NHK Trophy 2017 Highlights - Breaking Limits vs Staying Inside Them (Ice Dance FS)
The calm of the ice dance wasn't disturbed in the free skate. Luckily for this discipline, it is one of the most artistic, so it's often a lot of fans' favourite. So there's always drama even if there is no drama (I might have 'over-metaphored' here, but you get what I mean). Here is what happened to the top couples in Osaka.
Penny Coomes/Nicholas Buckland blew my mind with their extremely creative lifts. I'm not sure if some of them were not too long, but boy, were they extraordinary! As always with them though, they experienced trouble with the synchronicity in the step sequence. The song is called Battle Remembered. Unfortunately, they didn't match the technical prowess of other skaters and ended on 7th place overall. Free score: 92.51. Total score: 158.15.
Victoria Sinitsina/Nikita Katsalapov got the audience laughing thanks to Nikita's surprising fall. Luckily, it happened after the music ended, so they didn't get a deduction for it. Now, about the routine...they're another couple who seem to have worked hard on making lifts more difficult than in the past. They skated to Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2. They earned 104.66 points in the free and 177.15 points in total.
Laurence Fournier Beaudry/Nicolaj Sorensen truly proved their potential in Osaka by finishing 4th. I've been a fan of theirs for a couple of seasons now, so I couldn't be happier to see their results here. They skated to Spanish Caravan, Hush and Asturias, three flamenco songs. His presence was particularly domineering on ice, befitting the theme. There were also many rotational elements to match the pace of the music. Their free score was 99.06, while the overall score was 164.40.
Anna Cappellini/Luca Lanotte's La Vita E Bella was very pleasant to watch, but lacked the innovation that even some of the lower-ranking couples filled their routines with. In my opinion, this comfort zone they seem to be in when it comes to elements is what is holding them back. Their most difficult element was the straight-line performed backwards and on one leg by Luca. They kept their position with 110.69 points in the free programme and 186.56 in total.
Maddison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue also managed to keep the silver medal they got a glimpse of in the short. They skated to Across the Sky and Caught Out in the Rain, two jazzy songs that I think were used to portray a troubled love story. That's what I got anyway. Their communication both with each other and the audience was fabulous. These two are not afraid to look the judges in the eye. Free score: 112.04. Overall score: 188.35.
I have mixed feelings about Tessa Virtue/Scott Moir's Moulin Rouge . I think I was expecting a new take on it, probably because of how well they pulled their own version of Carmen a few seasons ago. This was an amazing version of Moulin Rouge, but I don't think they've made it their own. There's not much to be said about the actual performance in Osaka. It was great, but I wouldn't know who to bet on if the French had competed here as well. They won with 117.72 points in the free and 198.64 in total.
So the story went in Osaka, Japan. The ice dance final concluded a rather tranquil Grand Prix event. I can't wait to see the results of the Grand Prix Final, but we have two more stops before we get there, so I will see you next week in France. Au revoir!
Penny Coomes/Nicholas Buckland blew my mind with their extremely creative lifts. I'm not sure if some of them were not too long, but boy, were they extraordinary! As always with them though, they experienced trouble with the synchronicity in the step sequence. The song is called Battle Remembered. Unfortunately, they didn't match the technical prowess of other skaters and ended on 7th place overall. Free score: 92.51. Total score: 158.15.
Victoria Sinitsina/Nikita Katsalapov got the audience laughing thanks to Nikita's surprising fall. Luckily, it happened after the music ended, so they didn't get a deduction for it. Now, about the routine...they're another couple who seem to have worked hard on making lifts more difficult than in the past. They skated to Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2. They earned 104.66 points in the free and 177.15 points in total.
Laurence Fournier Beaudry/Nicolaj Sorensen truly proved their potential in Osaka by finishing 4th. I've been a fan of theirs for a couple of seasons now, so I couldn't be happier to see their results here. They skated to Spanish Caravan, Hush and Asturias, three flamenco songs. His presence was particularly domineering on ice, befitting the theme. There were also many rotational elements to match the pace of the music. Their free score was 99.06, while the overall score was 164.40.
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| Three very different styles took the podium in Osaka along with three different countries: the US, Canada and Italy Photograph: AFP / Kazuhiro Nogi |
Anna Cappellini/Luca Lanotte's La Vita E Bella was very pleasant to watch, but lacked the innovation that even some of the lower-ranking couples filled their routines with. In my opinion, this comfort zone they seem to be in when it comes to elements is what is holding them back. Their most difficult element was the straight-line performed backwards and on one leg by Luca. They kept their position with 110.69 points in the free programme and 186.56 in total.
Maddison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue also managed to keep the silver medal they got a glimpse of in the short. They skated to Across the Sky and Caught Out in the Rain, two jazzy songs that I think were used to portray a troubled love story. That's what I got anyway. Their communication both with each other and the audience was fabulous. These two are not afraid to look the judges in the eye. Free score: 112.04. Overall score: 188.35.
I have mixed feelings about Tessa Virtue/Scott Moir's Moulin Rouge . I think I was expecting a new take on it, probably because of how well they pulled their own version of Carmen a few seasons ago. This was an amazing version of Moulin Rouge, but I don't think they've made it their own. There's not much to be said about the actual performance in Osaka. It was great, but I wouldn't know who to bet on if the French had competed here as well. They won with 117.72 points in the free and 198.64 in total.
So the story went in Osaka, Japan. The ice dance final concluded a rather tranquil Grand Prix event. I can't wait to see the results of the Grand Prix Final, but we have two more stops before we get there, so I will see you next week in France. Au revoir!
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