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

[thvu]

Changes I actually agree with...

The technical committee has defined a max ratio for the Free Dance in terms of the required rhythm/tempo change - 3:1 max. A max of 75% of the Free Dance can be done to one expression/rhythm/tempo. This ends up being more limiting, but this was necessary after the technical committee removed the 2nd leveled step sequence from the Free Dance (the two had to be skated to different rhythms/tempos).

There's also the Kaganovskaia/Angelopol rule for the Choreographic Steps - teams can now touch "the ice with any part of the body with controlled movements". So, teams can now perform "slides" as part of the choreographic steps and it won't count as a fall. I think this is a good, needed change.

And now I'm seeing a Flores/Tsarevski rule . There's no longer a distinct Combination Dance Spin. There's just a Dance Spin performed on "one foot or with change(s) of foot by one or both partners". I like the greater flexibility - it was nonsensical to have rules governing combination dance spin vs. dance spin when the general requirements were changed so that they had the same requirements for levels.

 

[Colonel Green]

There's also the Kaganovskaia/Angelopol rule for the Choreographic Steps - teams can now touch "the ice with any part of the body with controlled movements". So, teams can now perform "slides" as part of the choreographic steps and it won't count as a fall. I think this is a good, needed change.

Yeah, that’s an obvious case of somebody breaking a rule and thereby calling into question the necessity of the rule. I see no reason you shouldn’t be able to do a slide in the sequence.

 

[VGThuy]

I'm so livid with these changes that I cannot even articulate my anger at the moment.

 

[Belsornia]

Interesting decision some of the junior teams have to make now about moving up. I hope they don't feel pressured to have to move up right away, as most haven't had a regular season of learning the ins and outs of competing as favorites with the pressure & expectations that entails. On the other hand, the post-Olympic year is always a good year for getting in on the GP as more experienced teams not only retire but also take time off and/or take more time to get longterm injury issues dealt with, etc.

Does anyone have a list of which junior teams age up?

Post-Junior Worlds I was also wondering what the junior field will look like next season, so here's my list of teams' eligibility. As you say, interesting decisions for some teams. As well as the US and Canadian teams, I wonder about Lim/Quan and Kudryavtseva/Karankevich. If they stay junior, they could well be in the mix for JWC medals, but they have no domestic competition so if they move up they would almost certainly get to Euros/4CCs and Worlds.

⦁ Oona Brown / Gage Brown (USA) - 2 more seasons (junior eligible through JWC 2024)
⦁ Natalie d'Alessandro / Bruce Waddell (CAN) - 1 more season (junior eligible through JWC 2023)
⦁ Nadiia Bashynska / Peter Beaumont (CAN) - 1 more season
⦁ Katarina Wolfkostin / Jeffrey Chen (USA) - 2 more seasons - but maybe moving up since they've already done a split season
⦁ Darya Grimm / Michail Savitskiy (DEU) - 3 more seasons (junior eligible through JWC 2025)
⦁ Hannah Lim / Ye Quan (KOR) - 1 more season
⦁ Angela Ling / Caleb Wein (USA) - ageing up
⦁ Angelina Kudryavtseva / Ilia Karankevich (CYP) - 3 more seasons
⦁ Celina Fradji / Jean-Hans Fourneaux (FRA) - 3 more seasons
⦁ Phebe Bekker / James Hernandez (GBR) - 1 more season
⦁ Eva Bernard / Tom Jochum (FRA) - 2 more seasons
⦁ Nao Kida / Masaya Morita (JPN) - 3 more seasons
⦁ Elizabeth Tkachenko / Alexei Kiliakov (ISR) - 3 more seasons
⦁ Olivia Oliver / Joshua Andari (POL) - ageing up
⦁ Tatjana Bunina / Ivan Kuznetsov (EST) - 2 more seasons
⦁ Giorgia Galimberti / Matteo Libasse Madelli (ITA) - 1 more season
⦁ Mariia Pinchuk / Mykyta Pogorielov (UKR) - 2 more seasons
⦁ Anna Simova / Kirill Aksenov (SVK) - 1 more season
⦁ Kayleigh Maksymec / Maximilien Rahier (SUI) - 2 more seasons
⦁ Yulia Lebedeva-Bitadze / Dmitri Parkhomenko (GEO) - ageing up
⦁ Denisa Cimlova / Vilem Hlavsa (CZE) - 1 more season
⦁ Jillian Prever / Agahan Dortkol (TUR) - 2 more seasons
⦁ Anita Straub / Andreas Straub (AUT) - 4 more seasons (junior eligible through JWC 2026)
⦁ Reka Leveles / Balazs Leveles (HUN) - 4 more seasons

And teams who competed on the 2021-22 JGP but weren't at Junior Worlds:
⦁ Katerina Mrazkov / Daniel Mrazek (CZE) - 2 more seasons
⦁ Isabella Flores / Dmitry Tsarevski (USA) - split (she's ageing up and looking for a new partner, he's no longer skating )
⦁ Miku Makita / Tyler Gunara (CAN) - ageing up
⦁ Solene Mazingue / Marko Jevgeni Gaidajenko (EST) - already moved up
⦁ Leah Neset / Artem Markelov (USA) - 3 more seasons
⦁ Nicole Calderari / Marco Cilli (ITA) - split (she's ageing up and looking for a new partner)
⦁ Sofia Lukinskaya / Danil Pak (KAZ) - split (he's looking for a new partner, looks like she's retired)
⦁ Sofia Val / Nikita Vitryanyuk (ESP) - split (both looking for new partners)
⦁ Alyssa Robinson / Jacob Portz (CAN) - ageing up
⦁ Emma Goodstadt / Michael Barsoum (CAN) - 2 more seasons
⦁ Hailey Yu / Brendan Giang (CAN) - 3 more seasons
⦁ Noemi Tali / Stefano Frasca (ITA) - ageing up
⦁ Chaima Ben Khelifa / Everest Zhu (CAN) - 2 more seasons
⦁ Arina Klimova / Filip Bojanowski (POL) - 2 more seasons
⦁ Dea Kuparadze / Danila Saveliev (GEO) - 2 more seasons
⦁ Karla Maria Karl / Kai Hoferrichter (DEU) - 1 more season
⦁ Chloe Nguyen / Alec Roueche (CAN) - 1 more season
⦁ Louise Bordet / Thomas Gipoulou (FRA) - 3 more seasons
⦁ Lila-Maya Seclet-Monchot / Martin Chardain (FRA) - 1 more season
⦁ Gina Zehnder / Beda Leon Sieber (SUI) - 3 more seasons
⦁ Sofiia Dovhal / Wiktor Kulesza (POL) - 3 more seasons
⦁ Lou Koch / Ivan Melnyk (FRA) - 4 more seasons
⦁ Katica Kedves / Fedor Sharonov (HUN) - 2 more seasons
⦁ Lika Bondar / Artem Koval (UKR) - 4 more seasons
⦁ Sophia Bushell / Alex Lapsky (GBR) - 2 more seasons
⦁ Maya Benkiewicz / Nicolas Henault (FRA) - split (she's now skating with Mark Shapiro, previously ISR)
⦁ Myroslava Tkachenko / Andrii Kapran (UKR) - 3 more seasons
⦁ Lucie Lauria / Antonin Emo (FRA) - 3 more seasons
⦁ Natalia Pallu-Neves / Jayin Panesar (GBR) - 1 more season
⦁ Barbora Zelena / Jachym Novak (CZE) - 3 more seasons
⦁ Corinna Huber / Patrik Huber (AUT) - ageing up
⦁ Daniela Ivanitskiy / David Goldshteyn (FIN) - 1 more season
⦁ Vasilisa Ahramenka / Alessio Surenkov-Gultchev (GBR) - split (she's switched to pairs)

 

[Dobre]

Thank you, @Belsornia, for that lovely, thorough update.

 

[Colonel Green]

As well as the US and Canadian teams, I wonder about Lim/Quan and Kudryavtseva/Karankevich. If they stay junior, they could well be in the mix for JWC medals, but they have no domestic competition so if they move up they would almost certainly get to Euros/4CCs and Worlds.

Arguably the fact that they have no pressing competition also means there's no rush. I wouldn't give up the JGP when there's little chance anything beyond Challengers in the first half of the season; next season they can win some more medals, build WS points, and be better-positioned to move up and have two full seasons at senior before they have to think about trying to qualify for the Olympics.

Lim & Quan were fourth in the free dance and just a hair off fifth place overall. I feel like they're following the Fear & Gibson path of emphasizing the entertainment factor.

 

[Dobre]

Teams that qualify for a guaranteed GP berth based on the 24 top SB scores (not excluding anyone based on retirements, splits, or the potential of remaining banned):

Papadakis & Cizeron 229.82
Hubbell & Donohue 222.39
Sinitsina & Katsalapov 220.51
Chock & Bates 216.83
Stepanova & Bukin 213.20
Gilles & Poirier 210.97
Guignard & Fabbri 209.92
Green & Parsons 200.59
Davis & Smolkin 199.90
Smart & Diaz 199.11
Fear & Gibson 198.17
Scoptcova & Aleshin 195.06
Fournier-Beaudry & Sorensen 194.67
Hurtado & Khaliavin 191.90
Hawayek & Baker 191.61
Muramoto & Takahashi 190.16
Nazarova & Nikitin 188.64
Lajoie & Lagha 187.38
Khudaiberdieva & Bazin 186.80
Turkkila & Versluis 185.19
Wang & Liu 184.59
Shanaeva & Naryzhnyy 184.43
Reed & Ambrulevicius 183.17
Lopareva & Brissaud 178.34

Other teams that qualify for a guaranteed GP berth based on world standings:
Carreira & Ponomarenko
Soucisse & Firus
Brown & Brown
Mueller & Dieck

Next 10 SB scores from teams not listed above:

Orihara & Pirinen
Taschlerova & Taschler
Morozov & Bagin
Garabedian & Proulx-Senecal
Kazakhova & Reviya
Bratti & Somerville
Komatsubara & Koleto
Fabbri & Ayer
Pate & Bye
Lanaghan & Razgulajevs

 

[Dobre]

Note regarding the juniors & the lists above:

Junior scores did not remotely hold up against senior scores this season. The highest junior SB is the Browns at 37th place. Then Khavronina & Cirisano in 39th, Kaganovskaia & Angelopol in 43rd, Leonteva & Gorelkin in 46th, and Wolfkostin & Chen in 47th. D'Alessandro & Waddell were 50th, Tyutyunina & Shustitskiy were 52nd, Ling & Wein 56th, Bashynska & Beaumont 53rd, Mamchenkov & Volkov 65th, Grimm & Savitskyi 69th, Lim & Quan 71st, Flores & Tsarevski 72nd, and Kudryavtseva & Karankevich 73rd.

Wolfkostin & Chen were 26th on the World Standings list. Not high enough to give them any guarantees & not technically helpful when it comes to the GP replacement list, but between Igor, USFS, and either a bunch or a whole bunch of teams potentially getting crossed off the guaranteed list, I'd wager W&C would get selected.

 

[Enchanted]

Lim & Quan were fourth in the free dance and just a hair off fifth place overall. I feel like they're following the Fear & Gibson path of emphasizing the entertainment factor.

L/Q are far less generic than F/G. They might actually create more sophisticated programs than F/G.

 

[Belsornia]

Arguably the fact that they have no pressing competition also means there's no rush. I wouldn't give up the JGP when there's little chance anything beyond Challengers in the first half of the season; next season they can win some more medals, build WS points, and be better-positioned to move up and have two full seasons at senior before they have to think about trying to qualify for the Olympics.

I enjoyed both teams a lot at junior worlds and also think that their longer term development will be better served by another season in juniors. I hope both will stay around for a while but we don’t know the length of their horizons and plans can easily be waylaid by the unexpected (several splits this season because one partner had a career ending injury, etc). So it’s understandable if they might choose to take an opportunity that’s in front of them.

 

[Dobre]

I edited to add Lanaghan & Razgulajevs to the "next 10 teams on the SB list" above because I had accidentally listed one team above them twice.

 

[mackiecat]

L/Q are far less generic than F/G. They might actually create more sophisticated programs than F/G.

It seems like years that they have been skating as a cat

 

[Dobre]

It seems like years that they have been skating as a cat

It has been two. (Though it felt to me like three for some reason. I looked up their previous Nationals, though, and that was something else. Adams Family, maybe?). Sophisticated isn't the word I would use to describe either of their music choices for this season. Fun & a good fit, yes.

 

[Karen-W]

Looks like Mazingue/Gaidajenko of Estonia might be relocating to IAM...

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[litenkyckling]

Looks like Mazingue/Gaidajenko of Estonia might be relocating to IAM...

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if more teams retire, it will be interesting to see how IAM rebuilds again - especially in a Russian-less field. I hope they offer space to N/N. Will they want C/P there full time now H/D have left a spot open and the London campus is clearly for teams that aren't as experienced - they need to be around competition everyday in reality if they want to get over last seasons woes.

 

[RoseRed]

I think it probably depends on how many teams currently with IAM are retiring / taking a break, and thus how much room they have to add new teams. We know Hubbell/Donohue are done, I think that's the only confirmed one. Olivia Smart said they might do another season, but definitely not another cycle. I don't think P/C have said what their plans are, but I wouldn't be surprised if they're done or at least taking a break.

FB/S have said they're aiming for 2024 Worlds, and Chock/Bates have said they aren't done. Both teams might not stay for the full cycle, but for now they're still there. I have wondered whether Garabedian/Proulx-Senecal will continue, just because they did split earlier in the cycle then reunite, and they made it to the Olympics. But I really don't know about them.

In general, I don't think IAM has a ton of teams leaving right now and opening up spaces, but there should be at least a couple. And maybe more in the next couple seasons. And of course, they don't have to keep the exact same numbers and there can be coaching changes with teams leaving, etc.

Anyways, I like Mazingue/Gaidajenko, so I'll be happy if they end up there. I think they were training in Russia before now, so I can see why they'd be switching things.

 

[Colonel Green]

Looks like Mazingue/Gaidajenko of Estonia might be relocating to IAM...

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Marie-France making sure budding superpower Estonia is onside.

 

[Hanna]

Looks like Mazingue/Gaidajenko of Estonia might be relocating to IAM...

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I am so excited about this! I already had a feeling it was going to be Montreal when they posted airport stories yesterday with a ton of luggage and the caption "time for a big new adventure". I admit I checked the departing flights from Charles de Gaulle 2E terminal and Montreal was the only feasible option.

They are my favorite new ice dance find of the season and I can't express enough how happy I am that they got rid of Zhulin. Because their coach used to be the only thing that was hindering my excitement about this team... so now I can unleash my fully fledged fandom WHEEEEEE!

 

[Wyliefan]

Oh, I remember them from Worlds. They're adorable! Hope the move goes great for them!

 

[Karen-W]

I am so excited about this! I already had a feeling it was going to be Montreal when they posted airport stories yesterday with a ton of luggage and the caption "time for a big new adventure". I admit I checked the departing flights from Charles de Gaulle 2E terminal and Montreal was the only feasible option.

They are my favorite new ice dance find of the season and I can't express enough how happy I am that they got rid of Zhulin. Because their coach used to be the only thing that was hindering my excitement about this team... so now I can unleash my fully fledged fandom WHEEEEEE!

I had the same suspicion yesterday, Hanna, though I didn't go check flights leaving CDG to see where they might be headed!

 

[Dobre]

Marie-France making sure budding superpower Estonia is onside.

Yes, of course.

You talk like this is a joke, but it's not. It's ice dance coaching politics as usual. If a country has a judge or may have a judge in the pool, then coaches like to have those athletes/judges in their stable. M&G are a nice young team. They need a home. I'm glad if they find a place to get quality coaching. But of course it is a plus to the coaching staff if they add a team that may have a separate judge in the judging pool. I'm sure there are negatives and/or major challenges in taking on teams from the various corners of the earth, especially if there are limited funds or language barriers; but international judges are one of the positives.

 

[Dobre]

I have wondered whether Garabedian/Proulx-Senecal will continue, just because they did split earlier in the cycle then reunite, and they made it to the Olympics.

I've been assuming they'll be done for the same reasons; but of course, if they have competitive goals beyond making the Olympics & the relationship is working well now, they may continue.

 

[Karen-W]

I've been assuming they'll be done for the same reasons; but of course, if they have competitive goals beyond making the Olympics & the relationship is working well now, they may continue.

She also got married last fall, so she could be ready to retire, but they're both from Montreal, so they might very well do a half-cycle like some other teams.

 

[Hanna]

I had the same suspicion yesterday, Hanna, though I didn't go check flights leaving CDG to see where they might be headed!

Congrats, you are still one step further than me from entering the gates of Get-a-life-outside-skating doom! Run while you can!

 

[barbarafan]

if more teams retire, it will be interesting to see how IAM rebuilds again - especially in a Russian-less field. I hope they offer space to N/N. Will they want C/P there full time now H/D have left a spot open and the London campus is clearly for teams that aren't as experienced - they need to be around competition everyday in reality if they want to get over last seasons woes.

Would luv if N/N could come to train for now....Loads of Ukrainians here and no muzzles so they are open to help the fight from here. If Ukrainian skaters need fiances to relocate..Fund Raisers etc. could be done or grab an Oligarch's boat & sell it turning over money to Ukrain partially for athletes...the rest for war effort.

 

[Sylvia]

Re-posting here from the British news thread in GSD:

Sasha Fear just announced on IG that she and George Waddell are ending their partnership. She is "looking ahead for new adventures in ice dance".

https://www.instagram.com/p/CcyrxkWrG2j/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Fear/Waddell's ISU bio: http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00103237.htm

Olivia Oliver, 19, has announced the end of her 3-season partnership with Josh Andari, 19 (Mitch Islam was with them at 2022 Junior Worlds in Tallinn where they placed 14th): https://www.instagram.com/p/CcvPgFTrxaQ/
She concludes with "... I am continuing to represent Poland next season in senior, stay tuned for more news"
Andari's comment on her post: "We’ve had some crazy adventures, thank you for some of the best experiences. I wish you all the best in the future!"
Oliver/Andari's ISU bio: http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00108004.htm

 

[PRlady]

Yes, of course.

You talk like this is a joke, but it's not. It's ice dance coaching politics as usual. If a country has a judge or may have a judge in the pool, then coaches like to have those athletes/judges in their stable. M&G are a nice young team. They need a home. I'm glad if they find a place to get quality coaching. But of course it is a plus to the coaching staff if they add a team that may have a separate judge in the judging pool. I'm sure there are negatives and/or major challenges in taking on teams from the various corners of the earth, especially if there are limited funds or language barriers; but international judges are one of the positives.

Not to mention that Estonia also punches above its weight economically, there’s a lot of high-tech biz in Tallin. Meaning the government can afford to assist athletes if it cares to, and I’m sure whoever does travel PR for Tallin isn’t unhappy with all the from skating fans.

 

[~tapdancer~]

So if Latin is the rhythm next season, I’m guessing we will see lots of “Encanto” programs.

I'm down for that!

 

[Andrea82]

Shawn Rettstatt is challenging Halina Gordon Poltorak for Ice Dance Technical Committee chair

For the membership of the committee, incumbents Selby and Elek are running again. Rettstatt is also running for membership (Halina isn't).
Sergei Baranov, David Molina and Ingrid Wolter are challenging the incumbents.

 

[deegee]

guillaume is the choreographer of l/b's new fd. is this the unofficial retirement announcement? it's hard to imagine that he would choreograph for a competitor, but maybe skaters do this sometimes that I'm not aware of?

Geoffrey Brissaud on Instagram: "Une bonne nouvelle n’arrivant jamais seule…nous voilà dans un élan de positivité. Nous annonçons notre collaboration et notre partenariat avec Guillaume Cizeron pour la chorégraphie de notre free dance de la saison à

845 likes, 19 comments - geoffrey_brissaud on April 27, 2022: "Une bonne nouvelle n’arrivant jamais seule…nous voilà dans un élan de positivité. Nous annonçons notre collaboration et notre partenariat avec Guillaume Cizeron pour la chorégraphie de notre free dance de la saison à venir ! Une...

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