Best and Worst of 2012/2013, Part 7

You simply cannot analyze this season and overlook the Olympic Champions who may be the first skaters in a while to have high chances of winning their second Olympic gold medal. Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir had two beautiful routines this year that I simply can't go on without talking about. In the other corner we've got two Russians who switched to team Azerbaijan and whose debut was brave though a bit junior-ish.

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir started the season with a waltz composed by Sir Anthony Hopkins (And the Waltz Goes On), showing us a side to the famous actor that few knew about. Tessa's two dresses for the waltz were absolutely gorgeous, even though the first one caused a few technical problems (remember Skate Canada where Scott got tangled into Tessa's dress?). The programme had a great flow to it, the choreography was very beautiful and the polka steps were so smooth it didn't bother us that they were performed on a waltz.

But the real piece of resistance of their season was Carmen, a modern version of the passionate and dark story that has fascinated skaters for decades.

At the beginning of the season, they were asked what would make their Carmen different from all the other Carmens skaters have brought on ice throughout the years, and by the end of the season, everyone could see the answer clearly. It wasn't only that Tessa played a very modern vixen, cunningly seducing Scott's character, or that it had more sexuality than all of the others combined, it was their ambition of making it stand out, of making people associate Carmen with Virtue and Moir forever. Everything about it was perfect: the simple black costumes, Scott's expressions of rage and jealousy, the extremely difficult choreography and that last lift in which they had five different positions, which was out of this world. With all of that going on, there's no doubt all future Carmen routines will now be compared to theirs.

Being as brilliant as Virtue and Moir takes a lot of practice and experience, which is exactly what Julia Zlobina and Alexei Sitnikov need in order to grow into the great skaters they have potential to become.

Dressed in what looked like sea weed and huge pink tomatoes (supposed to be vines and roses), the first couple to represent Azerbaijan since 2008 (remember Kristin Fraser and Igor Lukanin?) skated their Short Dance on a weird mix of music - Valse Violente by Caravan Place, which had lots of potential for originality and set a nice mood before Holly Dolly's Dolly Song came and destroyed everything. If there was a story in there, they did a terrible job at portraying it; if the routine was simply supposed to be comedic, they probably shouldn't have started with Valse Violente. All in all, they made us laugh, but for the wrong reasons, and the programme was a bit confusing as in where exactly did they try to go with it?

Their Free Dance wasn't a lot different although at least here they showed us from the start that their goal was to make us laugh. The music was composed by Goran Bregovic and was quite representative for Azerbaijan (Mahalageasca & Ausencia). The music and costumes were clearly a statement of their commitment to their new country, and they deserve an applause for that. The problem was that while they told a folkloric tale which is so commonly seen in Eastern Europe it borders cliche (the boy who chases after the girl who secretly likes him, but is forced by some rural custom and religion to tell him off), the program didn't say much to the rest of the world. Still, it was enjoyable and they proved they're great actors.

Best and Worst of 2012/2013 continues (with a look at the ladies' season) Friday, June 7, 2013.