Skate Canada International 2015 - Of Princes and Gorgeous Ladies (Ice-Dance SP)

It's time to get ourselves in the ballroom! This season's imposed rhythms for the ice-dancers' short programme are waltz combined with march/polka, so expect to see lots of gorgeous gowns and men in tuxedos and military uniforms.

Cue sadness! Elisabeth Paradis/Francois-Xavier Ouelette tell the story of a soldier who dies in battle and the girl left at home waiting for him. The first half of it is quite touching, but the song they use for the march takes something away from the melancholy mood. The lift is also messy as he loses his balance mid-way - luckily, no fall. Their score: 47.77.

Ekaterina Bobrova/Dmitri Soloviev skate very early due to missing last season entirely because of a serious injury. Their waltz is beautiful, but because they do classical music 90% of the time, I feel like I've seen it before. It just doesn't stand out to me. They get 64.38 points.

Best waltz costumes of the season? Yes, I believe so!
Photograph: Skate Canada International
Laurence Fournier Beaudry/Nicolaj Sorensen bring another modern waltz on ice. They manage to keep their smiles on despite his many, many mistakes on the twizzles. Their score: 53.65.

Alexandra Paul/Mitchel Islam take their waltz to the ballet. It's sweet, but just like last season, it's not difficult enough to get a lot of attention. She makes a small mistake in the twizzles. They get 57.55 points.

Charlene Guignard/Marco Fabbri are always sooo dramatic (please notice the extra 'Os'), and I love it. It really makes them stand out from the crowd. Their score: 61.29.

I don't know the story of Coppelia, but Maia Shibutani/Alex Shibutani's interpretation of it makes me want to check it out. I love how elements from the story keep creeping into the choreography. Way more relaxed than the Russians' routine and easier to watch. They get 66.00 points.

I don't need to see the other costumes to know that Kaitlyn Weaver/Andrew Poje have the best costumes of the season again! This is elegance and class at its peak. The routine itself is sophisticated, and the outfits give it a story: this is Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier, this is Princess Sissi and Prince Franz, this is a scene from a fairytale. Love it! Their score: 68.00.

What a beautiful way to end the short dance! The current rankings have Canada, the US and Russia on the first three places. That is unlikely to change, but I'm very curious to see if the free dance will change the order.

More coverage of Skate Canada International 2015 here: http://crystalskate.blogspot.co.uk/

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