NHK Trophy 2018 - Rhythmic Dance - Top 5 Highlights

Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker's Tango Romantica

The biggest news about the NHK Trophy this season was the withdrawal of superstars Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron, due to his having injured his back. As sad as this left all figure skating fans, the media immediately filled headlines with the opportunities their absence brought for other couples. Boy, were they right! With none of the big names attending, the rhythmic dance left the ice rink wide open for up and coming skaters.

Tiffani Zagorski/Jonathan Guerreiro had the most to gain from the absence of the French, Although I personally think they still have a lot to learn about presenting anxious music, they were super fast throughout the routine and displayed great basic skating skills. They took the lead with 75.49 points, which was a season's best for them.

Right after, with 70.71 points, came Kaitlin Hawayek/Jean-Luc Baker. The two had the tinniest trouble when he stumbled during the first section of their Tango Romantica, but otherwise put on a solid performance of Vuelvo al sur and A los amigos. I liked the unusual cut of her dress.

On third place, Rachel Parsons/Michael Parsons were probably the most surprising out of the podium contenders. Completely new to the Grand Prix scene , they did a smashing job with excellent arm movements during the transitions between their twizzles, and an enthusiastic interpretation. Score: 69.07

 The couple I expected to be third, ended up fourth: Shiyue Wang/Xinyu Liu. Although there were moments when they were slightly behind the music, the overall performance was good. They did however have easier twizzles than the Americans, which contributed to them only obtaining 66.27 points.

The last couple to come close to the podium were Canada's Carolane Soucisse/Shane Firus. They had an unusual musical combination - tango and hip hop - and a super smooth cartwheel straight lift. We saw them before at Skate Canada, where their prospects didn't look as good as in Hiroshima. Score: 66.01.

The competition is very close going into the final. Places one and two could easily switch, as could places three and four and four and five. So...the free dance medals are up for grabs.

Quote of the competition is:


More from the NHK Trophy 2018:

First day

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