Europeans 2004
Free Dance
Starting with the second warm up group and in particular the Germans Christina Beier and William Beier. No Kati and Rene, she tore a ligament in her knee last Monday. Wearing much black pleather and silver, music the Fifth Element. Lots of scary staring at one another as they skate around and go into a dance spin…and now dancing at the centre ice. Music is very drummy, nice moves in a circular step… could show a little more command of the rhythm… lift and then he falls on the twizzles, is up very quickly though. Lift with her in arabesque on his leg, he did not look comfy with that… steps where there’s not much in the way of eye contact between them… music slows and they pose at centre ice… steps around, much of it in an open hold. Lift where she’s holding onto his waist while upside down… and then one where she starts up against him with him standing, then he goes into besti and moves her around a lot…very difficult and nicely done. Dance spin, and Nicky says good entry into it… but could do with more speed he thinks. Twizzles are ok, another lift and around they go, down in diagonal steps… and eye contact! Yay! Lift where she’s parallel to his shoulders and spin and they are done. Chris enjoyed it… looked to him like they held back a little after the fall. Nicky thinks they could have done with more tech diff, more attack and more speed. 5th in Jnr Worlds, this their first time in a senior championships. Nicky thinks that he could project more, notes that he’s disconsolate about the fall, and also that we could see more falls tonight… we see the fall again, and she nearly skated over him…
Marks –Kati and Rene are in the box for German Eurosport – 3.7-4.3… 4.3-4.6… which puts them in first place overall and on the night.
Herzog and Matsjuk AUT
Very hippy child…and Hair is the music. He’s in bellbottom and pale blue shirt and waistcoat, with the long hair, she’s in a blue dress. Dance spin to begin and lift, and then steps around as the crowd claps… and rotational lift to Aquarius, and he going forward in the lift. Twizzles are sharp and great… hydro blading move… more steps… lift where he brings her over the shoulder…dance spin as music changes to hair…. Remembering Scotty am I…. he doing a lot of spinny steps… move where he’s lying back in front of her and she’s supporting him…lift where she lies down as he’s on squat… steps… have I mentioned I love this song? OK, and they’re doing a good job to it too… not sure of the speed on it… lift and spin with her tucked around his waist and we move to Manchester… steps into lovely dance spin… Nicky says good idea for a theme… he fell off the twizzle there… Nicky points out that overall content is quite open, which is true… and once he points it out, you can really see it… she’s singing as she goes around…diagonal pattern is nice… and around with lift where she’s upside down holding onto him… and down and upside down again to spin and finish. Big applause from the crowd and I liked it… perhaps not the difficulty as Chris is now saying, but highly enjoyable. Presentation Chris and Nicky are both raving over. Nicky calls it a little empty of content… see some of the lifts now, in particular the one with him going forwards… and good unison the twizzles on way out of that. They really did sell it… She’s 18, he’s 22, together since summer of 2001.
Marks 3.5-4.5… 3.7-4.6… they are in 2nd place overall.
Golovina and Voiko UKR
I sense a Spanish theme coming on…in 15th… she in black and burgundy he in black with wings… music oh Fortuna and madam butterfly. So I would be wrong about the costumes…steps first and a lift where she’s at his hips and turns around to be across his front…and down and back into a dance spin… circular step… then down along the diagonal … and a lift where she’s on his hips with lots of turns and changes of positions, and him going forward, serpentine lift Nicky calls it… one of the spec elements… steps are being done in dance holds, not as open as the last couple… so of course now I’ve said that they do lots of open stuff…lift that goes down to him in hydro with one foot and her lying across him, very nice and hard to do… twizzles and twizzles again are good sync but a little slow? Steps where he’s doing a lot of “look at me I can do the splits” type moves… lift with him nearly in a besti but chickening out, and going to carry and spin instead…more twizzles, slow with lots of space between them… turns for breath… diagonal steps sequence… which is looking very raggy… both of them look ready to come a cropper during it… lift where he’s carrying her at hip level, and he’s not holding the position on one foot….dance spin to finish and they skate around again and another lift at hip level and they’re done. And that music was killing me by the end. Chris didn’t enjoy it as much as the ones before it, who were in 18th, and I’m with him on that one… good strong edges says Nicky, but no strength and confidence on the lifts. Big fat word to that… I don’t recall a single lift that wasn’t at hip level…Nicky calls each move of the lift staccato… as we see a lift, Nicky points out again that he’d not holding his position, not giving the crowd a chance to enjoy it.
Marks 3.7-4.4… 4.3-4.7. They are in first with one second. They move up over the Germans who are in second and the Austrians third.
Petetin and Jost FRA
Her in blue and black, and shimmery sparkles. Him in matching colours, and oh so tight jumpsuits… shoulder missing for him, not a good look. Holiday on Ice, exotica the music. Start with her behind him, both crouched… and she come around ahead of him and he lifts her and does an up and down movement…and steps and into a dance spin. Move where she spins under him and it looks like she’s wrenching his arm from the socket. Steps… music is v drummy… lift and spin with her held out and ouch ouch ouch down they go… took them a while to get that back and I am speechless… steps in a circular pattern… move with him in besti leaning back and her leaning on him, and feed jutters and they’re doing twizzles when we get it back. Stop at the boards and lean back on him … good ice coverage in opening section notes Nicky… speed out before the twizzles he notes… lift with him on two feet and her all the way up in the air… steps incl one with her in crouch and him lying on her, clever balance lift. Steps… lift with him on besti, her leaning on him, then another, this the serpentine lift and Nicky calls it well done. Dance spin with change of foot and position, nicely centred. Music changes and they pause on centre ice and mug the judges. Then twizzles which are slow with capital letters. Straight line steps with lift with her upside down and lots of changes of positions to get there, but he was on two feet all the time. Chris said he loved that, they were 17th last year. I liked it too, lots of innovation… lots of power, and speed most of the time (twizzles anyone?) definitely a team to look out for…but the fall was disaster. We see the fall again and it looked like her skate was touching his leg in the lift and it might have made him lose his concentration a little? His feet just went from under him… see the balance lift again.
Marks in 12th at the moment…
long wait for the marks, which cannot be good. 6th
in lalique, 8th in cup of
Kauc and Zych POL
Him in black t-shirt and pants. Her in little black skirt and pink halter top with sparkles on the straps. Ricky Martin is music, cha-cha then rumba then samba. Start apart and go to one another… lots of speed and high kicks and moving of the arms... lift with him in besti to begin then normal with her wrapped around his neck by the leg… steps around… lift and spin with her on his leg… little jump from him as they go around… good speed in circ steps… not a lot of content though from him notes Nicky. Dance spin, and did she slip going into it? Change position and this is messy, he in particular looks like he’s falling off it badly. Posing steps now as the music changes to something that’s not Ricky martin thank god. Steps with twizzles which he does fall off and the second pattern is ok, third better… but again, slow slow slow. Around the corner to a drop lift… positions not held too long. Steps in dance hold, then lift with him in besti and her draped backwards and nearly a slip out of that… swivel and turn on centre ice, then into dance spin… and stop as music changes… she wiggles and he comes over to her and this more twizzles which are slow but better sync … crowd are clapping… diagonal step… this la vida loca… lift where she’s almost doing a handstand on him, then goes horizontal to hip level and he spins her and she’s done. Chris says that it looked uncomfortable in more than one place, and my immediate response is Ya Think??? Quite open in a lot of the moves notes Nicky but they had lots of ice coverage and he looks tired. Lads think about the temp in the arena, wonder if that’s causing a problem… we see a lift and his both feet on the ice, Nicky picks out again on that, and also on the turns needing to be faster and they will at the top level… he was looking to the side more than at her he thinks. He wasn’t presenting her enough.
Marks they are in 13th… and another long wait for the marks… 3.7-4.3… 4.3-4.7… leaves them in 2nd, their allotted slot.
Grebenkina and Azrojan ARM
Mostly black, but with hot pink accents and gold sparkles and while her dress isn’t a true disaster, he looks like a court jester gone curiously awry. Music is Anni? An Armenian selection and Nicky says they could move up a couple of slots if they skate well… dance spin to start, nice and fast then into a rotational lift where she shows great flexibility with the point of her toe. Twizzles are sharp and fast… steps to the beat of the drums, and good unison… not a lot of speed says Nicky but good ice coverage and good choreography, with flowing elements. Music changes and slow part, and they do twizzles with separations , very far apart and slow. Lift with him going forwards and her facing same way, change positions with him in besti, and this the serpentine lift… lift and spin with him holding hand and boot… down centre ice with her draped backwards over him…. Dance spin as music changes. And change position in acne spin…nice at picking out some of he highlights of the music. Circular steps with lots of kicks and spins, done in dance hold mostly, facing same direction. More steps… very open… lift rotational and they’re done. Enjoyable says Chris, not too difficult but what they did they did well. Nicky points out that they used open holds to build up speed, so not as difficult… start of the program was better, not as many stop points and it opened up more in the second half, he thinks they need more light and shade in the program.
Marks 3.9-4.5… 4.3-5.0…they’re second on the night and overall. So have pulled up one place?
Kerr and Kerr GBR
Have lost their funding from Scottish lottery, and not even given back after appeal… well, that sucks. Aside from the obvious reasons, Chris and Nicky are very gung-ho for these two; as well as singing the Song of National Pride, they also have the Aria of the Possibility of a Top Ten Place and in Nicky’s case, the Sonata of My Mammy is Coaching Them. Oooh my, lots of slate silver and shimmer… not a bad dress for her, halter necked and long, but he looks like RoboMan, the Incredible Skating brother. In 11th place, which accounts for the Lads and the aforementioned Song of National Pride. Music is the Matrix. Start with her in arabesque all around him, then down and into a dance spin…very sharp right away and the crowd seem to like it…stop and push her forwards…. Dance steps right in time to music and so sharp, as are the twizzles… crowd are clapping…serpentine step, lots of changes of hold and position… her leaning back across him, nice… she leaps back and up and he carries her in what’s a great lift… bestis facing one another… plenty of kicks and turns as they eye up the judges in the circular step… very close to one another… lift with her nearly in splits and throw her up and catch her and carry again…straight line twizzles not as well done, but done turning into one another, steps where she’s lying back with him supporting the head… lift where she’s does somersault and he carries her and we see a smile from him, great changes of position… steps back… and down the ice… lovely flow and energy from these two… lift and how the hell did she does that, she turned herself inside out and Nicky calls this excellent and I agree… diagonal step… kinda slow but nicely done… facing one another and he jumps over her a la chris dean in 94… and hydro move with her in spread leaning back on him… and steps… and dance spin… change position dance spin… and they’re done. And he jumps up and down and she can’t believe it and I pause in my typing to clap and clap… that was incredible. Loved it. Nicky can hardly speak. Which makes a change. We see the incredible pretzel lift again… as Chris namechecks the team… and we see the end poses again… oh wow…. Look at those smiling faces! And can I just say, you would know Nicky Slater’s mam!
Marks … 4.6-5.0… chris likes not the 4.6… 4.9-5.3… woohoo! A row of ones. Excellent. Their allotted slot, but can they push up?
That’s the end of group three and Chris proposes stopping the competition now.
Dominina and Shabalin RUS
Her in hot pink with black on one sleeve, him in black pants and white and black shirt, with flesh net hole in the middle of the shirt. Four seasons tango by vivaldi… there are wings on his shirt… very tango from the get go. Sharp moves and turns and dance spin with her leg over his shoulder, and sinead kerr is helping with commentary… she loves oksana’s body movements and she’s certainly moving now…dance lift…steps and lunges and this is very quick, diagonal step… mostly closed and very close to one another. And stop as the music gets to the famous bit… straight line down the rink and twizzles which are not great… and lift and spin, and yes she did have problem in first twizzles. Dance spin with change of position. Steps lots of ice coverage and speed. Circular step, good edges sinead says… lift where he’s in besti and she does so many changes of positions and he’s all on one foot…steps to another rotational lift. Standing on centre ice and second twizzles are much better…sinead feels this is a slightly nervy program from them… not done as well as in practice this morning…steps and around the corner and into lift where she’s perpendicular to him at shoulder level…and down and they finish ahead of the music. Chris enjoyed it, me not so much… 7th place at the moment, Jnr World Champs… Chris talks to Sinead about lottery funding… we see the slomos and the mistake on the twizzles…
Marks 4.8-5.2… 5.1-5.5.. good marks. A row of ones we see, apart from one who has them second.
Hoffmann and Elek HUN
Her in shiny royal blue with cut out back. Sleeve of left is black net. Him in black and blue. She’s 18, he’s 21, and Chris calls her one of the hottest things in ice dancing. Black machine to start off musically… john kerr now doing commentary… lots of speed in circular step to begin and can you guess that the Hungarians are right behind them/ thought so. Huge speed in the steps lots of turning and changes of hold… hyrdoblading move is very low. Move where he’s in shoot the duck and she lies on him but not held very long. Lift where she sits on his shoulder. Steps with twizzles…. Very fare apart but good unison. Slow music as she undulates in front of him… steps… lift where she lies on him and he spins… dance spin…. Nicely centred and change of position… nice speed… steps incl lift where it looks messy in the middle…woah says Chris… twizzles… nice. John admits mistake in the twizzles…. Lift where she turns on top of him and he ducks down as he holds her…john says he thinks he could have held longer…steps and music speeds now and crowd are into it… very fast steps here… lots of turns and changes of hold and kicks, all high energy… she’s really selling it… come to a dead stop before they do a cartwheel lift, and the crowd like it, but they are disappointed. Nicky notes not as good as he’s seen them skate in the past, it lost its way, its drive and coverage of the ice in certain parts and of course these are the pair that are just ahead of the Brits, I realise now… John is pointing out that these are juniors and that extra minute at the end killed them, and he also points out something that I noticed, the lack of height difference between the two of them. She’s the same height, if not taller, than he is. Chris also points out that they were nearly at a standstill at the end (that would be on the cartwheel lift) John says that the emotion of the crowd pulled he and Sinead through… Chris sees wet patches on the ice…
Marks 4.4-5.1… those aren’t as good as john and sinead… 4.9-5.2… kerrs in second place, Hungarians in third so the kerrs are in the top ten!
Gudina and Beletski ISR
Him in black pants and white shirt. Her in
black and white dress with red flowers on her arm…barber of
Marks 4.1-5.3… 4.7-5.5… second overall.
Kulikova and Novikov RUS
Her in orange and black, him mostly in black with red on the chest and flesh. Carmina Burana the music….8th… lots of spins to begin looking messy at the end…rotational lift with such speed as Nicky calls him a powerhouse… around they go… lift with him in hesti her lying across his thigh… dance spin…. Change position… running in time with the music… twizzles… second pass are exemplary… move where she kneels down and he kicks over her, then he does it again and he does a jump… lift with him in besti and her straight up along his chest…change of position and dance spin on the way out… spins her on way out… back beat to o fortuna… circular step and they’re picking out the rhythm and doing really well and the crowd are right there with them…. Twizzles… not as fast as the first set but well unisoned…. And turns… around the corner… lift where she’s in splits against him, and that was great… he looks tired… bestis side by side… steps in straight line… steps and rotational lift to end, and they’re done. And she looks thrilled… there’s Tatiana hugging Maia with Evgeny behind them clapping… very very good. Nicky’s not sure that they’ve done enough to move up… these two are one place behind Dominina and Shabalin, only together since January 2003… they are the Russian number threes. Nicky thinks these are better than the other two, didn’t even hesitate when Chris asked him.
Marks… 4.7-5.3… 4.9-5.6. Puts them in second overall. Their allotted slot.
Faiella and Scali ITA
Him in white shirt black pants and waistcoat, looks like an Italian waiter. Her in black halter neck dress with one sleeve. Astor Piazola for them.. lots of tango moves to start and someone in the audience screams…twizzles, where first pass is messy, second better. Diagonal steps has lots of speed and turns and attack but her facial expressions are scary. Rotational lift where she’s behind him which is harder. Using every inch of he ice… lift with him in besti and she does a cartwheel around his body, balance lift covering nearly the entire length of the rink.. dance spin. And pause at centre ice… mug the judges… slow part of the program… lift with him in besti, her on his lap, facing same direction…change of position… move where she lifts him, his legs spread as he lies on her lap. Second set of twizzles are much better than the first, much sharper… steps with lots of eye contact… dance spin… and change of position… steps… and lifts… circular step is very fast, even at this stage of the program. Also quite open? And they’re done, but it looked just a little messy choreographically to me at the end. Chris calls it tremendous and I did enjoy it, though as most people know I’m not a tango fan in general. Very sharp though, lots of speed, Nicky picks out some of the stops in the program, lack of flow he says. Walter Rizzo their coach and Federico has the chicken thrown to him… they’re pleased Chris says.
Marks and lordy me that’s an energetic kiss and cry! 5.0-5.5… 5.4-5.7… holy smokes! A row of ones. Allotted slot and all that.
So, final group still to come.
Grushina and Goncharov UKR
Him without his trademark afro, clad in black, with shiny patches stuck to it. Her in angelic white. Second at the moment. He kneekls, she stands behind him. And waves her arms expressively. Spinny things to begin, then he lifts her so that she’s right up in the air… and hten at waist level. Into dande spin… well held and lovely position from her. Move where she’s in besti and he’s pulling her in circle. Around the corner we go…lift wehre she’s all over him, bending abck and he goes to one foot… steps circular, lots of speed, and good footwork, done in a closed hold, quite close to one another… lift and spoin, nice changes of position again and they reverse the rotation at the end… teizzles and again are well done if a little slow? Lift with she’s level with his shoulders, then she drops down his chest, with change of position so that he’s in hyrdoblading move on one foot. More twizzles, foot perfect. Steps into a dance spin… and change position. Steps backwards… around the corner of the rink… more steps with lots of her leg extended…to the boards and srtiaght line step nicky points out that they look like they got tangled for a oment… step doesn’t look as sharp as the rest… and lift where she comes from behind and changes position across his body, and they’re done. Actually his uniform is camoflauge… not the response from audience that others have got. His content not that high on both step sequences nicky tells us.
Marks … 5.2-5.8… enjoyable but not exciting is chris’s verdict. 5.5-5.8. a row of ones at the moment.
Delobel and Schonfelder FRA
Him in mostly white with blue at the top,
and her in a blue dress, kinda purply, and he’s got a gold sash around his
waist as Chris applauds their OD calling it one of the best of the evening.
Merlin the music. Starts with him lifting her between his legs and spinning
her… stop and she poses behind him, comes between his legs… lift with her
mostly on his shoulder, one foot from him. gliding moves with both lunging, and
hten a lift… very difficult says Chris… circular step… nice changes of hold and
very close to one another. Not sure if it’s as fast as the rest but speed never
carries over anyway… lift where she is right up against him upside down, then
leans back… kick with leg and he skaes under… twizzles are messy to say the
leaset of it… move where she goes under his legs… then where eh’s standing and
she’s lunging in front, holding onto him as he’s behind her…he kneels, she
pulls him up….ndace spin… change position… great flow along the ice from these
two..and those twizzles much faster and tighter… with free foot behind nicky
says. Around the corner and him in besti and her perpendicular to him, having
moved around… and change of edge from him and they never lose it, that was
great. Lift with her pretzeled around him and spin… and stop out of that, and
she’s lying horizonatal across him… dance spin with change of position… and
they’re done. Nice move at the end too. Just fantastic Chris calls it, he loved
it. 7th last year, 4th at the moment and I can’t remember
seeing htem sakte better…they’ve just improved every single year. Technical
content was higher than the UKR says Nick aside from a bit at the end where it
looks like he lost his way and Nick would have that ahead of the UKR. As would
Chris. As would
Marks 5.2-5.7… 5.4-5.7… second place on a 6/3 split. Nicky thinks that the tech marks were low, compared to the content.
Chait and Sakhnovski ISR
And I’m sorry, but this is a man who should not wear black; he’s pale enough without foisting that particular disaster on him. Come to think of it, it’s not the best look for her either. Lots of sparkle on the shoulders and the hips, and lots of ruffles from place to place… 5th at the moment. Music is Clowns, selection from Fellini soundtrack. He’s wearing gloves too. Lift and spin to being and frenetic is the word that comes immediately to mind… lots of speed in the circular step… chris note the energy on this… nicky wonders about hcoosing clowns as a theme…. Looked like a little stumble on the stpes from him, double twizzles are fine though. Interesting dance spin and would you look at the water on that rink? Running steps from both… lift with her she stars in front of him, then moves up opver his head and does a helicopter type thing after dropping down to waist level. Steps in one place to give her time to get er breathe back…and lift with her doing splits and him in one foot and changing position…. Dance spin… lots of speed. And again on the change of position. Twizzles with change of direction on second pass, not sure about unison on second set. But they’re flying still… serpentine steps. Lift where he goes down into forwards shoot the duck on one foot her on his shouler….the around again and he does it backwards into back sit pos with her on shoulder, and I can hardly type quick enough to keep up with them… and besti from her leaning onto him in couchc and dance spin… change position… to the boards for the straight line step… loads of energy and changes of hold and position… and whistle blows and lift and spin and down and somersault to end. Chris didn’t like the music, neither did I, but they really motored, sold it well. Chris says he looked like a mad professor out there (took the words right out of my mouth) I can appreciate the speed and the tech and the skating and all, but I didn’t enjoy it. Nicky though the costumes too muted for a clown theme, which I must say, yes I agree…all black does not a clown program make, or such a frenetic (yes, Nicky used that word too!) program. There was nearly too much of it for him… and I think he means that it was go go go all the time, I didn’t thnk there was enough light and shade, to use that fabled phrase of theirs, in the program.
Marks as we see the Tarasova team in the k&c marks 4.6-5.7… 5.3-5.8… 3rd. ordinals from 1st down to a 5th.
Denkova and Staviski BUL
Her in pale blue and lilac, him in pale blue shirt and blue trousers. His shirt more like a blouse and he tells the judges to shush as they open it… not suer that’s how you get marks but ok. Skate back… and music is quite slow and stringy… lift where her arms arre around his neck and she just goes up as he’s in a crouch…another lift where he lifts her in arabesque and changes position… right on the music. Music faster now with drums and they do their circular step… picking out the beats of the music nicely. Good speed and flow notes chris…. And besti moves which lead into dance spin, good entry! Nice change of position too… and pause and psoe on the ice… spins and steps as we move off and around the corner…double twizzles are good. Open leading into it though. Lift with him in besti, her balancing in front of him and nice changes of position… her in lunge, him beside her. Steps around… lift and kick through to change of position as he glides in crouch..dance spin… and step close to judges… and away from one another and do twizzles into one another…. Lift… steps down the diagonal… well keeping time with the music… lift with drop to exit and they’re done. Happy with it, Chris notes the difficulty of the lifts, some of htem defy belief he says. Nicky thinks that their original has more power, but parts of this are very well skated… lots of times where it’s open, level of tech in some of the lifts very high, on others not as high. It didn’t shout to Nicky “Move me up” which is fair enough…it was well skated, but not a lot of oomph to it, if oyu know what I mean.
Marks 5.4-5.9…whew. 5.7-5.9…that’s first place. One has them second, but the rest have them first.
Navka and Kostomarov RUS
Black jacket top for him and black pants.
Her in very pink, very slinky dress. Also sparkly. With no back. Music the pink
panther and Austin powers… oh this is good… right from the start they just
scream champion… nice spin from her… and the crowd as you knew they would be
are right there…not so great on unison in second twizzles, but first are great.
Dwing over the back entry into the lifft… and well held… steps … him in besti
entry to lift and she’s folded back around him holding onto skate…dance spin…
and stop. Music changes as he pushes her along… music much faster now and look
at them go… circular step and lift and spin with her at waist level and
reversal of rotation at the end. And stop… and he does a little shimmy ofr her…
and she skates waway…bluesy music as he lifts her… dance spin… with change of
position… this is very very good… around the corner and a lift wehre she’s
doing a handstand on his boot then leans legs over, and he goes to one foot.
She leies back behind him, no hands, just rests on his bent leg. Twizzles are
good…and here’s
Marks 5.5-5.9…5.7-5.9 and they are indeed first…. Bulgaria second, UKR third.