Best and Worst of 2012/2013, Part 5
This season was, above everything else, about change, whether we witnessed it happening or we wished we had. Two ice-dance couples in particular proved what a difference change (or lack of it) can make.
Nathalie Pechalat/Fabian Bourzat from France put on quite a Moulin Rouge show on ice. Being French definitely gave them the advantage of choosing a cultural-rich theme they probably grew up with. The music (Gaite Parisienne by Jacques Offenback; Sous le ciel du Paris by Yves Montand) was delightful and the short dance was cheeky and very enjoyable (definitely top 5 best short dances of the season). The award for best performance has to go to Nathalie though because she played her role every second of the program, while Fabian often seemed a bit empty-eyed.
As good as the short was, their long program was way below expectations. Fitted more for shows than competitions (especially if you're talking pre-Olympic season), the Rolling Stones Medley was nothing more than dancing around the ice rink with a smile on their faces. Sure, they have great dance moves, and girls, I know that there's something about Fabian in those red jeans that's hard to resist, but there's no way a program like this could compete with the avalanche of emotions the other top couples brought in the game. The trouble is, they should have known that. True, their trademark are light, happy, original programs and it's safer to go with what you know than try something new at this point in time, but most often than not it's worth taking the risk in figure skating.
Struggling with Fabian's injury didn't help either and made them lose the European title (although they would have probably lost it anyway). Here's hoping next season they'll pull off something more spectacular and win the Olympic Bronze they deserve!
What a season has it been for Ekaterina Bobrova/Dmitri Soloviev! First of all, they changed their approach and ditched the all-hail-Classical-music style they've been having since we first met them, which then brought them not only the European gold medal, but also the World bronze medal.
Charming, almost with a royal air about it, their short program featured Say a Word About the Poor Hussar by Andrey Petrov and a waltz from Air Crew, a Russian movie made in the 1980s. As both songs are from their motherland, it's no wonder that the program made you feel as if you were witnessing a scene from the times of the Romanov dynasty.
Their 'piece de resistance' though was the free dance. It was set mostly on the soundtrack of Once Upon a Time in the West (Man with a Harmonica, to be more precise), which was intertwined with Giacomo Puccini's Tosca (guess they're not ready yet to say Dasvidaniya to Classical music). The program told the story of a woman falling in love with a broken man and trying to cheer him up, but losing her mind instead. It was dark, intense and fabulous. The simple costumes emphasized the tragedy of the story and their interpretation has never been better. I take my hat off in front of this program!
Best and Worst of 2012/2013 continues Thurday, May 16, 2013.
Nathalie Pechalat/Fabian Bourzat from France put on quite a Moulin Rouge show on ice. Being French definitely gave them the advantage of choosing a cultural-rich theme they probably grew up with. The music (Gaite Parisienne by Jacques Offenback; Sous le ciel du Paris by Yves Montand) was delightful and the short dance was cheeky and very enjoyable (definitely top 5 best short dances of the season). The award for best performance has to go to Nathalie though because she played her role every second of the program, while Fabian often seemed a bit empty-eyed.As good as the short was, their long program was way below expectations. Fitted more for shows than competitions (especially if you're talking pre-Olympic season), the Rolling Stones Medley was nothing more than dancing around the ice rink with a smile on their faces. Sure, they have great dance moves, and girls, I know that there's something about Fabian in those red jeans that's hard to resist, but there's no way a program like this could compete with the avalanche of emotions the other top couples brought in the game. The trouble is, they should have known that. True, their trademark are light, happy, original programs and it's safer to go with what you know than try something new at this point in time, but most often than not it's worth taking the risk in figure skating.
Struggling with Fabian's injury didn't help either and made them lose the European title (although they would have probably lost it anyway). Here's hoping next season they'll pull off something more spectacular and win the Olympic Bronze they deserve!
What a season has it been for Ekaterina Bobrova/Dmitri Soloviev! First of all, they changed their approach and ditched the all-hail-Classical-music style they've been having since we first met them, which then brought them not only the European gold medal, but also the World bronze medal.
Charming, almost with a royal air about it, their short program featured Say a Word About the Poor Hussar by Andrey Petrov and a waltz from Air Crew, a Russian movie made in the 1980s. As both songs are from their motherland, it's no wonder that the program made you feel as if you were witnessing a scene from the times of the Romanov dynasty.Their 'piece de resistance' though was the free dance. It was set mostly on the soundtrack of Once Upon a Time in the West (Man with a Harmonica, to be more precise), which was intertwined with Giacomo Puccini's Tosca (guess they're not ready yet to say Dasvidaniya to Classical music). The program told the story of a woman falling in love with a broken man and trying to cheer him up, but losing her mind instead. It was dark, intense and fabulous. The simple costumes emphasized the tragedy of the story and their interpretation has never been better. I take my hat off in front of this program!
Best and Worst of 2012/2013 continues Thurday, May 16, 2013.
I really really admire Katia & Dima, they are really awesome, especially their spin and lifts, not as perfect as Virtue/Moir, but clearly they are improving very fast :)) I really hope they could be the world champions in 2015 WCh, and furthermore, may be them and Ilinyhk/Katsalapov become the new OT4 in OG 2018 (if IK wake up and realize that they should left Morozov and his bad choreographs, but I don't know, if Elena decide to become his 4th, and quit ice dance then... oh well)
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