Season 2013/2014: New Programmes, Part 1

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 skate on the music of two Russians: Alexander Glazunov and Alexander Scriabin. In case you're part of the majority that's never heard of them before, here are the two songs Tessa and Scott have chosen: Glazunov's The Seasons (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLFX1ZWKemk) and Scriabin's Piano Concerto in F Sharp Minor (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bW7C8ulp8s). At this point, both programs seem good enough to win them that second gold medal, but that's something their no. 1 rivals also have.
  • Meryl Davis & Charlie White - from Phantom of the Opera to Notre-Dame de Paris, the Americans have built a style of their own by choosing big stories filled with drama each year. This Olympic season won't be different as they tend to be less adventurous than the Canadians and stick to what they know (not that anyone's complaining). For the short program, they chose the soundtrack of a movie I can't wait to see them skate on: My Fair Lady by Frederic Loewe. The big story this year is that of Scheherazade by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, another Russian composer. Which one do you think it's to blame for that: coincidence, their Russian coach or the fact that the Olympics are in Sochi?
  • Speaking of Europe, here's a couple that likes playing with our nerves and have only released their long program music: Nathalie Pechalat & Fabian Bourzat. The French couple are going to be skating on Cirque du Soleil's Quidam. This already seems like a sight for sore eyes and every bit as original as their programs usually are. Here's the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEARqQhD6P
  • Nelli Zhiganshina & Alexander Gaszi - last year's success with their zombie routine seems to have led the German couple on the road of  achieving the title of 'quirkiest ice-dancers in history'. They have once more made an unusual choice for the long program: The Gorillaz's I'm Happy. Now, as incompatible with figure skating as that seems, I think it will make for another favourite of the crowd. 
That's all for now, but I'll add more new programs of the ice-dancers as soon as they become available, so keep an eye for those updates.

Next entry: Thursday, September 5  - we'll take a look at some of the boys' new programs.

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