Europeans 2006
Free Dance
Am in front of my computer, refreshing the FSU screen every other minute (if the board crashes/crashed, it is/was all my fault) while watching not even live soccer (which, while incomprehensible, would be understandable) but two bald men talking about it. With two men with Egyptian headdresses behind them.
Minor heart attack when went down to get cup of tea, vented to (sympathetic) sister and (uncaring as the whole thing went way over his head) father… on way up stairs, heard drummy music that someone has surely skated to, and had visions of coming in through a program halfway through… but no, ‘twas merely a musical montage of football. As opposed to actual live football. *shakes head*
Now we have play of the day from the Aussie Open. Which is nice and all, but hello? French ice??? It’s now 19.32, they are late… and now more ads…
Wait, Winterpark… logos… coffee sponsor ad! Skincare! The Beiers!!!
So missing:
1 Kamila HAJKOVA
/ David VINCOUR CZE 19 60.01
2 Zsuzsanna NAGY / György ELEK
HUN 21 54.31
3 Leonie KRAIL / Oscar PETER SUI 22 51.72
4 Phillipa TOWLER-GREEN / Phillip POOLE GBR 20 59.87
5 Alexandra KAUC / Michal ZYCH POL 17 62.94
6 Alessia AURELI / Andrea VATURI ITA 18 60.01
7 Julia GOLOVINA / Oleg VOIKO UKR 15 65.95
8 Alexandra ZARETSKI / Roman ZARETSKI ISR 16 65.09
9 Anastasia GREBENKINA / Vazgen AZROJAN ARM 14 70.34
10 Nathalie PECHALAT / Fabian BOURZAT FRA 11 76.24
11 Nora HOFFMANN / Attila ELEK HUN 13 72.72
12 Christina BEIER / William BEIER GER 12 74.03
Who are in kiss and cry… and TE 44.44. PCS 33.57 which has them 77.01 and 151.04 and third overall.
French lead, then Hun, Ger, Arm next…
We have Chris, a warm up and big cheer for the Brits!!!
They are on for, literally, a minute, then go for a break. Are you kidding me?
Warm-Up Group 4
13 Oksana DOMNINA / Maxim SHABALIN RUS 6 86.00
She glittery in white, with not much on the side, he all in white, and there are black sparkly bands of Xs here and there and his trousers are black…dance spin to begin, sits facing one another, change foot and her in biellman ish type position… twizzles are spot on, second set not as sharp… dance hold as we go around the corner and around in a circle, nice flow, Nicky praises the slower music letting them do deeper edges… not a lot of ice coverage he adds, but deep edges and lots of content, and they banged into one another there… upside down lift from her with him on one foot going forward… she’s all bent over, with skate to head… music change twizzles first set didn’t look as good, second set better… slide to stop and twirl… lift with him in besti squat and her on his thigh with foot to head… diagonal step… Nicky says again they’re not getting the speed they normally get and I kinda thought that… split lift with him leaning in in besti and her on his lap in splits… and change position… and pause right in front of judges… dance hold… steps… circular step here, quite close together, lots of turns and lift and spin at the end, and that was the quickest he’s moved the whole program… and they’re done. Chris loved changes of hold on circ step… I think that was my favourite part. Nicky picks on the lack of light and shade within the dance, (if you’re playing a drinking game, off you go) and it didn’t have the excitement, it stayed at the one level the whole way. He changed edge on second and third lift, and only one lift allowed with lady in splits and she can’t be upside down???? Santa, you got my letter!!!
Marks TE 48.66 PCS 41.06 for 89.72 and 175.72 overall. They lead.
14 Kristin FRASER / Igor LUKANIN AZE 9 81.58
She’s in leggings of black with little wispy skirt, and I’m not used to these trousers on the ladies! He’s also in black… high neck, deep v on the chest… and there’s a lot of cut outs on her top… but it looks kinda cool. Oooh I know this one…it’s Blues for Klock!!! Chris confirms… nice steppy bits to begin … and then into the combo spin… which is travelling and himself did not look secure on it… twizzles are way the hell out of line… and the second pass is too… which is a shame because the steps are great… lift, her lying down upside down along his back, him in one foot going f/w, Nicky says his hand was high there… steps that have Nicky saying good ice coverage… circular step… sultry a good word for these two… him in besti, her going perpendicular, lost it but covered up well, think size of rink, he pulled it around she looked like she’d go wallop otherwise… second set of twizzles right after suffer from that… more steps… lift, him leaning back in besti, her balanced by her arms on his thighs, change position and direction and edge to her standing him in same position… serpentine step…not lot of speed but using the music well… there’s not much back to her outfit I note… she grabs skate and leans back, he lifts her going f/w then into besti… and steps to the centre and they’re done… and I loved that. Ooooh, she doesn’t look happy… this the same music Zhulin used when winning worlds in 93… quick question – she’s rocking a rock on her left hand; is she engaged, and if so, didn’t she used to go out with Vahktang? Yes, no, my gossip gene needs to know! Yeeep the grimace on that lift that he pulled… the questionable hand lift Nicky says is clever because you can’t see it… oooh we see her face when she stopped, she looks upset… and I just realised, I like a Zhulin program… me… what’s the world coming to?
Marks TE 46.01 PCS 38.03 for 84.04 and 165.62 and they’re in second, their allotted slot. There be boos.
15 Sinead KERR / John KERR GBR 8 82.96
Loved their OD yesterday afternoon – I
literally shovelled the kids out the door so that I could get home to see all
of the last group. Coached by MamaNicky… aquamarine and blue for her, and can’t
get used to her as brunette… as for him… hey John, Navka called, she wants her
headband back. Otherwise, he’s in bronze sparkles on a black suit with flared
trousers, heading for the Grand Marshall of Mulletville…
are those bagpipes? They are… steps to begin… if they do flower of
Marks TE 46.24 PCS 38.99 for 84.23 for 167.19 and they’re second. On night and overall.
16 Jana KHOKHLOVA / Sergei NOVITSKI RUS 10 78.43
Black trousers for him, with black and red top, the black part of which has red streamers on it…and it’s a blouse by the way. Her dress is the same colour scheme, mostly red on the chest, with black twists on the right hand side. Lots of flesh net. Flamenco Bolero is the music. Oh. Joy. Her costume is clashing with her hair. You should all know that as they do a dance spin that includes a slo mo Natalia spin… steps on centre ice….and bolero is the music and I’m screaming over the ad for the men’s free, 8 tomorrow night??? Bastards! Sorry, while I whinge, they do steps including him in besti and her going through his legs… twizzles that are slow but really well timed with one another… lift with him in squat and her perpendicular to him… twizzles again are well done… he’s got great spiral position, and she does the splits … dip down and she holds onto his leg… tricky steps… another mini twizzle, and they’ve both got lovely extension… circular step is good, if quite far apart in places… and they like their twizzles these two… upside down lift where she’s leaning over, him going f/w with one foot up in front of him… more twizzles… serpentine step methinks? Ok I sense a motto, if in doubt, twizzle… lift where she’s balanced on his shoulders with skate to head, and then doing a near headstand on his thigh… she goes between his legs in steps… and split rotational lift… and part and slide to one another and lean back pose and stop. Chris loves their skating tech… knee bend and use of edges… bronze medallists at nationals…
Marks TE 46.90 PCS 37.32 for 84.22 and 162.65, they’re fourth but third on free. And more boos.
Gwendal with John and Sinead… he says it was like a show number, bow like a show bow, J says that’s the kind of guy he is, something takes him over at the end and that’s who he is… she loves the crowd, will remember them, can’t get over how supportive they are of them and everyone…G reminds us it’s his hometown… and off they go.
17 Federica FAIELLA / Massimo SCALI ITA 7 84.75
Long blue dress with big cut out for her, and pant suit of the same material for him, two tone blue… and lots of sparkles on the tops… he has kinda silver cuffs… music is soundtrack to the mission… steps to begin where he spins her… then dance spin… very nice… him going into Y spin… same as in OD… steps around, holding one another’s legs in y spirals… lift with him in inside besti then change direction and she changes position… nice speed in the steps as she turns… serpentine step has Nicky drooling… twizzles where they’re out of time and he slips on the second pass, gets it back quickly though… and stop to music change and kneel on ice… up they get to the pipey bit that everyone knows… nice glide move with her in Ina Bauer like position… lift where she’s squatting down and he’s kneeling on her… and the around the ice and he squats down and lifts her… nice. Pose on centre ice… twizzles don’t look great, and he slips off second set again…. I’m tutting, just in case you can’t hear me… circular step… Nicky is raving about their ankles in a good way… depth of edge… lift where she’s leaning over and back and he’s in besti, then up with her in same position and he spins… and then slide to stop and they’re done. Chris damns with faint praise… “not the best I’ve seen from these two and not the best they’ve skated” … he talks about mistakes on two elements, big mistakes in his book, Nicky agrees that two elements had obvious mistakes, he thinks overall skating and content will keep in them in their position… Chris mathematicians that they’re 1.6somethingorotherlikethat ahead of the Kerrs…they have the speed vs content argument… Chris impressed by Kerrs’ speed, Nicky points out that you can fit more content/steps/edges in with a slow piece, slow skating, more steps, higher marks… I can feel Chris’s blood pressure rising from here!
Marks TE 43.63 PCS 39.48, for 83.11 fifth on free, 167.86, second overall,…margin was too big.
RUS, ITA, GBR, AZE, RUS, FRA thus far. Break for ice resurface.
Warm-Up Group 5
18 Galit CHAIT / Sergei SAKHNOVSKI ISR 5 91.82
He’s in blue (was there a sale on that colour?) and peach shirt with deep v, and she’s in peach and shimmery gold… with sequins on her forehead… bolero. (again???) does he have grey in his hair???? On purpose or au naturel??? Deep edges to begin and lovely flow… and his top is so long it’s skirt like…now there’s equality for you… him in shoot the duck going f/w, she braceletted around him, he stands up holding her and spins… twizzles are fast and perfect… second set, he looks a microt slower than her… dance spin is nice and fast and well centred… steps… serpentine step with twizzles that are way out of kilter… lift where she’s upside down and perpendicular to him, him in besti… twizzles are miles apart but in time… both times… swing her low to the side… upside down lift for her skate to head, him with one foot in air, going forwards then backwards… nice. Spins and turns… this their circular step… nice footwork, lots of it on one foot… just a sec there where it looked like she wasn’t where he thought she’d be! But covered it well if there indeed was one… this is not letting up at all... lift and swing, holding her out to the side… and they’re done. And that, Chris says, is the best he’s seen them skate… and this may be a sign that the world is about to end, but I actually kinda, sorta, just a little bit, you know, maybe, enjoyed it. *ducks rain of frogs* Nicky loved it… talks about precise movement and ice coverage and defined edges and flow… Chris thinks the best program they’ve put together… I would tend to agree… it’s the first time, I think, that I can remember seeing them skate and he’s not going way out there OTT, he’s just skating…and Nicky catches the “ooops don’t want to lose you moment too”… but as I was saying… yeah. Liked it. Shallow note, Sergei is looking well. He’s grown into his face.
Marks TE 51.09 PCS 46.00 and 97.09 and 188.91 and a lead overall.
19 Tatiana NAVKA / Roman KOSTOMAROV RUS 1 99.00
Lady in red is dancing with Roman… very deep crimson dress with very little on the back … hair in ponytail…hey, no headband!!! He’s in, I swear to God, Evgeny Platov’s OD costume from the Paso in 96… white shirt, red skinny tie is new, but trousers and jacket are the same…times must be hard!!! Carmen the music. Her dress? Is fabulous. She poses as he skates… and goes to her and now she spins around him as they vamp it up… he leans her back and lies her down and spins around… dance spin… well centred… Nicky repeats the questions are they taking the spot forwards…twizzles are ok till the end, bit of stutter from him… him in squat, lifts her as she lies back… slide to the boards… dance hold… steps very close to one another and the crowd are clapping….serpentine step… nicely done.. lift with flip over and him in besti… and right in with the music too… she spins by him and twizzles and he’s out of time with her… second set marginally better…slide to stop right on the music… steps where it seemed like he wanted to take her hand and she was having none of it… circular step… Nicky says it’s not got the speed and he stuttered there noticeably…roman not Nicky… he says not looking as strong as he’s seen them before… and I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m bored out of my mind… lift with him in besti and she’s off upside down and he changes edge… move where they’re both in cantilevers leaning back to one another… lift with him in besti, her braceletted around him… and down stop … almost but not quite on the music. Chris wonders have they left the door open… and I don’t know. It was good. It was competent. He made mistakes, she cut her hand, caught it on a blade… and it didn’t have magic for me. Disclaimer, I’m not a fan of these two in any particular way, but there was no fire there… Nicky says they didn’t have the edges or the speed of the Israelis… he looked to be nervous... didn’t get down into the ice, Chris says transitions from him not great, she looked fine… Nicky says he would have had the Israelis ahead of them were they not world champions already… speed wasn’t there, they both agree… Chris says has been said that these the best package, if not original or fast..
Marks TE 51.90 PCS 51.42 for 103.32 and 202.32, in front and on the night so extend their lead…the lads are struggling, the crowd are restless…
20 Margarita DROBIAZKO / Povilas VANAGAS LTU 3 95.29
Holy Moses, where did she get that head of hair from? Old style Elizabethan dress, kinda white/ivory, fading to pace on the skirt… he’s in black, with oh no, deep v on the chest, and a peach ruffle on the collar. No. Just no. Her outfit though is lovely. Phantom of the Opera… dance spin begins… she goes into biellman in it… he spins on the knee in front of him… twizzles are fast but out of time and second set are better… and oooh something out there from her, but got it back again…. Circular step… lots of speed and flow… upside down entry into lift and he in squatting move… she’s upside down too… lift with her upside down and leaning over, and him doing forward, then he goes into besti… nice, and never loses speed… glidey spiral move… Nicky wonders about lack of rhythmic beat running through the music on the opening part… all I ask of you… and this is so nice… good knee bend and flow… him in squat leaning back and her lying on him… twizzles… and did he fall off them in the middle? Not sure… if he didn’t they were good…steps… faster now… serpentine step methinks…. Her in splits and he pulls her… lift where he’s carrying her, then she hooks leg around neck and he spins with her… run to centre… and knee slides and they’re done. Crowd loved it. Chris is praising the emotion of the performance, and he was enthralled… I may have been too nervy to enjoy it, but I did like it… Nicky says it was like an exhibition… he talks about the rise and fall of the music, using it to accentuate the elements… speed didn’t look to falter all the way through… they sold it… Nicky is wondering about the music… still…
Marks TE and I hear boos 52.74 PCS 48.15 for 100.89 and 196.18 and they’re second. She doesn’t look impressed, he gives a smile and wave, and the crowd are booing. The lads think the Russians are lucky on the marks.
Gwendal and Roman – R says she couldn’t catch her blade properly and she cut her arm pretty big he thinks… G says he looked tired at end, was it hard this champs? He says he doesn’t know, they were trying to skate, second half of program was much harder because beginning was done with so much passion, little bit not enough energy til the end of the program…
21 Isabelle DELOBEL / Olivier SCHOENFELDER FRA 4 94.68
Deafening noise… she’s in shades of purple and black, the floaty dress she favours, he’s in matching outfit with wings and she has white gloves… his are mostly blue… steps and dip to begin… they have French words, Italian in Turin, English in worlds… lift to begin with her leaning back on his knees and he goes to full spread with her still holding him…love it… twizzles… es… second set not as unisonified but not so till the end…. Lift with him in spread, her leaning back upside down…..their lifts are always so great, so hard yet they make it look easy… steps in dance hold now, lots of turns and good deep edges from them… they never step going, and this is serpentine step… thank you Nicky… twizzles… she does death spiral… well kinda and their gloves makes masks that’s so cool!!! Dance spin… lovely positions, right in front of judges… handstand lift where she leans over and he’s on one foot… twizzles… in both directions done as well as ever I’ve seen them…. Then low to ice both on one foot and leaning low….excellent… faster now crowd are clapping… and I’m getting chills… circular step… so close to one another… Nicky picks that it’s open so it can flow more easily… him in besti her lying back perpendicular to him and they’re stepping and done and I loved, loved, loved that!!!! That’s her sister in the crowd, has to be… and people are standing and wow! Nicky raves about quality of their skating, says something has to happen (twice) … oh I loved that. Just the emotion, the way it was built up, the lifts, the speed, the ice coverage… the choreography with the gloves… so smart!
Marks and oh dear I hear boos TE 50.25 PC 49.56 for 99.81and 194.49 and third
overall and on the night… and I think I can hear the boos. Not through the TV.
Travelling from
G with Rita and Pov… would you change reaction of public against first place? P says for 3 Olympics in a row, yes, for one Euros probably yes. She didn’t see the crowd on their feet, she was too tired, concentrating on elements, P says that she was on her knees, they were on their legs… he’s having a good time!
22 Elena GRUSHINA / Ruslan GONCHAROV UKR 2 97.61
All in white, he’s not got much on his chest, she’s not got much on hers either. Or on her back. She’s wearing a headband though. Of sparkles. The Feeling Begins by Peter Gabriel. Start with her nearly sitting on ice, he brings her up… spins her under… steps around… her headband looks like its going to fall in her eyes… lift where she’s upside down and pretzelled up and he’s in squat going f/w… steps around in dance hold… don’t look to have the speed of some of the others… steps… lift with her on his front, at hip level him going f/w, hop to other side as he dips down low to the ice… dance spin with her in biellman like position… change to him in squat and her in bent leg camel spin… twizzles … ok. Steps where her leg is going all over the place, through and over his arm… twizzles… they get further apart as they go along… lift with him in hydroblading, her leaning back… steps, serpentine pattern… again, I question the speed… Nicky says not much content on the start of serp, very slow over the ice but nice edges as they went along… lift and spin, her lying down in biellman, change of position and direction and they’re done, very ahead of the music. And it was good… but for me, neither the gold nor the silver had that indefinable… I don’t want to say the X factor, but that’s what I mean. Chris says this didn’t work for him, and he’s finding it hard to choose between them and Navka… Nicky says their interp was excellent, some difficult positions, they’re playing into the rules, but if he was marking, ISR first, FR second… I’d have the French first myself… Nicky wonders can this beat the Rus, N&K didn’t have “the speed, the bite, the edge” that we’ve seen in the past… I’m leaving it all up to the SkateGods. Because I’d have the French on that podium.
Marks TE 49.88 PCS 49.24 for 99.12 and 196.73, they’re fourth on the night and second place overall, and the crowd are booing. Margin was too much. Nicky shaking his head.
Navka, Grushina, Drobiazko, Delobel, Chait, Dominina…
Faeiella Kerr Fraiser Khokhlova Pechelat…
Jeepers creepers, can you hear the booing???? And SisterDelobel (I used to know her name) is caught on camera also booing! That’s why…the judges were leaving, so the crowd let their voices be heard. And how…
Gwendal with Tatiana and Roman… her hand is seriously bandaged…he asks what happened, she said last lift she didn’t take right position, took wrong side of skate, tried to keep closer to head so very deep cut, will go after ceremony to hospital… new rules, every girl has something like this. This comp not that good for you, started in third, how did you get back? He says at first was disappointed and upset, did little mistake in comp, maybe that’s why we got third, then tried to skate as hard as we can on OD and FD, thinks we did good, little bit not enough energy in second half of FD but tried to show best performance… she says she thinks their best performance of comp was in the OD… today was good also except for this little slip (the hand) and didn’t get fourth level on lift because T didn’t catch her blade for right position Roman says (My edit later on – miaow!!! Forget the fact that he slipped on twizzles twice…it just sounded very bitchy to me!!!)… G asks do they think that performance enough to be Olympic champs? She thinks they need to work more, today did little mistake, looking forward to being best at Olympics. He’s glad they can fight, showed they can after comp, showed them this can happen anytime. This week gave them much pleasure, tough comp, but they still were good enough.
Nicky and Chris on the replays are saying again, well Nicky is, that it doesn’t have the speed. But if it gets the marks, and it’s what the judges want, then it’ll be good enough…
Here we go… I can hear the announcements for the ceremony…
Gwendal with Isabelle and Olivier… she says that it was a great evening for them, everything was great, tried to do new things in program, had response of audience, was very warm. G asks O how they’re going to prep for Olympics, he says have lots of things to work on, have to work on the mistakes, be more precise during the routine… going to try to learn from this and know that no mistakes are permitted… even in the comps… fact that they made the mistake and lost so many points cost them here today.
N&K got a good response, G&G slightly more muted, it sounds like? And do I detect a boo there??? And a huge roar for Drobiazko and Vanagas… she’s taken her hair out… and the long hair really suits her. People are standing for them… big smiles all round… Tatiana still nursing the hand… medals are given… Grushina does not look like a happy camper… and as the medals are given to Rita and Pov, the crowd roars again, stands up again… I’m giving Rita the gold medal for best dress if nothing else! Have to say, I like Navka’s as well… the lads think Roman has copped the mood of the public… another big roar as the flowers are given to the Lithuanians… and boos aplenty for the referee… oh my. Interestingly enough, he makes the Gallic shrug with his hands as he goes to Rita and Pov, and again to the crowd after he steps from them… technical consultant also booed, and huge screams of applause when she goes to Rita and Pov… and I have to say, I’m feeling sorry for the other two because it’s so obvious from the crowd. Navka looks near tears; not sure is that pain, pride or because of the reaction…
Nicky says Olympics is a battle royal… Chris says join him tomorrow on his own (Nicky has other things, which I take to mean he’ll be on the Torvill and Dean show) at 4.15 CET, which is 3.15 my time which is interesting as the channel keeps on telling me it’s eight at night… I think it’s a case of put on Eurosport and hide the remote control all day!