Skate America 2018 - Rhythmic Dance

Skate America 2018 - Rhythmic Dance - Top 5 Highlights

October 21, 2018

Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibon from Great Britain completely stole the scene for me
Photograph: Lindsey Wasson/Getty Images North America

First thing's first: someone decided to name the short dance, the Rhythmic Dance while I've been away from figure skating. I don't really have much of an opinion about it; ice-dancers have had their short routines changed so many times, it hardly matters what it's called anymore, in my opinion. It does help to differentiate it from the other short programmes, as the Rhythmic Dance is unique in its musical regulations.

Now, moving onto Skate America 2018, the ice-dancers list was again full of relatively new faces. This is always the case after an Olympic season, so let's dive right into the five best performers of the newly-renamed Rhythmic Dance.

Madison Hubbell & Zachary Donohue have no rivals in Everett, so it's no surprise they finished in first place. Their chosen songs were Alevare and Tangata de l'Alba. They lost synchronicity during their second twizzle position, but quickly regained it during the third. Score: 78.43.

Charlene Guignard & Marco Fabbri were less intense than the Americans, but equally exquisite. The stationary lift in particular has already become one of my favourites. They had loads of transitions between the twizzles, which made them messier than you'd expect from them. That's definitely something they need to polish. Once that's done, they will be phenomenal. Score: 75.01.

Tiffani Zagorski & Jonathan Guerreiro chose a tango classic: Besame Mucho. However, their interpretation of the song was not as passionate as required. Their relationship on ice might need some work too in order to be able to sell the tango better. They had quite the straight-line lift though! Score: 73.30.

Lorraine McNamara & Quinn Carpenter had some really good moments during their tango, but there were still lots of times when the relationship and presentation were not matching the music. Another couple with loads of potential and a bit more work ahead of them to turn that potential into amazing results. They skated to Desde el Alma and Quejumbroso. Score: 72.44.

Lilah Fear & Lewis Gibson were the big revelation of the night for me. They showed great connection to each other and were terrific at communicating with the audience. They let the mask drop when approaching the twizzles, so that's a moment of concentration that will need to be disguised better in the future. Absolutely loved watching his passion in the second half of the routine. This is a couple to keep an eye on. Score: 64.71.

No big words to end this commentary from me. I think Hubbell & Donohue are a sure bet for gold unless disaster strikes. The Italians are also pretty much safe with their silver-medal position, so I expect the shuffling, if any, will happen at the lower levels.

Quote of the competition: