulin or someone in his team came up with some great material, know everything seems to be only half done.

 

[Bigbird]

I remember that programme and it was really good, there were times with N/K and P/B that Zhulin or someone in his team came up with some great material, know everything seems to be only half done.

I'm beginning to think it depends on the talent.

 

[firstflight]

Can anyone translate what Maksym Nikitin lowered his mask to say to the TV audience upon receiving their scores in the FD? From someone who can only understand the tone, it seemed like he could be commenting on something other than the scoring.

 

[Karen-W]

Sounds like StepBuk plan on staying in for another cycle...

Ivan Bukin on Instagram: "Олимпийские игры это незабываемые эмоции и опыт, мы очень рады что смогли все это испытать и пережить! Будем делать все чтобы вернуться в эту атмосферу ещё раз🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼"

14K likes, 333 comments - ivan_bukin_ on February 19, 2022: "Олимпийские игры это незабываемые эмоции и опыт, мы очень рады что смогли в...".

www.instagram.com

 

[cocotaffy]

Of course they would with other teams moving on possibly S/K too they will be reaching for that podium. They are as young as P/C and can definitely go for another 4 years plus they still have major improvements to do especially her but they seem to finally get onto that SS issue of hers lately so should be interesting. I never cared for them but the first half of their FD this season was the first time I saw something artistically truly interesting from them.

 

[Fadeevfanboy]

If all the teams retire or take a break who we think will the main medal contenders at worlds next year will be Chock & Bates, Guignard & Fabbri and Stepanova & Bukin.

 

[cocotaffy]

Are Piper and Paul retiring too ?

 

[NinjaTurtles]

Ice dance’s latest thrupple doing a pattern step.

 

[Colonel Green]

Are Piper and Paul retiring too ?

They haven't said explicitly, but everything points that way.

 

[Fadeevfanboy]

Are Piper and Paul retiring too ?

They seem more obvious to than either Papdakis & Cizeron and Sinitsina & Katsalapov at this point.

 

[dancing_on_ice]

Canada might struggle to keep three spots this year if S/K go to Worlds. If they go, the best that G/P can hope for is 5th, and F-B/S were beaten by S/D at the Olympics. To keep three spots, F-B/S will need to be 8th, and that will be difficult. They were beat by S/D at the Olympics, and with no withdrawals, the best they can hope for is 8th.

If S/K withdraw, the job gets easier, but a lot of things would still need to go right for Canada. G/P are in the same tier of skaters as S/B and G/F, and spots 4-6 could really be in any order between those three teams. F-B/S will still need to beat S/D to guarantee three spots.

 

[Former Lurve Goddess]

And I think that decision has actually worked AGAINST Piper & Paul. G&P, imhvo, would have benefitted from training with more teams at their level to push them. Lane & Razgulajevs had a definitive hierarchy in their school, and I wonder how that works for their other teams.

I've always thought that Bourne & Kraatz's career trajectory was hampered by having no high level training mates to push them (until they joined the Tarasova/Morosov camp for their final 3 years), along with having no high level competition at home Canada. Being a big fish in a small pond tends not to lead to Olympic podiums.

 

[wickedwitch]

Important news: there is a female speedskater named Marina Zuyeva.

 

[Dobre]

Think these are not normal times, due to covid, and it is possible that all these teams will skate at Worlds; but also think the drop-out effect prior to a post-Olympic Worlds is typically a gradual process & that it is too early to know who will still be on the entry lists in a month.