Crystal Skate

Last season saw no less than 10 astonishing ladies competing for the podium at the world championships, while everyone had a tough time trying to set them apart. This year, their choice of programmes is more exciting than ever as they're bound to bring out their best, and then some, to win the most prestigious medal of them all: the Olympic medal. Alena Leonova  - although she's become one of the underdogs, always trying to reach the top, always failing spectacularly, this Russian skater has probably the best interpretation skills we've seen. Her new long programme, Carmen  by George Bizet, despite being the king of over-used programmes, is going to showcase her amazing abilities as an actress on ice. Gracie Gold  - with a predestined name and a brilliant debut, this petite American is a rising star already. For the Olympic season, she chose two powerful themes: Three Preludes by George Gershwin ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgJXIJKT-xA ) and Pyotr I. Tchaikovsky'

The highest stakes in figure skating have always been in the men's competition. They have the most difficult elements, so it's only natural they should receive the greatest glory. However, having fans expect great things from you is a double-edged sword and many a skater has chosen a grand programme just for the sake of grandness, ensuring a big fat flop. Let's see how some of the top skaters decide to play their hand this season:   Evan Lysacek  - his name is on everyone's lips because when an Olympic champion sets his mind on a second gold medal, he is bound to become 'the skater of the moment' (at least as far as America is concerned). This is a skater whose always had grand programmes (he won the last Olympics with Scheherazade ) so there was really no point in him going another direction. For the short program he chose the oh-so-famous Swan Lake  by Pyotr Iylich Tchaikovsky. The bad thing about this music is that it's been chosen so many times by so m

It's that time of the year again when after months of hibernation, the figure skating world is slowly waking up and giving us a preview of the next season. In less words, it's time for the skaters to announce their new programs. Let's start with the dancers, as they're the ones that must comply to the International Skating Union's rules when it comes to choosing their programs. This year the mandatory pattern for the short program is the Finnstep dance, which was first performed at the 1995 European Championships. As for the long, let's see what the skaters have come up with: Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir - the Canadians have chosen two famous names and three equally famous songs for their Finnstep Short Program: Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong's Dream a Little Dream of Me, Muskrat Ramble, Cheek to Cheek . For the long, they seem to be following the same pattern as four years ago and gambling everything on classic music. This time, they'll ska