U.S. Ice Dance 2021-22 season news & updates

[NinjaTurtles]

All the indie music sites I follow took notice of C&B’s free dance. Not sure I’ve ever seen these two worlds overlap before, but I’m not surprised.

Watch U.S. Ice Dancing Team Skate to Daft Punk at Winter Olympics 2022

Madison Chock and Evan Bates’ team free dance routine was soundtracked by a medley of songs from Random Access Memories

pitchfork.com

Watch US Olympic Figure Skaters Ice Dance To Daft Punk

The Winter Olympics are underway in Beijing: One more time, people from around the world have gathered to excel at their chosen sport or, barring that, get lucky. Yesterday the festivities included a Daft Punk medley. American figure skaters Madison Chock and Evan Bates won the ice dancing...

www.stereogum.com

Daft Punk ice dance about alien and astronaut helps Team USA win silver medal: Watch

Madison Chock played an alien and Evan Bates an astronaut in an Olympic ice dance routine set to Daft Punk songs. Watch the medal-worthy performance now.

consequence.net

Insufferable hipster that I am, I saw the article on Pitchfork this morning and was elated. This type of media attention is some of my favorite; they’ve crossed over into the adjacent art corners of the internet. They deserve the nod for using less popular Daft Punk tracks. Hopefully this attracts some new fans to the sport, even if they’re just casual ones.

 

[Trillian]

Insufferable hipster that I am, I saw the article on Pitchfork this morning and was elated. This type of media attention is some of my favorite; they’ve crossed over into the adjacent art corners of the internet. They deserve the nod for using less popular Daft Punk tracks. Hopefully this attracts some new fans to the sport, even if they’re just casual ones.

Same! I’ve been thinking for a long time that dance has the most potential to attract a younger, hipper audience. I love this FD anyway, but I also had a feeling the music choice would bring in some new fans. I’m more of a Stereogum reader myself, but a nod of approval from Pitchfork is definitely one of the coolest bits of mainstream media attention I can imagine for skating.

 

[Lara111]

It was delicious watching both H/D and C/B beat S/K as it should be

H/B win in short dance makes sense but S/K were way better in FD.

 

[zigzig]

I'm so glad C/B got some crossover coverage. Hopefully they'll get some memification coming out of the Olympics!!

 

[olympic]

H/B win in short dance makes sense but S/K were way better in FD.

I don’t know. S/K don’t have any lines which is most noticeable in Ice Dance. They fling themselves into elements which is strange to watch from a top ranked team, especially a Russian team. They tend to be really together in their basic skills. He also jerks and hunches, opposite of smooth. I first noticed last year because I don’t pay much attention to Ice Dance

 

[SLIVER]

H/B win in short dance makes sense but S/K were way better in FD.

Nah...

 

[feraina]

I don’t know. S/K don’t have any lines which is most noticeable in Ice Dance. They fling themselves into elements which is strange to watch from a top ranked team, especially a Russian team. They tend to be really together in their basic skills. He also jerks and hunches, opposite of smooth. I first noticed last year because I don’t pay much attention to Ice Dance

I think he does passionate better while she does lyrical better. It’s hard to find a good program for both of them.

 

[Lara111]

I don’t know. S/K don’t have any lines which is most noticeable in Ice Dance. They fling themselves into elements which is strange to watch from a top ranked team, especially a Russian team. They tend to be really together in their basic skills. He also jerks and hunches, opposite of smooth. I first noticed last year because I don’t pay much attention to Ice Dance

Nikita can dance. You can put him in Brodway show. Not many ice dancers can actually dance which is unfortunate. Bates can not dance. This should be reflected in the marks.

 

[thvu]

Nikita can dance. You can put him in Brodway show. Not many ice dancers can actually dance which is unfortunate. Bates can not dance. This should be reflected in the marks.

Sure, but so should Nikita’s shoulders, his pulling away from Sinitsina, and their missed transitions.

 

[VGThuy]

Nikita can dance. You can put him in Brodway show. Not many ice dancers can actually dance which is unfortunate. Bates can not dance. This should be reflected in the marks.

He can? I watch a ton of Broadway shows and I’ve never seen him display anything close to what they do on stage.

 

[Carolla5501]

H/B win in short dance makes sense but S/K were way better in FD.

Actually as I was watching this the one thing I kept thinking was “they thought that was an Olympic program it looks like something a junior teams can do”


I thought they were gifted to be where they were

 

[Wyliefan]

NBC just showed a short live clip of C/B practicing. They look sharp!

 

[Sylvia]

Meryl & Charlie narrate USFS' video ("Tomorrow, they write their #Beijing2022 Olympic story. Tomorrow, they make their mark on the #TeamUSA ice dance legacy."): https://twitter.com/USFigureSkating/status/1492279783614525444

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

The U.S. has two dominant ice dance teams. There might only be room on the podium for one. — The Washington Post

“It’s certainly familiar territory for us,” Team USA's Madison Chock said. “This is a rivalry that we've had for the past 11 years, so it feels like it's always felt. They're strong competitors, as are we. It's just whoever performs best on the day.”

apple.news

 

[olympic]

Congrats to H/D, and I hope that C/B skate a little better in the FD.

I'm kind of checked out of Ice Dance lately. Have SinKats been scoring that well with those sets of SS!? WTF. Totally verklemmt. They really should be 3rd right now, and if C/B and G/P had been clean, then 5th.

 

[Sylvia]

Lynn Rutherford's article OLYMPIC ICE DANCERS CELEBRATE VALENTINE’S DAY ON, AND OFF, THE ICE with a focus on real life couples Chock & Bates and Hubbell & Diaz plus a bit about Hawayek & Baker at the end (Feb. 13): https://www.teamusa.org/News/2022/F...s-Celebrate-Valentines-Day-On-And-Off-The-Ice

 

[Sylvia]

OLYMPIC BRONZE - Madison HUBBELL / Zachary DONOHUE USA 218.02 3 3 (87.13 RD, 130.89 FD) - 3 ISU personal bests!

4th - Madison CHOCK / Evan BATES USA 214.77 4 4 (130.63 FD) - both ISU personal bests!

11th - Kaitlin HAWAYEK / Jean-Luc BAKER USA 189.74 11 10 (115.16 FD)

Tweeted by Lynn Rutherford (with photos):

https://twitter.com/LynnRutherford/status/1493153604642824197

Hubbell Donohue mixed zone. Hubbell: "Something we've learned from our coaches is to push ourselves in practice emotionally so you don't have to search for the magic, it will find you....We didn't feel like we left anything undone."

https://twitter.com/LynnRutherford/status/1493142086438113283

Chock & Bates mixed: "Given the depth of ice dance we knew we would need the best from ourselves to be on the podium. For Zach & Maddie to medal, we're proud of them. Of course we wanted to medal too but it didn't happen. That's part of sport."

https://twitter.com/LynnRutherford/status/1493150396377800704

Hawayek, Baker mixed: "Our world rank is 11th. We believe we should be higher, we missed a lot of senior Bs. Hubbell & Donohue are retiring, not knowing what Chock& Bates are doing but we are sticking around & hope to lead U.S. ice dance & step up at a higher level."

A USA dance team now has won a medal at every Olympics since 2006!

 

[litenkyckling]

I think I’d have H/D in silver I have to say - they really brought it today. I’m glad that both US teams are leaving with medals and that they both had their redemption skates after 2018. I think the gap after the RD was just too big for C/B to be able to close.

Obviously not sure what they will do, but I wonder if H/D will skip worlds and that C/B will podium there (maybe even gold if the right people don’t go) and then they might feel happier retiring. I just get the impression in interviews that he’s ready to retire but she isn’t?

 

[olympic]

I think I’d have H/D in silver I have to say - they really brought it today. I’m glad that both US teams are leaving with medals and that they both had their redemption skates after 2018. I think the gap after the RD was just too big for C/B to be able to close.

Obviously not sure what they will do, but I wonder if H/D will skip worlds and that C/B will podium there (maybe even gold if the right people don’t go) and then they might feel happier retiring. I just get the impression in interviews that he’s ready to retire but she isn’t?

Yeah. Agreed. I would actually put both H/D and C/B ahead of S/K in the FD, and S/K bronze overall just due to the fact that C/B had an issue in the SD. Heck, I would have the Italians in front of them in the FD.

It came to me and I can finally define what I see wrong in S/K's skating; they are Ice Dancers who skate like Pairs skaters; they scoot thru elements and don't develop any as-one presence on the ice. As I stated before they lack line and while they are fast, I don't get the sense of power or precision on any elements. I just find them unwatchable. I realize that they pick up points, but that to me is NOT what Ice Dance should be about (even if I pay less attention to it than the other 3 disciplines)

 

[missing]

Given that Chock and Bates failed to medal in a weakened Worlds 2021 field with a gimmick program, I fail to understand why they thought they had a better chance at medaling against a stronger field in the Olympics with another gimmick program.

The three teams that medaled all went with variations of swoopy romantic. It's pretty clear international judges like swoopy romantic more than they like gimmick.

I don't know if Chock and Bates ice dance is as good or better than any of the three medalists teams. But I do know bad strategy when I see it.

 

[skatfan]

I’m so glad that all three US teams skated their Free Dances so well. Especially the top two who had problems in Korea.

Hawayek and Baker were underscored for their program. Hopefully they will rise because I like it way more than the Danadians.

 

[Rafter]

Brutal for Chock and Bates that they won’t get their team medal awarded to them at the Olympic Games. F*ck Eteri and Russia.

 

[Debbie S]

Given that Chock and Bates failed to medal in a weakened Worlds 2021 field with a gimmick program, I fail to understand why they thought they had a better chance at medaling against a stronger field in the Olympics with another gimmick program.

The three teams that medaled all went with variations of swoopy romantic. It's pretty clear international judges like swoopy romantic more than they like gimmick.

I don't know if Chock and Bates ice dance is as good or better than any of the three medalists teams. But I do know bad strategy when I see it.

They failed to medal at Worlds b/c of a mistake on their twizzles. I don't think their FD theme was "bad strategy"...on the contrary, skaters/teams need to stand out to grab the judges' attention. What did them in here was a stumble in the RD (and also the politiks that work against 2 USA teams on the podium...IMO, S/K should have been 4th).

And I don't think it's accurate to call their past 2 FDs a "gimmick".....just because a program isn't lyrical doesn't make it gimmicky.

 

[baramin]

Chock/Bates were on a downward trend--switching to character based (a little kinder than gimmicky ) programs seemed to revitalize their own interest in the sport and brought them back into the medal conversation. After 2020, we all pretty much knew S/K would be on the podium here, leaving one spot for the US, and H/D have been US #1 arguably going back to 2018, when they skate cleanly. Pulling up to a definitive 4th at this Olympics after dropping to 9th in 2018 was a great result for C/B, and they won the FD in the team event, which has to have felt great. While I'm sure they trained hoping for a medal, they likely knew it was a long shot and can be really proud of what they achieved here.

The Montreal camp seems to favor lyrical programs, and since they turn out a lot of teams who score well, that's pushed the entire discipline in that direction. C/B have been a refreshing change of pace the past few years, and I'm really glad we got to see what this team became after they left their Shpilband years behind.

Bummed that H/B weren't able to move up at least a spot--I love that even when they go super lyrical, there's always an element of creativity and personality to their dances. They're such a unique team, and probably the one team I most wish would move away from Montreal--maybe try the new MI camp? The Montreal teams always struggle with levels early in the season, and I think that's been more true for H/B than anyone, which really hurt them this year with their delayed start. They need coaches who are going to drill them on the technical side if they want to shoot up the standings.

 

[missing]

At this point in all their careers, ice dance teams don't need to stand out to grab the judges' attention. The judges know each and every top team very well from having watched them compete and judging them for multiple years and events.

I don't even know if being distinctive works for fresh out of juniors teams, since I don't know that judges particularly care for freshness and originality.

There are many ways a non-lyrical program can also be non-gimmicky. The Shibutanis managed that into Worlds silver and Olympic bronze. Using powerful music or folk based music or genuinely current music can be non-lyrical but not gimmicky. I wouldn't call G/P's "Both Sides Now" program gimmicky and it took bronze at Worlds last year.

But a snake and a what, snake charmer, and then an alien and an astronaut are gimmicky. It felt to my uneducated eye that Chock and Bates were en route to medaling at Worlds 2020 and I can understand their trying to replicate an imagined success by using the same program in 2021. But it didn't work in 2021. They're a team with many strengths but the program was insufficient in a weakened Worlds to get them on the podium.

There was a lesson to be learned there and they chose to ignore it.

 

[manhn]

Isn’t that what the song is about? I see it as not much different when skaters use movie music and they play the characters.

 

[dancing_on_ice]

At this point in all their careers, ice dance teams don't need to stand out to grab the judges' attention. The judges know each and every top team very well from having watched them compete and judging them for multiple years and events.

I don't even know if being distinctive works for fresh out of juniors teams, since I don't know that judges particularly care for freshness and originality.

There are many ways a non-lyrical program can also be non-gimmicky. The Shibutanis managed that into Worlds silver and Olympic bronze. Using powerful music or folk based music or genuinely current music can be non-lyrical but not gimmicky. I wouldn't call G/P's "Both Sides Now" program gimmicky and it took bronze at Worlds last year.

But a snake and a what, snake charmer, and then an alien and an astronaut are gimmicky. It felt to my uneducated eye that Chock and Bates were en route to medaling at Worlds 2020 and I can understand their trying to replicate an imagined success by using the same program in 2021. But it didn't work in 2021. They're a team with many strengths but the program was insufficient in a weakened Worlds to get them on the podium.

There was a lesson to be learned there and they chose to ignore it.

Chock/Bates were struggling with injuries in the 2020-21 season. Madi got a concussion in July of that year before the season started, which is why they withdrew from Skate America, and Evan was dealing with back pain going into US Nationals. Their injuries showed at both US Nationals and Worlds, where they didn't perform a single clean twizzle set across all four programs. They've clearly been healthier this season, and the judges clearly view them as in the top echelon of ice dance teams with Hubbell/Donohue, Sinitsina/Katsalapov, and Papadakis/Cizeron. This is a pretty remarkable turnaround considering where they were in 2018 after falling at the Olympics and placing third at US Nationals. I think that they have a great chance at winning a world title next year after P/C, H/D, and S/K all retire.

 

[VGThuy]

At this point in all their careers, ice dance teams don't need to stand out to grab the judges' attention. The judges know each and every top team very well from having watched them compete and judging them for multiple years and events.

I don't even know if being distinctive works for fresh out of juniors teams, since I don't know that judges particularly care for freshness and originality.

There are many ways a non-lyrical program can also be non-gimmicky. The Shibutanis managed that into Worlds silver and Olympic bronze. Using powerful music or folk based music or genuinely current music can be non-lyrical but not gimmicky. I wouldn't call G/P's "Both Sides Now" program gimmicky and it took bronze at Worlds last year.

But a snake and a what, snake charmer, and then an alien and an astronaut are gimmicky. It felt to my uneducated eye that Chock and Bates were en route to medaling at Worlds 2020 and I can understand their trying to replicate an imagined success by using the same program in 2021. But it didn't work in 2021. They're a team with many strengths but the program was insufficient in a weakened Worlds to get them on the podium.

There was a lesson to be learned there and they chose to ignore it.

It wasn’t the program, it was their lack of politick compared to S/K and their skating skills that put them behind the top three here. Their transitions score pretty much tied with H/D and were 0.07 away from S/K. They had the second highest score in CO to P/C, and their INT score tied with S/K and was 0.04 away from H/D. If anything, the judges LOVED their FD. Their FD probably prevented them from dropping further.

 

[Trillian]

Isn’t that what the song is about? I see it as not much different when skaters use movie music and they play the characters.

I’m not sure if the album really has a narrative (not a Daft Punk superfan), but I agree. I’d just call it more theatrical than the top three. And as someone who doesn’t usually lean toward theatrical styles, I love this program and don’t find it gimmicky at all.

I didn’t get the impression the style of the program was what kept C&B off the podium. The past few years have been when it seems like they finally found a distinctive identity, performance-wise, and the judges have often rewarded them accordingly. But they didn’t skate perfectly and it’s a tight competition at the top. The level of competition overall was pretty incredible.

 

[olympic]

Without the -1 deduction, H/D would’ve beaten S/K in the FD.

Did anyone notice during an element late in their FD, S/K hit a wonky position, got 1 point, then it was corrected and the mark shot up to 4 points after about 5 seconds. I wish I could remember the element. It seemed strange because that is what it took for them to beat H/D.

I suppose comparatively speaking, things have improved in the sense that they are no longer being scored close to the French