NHK Trophy Highlights 2017 - Rhumba and Samba (Ice Dance SP)
Ice dance at the Grand Prix Series has always been less dramatic than the other disciplines. It's quite rare to see obvious rivals in the same event, and the NHK wasn't any different. That doesn't mean there are no comparisons though. The biggest question on everyone's minds was how Virtue/Moir would perform compared to Papadakis/Cizeron, who set a new world record last week in Beijing. Here are my thoughts not just on the Canadians' routine, but some of the best programmes of the day.
Penny Coomes/Nicholas Buckland marked their return on ice in Osaka. Their routine was enjoyable, although it didn't necessarily stand out to me in terms of musical choice or style. Really difficult change of position for her in the curved lift. They finished the short on 5th place with 65.64 points.
Victoria Sinitsina/Nikita Katsalapov's twizzles were faster than those of the British although Victoria's first position was a bit wobbly. I particularly liked how the Rhumba was set to Agua de Beber by Al Jarreau. The rhythm. fit the choreography very well. Their score, 72.49, got them the 4th place.
Anna Cappellini/Luca Lanote's routine was extremely energetic and charismatic, but as it's always the case with them, their elements were not as difficult as even the two couples mentioned above. Loved how well the twizzles matched the music and it was good to see at least a difficult exit out of the rather simple rotational lift. They finished 3rd, with 75.87 points.
Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue's Rhumba was very sophisticated. Dancing to drums is never easy on ice, which makes the first Samba of their programme even more impressive. Loved the theme and how it came through despite the fact there were three different songs in the routine. I need to stop confusing them with Chock/Bates (there's nothing more to it except the name of the two Madisons). 76.31 points got them the 2nd place.
Tessa Virtue/Scott Moir were not as sharp as usually due to Scott stepping out of the last position of the twizzles, but the error was almost unnoticeable when compared to the rest of the programme. I have to mention how much I like their costumes, which is one of my favourite things about them. The choice of music, latino versions of Hotel California and Sympathy for the Devil, was original and refreshing among the many classic Latino choices in Osaka. They took the lead thanks to a score of 80.92 points.
So, as I anticipated, there wasn't any drama in the short programme of the ice-dancers. Every single couple of the top 5 seemed to slide into their expected positions, which I guess is something we'll keep on seeing until we get to the Grand Prix Final.
Penny Coomes/Nicholas Buckland marked their return on ice in Osaka. Their routine was enjoyable, although it didn't necessarily stand out to me in terms of musical choice or style. Really difficult change of position for her in the curved lift. They finished the short on 5th place with 65.64 points.
Victoria Sinitsina/Nikita Katsalapov's twizzles were faster than those of the British although Victoria's first position was a bit wobbly. I particularly liked how the Rhumba was set to Agua de Beber by Al Jarreau. The rhythm. fit the choreography very well. Their score, 72.49, got them the 4th place.
Anna Cappellini/Luca Lanote's routine was extremely energetic and charismatic, but as it's always the case with them, their elements were not as difficult as even the two couples mentioned above. Loved how well the twizzles matched the music and it was good to see at least a difficult exit out of the rather simple rotational lift. They finished 3rd, with 75.87 points.
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| Tessa Virtue/Scott Moir, Canada's best ice-dancers, effortlessly took the lead Photograph: Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images |
Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue's Rhumba was very sophisticated. Dancing to drums is never easy on ice, which makes the first Samba of their programme even more impressive. Loved the theme and how it came through despite the fact there were three different songs in the routine. I need to stop confusing them with Chock/Bates (there's nothing more to it except the name of the two Madisons). 76.31 points got them the 2nd place.
Tessa Virtue/Scott Moir were not as sharp as usually due to Scott stepping out of the last position of the twizzles, but the error was almost unnoticeable when compared to the rest of the programme. I have to mention how much I like their costumes, which is one of my favourite things about them. The choice of music, latino versions of Hotel California and Sympathy for the Devil, was original and refreshing among the many classic Latino choices in Osaka. They took the lead thanks to a score of 80.92 points.
So, as I anticipated, there wasn't any drama in the short programme of the ice-dancers. Every single couple of the top 5 seemed to slide into their expected positions, which I guess is something we'll keep on seeing until we get to the Grand Prix Final.
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