Worlds 2004
Gala
Proof positive that prayers really do work; the VCR timer did its thing and I can now review what we’ve seen of the gala! Though thanks to today’s Irish Independent, I know what Plushenko wore… I swear, the paper doesn’t mention boo about the championships all week, but the minute they see a fella in a dress, it’s a 7 inch picture in glorious technicolour… don’t you just love newspapers?
Not however as much as I love
Johnny Weir
Who Simon says we start with. And he’s wearing black trousers and a rather busy black and white top, all Xs and lines… and my favourite song, Imagine </sarcasm> starts off with a nice flying camel ending up with bent leg and out of that…ooh and gloves, did I mention the gloves? Crawls into what looks like a triple lutz, then does a split jump (not a really split jump, one of those turn and leap ones… is that a split falling leaf or did I imagine that term… answers on an email!!) on the steps out of that… more steps… into a flip which I’m pretty sure is doubled… stars into camel spin change to camel with bent leg upright… steps back… and he’s a lovely mover so he is… triple toe? I think… I’m all confussed with the jumps today… catch foot spiral with leg in front of him… lord this song goes on forever… turns into the triple toe and then stars into and more stars lead into camel spin but pick out the beats of the music…sit spins with changes of foot and great changes of position. Steps with mini spread… and stop, wave arms… and kneel on the ice and he’s done. Thank God. Sorry… at the risk of being flambéed for this, love the skater, love the skating, hate hate hate hate hate the song. Never liked it, never will. We see some of the close ups of him… including the footsie cam, just to annoy me further on my lack of success of matching jump with name…
This is being cut together with a knife and fork, we’re hearing them talk about Johnny while Petrova and Tikhonov are coming out on the ice….
Petrova and Tikhonov
Her in little black hot pants and a little cardigan top that has about one button to preserve her modesty. Lord, may it be a strong one; the world already has one Janet Jackson. Of course, it must be or the Irish Independent would have run that picture. He’s in a red shirt and navy blue trousers. She lies back on the ice looking oh so relaxed… and he looks down at her all what the heck are you doing? Music begins and off he goes… her foot is moving and he helps her up, then lifts her up into a platter lift with two hands… and down out of that… and she’ lying back down again… he does a flying spin, whistles to get her up.. off she goes… and back to him…mimes hitting him, I can’t remember was he that bad in the free? Off they go around the ice… and into the s/s 2ax… and then a f/I d/s with him starting off in spread very nice… steps back in perfect unison… and he lifts her and spins with her as if they were slowdancing…that’s kinda sweet… skate away and more dacneing…tango hold… throw prep… double sal. Steps around and a lift where he throws her all over and around his body… carry lift with her all the way up in the air, sitting on his ahand,and drop down to that with her upside down facing away from him and spiining her… and her being spun by him as he grips her ankles and one ahnd and he goes down to sit…then she lies down on the ice and he joins her. Very nice. Music was a male vocal, lighthearted, sounded like Joe Cocker but I don’t think it was…answers in an email!
Miki Ando
Black dress, red ruff on
the skirt. Music is Carmen. What a surprise!
Stroking to begin and down the ice and around…. Lutz triple…in
spotlights…layback spin is gorgeous… and goes on forever, much like Imagine… oooh englsih language Carmen…
spiral… back spiral is well held and then a front spiral with leg held
up… as the music tells us why she wants to dance…upright spin with illusion…
and into the axel double… turning steps into a camel spin to sit layback change
sit to scratch and I love how she gets the speed up! And did I mention that her
layback is divine? Steps incl something like an ina bauer… split jump… and
another… and stop and dnace in one spot… turning
steps… where we get an out of focus close up…camel spin of the flying kind… to
upright and scratch spin and she’s done. Incredible year for
Grushina and Goncharov.
Her in sparkly black dress with no back, him in black shirt and trousers, and also avec the sparkle. Start off with him lying on the ice, him holding her up on top of him, her back to him… music by sarah brightman… she stands… spins… and he rises up… takes her hand…and I note it’s more a jacket than shirt…. Lift her with her in front of him as she makes bicycle legs…and then do it again… showing much of the chest does Ruslan be… glidey leaning move… steps around…. Lift with him in sit and her leaning back against him as he carries her… more steps as I note that Ruslan did not have the GHD out today… knee turns on the ice… steps and lift where he’s in spiral and she’s pretzeld around him…change position…very effortless and smooth… this does not sound like sarah brightman… andother lift and spin… diagonal steps with jump and run and jump where she’s up on his hip doing the splits….into lift where she’s on his thigh with leg extended… steps down the length of the rink… nice unison… and going the other way too… nice move where she leaps and spins into him and does it again in case we missed it… somersault entry into lift where she’s upside down leaning away from him to finish… very nice. Simply gorgeous says Simon and I really liked that too… he said earlier on that he thinks they were aggrieved at that lack of medal…Chris says he felt that they ahd done enough…most people that he spoke to think that their perf was a little lacklustre on the night, but he says tech more demanding, they just didn’t sell it very well.
Stephane Lambiel.
In black troursers and black shirt with lemon collar and cuffs…and tango…music is shakira. And you dance Stephane! Sparkles on his left hand side of his shirt… objection tango I think the music…. Down on the toe …think it was treiple…camel to sit change sit and the speed of him… off he goes… steps really using every beat of the music and then he falls ion them… someone’s been enjoying himself methinks! Into the triple flip with very low landing… and then into camel to sit to butt spin which really should be diaallowed…to sit to cross foot spin and out…to the boards, where he shimmies a little then launches into a straight line step that uses every inch of his blades… sit spin change upright..blur spin with head thrown back where we get close up of his feet…grr… and he’s done. Simon says brilliant at the end! And also that it’s the first itme he’s seen his personality…he confirms that it was a quad attempt…lot of fun Chris says…and the music sounded like objection, didn’t end up being that, some kind of techno version of shakira… no vocals… and those spins look normal speed on a slo mo….
Pang and Tong
Him in black pants and white tshirt and her in black pants and little top…music the prayer…and much with the sparkles on the trousers… love this song. Love it love it love it…start off in steps… and lift with her against him, then down into spreads…love that move, love it… steps and then into the s/s 2ax which he singles… lovely flow along the ice…. Throw 3sal? Or loop? Is triple anyway….and lift and spin in steps… and into a b/o d/s… more steps with a mini spread… star lift and then down… straight lines steps into s/s signel axel and then double toes after steps… s/s camels to sits to upright… he pulls her in spiral… and then pairs spirals.. this is gorgeous… split double and the hang time of it! Lift with him in cantilever her standing on him, and from that to her legs around his waist and facing away from him, spinning. Music edit that makes my ears bleed and we’re near the end of the song… lift with him in spread , her in splits above him and down…stop and go into pairs spins… and lift and they’re done. Very enjoyable but that edit on the music at the end was one of the worst I’ve ever heard in my life… and Chris’s mike is working again… and is he telling me that they trained for four years on their own without a coach? Yeesh…
Winkler and Lohse
Yay! Can I cheerlead for them again? Just a little bit? She’s all in white in a pretty dress, as is he, and while not every man can wear white, Rene has the panache to pull it off… now, if only he would… oooh no back to her dress, and very little front… and the sparkles of it all… music is mambo… dance rene dance!” oooh and look at the amount of chest we see on display there…pause the video… I may never see the end of this…but press play and straight line steps… and lift where she’s carried on his chest…lucky girl… and very nice shot of the backside of rene there… ahem…ok, no like the fringe on his shirt…he should therefore remove it immediately. The shirt not the fringe… lots of high energy steps… circular step… she goes under his legs and he brings her back up…dancing on centre ice…lift and spin with her doing the splits… striahgt ine step with tqizzles… two sets… they’re singing along… andlift where her legs are around his neck as he spins…and stop… and he is so very very pretty… simon calls it simple but very very effective… did I mention rene’s shirt is nearly seethrough? Anyone else remember the seethrough pants of ’98? Oh, those happy days… Simon talks about their rollercoaster ride, the times they could have done severe damage to each other and behind the scenes they probably did… talks about the injury and coming back from it… and look at that crowd and the applause! And out they come again… not sure what this is but he skates away from her and she follows him…welll who would’nt? Steps along the ice… diagonal step… and more steps in a straight line… lift with her upside down along his chest and down in a spin and they are done. And again, people are standing all around the place…Simon wonders are they going to carry on…natural climax and all that… and we get the close ups… and oh how pretty he is…
Michelle Kwan
In a beautiful white dress, and her hair is out and flwoing down her bck… starts with hands over her head…falling by Alicia Keys… steps back… around the corner… steps into the axel double is clean as anything… great picking out of the musical points here… in for the double toe with bit of a lean… flying camel… and stop… and stroke around… into the triple lutz… And the smile on that… layback spin… turning steps out of that, and back towads centre ice… this is great… split jump, spread eagle… spiral, change edge spiral that I adore so… and stop right on the beat… wave the arms a little… off again… into the camel spin sit change sit to Y spin… and out of that and into a scratch spin and she’s done. Wow… really really enjoyed that…not something I would have put her skating to, to be honest, but she did great with it… and Simon tells us her tales of woe over the week, praises her for being serene through all of that…Chris calls her the supreme competitor and brings up the streaker… and Simon notes that she seemed to see the funny side of it… well, I ask myself, what else could she do?
Stefan Lindemann
I’m cheerleading again! In black t shirt and grey trousers… little jump to begin… male vocal that I think I should know but don’t… sit spin to upright and out… flying camel.. to bent leg variation… besti squat… and another little jump… did he just roll up his sleeves… and into triple flip… very nice…don’t make me wait long appears to be the refrain… steps… to the boards.. straight lines step into triple toe… and then another…. Very nice, second one with no much prep… and lots of steps nad little jumps … is this seal? Sounds like it could be seal… split jump, twice… huge flying sit… and slide to stop… and circles being turned at centre ice… spread eagle… into change of edge then besti squat… 2ax with foot down on the landing... and steps incl mini spread.. and he’s done, kneeling on the ice. And another rapturous round of applause…Simon reminds us that this time last year he was thinking of giving up…a fairy story he calls it… Chris reminds us he’s hardly put a foot wrong, all the pressure he’s dealt with really well…had a reception for him, when he walked in people stood up, and he went scarlet, just wanted to disappear… started to skate when he was 4, wanted to switch to ice hockey but his mammy wouldn’t let him….
Shen and Zhao
And why with the boos? She in a lovely peach dress, him in pale grey shirt and darker grey pants. Moulin Rouge soundtrack… starts with him well behind her…. Music begins, she reaches up, turns to him… then back … oooh it’s come what may! He skates up to her…love this song… and skates around her… and away from her… they stakte to one another and he lifts her and spins with her… wow…this is lovely already… skate around the rink… lift where sh’es sitting on his outstretched arm…then change to her lying face down on his back as he’s on one foot… and down from that into dancing on centre ice…lift an d spin with her behind him up in the air… music builds… around the corner int crossovers to a huge split double twist… this is exquisite…. And into spreadeagles with a change of edge which I adore and death spiral into spin around by the arm… throw triple sal and the length!!! She’s puside down and he lifts her with one arm, lowers her a little, and then out…and then up again into platter lift and down and the crowd go crazy and are standing… and I’m sorry, but that puppy’s being rewound and watched again. Excuse me a minute, will you?
And you know what? Loved it even more the second time around. Phenomenal. Amazing. Wonderful. Exceptional. Exquisite. There are not enough superlatives in the dictionary to adequately describe my feelings about this program. Simple adoration.
Sasha Cohen
Her in shades of grey, darkening from top to bottom, avec the sparkles in leaf shapes.. music is romeo and Juliet, starting with a spiral from side to side… then back steps… spread eagle… crossovers into the 2ax… great speed around the ice… and spiral… and look at that extension… split sjump… leaning spiral with leg extended… spin where she gets speed out of nowhere as we get a close up of her crossed feet… steps on centre ice… around she goes into the corner for the triple toe… down the ice fofr the triple sal, shaky landing…flying camel… lovely position on the back there… speed again now… spiral… if you can do it that well, why not show it off? ina bauer… steps … charlotte… slide to stop… run up the ice… camel spin sit layback change sit… to hold the foot in a split spin and she’s done right on the music and that was super Simon says… and it was really. She has character to burn he says, she’s bounced back… and there are people standing… and well they might. We see the spiral in replays… and Chris waxes lyrical about them… and so well he might, I would too…
Denkova and Staviyski
And they come out. And my. She’s in a white top and trousers, midriff bare. He’s in flesh coloured net on top (that odd sound you might have heard a while ago? Me, shrieking. Sorry ladies, the boy don’t do it for me!) Also white trousers. But, and this is the thing that makes me pause, they come out each wearing white blindfolds. And I, who have been busily perusing message boards all weekend, at once begin to wonder is this some strange and unusual form of protest against blind judges? ‘Tis a question to ponder friends! Start of f leaning over, against one another… and straighten and lean again… and he lifts her and it all looks very one-too-many-the-night-before as she’s upside down against his chest… which I now see is covered by a tank top of flesh coloured net. Maxim, in the pantheon of costumes sins, you have just shot straight to the top of my list. She lies down on the ice, and he lifts her up… mime being separated by glass… she skates away, he follows and lifts her… and down and steps… and stop. Pulling down of the blindfolds… and off again… move with him in squat, holding onto her leg as she goes around in a circle… lift wehre she lies across his shoulders… and spin and down… steps along the diagonal… and slide to stop… he skates around her and then pulls her again…she skates away from him, he knee turns on the ice to win her back… so she lets him lift her and they do this thing where he’s in a besti and she’s doing a hand stand on his knees, one of her legs around his head… and then he squats again and puts her horiztonal across his knees…then a lside along the ice turning into both of them kneeling on the ice and undulating… then she lies down on top of him, undulates a bit more…yes because that’s going to make conservative ice dance judges love you… he lifts her and they’re done, to huge applause…another couple you just know are really popular and I did like that. Absent the top that is. I don’t’ care what people say, no-one looks good in that much flesh coloured net. Simon and Chris are speechless, either with admiration or costume horror, ‘tis hard to say.
Brian Joubert
In black trousers and black and grey tight tshirt with almost leopard skin look… and spin to begin… male vocal I should know… steps around… love his flow… long held glide backwards… into sit spin… change sit… and stop and squat and rise and skate… something about him needing love in the lyrics…ahem…. Triple toe… and no, I will not type it…I will not…picks up the beats of the music as he goes into a blinding triple flip… turning steps… flying sit… and upright out of that… where we get another close up of his toe rakes…grr…to the boards goes he… steps along the rink in a spread eagle…sigh… into the tripel sal… and camel spin to sit to variation to scratch spin… he mimes the beating of his heart again then goes to the boards… glides back to centre ice and stops with arms outstretched. And he takes his bows… and there are people standing for him too. We see the jumps in the slo-mos, and him blowing a kiss to the crowd…sigh…
Simon and Chris are definitely AWOL…
Totmianina and Marinin
In their free program costumes. A violinist accompanies them out onto the ice…and this is where I miss Chris and Simon…and he’s standing on the center ice, playing as they look on… don’t know who he is… and we see their free dance parts of it… and we can hear some of Brian’s exhibition music… and back to their free program music as yer man plays away… yeah, Gremlins in the Eurosport works… and now we’re seeing their free, some of the elements from it… Tatiana has a mike in her hand… she says they can’t skate today because she injured herself this morning but wants to say thank you for all their support during the competition… the audience helped them to win a gold medal…thank you very much and see oyu next year… she sounded really emotional… and looked it to, especially when yer man was playing. People are standing for them… that was classy. And not bad from the English of it all.
There is an announcer on the ice…
Shizuka Arakawa
In a pretty dusky rose pink dress…her hair also down… earrings like stars in her ears… music is female vocal… she steps back… turning steps on the ice… and glide… around the corner she goes… triple sal? More steps and turns and a little leap… slide spiral which I really like and we don’t see enough of… spin layback nicely done… steps back and into the triple lutz… she’s another one who sings as she goes around… 2ax… stars into flying camel… and upright…and we get a talk over where the guys tells us that there are technical problems and Simon and Chris will be back…split jump and another… spread eagle… lovely…. Stpes into the triple toe… and around the ice into an ina bauer where she’s lying right the way back… and into camel spin to catch foot doughnut spin… and upright…and stop. Very, very nice. There are people standing for her… and I wonder will we see another from her… well, first we have to see the slo mos… and she’s out again… nessun dorma spread eagle… sigh…anyone else remember when champions had two program prepared? Into the triple toe triple toe double loop… in spots! Layback spin is fabulous… around the corner… and I’m getting chills again… catch foot spiral… spread eagle… back spiral with hella extension… ina bauer and no-one can do that better than she can…flying camel … to scratch and she’s done. To roars of approval.
Navka and Kostomarov
And I nearly typed and Morozov…how’s that for a blast from the past? Top ten signs you’ve bene watching skating too long anyone? Oh my…orange and yellow striped shirt from him with purple trousers… he looks like noddy. And there’s pink in the shirt too, and ruffles of lace on the collar and the sleeves… he vamps it up though… now there is a man secure in his masculinity. I’m just saying. Out she comes in pure Twiggy gear, little blue dress with X’s and O’s on it and the blue knee high boots…Austin powers… and he’s really going for it… move wehre she slides under his legs… and dancing… face slapping from her…. And lift and spin with her warapped around him holding on to her skate… she skates over him as he lies on the ground… now she’s pulls him up as we go into You by the Lightning Seeds…would that be right? She skates away from him and he follows her… schmoozy dancing… lift with her kneeling on his leg as he’s in besti… and lift and spin and I realise just how much chest Roman is exposing… and not in a abd way… lift and spin and she’s loving those holding onto the skate blade moves…and Austin is back and we’re dancing on the spot.. and now we’re moving again with an assisted cartwheel for her, and both in cantilever, leaning back on the other… lift and spin in steps with her rigid in his arms…then he leand back on her and they’re done. Plenty of fun to be ad there…. And Maxim take note, no flesh coloured net that I can see. Roman, you rock.
Out they come again… he giving peace signs to the crowd… Michael Jackson… dancing on the spot… shake it guys… kicks to the side… and spin and catch… and lift and spin… to the boards and shake it around a littie into a diagonal step… steps into the lift wehre she’s wrapped around him holding her blades… and steps into dance spin… more dancing on the spot… and stop, kneeling on the ice. Loved that.
Evgeni Plushenko
And out in comes in trousers. So I know he does two, thanks to the gold old Indo. And perhaps not.. as I see he’s in a jacket which looks to have a top underneath it like that one that was in the paper… and he shakes it a little ,and runs backwards…and yer man the announcer says something about 3 numbers… triple toe while I ponder that… flying sit spin… I find myself bopping along… and he grooves on centre cie before moving along and is it just me or does he have really really large hands? They’re not normally that big are they? 2ax… and steps… and he ends up dancing in front of the boards…steps into flying sit.. and out of that… and he shimmies to the crowd… and blows kisses … and it’s not just me, he’s so much improved presentation wise in the last couple of years… stragith line step that is frankly, better than that of his free program <ducks bullets from outraged Plushy fans> to the boards again, he motions to the crowd to give it up… and around he goes… slide along the ice on his belly… and he meant that! Camel spin to sit change sit to scratch spin and travel off it and he’s done…. With a little extra kick at the end. I’m nodding here… that was really good. People stand all around the place… and he blows kisses as he goes off.
Out he come again. Still skirtless. Takes his time. And stands straight… mimes ringing doorbell..opens the door … steps in… and runs to someone arms outstretched… shrugs the shoulders… and there’s the skirt! Drops down from the top…genius! And little fluttery running steps…. And theres no abck to his dress…. And steps into a double axel… and shimmies and grips his chest…and now the skirt is gone… and he’s all macho man… and back to the skirt….he’s playing both parts! Like a man and woman talking or something… and spin kinda like a layback but not really…. And steps… this is either wonderful or the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen… I don’t know which! Still female…. And he kneels down and skirt is gone… this defies description and this is me! Shakes fists as he does a double toe… glide to the boards…look out…and into the audience he goes… someone is very happy now… and he pulls someone out and dances with her… blows her a kiss… into the rink goes he again, blows another kiss… glide back… straight line step… camel spin to sit biellman… change sit to scratch… and into the skirt again… and dance up and down… waves to the crowd… and off he goes, head bobbing the whole way..and curtsey and he’s done. I’m laughing my head off here… I don’t pretend to understand what the hell that was about, but dear lord above, it was brilliant. Yes, I just used that adjective brilliant to describe a Plushenko performance. You will say apocalypse can’t be too far behind. And I cannot blame you. I really don’t want to know what kind of mind thinks up something like that… it scares even me!
Out comes the violinist again… will annoying voiceover guy tell us who he is? That would be a no it seems. He’s playing… Edvin Marton is the name that comes up on the caption… and he stops and blows a kiss and the audience applaud him… and he looks around… and out comes PLushy again post a shirt change it looks like… and spread eagles as yer man plays beethoven’s symphony no 5… plushy skates back… triple toe triple toe dobuel loop… double axel…. Turns into a something that we can’t see as we see the violinist instead…when back to PLushy he’s doing steps… and into a flying camel… catch foot doughnut spin…around the boards eyeing up the audience… stirahgt line step which I miss the start of… and down the ice into the 2toe… and into a scratch spin to finish… impressive. And they take their bows together…
We see some of the highlights of that performance… and will we get to see the closing stages? Someone is singing… Natalie. Whoever she is. And ther’es ice dancers… who I can’t see … and pairs who are Fitze and Rex… nice lift… and ther’es Tanith and Ben in their Elvis costumes… skaters doing sit spins… Sasha does Y spiral…. Michelle does one of her split falling leaves… spiral cfrom someone and Shizuka does her ina bauer… spiral catch foot from her then… Den/Stav and Kati and Rene… visions in white… Navka and Kostomarov… do lift where she’s upside down leaning over balanced on his knee… pairs lifts… including T&M… and all the other pairs comes out then… this is a nice song and nice ending….out come the men… and Lindemann does a scratch spin with Plushy and Joubert to give them the signal to come out and they all kneel on the ice and then they do this cool domino thing…excellent!
Well gang, it’s been a great week…thanks for reading and writing, and I’ll see you next year!