Cup of China 2017 Highlights - A Break from the Madness (Pairs)
The calmest discipline of this season's Cup of China was the pairs'. Although we didn't see a lot of drama or unexpected plot twists, the competition was a warm-up for what is sure to be a more tumultuous season for the pairs. Here are how the top five pairs in Beijing performed:
SHORT
Valentina Marchei/Ondrej Hotarek finished the short programme in 5th place. They skated to Tu vuo fa l'Americano, a comedic song that went viral a couple of years ago. At first I thought the routine wasn't as funny as advertised, but they picked up the comedy in the second half of the programme, once the difficult technical elements were out. With a bit more practice, I'm sure they'll manage to spread out the fun throughout the programme rather than concentrate it in the second half. Their score: 68.48.
Kirsten Moore-Towers/Michael Marinaro were in the perfect position to 'steal' a medal after the short. They skated to Sweet Dreams, a blues song that would have fitted right in with the ice-dancers' former mandatory rhythm. Kirsten over-rotated the side-by-side 3Toeloop, which seemed to upset her quite a bit. They earned 62.52 points.
Nicole della Monica/Matteo Guarise were the surprise of the day for me. I didn't expect them to finish the short on 3rd place, despite having acknowledged their talent for a few seasons now. I have to say I found the music, Magnificat, rather monotonous, and unfortunately the choreography wasn't detailed enough to hide it. Technically, they both stepped out of the side-by-side 3Salchows and Nicole put a hand down on the throw 3Loop. Their score: 63.76.
Xiaoyu Yu/Hao Zhang managed to get themselves on 2nd place after the short. They skated to Swan Lake, which is a beautiful routine under any circumstances, but it didn't quite stand out for me. It was a lot better than almost all short programmes in Beijing, but in the niche of Swan Lake routines, it didn't bring anything new to the table. Loved how many dance-like lifts they had in the transitions. Technically, the only mistake was her hand down on the side-by-side 3Toeloops. They earned 71.37.
I was once told off by a reader for not appreciating Wenjing Sui/Cong Han's talent. I have come a long way since those days. I love their chemistry, expressiveness, fluidity, technique and synchronicity. I'm pretty sure they're my current favourite pair, so that's a plot twist for me. Hallelujah fits them extremely well, but they're such a versatile pair that they can make almost any theme suit them. They took the lead after the short with 80.14 points.
FREE
Valentina Marchei/Ondrej Hotarek remained on 5th place after the free. They skated to Amarcord by Nino Rotta, making their theme for 2017/2018 fully Italian. They're masters of storytelling, often looking literally dreamy-eyed, but also comedic. Their routine also had a fabulous lift exit - another dance-like choreographic detail. The only mistake was her double-footing the throw 3Loop. Their free score was 128.48; overall, they earned 188.01 points.
Nicole della Monica/Matteo Guarise dropped one place and finished Cup of China on 4th place. Matteo doubled out of the side-by-side 3Toeloops, while the side-by-side spins were not entirely in sync. I liked the free routine a lot more than their short. The Tree of Life is a beautiful piece of music that helped with their lyrical presentation. Their twin costumes were just gorgeous. The score for the free was 126.49; the total score was 190.25.
Kirsten Moore-Towers/Michael Marinaro made really good use of their original fourth place to seize the moment and jump up a step in the long programme. She over-rotated the 2Axel, and the side-by-side spins were not completely in sync for them either, but no major errors. She did seem more confident in the throw jumps in the second half of the programme though. The routine, set to Un ange passe, had a very calming effect on me. Their free score: 132.00; overall, they had 194.52 points.
Xiaoyu Yu/Hao Zhang managed to keep the silver medal they had been set up for after the short. The biggest mistake happened during the second side-by-side combination - she messed up the first jump, then got too flustered to be able to do more than a single for the second one. The side-by-side spins were out of sync. Regarding the music, I was originally surprised to hear they were skating to Stars Wars, but I had forgotten Star Wars is not all about Jedis, spaceships and robots. They chose the softer side of the soundtrack and treated it like a classical piece, interpreting the music rather than telling a story. Their scores were 134.17 in the free and 205.54 in total.
Wenjing Sui/Cong Han didn't just win the competition, they got the crowd on their feet, and it wasn't just because they were home. Despite Wenjing stepping out of the side-by-side 3Salchow, the performance was very strong technically. Choreography-wise, there were many sophisticated details, like the starting pose in which she slipped down in sync with the music. Also loved the extremely difficult original lift at the very end of the routine. They earned 150.93 points in the free and 231.07 points in total.
So, here are the lessons I learnt from the pairs' event in Beijing. Number one - the Chinese pairs will play a crucial role this Olympic season. Number two - Canada and Italy have at least one pair each that has grown remarkably since we last saw them. I can't wait to see how this will change rankings in the big competitions where everyone will come together.
SHORT
Valentina Marchei/Ondrej Hotarek finished the short programme in 5th place. They skated to Tu vuo fa l'Americano, a comedic song that went viral a couple of years ago. At first I thought the routine wasn't as funny as advertised, but they picked up the comedy in the second half of the programme, once the difficult technical elements were out. With a bit more practice, I'm sure they'll manage to spread out the fun throughout the programme rather than concentrate it in the second half. Their score: 68.48.
Kirsten Moore-Towers/Michael Marinaro were in the perfect position to 'steal' a medal after the short. They skated to Sweet Dreams, a blues song that would have fitted right in with the ice-dancers' former mandatory rhythm. Kirsten over-rotated the side-by-side 3Toeloop, which seemed to upset her quite a bit. They earned 62.52 points.
Nicole della Monica/Matteo Guarise were the surprise of the day for me. I didn't expect them to finish the short on 3rd place, despite having acknowledged their talent for a few seasons now. I have to say I found the music, Magnificat, rather monotonous, and unfortunately the choreography wasn't detailed enough to hide it. Technically, they both stepped out of the side-by-side 3Salchows and Nicole put a hand down on the throw 3Loop. Their score: 63.76.
 |
| Canada's sole contenders - Kirsten Moore-Towers/Michael Marinaro - during their short programme |
Xiaoyu Yu/Hao Zhang managed to get themselves on 2nd place after the short. They skated to Swan Lake, which is a beautiful routine under any circumstances, but it didn't quite stand out for me. It was a lot better than almost all short programmes in Beijing, but in the niche of Swan Lake routines, it didn't bring anything new to the table. Loved how many dance-like lifts they had in the transitions. Technically, the only mistake was her hand down on the side-by-side 3Toeloops. They earned 71.37.
I was once told off by a reader for not appreciating Wenjing Sui/Cong Han's talent. I have come a long way since those days. I love their chemistry, expressiveness, fluidity, technique and synchronicity. I'm pretty sure they're my current favourite pair, so that's a plot twist for me. Hallelujah fits them extremely well, but they're such a versatile pair that they can make almost any theme suit them. They took the lead after the short with 80.14 points.
FREE
Valentina Marchei/Ondrej Hotarek remained on 5th place after the free. They skated to Amarcord by Nino Rotta, making their theme for 2017/2018 fully Italian. They're masters of storytelling, often looking literally dreamy-eyed, but also comedic. Their routine also had a fabulous lift exit - another dance-like choreographic detail. The only mistake was her double-footing the throw 3Loop. Their free score was 128.48; overall, they earned 188.01 points.
Nicole della Monica/Matteo Guarise dropped one place and finished Cup of China on 4th place. Matteo doubled out of the side-by-side 3Toeloops, while the side-by-side spins were not entirely in sync. I liked the free routine a lot more than their short. The Tree of Life is a beautiful piece of music that helped with their lyrical presentation. Their twin costumes were just gorgeous. The score for the free was 126.49; the total score was 190.25.
Kirsten Moore-Towers/Michael Marinaro made really good use of their original fourth place to seize the moment and jump up a step in the long programme. She over-rotated the 2Axel, and the side-by-side spins were not completely in sync for them either, but no major errors. She did seem more confident in the throw jumps in the second half of the programme though. The routine, set to Un ange passe, had a very calming effect on me. Their free score: 132.00; overall, they had 194.52 points.
 |
| The winners - Wenjing Sui/Cong Han - performing a lasso lift Photograph: Xinhua Sports |
Xiaoyu Yu/Hao Zhang managed to keep the silver medal they had been set up for after the short. The biggest mistake happened during the second side-by-side combination - she messed up the first jump, then got too flustered to be able to do more than a single for the second one. The side-by-side spins were out of sync. Regarding the music, I was originally surprised to hear they were skating to Stars Wars, but I had forgotten Star Wars is not all about Jedis, spaceships and robots. They chose the softer side of the soundtrack and treated it like a classical piece, interpreting the music rather than telling a story. Their scores were 134.17 in the free and 205.54 in total.
Wenjing Sui/Cong Han didn't just win the competition, they got the crowd on their feet, and it wasn't just because they were home. Despite Wenjing stepping out of the side-by-side 3Salchow, the performance was very strong technically. Choreography-wise, there were many sophisticated details, like the starting pose in which she slipped down in sync with the music. Also loved the extremely difficult original lift at the very end of the routine. They earned 150.93 points in the free and 231.07 points in total.
So, here are the lessons I learnt from the pairs' event in Beijing. Number one - the Chinese pairs will play a crucial role this Olympic season. Number two - Canada and Italy have at least one pair each that has grown remarkably since we last saw them. I can't wait to see how this will change rankings in the big competitions where everyone will come together.
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