NHK Trophy 2017 Highlights - The Good Times (Pairs SP)
The action in Osaka, Japan, took off earlier today (way earlier today - time differences are making me blog this closer to the free programmes than the short 😊 ) with the pairs' competition. Things kind of went according to predictions, at least as far as I'm concerned, but there were some routines I saw for the first time today and I'm excited to tell you all about them.
I'll start with Julianne Seguin/Charlie Bilodeau, who skated to Lorde's version of Everybody Wants to Rule the World. I love this song, which is why I'm very picky with the presentation for it. To me, it evokes a dark atmosphere that simply didn't come through in this interpretation. I did like their attempt at matching the landing of the throw twist to the sound of the shots in the song though. Unfortunately, Julianne singled out of the side-by-side 3Salchows. Their score: 63.98. They finished on 5th place.
Alexa Scimeca Knierim/Chris Knierim skated to the romantic Come What May, which is certainly appropriate for them. Alexa seemed a bit unsure here and there, which could be due to her injury from the end of last season, but it was Chris who stepped out of the side-by-side 3Salchows. They got as high as 4th place in the short, with 65.86 points.
Kristina Astakhova/Alexei Rogonov were the talk of the town last season, and it looks like that'll carry on this year. I'm always a fan of original positions, so it was great to see a new take on a pair lift. The choice of music was also phenomenal, with the Adagio building up to the epic Requiem. 70.47 points got them the 3rd place at the end of the day.
Ksenia Stolbova/Fedor Klimov don't ever go wrong with choosing themes, but this season's tango is simply perfect for their style. Ksenia in particular is very convincing in portraying the passion of the tango dancer. They also have the advantage of a lot of people recognising Besame Mucho and connecting with the music. Despite all this, they finished the short only on 2nd place, with 75.05 points.
Wenjing Sui/Cong Han just competed at Cup of China, but they still looked as fresh as they could be. Wenjing tripped during the step sequence, but nothing major came out of that. With 91 days to go until the Olympics, these two look like a good bet for the gold medal. They finished first with 79.43 points.
So, the pairs competition looks pretty settled to me already. If nothing catastrophic happens for anyone tomorrow, and let's hope it doesn't, I don't foresee major changes happening around the podium. Maybe the Americans could somehow get the bronze, but otherwise, these seem calm times for pairs. We'll have to wait and see if they indeed are.
I'll start with Julianne Seguin/Charlie Bilodeau, who skated to Lorde's version of Everybody Wants to Rule the World. I love this song, which is why I'm very picky with the presentation for it. To me, it evokes a dark atmosphere that simply didn't come through in this interpretation. I did like their attempt at matching the landing of the throw twist to the sound of the shots in the song though. Unfortunately, Julianne singled out of the side-by-side 3Salchows. Their score: 63.98. They finished on 5th place.
Alexa Scimeca Knierim/Chris Knierim skated to the romantic Come What May, which is certainly appropriate for them. Alexa seemed a bit unsure here and there, which could be due to her injury from the end of last season, but it was Chris who stepped out of the side-by-side 3Salchows. They got as high as 4th place in the short, with 65.86 points.
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| Julianne Seguin/Charlie Bilodeau are Canada's only pair skaters in Osaka this season Photograph: Kim Kyung-Hoon, Reuters |
Kristina Astakhova/Alexei Rogonov were the talk of the town last season, and it looks like that'll carry on this year. I'm always a fan of original positions, so it was great to see a new take on a pair lift. The choice of music was also phenomenal, with the Adagio building up to the epic Requiem. 70.47 points got them the 3rd place at the end of the day.
Ksenia Stolbova/Fedor Klimov don't ever go wrong with choosing themes, but this season's tango is simply perfect for their style. Ksenia in particular is very convincing in portraying the passion of the tango dancer. They also have the advantage of a lot of people recognising Besame Mucho and connecting with the music. Despite all this, they finished the short only on 2nd place, with 75.05 points.
Wenjing Sui/Cong Han just competed at Cup of China, but they still looked as fresh as they could be. Wenjing tripped during the step sequence, but nothing major came out of that. With 91 days to go until the Olympics, these two look like a good bet for the gold medal. They finished first with 79.43 points.
So, the pairs competition looks pretty settled to me already. If nothing catastrophic happens for anyone tomorrow, and let's hope it doesn't, I don't foresee major changes happening around the podium. Maybe the Americans could somehow get the bronze, but otherwise, these seem calm times for pairs. We'll have to wait and see if they indeed are.
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