The Mighty Five: Ravensburger Waltz

The sun is burning, the fan is spinning like crazy and we're wearing flip flops. It must be that time of the year when we can but reminisce about colder days and figure skating. And reminisce I shall, with my first post of a series I've decided to call The Mighty Five.

Each discipline gets five mighty programmes each season that will rock the world of figure skating. I've decided to take a look at my favourite five programmes of each discipline in 2015/2016. First up: the short dance.

Another season, another waltz? Not really. Last season's Ravensburger waltz felt fresh, not only due to the variety of themes the ISU has been coming up with lately for the SD, but also due to the couples' creativity. Here are my personal choices for the mighty five Ravensburger waltzes:

1) Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje's The Blue Danube & Annenpolka

Every season there is a textbook-perfect short dance, and I think last season's came from the top Canadian couple. Although Johann Strauss is a pretty predictable choice of music for a waltz, he is also the ideal composer to have in your corner if you're going for flawless with this theme.

Kaitlyn and Andrew's concept was simple, but executed in a big way. They really embodied a prince and princess dancing in a ballroom - part of it was the the couture-ish costumes (my favourite of the season, by the way), the other part, their attitude. With his poise and her elegance, it really wasn't hard to imagine them in the ballroom of Schonbrunn Palace, waltzing the night away.

One of Kaitlyn and Andrew's many little lifts to punctuate moments in the music.
Photograph: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images North America

The waltz itself was one of the best, full of little lifts to follow the rise of the music. Their actual lift element was one of the few not to be rotational. They went for a variation of their favourite curve lift, which was both difficult and appropriate for the theme. The twizzles were well balanced; I particularly liked the variation on the ballet pose at the very end. Choosing to do a polka for the step sequence gave them a bit of room to jump around while keeping the dignified atmosphere of the theme. All in all, there's not a single boring moment in this waltz; the choreography grows in intensity in sync with the music and they play their parts like no others.

2) Federica Testa & Lucas Csolley's The Addams Family

First of all, who doesn't love a good Addams Family routine? Secondly, what a cool idea for the waltz.

The Slovakians are one of my favourite couples to keep an eye on. They always seem to come up with intense, fun and daring programmes, as proven by their Ravensburger. The three songs they chose were A Party for Me?, Addams Family (THE song) and It's an Addams. As with the Canadian waltz, the songs gradually grow in intensity. The costumes were fabulous; the only thing that would have made them perfect is if the colour of her dress had been black - Morticia doesn't wear red - but then black is a pretty dull colour on the ice.

To follow the atmosphere of the film, the waltz had influences of paso doble and tango.
Photograph: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images North America

Sexy and flamboyant, the waltz was also accurate, making a few references to the film in the choreography. The twizzles were mostly open and not quite as demanding as the Canadians', but equally well done. Their step sequence is possibly my favourite of the season - they twirled, tangoed, she swooned, he twizzled and all together they did something new at every turn. Add a four-positions rotational lift at full speed, and it becomes really hard not to love them.

3) Maia & Alex Shibutani's Coppelia

The Shibutanis have worked really hard in the past few seasons to make a real impact in ice dance, and I think they finally succeeded last season.

They didn't break out of their trademark style, which is more sweet than gritty, choosing to improve rather than adventure in new territory. It was a really good decision as the comedic ballet fit them like a glove. Maia played the part of a life-size dancing doll in a lovely pink dress that was perfect because it looked like those worn by the porcelain ballerinas perched a top a music box everyone's mom, grandma or aunt has somewhere around their house.

The main points of the choreography were Maia's doll-like stances
Photograph: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images North America

Their waltz was one of the sharpest when it comes to key points and keeping in sync with the music. Loved how they peppered it with little immobility moments to remind us Maia was playing a doll. The twizzles had a balletic theme throughout all four positions, which is again a small detail that really helps sew the story together. Grand expansive choreography for the step sequence to go with the music. The rotational lift might have only had two positions, but the entrance (Alex lifting her with one arm) and the exit (Alex turning on one leg) were innovative and difficult. So with a story that ran from start to end and flawless elements, I'll go ahead and say this was their best short dance yet.

4) Madison Chock & Evan Bates' 1950s Date Night

Alright, so I've taken some liberties with naming the Americans' routine, but it really did feel like they were on a glamorous date in another time and place.

They chose to skate to Andrea Bocceli's More and Il Divo's Unchained Melody. Now, those two songs have very different vibes, but somehow they made them work together. I'm not a great fan of the costumes they chose, but that's completely due to personal fashion preferences. I did appreciate he was wearing a tuxedo and I'll admit the deep blue of her dress was gorgeous.

It was all about love and old time elegance for Madison & Evan
Photograph: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images North America

Their partial sequence had Old Hollywood romance written all over it, from her swooning to them staying in dance-hold for the better part of it. I really liked how they took their time to transition between twizzles instead of rushing into the next position. It worked really well with the fluidity of Unchained Melody.  Unlike most couples, they chose to do the waltz sequence at the very end of the routine, making great use of the climax of the music. Also loved how they turned the end of the routine into an extension of the curve lift.

5) Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier's The Beatles

Every season has THAT couple. The couple that has you going: "Whaaaat?" because what they're wearing has nothing to do with the dance they're supposed to perform.

Last season, that couple was Piper and Paul. Wearing bright blue and pink uniforms, a sign peace bedazzled on Piper's back, they couldn't have looked farther from an Austrian ballroom if they had been from outer space. Their costumes were outlandish, their choreography was quirky, their main theme Lucy in the Sky with Diamond and their approach completely out of the box. Like-on-the-opposite-shore-of-the-ocean out of the box. And that's exactly why it was fantastic.

The Canadian team is creating a trademark style for themselves that has originality written all over 
Photograph: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images North America

They looked just a little high and deliciously funny as they 'rowed a boat on the river' before transitioning into twizzles so fast they blitzed before your eyes. Their rotational lift and waltz didn't particularly stand out in terms of difficulty, but their step sequence was a bit like watching two children fool around and cause mischief at a very serious ball. Perhaps that was the whole idea - break the rules of etiquette that so many take for granted when they hear the word waltz. It was daring, different and defiant, which is why I think it deserves a spot on my list of mighty five.

From Waltz music to soundtrack, ballet, the 1950s and finally, 'the odd one out,' those were my picks for the mighty five Ravensburger waltzes of 2015/2016. Did any of your favourites make my list? Let me know what your mighty five waltzes are.