Worlds 2005
Free Dance
So what have I learned this week? That going away during worlds is not a good thing, because when you come home, you have hours and hours of skating to find the time to watch!
Anyhoo, back in time…
1 Julia GOLOVINA / Oleg VOIKO UKR 23 66.81
They weren’t shown on Eurosport
2 Alexandra KAUC / Michal ZYCH POL 22 67.50
Gypsy style outfits for them, her in blue skirt with apron and white shirt and waistcoaty thing, and he’s in white blouse black pants and matching waistcoat to her… starting with steps into dance spin… and a little twirl… and now gypsy/Russian style steps… and steps where he dips and spins her, into a rotational carry lift… crowd are clapping and seeming to enjoy…diagonal steps… lots of turns and changes of direction, seeming quite close together… lift with him in two foot squat going f/w and her in the splits on his legs… gliding steps now… and another dance spin which we see from the skycam and thus we know that there is travel… change of position, not as much travel on second pass of spins… steps around and lift where he’s almost hydroblading holding her…. Twizzles where she’s all over the shop on both sections… lift with him in besti, going to one foot glide with her braceletted around him… step sequence, circular… lots of running steps as the drums beat… lift with her leg wrapped around his neck and he spins her as she’s half down, I can hear Nicky’s teeth grinding from here…twizzles, firsts are bad, second disaster, both falling off them at different times, and finish with steps, and I wonder if they’re supposed to be that out of synch? Then she covers her face with her hands when they’re done, so I’m guessing not… Chris says they looked tired near the end… mistake from him in twizzles with 20 secs to go he says… spins good and good lifts… reiterate that it’s very warm in the arena… ice surface very good, fast, skaters like it, good for excellent performances as evening progresses… Simon preferred the Ukrainians, thought them better
Marks TE 34.72 PC 34.15 for 68.87 and 136.37 which puts them second. So they drop.
3 Alessia AURELI / Andrea VATURI ITA 24 62.49
She’s in black with huge cut outs, and a halter neck… with a tangerine scarf stapled on… he’s all in black, with sparkles of tangerine lining his arms… Ooooh! Out here on my own and the fame remix from Irene Cara … love this! Dance spin to begin shows that there is no back save sparkles to her dress….twizzles… not bad… also in the second pass but very far apart… lift where he’s leaning and squatting and a horrible musical edit makes me wince… off we go with fame, and the crowd clap and fast footwork from these two… and they look like they’re having fun…. Steps around… she goes under his legs… lots of spinning and kicking here… diagonal steps… fun, not sure of difficulty… he’s got zig zag sparkles on his trousers I see… more steps… and lift with her in upside down splits as he spins her… change of music again… twizzles and his straps on his trousers is undone, flapping around the boot… back to out here on my own… and that strap is scary… besti squat where he leans back and she’s facing the lice cat shoulder level and he’s copped the strap at the bottom of his boot when he nearly stepped on it… that could have been nasty. Lads are talking about restart from where the problem occurred… we see the coach with the safety pin… and no, it’s a scissors and he cuts off the strap… one way of dealing with it! Simon says they look very relaxed… he sees something on the ice, goes to pick it up… and the music stops again, cued up too far… they just skate around until they can get themselves back on track… here we go… lift with her going forwards away from him, him going f/w on one foot, then drops from shoulder level to other direction upside down at waist level… with him in besti… … nifty… she goes under his legs and knee slides… and they do a dance spin… and he’s grinning… and the music edit again makes me cry… and stop… and here we go again to another remix of fame… and they’re beaming, the pair of them and the crowd are well into this… serpentine steps by the looks of things… and it is, with lots of energy… and lift where she’s holding onto his boot and he’s on one foot going forwards and the music stops before they do, but they really did come back well from that… Simon thought they coped with it really well too… Chris says not tech demanding, lots of s/s skating, very open, simple steps, runs and crosses and transitions and links are so important now, and that was the weakest part of their performance… their coach has very very red hair. I’m just saying. They say hello to Barbara FusarPoli who put this program together…
Marks TE 32.52 PC 31.86 for 64.38 and 126.87 overall, 3 of 3.
4 Christina BEIER / William BEIER GER 21 68.90
Pocahontas and partner. With her in white dress and feathers on it, and him in matching feathers on his arms, and a blue sparkling triangle over his chest and more shoulder pads than Alexis Carrington ever wore… a Scotnicky pair… there is no back to her outfit… I don’t think there’s even net… s/s steps to begin, spinny steps, twizzles etc… lift with her right up in front of him, then bracelet hold to change edge besti… and she’s practically the same height if not taller than him…facing spirals go to dance spin, and knee slide and turn… drums beat to steps… very slow across the ice in the diagonal step with kick outs a la shae and vic… seem to be skating apart a good bit, and it’s very open when they are together…circular step… lift with her in splits facing him at waist level as he rotates very quickly… slower now, twizzles as female vocal sings and it’s very clannad like… into a dance spin… good centring of the spin … lift with him in splits and him in teapot, her back is to the ice… and another lift where she’s in bracelet hold, resting on his shoulders….good balance… steps as more drums… runs around the ice and going along the diagonal… not sure of how much content there… and another lift with her holding onto her skates as she’s wrapped around him, him in besti, and dear lord, that’s a rather inelegant pose… and they’re done… looking wrecked…as Simon once more tells the story of asking Paul Duchesnay what it was like skating with his sister (“Can you imagine what it’s like skating with your sister for a decade?”) Chris really enjoyed it (not so me), thinks it went sometimes from element to element, good speed, crisp skating… talks about Scotnicky always being original… which he is, it’s just not my cup of tea… and there is indeed no back to her dress…
Marks TE 37.04 PC 36.75 for 73.79 and 142.69 – first at the moment, by some way.
Warm-Up Group 2
5 Fang YANG / Chongbo GAO CHN 20 70.24
She’s in a bright pink dress, with little strappy sleeves… he’s in black, with pink ribbons stapled onto his top… there’s a pink flower on her waist… lift to begin… Simon tells us she has bandage on her right knee; spray applied before she begins… lots of speed in these steps… I feel love is the music… and gliding move where she’s dipped… steps out of that, and down the ice in a dance hold, then moving to lots of changes of hold and rotation in the diagonal step, that’s quite nifty and it didn’t lose speed… into the dance spin, bent leg camels, change of position and music changes to nessun dorma… him in going forward squat, her leaning back, facing away from him… lift wit her in arabesque on his shoulder, then changing so she’s lying across him…twizzles are out of synch… and second pass no better… around the corner and dip and glide… and he leans back against her… and music changes again and they’re speeding into a circular step… more twizzles that are far better… and into dance spin where she’s holding her skate blade… and lift where she’s leaning back against his shoulder, holding her skate and the transition to the next position wasn’t great, looked like they got it a little wrong, and step seq circular… she’s smiling and selling… but they seem to be moving slower? And rotational lift with her in splits leaning back, at shoulder level to him…and down and spin and done. Simon says it slowed down almost to a stop at the end… so not just me then! Simon not sure of linking of the music in this program, or some of the others… Chris says some of the musical editing not marvellous either. (Nicky, I’m sorry, but Chris? Marry me.) Chris not sure of his skating ability… even though she’s injured… was always him out of balance or off synch… good program says Chris, as demanding as their ability allowed… Dubova their coach… see twizzles where his free leg was a little loose…
Marks TE 29.55 PC 35.86 judges went for them! She shakes her head… for 65.41 and they drop… 135.65, 4 of 5 so far.
6 Nathalie PECHALAT / Fabien BOURZAT FRA 19 70.71
Cats! And she is done up as a cat, complete with eye makeup… she’s in white, he’s in tiger stripes… she’s 21 he’s 24… start off kneeling on ice, and licking their paws… I swear, they do… certainly have the concept down… spinning steps to begin, and a nifty lift where she’s spinning held out form him… and more steps… circular step… lots of speed… quit close together… I think… from one angle it looks like they are, from another like they’re not… and lift with her hanging around his waist upside down… twizzles are out of synch, get it back second time, and stop… Chris says that a great start, he loves the depth of the edges from these two… dance spin is really fast…and moves a little near to the end thanks to the sky cam… good synch in the steps… lift with him in squat and her leaning back… kicking turns… twizzles are all over the place… second set much better… steps into dance spin… lift with him in besti, her at his waist, leaning back, good change of position to him in squat and her at his side… steps… down the diagonal we go… lift… and spin with her in very undignified pose… and they’re done. Kept the theme going all the way through says Simon… good expression… don’t look over elated he says… body lang not great… Chris says looked tidy towards the end, same old same old this week… but he loves the theme and praises it to the skies… and they? Look wrecked. Muriel Zazoui waits for them as they come off… we see the beginning again, and it set the tone says Chris… and they kept it going all the way through, with the hand movements and everything… very enjoyable program. Kept the interest all the way through…
Marks TE 38.07 PC 40.85 for 78.92 for 149.63 and they’re in the lead.
7 Nora HOFFMANN / Attila ELEK HUN 16 75.51
Long red sparkly dress for her, with deeper
red ruff, and black on the sleeves… he’s in black with red sparkly accents… I
see something Spanish… close, once upon a time in
Marks TE 37.26 PC 43.93 for 81.19 for 156.70 overall and they lead.
8 Anastasia GREBENKINA / Vazgen AZROJAN ARM 17 74.55
She’s in a cream dress, with tangerine accents, his shirt is rags of tangerine and cream, and brown sleeves and trousers…music is from Mozart… start back to back… spin to face one another… there is much arm waving as they begin… around the corner… down the ice in s/s steps and twizzles are all over the place… second set much better… around the other corner and lift with her in splits leaning back and him in crouch… going f/w that one… Simon calls some of the lifts frightening…rotational lift where one of her legs is on his shoulder, then he crouches as she leans back and does the splits…dance spin… well centred. Steps on the spot, and then runs to dance hold and step sequence… circular… where they seem to bump into one another at one point… used their skates well to keep momentum says Chris… diagonal bracelet lift as he goes to one legged back glide, and then squat down, all the while holding her so… more steps… and then lift with him in besti and her wrapped around his waist… that goes into a dance spin… and then steps where she spins under his arm… twizzles… good… and again…out of synch in the middle but get it back… straight line step seems to be quite close together, if a little slow? Around the corner and it went end to end…rotational lift, her in the splits… and stop at centre ice, wave arms, and they’re done. Dramatic ending to very good routine says Simon… big test of the judges here, the Hungarians are one place above them, with a mistake… he thinks these two have a good chance of coming up… Chris says he hopes so, not sure about costume, says it looked better on TV than in arena, colour is lighter in the arena… quality of skating good, good soft knee bend…
Marks TE 39.13 PC 41.16 for 80.29 and 154.84, they’re second…
French at the side with Gwendal… last performance with this routine, they’re a little sad to leave it, not quite as good tonight but a big pleasure to do it this year. She says.
9 Natalia GUDINA / Alexei BELETSKI ISR 18 71.25
She’s got bunches in her hair, and a white dress with black gloves and black patterns on her top… and it’s a cat effect... he’s also got cats on his shirt, which is mostly white with black accents and fluorescent orange… and is more Cats… married couple this… did I know that? Off they run to the boards… and midline step to begin… end to end… quite close together… running steps to get them to the centre ice again, and they’re moving quite quickly through this… seem quite far apart and rotational lift where she’s held out miles away from him with only one arm… nifty. Music changes… twizzles are really off…. First and second set… oh dear. Down the ice, and the bracelet lift with him on one foot going f/w… macavity the music… and stop… to memory… into dance spin… and steps around now… good glide, and lift with her leaning back over his shoulder and him on one foot and amazing change of position so that she’s upside down… and then a one foot going forward glide with her balanced on him that Chris says is very difficult… and dance spin… running towards the judges after pause… and once gain, she’s not great on those twizzles, not much in the way of synch… speed again now… steps in serpentine pattern… and down the ice … they’re keeping going… lift with her in splits facing him and him on one foot glide and the foot was wavering as if he wanted to put it down… and then goes to rotational lift, and they’re done. Simon is comparing it to the other cats…he fractionally preferred this, Chris the other way around, but both agree that the French costumes were better… he liked lifts and speed across the ice… mid section he didn’t look secure over the skates, particularly over the lifts… twice on the twizzles, she put a foot down very very quickly at the end of the twizzles… fabulous facial expression he picks up on… we see the lift that Chris adored again…
Marks TE 40.02 PC 42.06 for 82.08 and they’re winning the free but 3rd overall with 153.33
Warm-Up Group 3
10 Nozomi WATANABE / Akiyuki KIDO JPN 15 75.77
Royal blue skirt for her, with lime green and dark green on top, mostly lime… his top is lime green on one side, and black on the other, with black trousers, piano concerto and moonlight sonata the music…they run to one another and turn around a lot… and off they skate now, with a lift where she’s draped over his shoulder, facing opp way and it’s got Nicky foaming at the mouth… circular step… where a lot of the time they seem to be miles away from each other, though I’m sure Chris will contradict me on that! More steps as they fly around, but not sure of the tech, and rotational lift where she’s lying back and hanging onto him for dear life… and stop. Change of music as Chris calls the first section fast and furious and little untidy towards the end… she does a spin on her own as he skates around her, then a dance spin from the pair of them…very slow. Off we go again now, and lift where he’s around his back and he’s going f/w on one foot, change of positions, and she ends up draped around his front as he spins…. Another lift with him in shoot the duck going forwards with her on his lap… twizzles… good timing though out of alignment near the end, she was moving faster/covering more ice than he was… dance spin… and it’s just looking a little messy to me at the minute…change of music and more twizzles, second set the same as the first… very open as well… steps… that have little to do with the music… diagonal step methinks… and back to centre ice with another lift over his shoulder, one that ends with her upside down and spinning… and they’re done. Yeah, and he looks wrecked! Is doubled over on centre ice… and Simon ponders if he’s having a problem with the knee… Chris didn’t think he looked as secure as he normally does, and agrees that he looks down and out and as if he has a problem wit the knee… she, on the other hand, is bouncing… performed at electrifying pace says Chris… and that shoot the duck lift when we see it in slo-mo looked damn scary…
Marks TE 36.98 PC 42.99 for 79.97 and 155.74 overall, which has them second… and that’s a drop for them. The Hungarians have moved up one.
11 Sinead KERR / John KERR GBR 12 83.34
She’s in a sparkly purple halter neck top with yellow spangles on bottom, matching miniskirt, with purple gloves, he’s all in black with purple on the collar in sparkles…Justin Timberlake is the music, and john starts off with the vamping and spins Sinead around… starts off very fast and the crowd seem to like this… very crisp footwork… spins under the arms from each… she knee slides under his legs… more steps… lift with her in diagonal bracelet him going back on one foot, then change to her in horizontal bracelet, him in besti… very nice…hydroblade move… dance spin with them facing one another in sits, change position to her in camel spin, him assisting her… steps s/s … nicely done. Cry me a river the music, but no tears on the twizzles, they were sharp as… steps where they pick the music out nicely… lift with him in teapot going forwards and she’s leaning up as he carries her… somersault lift entry as he ends p going down to hydro move… rotational lift… twizzles, first set are awful, second set gets better…change of music again… dance hold as they do a circular step… they’re still motoring… and beaming … rotational lift with many changes of position from her… dance spin… nice and centred… and off we go to the corner… diagonal step… still looking good… lots of changes of hold and position… and to centre ice with her upside down as he’s in besti… and they’re done. And people loved that from the noise they are making as John tries to get them to make a little more noise… Simon said it was excellent… towards the end, says Chris, they were getting tired, especially Sinead… much better than Euros, he reckons…sharper, crisper, cleaner… I tend to agree… MamaNicky looks happy… we see the lifts again in slo mo and they were really something else…
Marks TE 39.45 PC 47.29 for 86.74 for 170.08 and they lead overall. Which seems to be popular, with the crowd as well as the commentators!
12 Melissa GREGORY / Denis PETUKHOV
All in black for both, much wingy thingys and silver sparkles as well… pink floyd is the music… start miles away and facing one another, kneeling down on the ice… slides towards and away from one another, then up and skate, and he dips her under his legs… and slide forwards… where she’s on the back end of her blade, nifty… lift with him in besti her in handstand and wow. And again, wow…. Then into a rotational lift where he’s holding her out with one arm…twizzles, he’s smiles away from her, and it’s quite messy on both passes…neither looking too secure. Steps along the diagonal to centre ice, then change direction… move where she’s lunging forwards and he’s half kneeling down… lift with her leaning back, one leg on his shoulders, and then change to him still in besti and her braceletted around him… out of that into a dance spin… nice and on the spot, and good changes of position… and stop… and he looks wrecked already! Steps backwards… and kicks and spins that have Simon saying great footwork… lift with him in crouch with two feet and her leaning back, up and then into rotational lift… down the centre of the ice… to centre ice and a circular step… steps around… and into dance spin as music change… you can see him gulping air… twizzles…better than the first, but second pass are out of kilter again… straight line step.. crowd are into it now… and Denis looks like he needs the help! Besti lift from him, with her leaning back, and they’re done, kneeling sliding on the ice… Simon calls it really super, takes away any British bias… he thought they captured it really well, and I tend to agree… and god love him, you could see with a minute to go that he was gulping in air… and the big red cheeks of him… Chris also thought it was fantastic and really enjoyed it… notes they have skating edge on heel of blades… and there’s shae in the kiss and cry… with nikolai… Chris loved the choice of music and praises the sound system…
Marks TE 39.22 PC 49.16 for 88.38 first on the free and overall with 173.00. “You have to say,” says Simon, “They did skate awfully well.” Thereafter, there is a terrible pause in the commentary as Chris rushes to administer the Heimlich Manoeuvre.
Rinkside with the Kerrs… she says they skated it better than Euros, so she’s happy… started to get tired, audience kept her up. He’s glad they showed them something that the audience could get behind, as Russian audience have been fantastic.
13 Kristin FRASER / Igor LUKANIN AZE 13 79.98
Mad black and white pattern for her with halter neck and tassles for a skirt, he’s all in black with a red collar…there’s a big flower of red at her neck also. Tango selection is the music…and she’s here to sell… steps to begin… such a powerful style says Simon, and we’ve got plenty of speed as they motor into a lift where she’s upside down lying against his back as he skates forwards on one foot… out of that and steps in dance hold… circular step this… she’s eyeing up the judges for all she’s worth, and she skates under his legs and around…dance spin at the boards… which is kinda slow and seems to travel a lot… twizzles are not good at the first step, miles away from one another and getting miles further apart, second set better… lift where he’s in besti and she’s balanced on him by her hands, and good change of position out of it… more steps around and bracelet lift where he’s carrying her weight on one arm as he rotates… steps with twizzles which are better than the first set but just barely, and that’s not saying much… lift where he has to work hard to go to one foot tea pot and she’s curled up on top of his lap… pause and spins… as music changes and they go into steps… down the ice in a straight line pattern…crowd are clapping… back up to centre and lift with her in the splits facing him and he’s rotating… and out of that into a dance spin… sky cam says it’s well centred, into upright spin and they’re done. The crowd roar… wonderfully sold says Simon, he’s not sure it held attention all the way through… I wasn’t that fond of it, but I think it was the music… Chris says it was a little repetitive, needed a change in the middle… speed across the ice was good, sold to the max, lift was the highlights… he says that something that lets them down is that she’s so tall, which makes her look elegant, but when she’s selling it, she leans forwards and then it makes her look round shouldered and hunched… spoils the line… Sasha greets them as they come off… and in one of the lifts, he was in besti, she was balanced with her hands on his thighs, and then she just hops to kneel down on his thigh… the balance that that required was something else…
Marks TE 39.34 PC 47.92 for second place with 87.26 and 3rd overall with 167.24
14 Svetlana KULIKOVA / Vitali NOVIKOV RUS 14 79.93
And the roar that goes up for these two… She’s in black net on top, with black design going diagonally to preserve modesty… huge red ruff on her left shoulder, red train at her skirt, and he’s in black, with silver sparkles and red wings… music by sarah brightman… start back to back, arms out… and she spins around to face him… and drops as he lifts her up… and off we go… lift with him in besti, her lying back on his thigh perpendicular to him…. Change of position is good, her sitting on his lap as he’s in besti… into dance spin that’s really fast and Simon says it’s going to be hard for them to hear the beats of the music with the crowd clapping like that… twizzles… first set are good, second ok… she’s weaker than him. Steps to get them in front of the judges to being circular step… lots of turns from each of them, bit of slip from him… good edgework says Chris and that was very fast… and the crowd are so loud I can no longer hear the music…. Music changes now to speed… and he jumps and spins… twizzles… he’s faster than she is and the second set are nowhere near unison… lift with him in arabesque going backwards and she’s lying back and doing the splits… another handstand lift with her in besti, and then her legs split as he stands up and spins her… around the corner and down the rink into him in one foot hydroblade with her leaning back against him… and into a dance spin that makes the crowd roar…. And to the boards… earplugs anyone? Dance on the spot… and platov goes to sound tech on the change and tells them to lift the music… and from the noise of the crowd I bet they’re glad he did…straight line steps hits the beats, rotational lift where she’s at shoulder level in the splits, holding onto one leg and spinning, and then he sets her down and she leans back in his arms and as they make their final pose I note to myself that if he cut his hair and donned a leather jacket, he’d be a dead ringer for David Boreanez… Chris says the first section was very slow across the ice, which is where they had their circ step and one set of twizzles… he looked not to the same standard as her in Chris’s eyes, which could be a problem for them… Sinead and John are apparently in the booth with Chris and Simon… will be talking to them… Chris calls the atmosphere electric… can’t help but be drawn in, and he says he hopes the judges don’t get caught up, the way that they were not caught up in the atmosphere during the OD… he thought this was tech suspect…
Marks TE 38.83 and the boos… PC 47.75 for 86.58 and 166.51 and 4th place. And ouch, that’s a boo.
Warm-Up Group 4
15 Marie-France DUBREUIL / Patrice LAUZON CAN 7 98.81
And after what happened in the OD, this is me, keeping my mouth firmly shut. Jungle dance costumes, with him in leopard print tie dye, and her in mostly beige… spin to begin, and stop… and he’s freaky looking… Sinead and John are there and yapping…. Twizzles for these two are out of synch and then the second pass get it back… move where she kicks over his head while holding his hand… around they go… and lift with her standing right the way up and he’s going forwards on one foot, and then rotational lift as he holds her out…gliding move where she leans on him… into dance spin… and that lift rendered Sinead Kerr breathless! Another rotational lift with her leaning at his side, Sinead says their lifts are some of the best in the comp, as Pat’s so strong… second twizzles are better than the first, miles apart though… stop and off again in a circular step, methinks… good edgework here… I really dislike this music… lift with her horizontal to the ice and he spins her, and then change position and spin again… diagonal step… you can see her sucking in air… lift with him going back in a crouch and she’s facing away from him…. John calls it fabulous… almost hydroblading move into dance spin that’s really fast and on the one spot, change of position… and out… steps… lift wit him in besti, and her between his legs and they’re done. And while I wasn’t fond of the music, they skated it well… John loved it, Sinead says they’ll be pleased with that… talk about the rules, how to use them to your benefit… Sinead says that when you spin, you’re counting revs, not the beats… not any longer about the beats of the music, can’t listen to it the way you used to, now you have to count spins and is your rocker deep enough etc… she thinks it’s for the better… as does John, get a readout, see where you need to work… lot more objective for them, the athletes, but he understands how the audience can be finding it hard to understand… we see some of the lifts again as she says that it’s more athletic…
Marks TE 42.62 PC 57.55 for 100.17 and 198.98 and they lead, surprise!
16 Galit CHAIT / Sergei SAKHNOVSKI ISR 6 100.32
Pressure for these after that… Tarasova sends them out… Galit’s hair is red red red, and her dress is orange and net and sparkles… his blouse is red and wingy, and pants are black, toccata and fugue the music… is it deductions if your hair clashes with your outfit? Because it should be. Spinny steps to begin… and miles of speed… lift with him in teapot going forwards and her leaning back against him… crowd are clapping as they motor around in a serpentine like pattern… they call him a real showman… lift with her doing the splits horizontally as he spins her… steps circular step… and they fly through that, and it’s quite impressive… into dance spin which the sky cam shows travel on… and change positions… and out and stop and run to the judges… stop midice and pose….twizzles are good, as are the second set, but a little off near the end? And stop right on the music… dance spin… John is tired just watching them… slip coming out of the dance spin says John, and travel which might be what he meant? Lift with her doing handstand on his thigh with leg split… and diagonal step as Sinead says she thinks that next year they’re not allowing as many split lifts in upside down positions… it’s so hard to type with the tears of joy that come… john thinks steps let these down a little … second set of twizzles aren’t done side by side but moving into one another… split lift where she’s draped on his shoulder, him on one foot… and lift with her parallel to the ice and spinning… and then lift with him in besti and her in splits against him… and they’re done. And that was a quick four minutes! Unique Simon calls them… and insert your own joke, it’s too easy… John is slightly going to the Canadians, he thinks he saw a couple of stumbles from these on the elements… Sinead thinks judges will be looking for any excuse to mark couples down, because it’s so tight that they’re going to need to…
Marks TE 44.50 PC 59.49 for 103.99 and 204.31 and they lead.
Backstage with Marie France and Patrice… and Gwendal… and we can’t hear them… G says it was a great program, MF says the audience seemed to like it, a new program with new things, some acrobatic lifts… P says very satisfied with what they did liked the marks too.
17 Oksana DOMNINA / Maxim SHABALIN RUS 8 95.12
Chris is back, the Kerrs have left… and the audience, they are in full throated roar mode… she is in very bright pink skirt and white sparkle top, with much of the netting around it, and glovey sleeves of white on one arm and pink on the other… he is in white trousers and a shirt in varying shades of pink… we have wafer bars here called Pink and Whites, and this is what these two are reminding me of… I’m now hungry. Anyhoo, miming stuff at centre ice and I’m not quite sure what it is, but crouching spins begin, then walking steps into a dance spin, sdtk to the 5th Element… twizzles… not sure about the first set but that’s what happens when you change camera angles mid element… steps along the ice in a straight line, more or less… sharp, says Chris, lots of 2foott… lift with her upside down, him on one foot teapot… and then her in splits and him in change of edge besti, Nicky is muttering in the studio, as the judges got quite the view there… change of music… and pose and flap at centre ice…twizzles… quite far apart and second set more in line with one another… gliding move with her draped over his leg… lift with her upside down, one legs around his neck, him in besti, then she grabs a skate and he begins to spin… out of that and into a dance spin that’s nice and fast but with movement… and stop. Drums beat and she leans against him, and they go off into a step sequence marked at the start by a spin, in the middle by the clapping of the crowd and keeps on going… lift with her not holding onto him at all, only by the leg around his neck, and then another rotational one with her in upside down splits, and then steps from the end, and they’re done. Simon praises plenty of innovation… these the Russian champions… and I note his shirt is actually white chiffon, with a couple of holes cut out in it, and a pink holey undershirt… ahkay then… Chris loves their edgework… thinks these are being groomed for future champions… Simon says that next year the upside down lifts will probably disappear… and Chris says most of us will be quite pleased about that… as I wipe the tears of joy from my cheeks and pray that it will come to pass… lots of innovation there… Sinead Kerr was saying that everyone is learning the new system, Chris wonders if it’s in place too early…
Marks TE 41.86 PC 53.22 for 95.08 and an allotted slot of 3rd with 190.20
18 Megan WING / Aaron LOWE CAN 10 87.63
She’s in a long orange dress, with gold strappy bodice, he’s in orange shirt, zorba the greek the music, his shirt fades to navy, pants start navy, got to royal blue… greek trad steps to begin, into dance spin…audience are clapping… sky cam shows no travel on the spin… steps… lift with her in splits, him in crouch glide… steps, circular step… music is getting faster and so are they… plenty of selling it being done as well… lift with her in splits, at shoulder level and he spins, then to bracelet at shoulder level, and he spins… and change of music as they glide, twizzles are good and fast… and second set done in close up so I think they were ok, looked so from waist up… split lift with her between his legs and him crouching… and other lift, her kneeling on his legs with him in besti, goes to waist level rotations lift… and then to dance spin again with no movement until they hit the change that is, then a little… steps… heading for the corner and around they go… oh twizzles again… and the second pass weren’t’ great… didn’t they twizzle already… stop at the boards and a midline step… lots of turning and spinning and stepping… well done end to end… and rotational lift with changes of position, ending with her parallel to the ice, and then they step and stop, done with him kneeling, her standing beside him. Chris has been talking to Joan Slater… she says it’s like a glass wall ,to get into the top ten, she thinks the Kerrs can get there next year… Zoueva and Shpilband greet them off the ice. As we see a lift again, then another one… Chris wants them more original for next season
Marks TE 41.73 PC 51.06 for 92.79 and 180.42 for 4th place and Chris doesn’t agree...Simon says in layman’s eyes, not as good as the Americans…
Galit backstage… she thinks the worlds is a great comp and the organisation is good, and she’s having a great time skating here… happy that the season is over and it was basically a successful season. Sergei doesn’t speak.
19 Federica FAIELLA / Massimo SCALI ITA 9 92.32
She’s in long skirt of black and bright pink underskirt, top is black and pink vertical stripes, and he’s all in black, with the odd rectangle of pink on his left hip, and silver sparkles on right shoulder… and there’s lots of pink on his left leg… dance spin to Aretha to begin… nicely done… speeding now… lift with her in splits as he spins and then goes to her out on her own, legs together… diagonal step has lots of speed… good change of hold… twizzles… and out of kilter towards the end, wobble from him and Chris agrees with me… those the b/o twizzles… and lift with him in crouch, her leaning back most inelegantly… and stop as we go to natural woman… dance spin with her in rather nice camel position…change position to her in Y position… nice picking out of the music… steps s/s … and into a lift with him in besti her sitting on his thigh and leaning back…nice changes of position… and gliding move with him in bent leg camel… music edit not great here… steps around the corner. And she carries him on her hip… we go into think… steps where they can get their breath back a little…twizzles… much better second time around … circular step now… and watch them motor! Lift with her leaning away from him, him in besti, and that goes rotational, and they’re done right on the music… just great says Simon, and the two of them celebrate on the ice, they look thrilled… Simon says the simplest ideas are sometimes the best… Chris says they were really on song and he loved it… great facial expressions, hit every beat, skating quality was better than the Canadians, and he loved the lift in the middle where she lifted him… he thinks they’re destined for greatness… and they’re still hugging on centre ice… Bestemianova comes to greet them… and Bukin… wow! They look normal! Who knew? They did the choreography for this…
Marks TE 41.10 PC 53.48 as Simon sings the Lament of the Predictability of the Results, throwing in a rousing chorus of the soon-to-be-number-one “New System, Same Old Lack of Movement” as he does the maths and gets 94.58 for 186.90 and 4th, their allotted slot.
Warm-Up Group 5
20 Albena DENKOVA / Maxim STAVISKI BUL 4 103.60
Mostly black for both of them, with flamey threads of orange and gold prittstuck on it… Bach to Africa is the music… starts with him leaning over her, both of them leaning over… up they are with wing of the arms… and dancing in trad African style… can she last four mins at this pace wonders Simon… steps and facing each other besti moves… lift where she’s across his back, in besti, and then rotational with her around his neck… and then upside down lift where he is again in besti and that did not look safe coming down, not sure was it a bobble of not… looked like the skate could have skidded but not letting it show… off they go into steps circular step… good turning and use of edges from them… also seems quite close together… twizzles… is he moving faster than she is? And in the second pass, the answer is surely yes… change of music as they do posing unison steps at centre ice… off they go… into a dance spin… him in sit her in camel… and change position … nice… steps along the ice incorp spirals… lift with him in besti, her in splits, with change of position from her and change of edge from him… and then squat lift from him, f/w on two feet with her kneeling on his knees…twizzles et better the longer they go and second pass dead in unison, dance spin with travel from sky cam… and off again… they’re giving it loads… arms going everywhere! Straight line step… end to end it goes… and upside down split lift with rotation and her balanced by the hands on his thighs... and they’re done. And he punches the air… hugs her tight… couldn’t have skated it better says Simon and they sure do look happy with that… Chris says you’d never believe that five weeks ago she was in hospital… Simon calls it a wonder that they’ve come back so strong… very enjoyable says Chris, fast across the ice… no lack of commitment, speed, energy, he reckons… loved concept, costumes were great, innovations on the lifts… which we see again, and they really were something else… and on the reply Chris notes that she nearly got his skate in her head at the end there… missed that too
Marks (after big long wait) TE 44.17 PC 60.69 for 104.86 and they lead with 208.46.
21 Tatiana NAVKA / Roman KOSTOMAROV RUS 1 114.64
Wine sparkly dress for her, with lots and lots of gold trim and huge amounts of cuts outs…Tosca is the music… and the crowd go ballistic… he’s in brown suit, with white collar to the shirt and big gold belt… there is no back to her dress, which is nothing new… start with her kneeling beside him, also kneeling … he stands first, twizzles are sharp… except for the second set which aren’t so much…dance spin… steps out of that with much turning from each, she dips low and he supports her… lift with him in crouch and her leaning back, and out of that… step around and run… lift and spin and she ends up on his back in the splits and then he kinda throws her around a little but she still hangs on… and away they go, and besti from him and she throws herself around him like he’s her own personal jungle gym and it’s more than a little inelegant and messy looking… to centre ice and dance spin… and stop… she’s eyeing up the judges as he sways her from side to side, and it’s dance on the spot time as the crowd clap… circular step is lovely… and they make it look so effortless… I may sigh a little. She slides under his legs as the music changes… and steps… down the diagonal we go… steps and twizzles are all over the place and the second set are worse than the first… lift where she's all around his legs and good change of position that I have no idea how she does it… lift with her crouched over his shoulder as he spins and down from that… and they’re done, right on the music, to a roar from the crowd. People are standing, Simon calls the finale dramatic… which is no doubt was… fine performance, a pleasing dance says Simon, but was there enough in it to win? Chris doesn’t think it’s a question that they’re going to win… but he knows what Simon means… it’s not special is it, he says. Simon was not moved in the middle… they still have the Canadians in their mind… tech Chris says was good, lifts good, difficult if not innovative, done at speed… transitions, esp in the first half, were very good… Simon will be surprised if they think at the end of the day that this was the best free… but he thinks they’ve done enough to stave off the others…
Marks TE she only has one earring in… sorry. TE 45.84 PC 67.33 for 113.17 and 227.81 and they lead. And my god, that crowd is loud!
Albena says they skated well, are happy with performance looking forward to next season.
22 Tanith BELBIN / Benjamin AGOSTO
Gypsy dress for red for her, with purple underskirt, he’s got black pants, red shirt and a waistcoat that matches her skirt… high boots for him to complete the look… look at those earrings… they’re huge… start kneeling and facing one another… and she’s selling it from the off…dance spin is really fast and good c change of position… crowd are clapping …twizzles are great and fast… and second set are good too… lift with him in couch and her leaning back… did something fly off from somewhere there? Slide through… and around the corner in steps… and circular step this… nice speed and flow along the ice… good edgework… and he leaps into the air and turns… and dance spin at centre ice... travels on it, thank you sky cam, much though I despise you… she slides on knees and he pulls her along….steps around the corner and down the ice to a lit with him in cantilever and she turns herself all around ending up lying on him with her hair on the ice…twizzles well done… lift with her leaning back, him in spread, and then he drapes her over his arm and spins… crowd are still clapping… as we go into little hops from Ben along the diagonal… and lift with her in splits and him in hydroblade lean… and to the boards…diagonal step… is wonderful, really close together… change of music as they carry lift along the ice… and to the centre, and rotational carry lift with changes of position and they’re done and that was great! He gives the thumbs up to someone… and they look thrilled! Simon thought it didn’t have enough light and shade, Chris thought it was wonderful, fantastic speed across the ice, they generate speed from nowhere… she has lovely expression he says… a real energy that comes out from them… and he notes that it was great to see the crowd getting behind them, which I have to admit, I was surprised by… Ben mugs the camera a little…
Marks TE 46.60 PC 64.94 for 111.54 and second place, PB, and 221.26.
Rinkside with Tatiana and Roman – well she
is, with
23 Elena GRUSHINA / Ruslan GONCHAROV UKR 3 104.47
Blue and silver and purple veiny patterns on her dress, and he’s in black, mostly, with silver veins on his shoulder, and a blue wingy thingy stapled onto his left shoulder…four seasons, and air by Bach is their music… start off with him behind her…. Holding hands… and there’s not much side to her dress I note as he spins her around by the hand then goes into a dance spin… with lovely position from her, I note, and upside down lift with him in one foot crouch going forwards, and she holds onto her skate blade and my back winces in agony… steps where she spins and he kicks over her… steps around very close together, good use of the edges… and little running steps as she leans back on him… and carry lift where he goes to one footed crouch while he’s holding her…t twizzles… very well done. He dips and spin her and stop as the music changes… air by Bach now… gliding move with him in hydroblade as she leans back over him…rotational carry lift… somersault entry into carry lift where she’s on his shoulder and he’s on one foot going f/w and then change position into him in one foot glide while she’s on his thigh and into dance spin from that… she needs to point her foot in that Y position…change of music and twizzle again, second pass a little ropey from him… but not enough to throw them mad out of whack… diagonal step… seem to be getting slower here now… around the corner and back to centre with split lift where she’s balanced by one hand on his thigh, he’s going f/w in one foot and it’s dodgy looking, and then goes to rotational lift where she’s parallel with the ice and they’re done. Simon really loved that… had everything he wanted, and I loved it too… best we’ve had Simon says… Chris says it was brilliant… beautiful pairs spin at the beginning and lift, and Chris thinks that all the lifts were on one foot, and sometimes he changes foot and changes direction… nikolai greets them as they come off…they gave a performance says Chris, it didn’t look as if they were competing…
Marks TE 45.69 PC 63.79 for 109.48 and 213.95, 3rd with one couple to go.
Tanith and Ben with Gwendal… she says it was going to be difficult skating after champs, they decided to pretend that all the noise was for them! But the crowd seemed to enjoy the Russian music, and they enjoyed the skate. He says they got a PB so nothing better than beating yourself happy to be here and skating well… best perf at world champs is wonderful.
24 Isabelle DELOBEL / Olivier SCHOENFELDER FRA 5 100.76
The Frida costumes again, the artist’s palette whacked onto a piece of material and made costume for these two, primarily deep crimson with daubs of paint… his trousers are black… there’s probably some deep meaning to that, but I can’t come up with it at the moment… start with standing, leaning back across one another… she spins, and he dips her back… more spins and off they go… into a dance spin that ‘s nice and fast… steps out of that and glide back… around the corner and down the ice with him in crouch and she lies away from him and makes almost swimming motions… steps down the length of the ice… straight line step this… good speed… split lift, rotational… very fast and secure… s/s twizzles and they look off somehow… and second set quite far apart…steps going down the rink and slide to stop and she kicks out at him… off they go again, and lift with her doing handstand and going horizontal then… very strong from him… steps with her in crouch as he supports her… lift with him in spread and her in splits against him… and the move where both are leaning back in lunges against one another… into dance spin… and she does a biellman that’s pretty good… around the corner now and to centre ice for the circular step… seem a little slower now? Twizzles… good… and second set also good and right on the music... and slow part, stop, and go again… lift with her doing handstand on his thigh and he’s on one foot, down from that and he spins her out and around, and they’re done. And can I just say? Loved it, loved it, loved it. Mesmerising Simon calls it… kept the mood right the way through… lots of people on their feet… Simon wonders is it good enough to upset the apple cart… Chris says it has everything and he loved it… which means, of course, that they’re doomed… he loves their skating anyway, wonderful softness and energy, so powerful across the ice, motoring… only people who did twizzle with free foot behind in different position, to make it more difficult... he’s all but speechless and he’d have this first on the night… quality of their skating, never push off the toe, always use the edges… he adores it, loves the concept of this… says Olivier is masterful out there as we see some of the lifts again… we see the crouch/glide/slide and he says getting down is one thing, but getting up from it… you can’t appreciate the difficulty of some of the moves, he says. He says it was best of the evening.
Marks TE 48.23 she’s thrilled… PC 62.16 3rd on the night but 4th overall with 110.39 and 211.15… and for a moment, she thought they had it… but they’re still celebrating…
Navka and Kostomarov are with Gwendal… how will it change their life? Won’t change their life she says but really exciting… he says it’s a happy moment, to defend title… she’ll never forget it because they’re at home, and family here… G says they’re expected to go to Olympics and do the same, R says they’re looking forward to next year. T says she thinks they did the best skating here, worked hard all season, worked hard, did their best, really happy… G asks for reaction on rest of podium, surprised, or did they expect it? She says they congratulate all the guys who get on the podium, surprised Americans got second, are happy that G&G are top three because last year they didn’t get it… R says they’re happy with their result, glad they got first place. G says for other Russian skaters, they had lots of pressure, but made no difference to them… T says that home helped them, audience was so good tonight and every day.
Chris would have given bronze to the French… Simon reiterates that there were no surprises… is hoping for some tomorrow and since I’ve not seen the short yet, I hit the mute button!
Last thoughts from the pretty Gwendal… great competition, more interesting than last year, good because all top skaters performed their best, skated well, best evening of comp from this year… surprise for the third place on the free, but couldn’t get to the podium because they were too many points behind… behind him are excited and happy people… people enjoyed the competition and he hopes we enjoyed it too. And I did.
Eventually!
Next stop, the entire ladies, both short and long… I don’t make things easy for myself, do I?