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Rostelecom Cup 2013 (Free Skates)

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DANCE Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron  put the mishap from the short in the past, and did a terrific job in the free. Their somewhat futuristic concept features the music of Woodkip ( Iron  and Run Boy Run ) and Olafur Arnalds ( Brotsjor ). Their score: 79.78 . Overall: 124.27 Siobhan Heekin-Canedy/Dmitri Dun  skated on one of the most beautiful tangos, El Tango de Roxanne . Her dress was gorgeous, but his shirt looked a bit like a waiter's. The real problem was that although she tried her best to express the music, he was not feeling it at all. Where there should have been anger and passion, there was nothing. They obtained 78.57  points. Overall: 123.57 Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier  have really struck gold with their Hitchcock  theme. Unfortunately, Paul lost his balance in the twizzles. The costumes were superb and the way his is both symbolic for Hitchcock and makes hers stand out is brilliant. Their score: 82.52 . Overall: 133.66 Ksenia Monk...

Rostelecom Cup 2013 (Short Programmes)

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DANCE Ksenia Monko/Kirill Khaliavin  had a little stumble during the step sequence, but were otherwise dynamic and pleasant to watch. Their score: 55.83 Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier  were fun and had great twizzles. The choice of costumes was very clever as it relates to the first song. They obtained 51.14  points. Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron 's flame was significantly less bright than in Paris. He messed up the twizzles and lost focus on the presentation from that moment on, then fell at the very end of the routine. Their score: 44.49 . Ekaterina Riazanova/Ilia Tkachenko  brought the atmosphere of Chicago  to Moscow. It was fast, very well presented and had complex steps. They obtained 58.59  points. Madison Chock/Evan Bates  dug their hands into the showmanship bucket, but didn't get the best out of it. The twizzles were fine, but the first song just didn't seem to get them in the mood. Their score: 57.80 Kaitlyn Weaver/Andrew Poje...

Trophee Eric Bompard 2013 (Free Skates)

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MEN Alexander Majorov never fails to find original stories for his programmes. Skating on Archangel  by T.J. Bergersen, he double-footed the Quad Toeloop, singled both Triple Lutzes and fell on the Triple Flip. His score: 120.90 . Overall: 180.62 Nan Song 's mission in France can be ticked as a success, although he could have used a bit more emotion in the interpretation. He also had a hand down on the Quad Toeloop and double-footed the Triple Loop. He obtained 133.37  points. Overall: 204.73 Michal Brezina  is once more battling his inconsistency demons. Although he did a tremendous job impersonating the infamous Sherlock Holmes , his jumps were rusty at best. He over-rotated the first Quad Salchow and completely failed the second, fell on the Triple Toeloop, singled the Triple Flip and Triple Salchow, and doubled the Triple Toeloop. His score: 134.31 . Overall: 206.22 Florent Amodio 's life might have lost a shade of pink after this performance. Although he stil...

Trophee Eric Bompard 2013 (Short Programmes)

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MEN Nan Song 's Guitar Concerto  on ice didn't go as planned here. He had a hand down on the Triple Axel and a faulty landing on the Triple Lutz. The costume he wore, although fit for the music, looked a bit too much like a pair of pajamas. His score: 71.36 Jason Brown proved why skating on music you like is a great advantage. His confident and passionate interpretation of Prince's song left no question about his abilities. Neither did his perfect jumps and incredibly difficult spins, most of which showcased his amazing flexibility. He obtained 84.77  points. Alexander Majorov  went back to roots with Korobushko , but was not his usual charismatic self here. He doubled the Quad Toeloop, landed the Triple Toeloop messily and fell on the Triple Axel. He was too slow throughout the first half of the routine to be able to do any of those jumps properly. His score: 59.72 Han Yan  needs to work on his facial expressions. The choreography was obviously comedic, but...

NHK Trophy 2013 (Free Skates)

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PAIRS Anastasia Martiusheva/Alexei Rogonov  have a beautiful choreography, but they need to work on their presentation, especially Anastasia. The side-by-side Double Axels were just Singles, the thrown Triple Flip failed and the thrown Triple Loop was double-footed. Their score: 96.40 . Overall: 145.37 Narumi Takahashi/Ryuichi Kihara  took out all the drama, patriotism and love out of Les Miserables . Technically, she singled the Double Toeloop and double-footed both thrown jumps. They obtained 86.59  points. Overall: 138.13 Paige Lawrence/Rudi Swiegers 's routine was beautifully structured, but would have been enhanced by more epic costumes. She fell on the Triple Toeloop, singled the Double Toeloop and fell again on the thrown Triple Lutz. The side-by-side spins were in sync, but too far way from each other. Their score: 100.77 . Overall: 153.55 Marissa Castelli/Simon Shnapir  aim to defy belief in their careers. Although he doubled the Triple Toeloop and s...

NHK Trophy 2013 (Short Programmes)

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MEN Adam Rippon won the crowd over with his passionate interpretation of Carmen . The costume still looks a a bit odd, but the rest of the presentation was great. Technically, his quad was dodgy and he had a little stumble at the end. His score: 82.25 . Konstantiv Menshov had speed, charisma and some beautiful moments on ice, but fell on the Triple Lutz. He obtained 73.57  points. Max Aaron grabbed the ladies' attention with his Latino footwork, but lost control on the Triple Lutz. His score: 76.21 . Jeremy Abbott 's routine was charming and smooth. He double-footed the Quad Toeloop, but otherwise delivered a good skate. He obtained 78.78  points. Sergei Voronov looked dashing in his black and white costume. The programme itself benefited from difficult footwork and flawless technique. His score: 79.80 . Nobunari Oda truly made his homeland proud today. Skating on Cotton Club , he landed every jump and showed off his showman abilities. Excellent job! He obtain...

Cup of China 2013 Highlights (Free Skates)

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MEN Peter Liebers delivered an almost flawless programme. He had only two tiny mistakes on the second Triple Axel and on the Triple Flip. His interpretation was patched, showing only when he didn't have jumps to do. His score: 131.46 . Overall: 200.80 Nan Song has a bright future ahead of him. Technically his routine was almost perfect, although he lacked a quad jump. The silly mistake was tripping during one of the transitions. As for his presentation, he expressed the pain in Enio Moriccone's  The Mission  very well. He obtained  128.12  points. Overall:  196.80 Maxim Kovtun 's rendition of Tchaikovski's Piano Concerto no. 1  had something majestic about it. He only jumped two quads, not three as he had planned, which is still impressive. His score: 156.81 . Overall: 238.65 Han Yan  couldn't control the pressure all the way through. He had a dodgy landing on the Triple Axel and tripped out of the Triple Flip, ending up falling. These mistak...

Cup of China 2013 Highlights (Short Programmes)

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MEN The first out of three Chinese skaters, Yi Wang  skated on A Beautiful Storm . Overall, it was a good, enjoyable skate, but he double-footed the Triple Axel and singled the second Triple Flip. His score: 63.27 . As beautiful as the music was, Peter Liebers'  routine lacked smoothness. The jumps were perfect though, except for the Triple Toeloop. He got 69.34  points. China's national champion, Nan Song , brought his inner rock star on ice, skating beautifully on Guitar Concerto . Unfortunately, his Quad Toeloop was messy and the Triple Toeloop ended up being a Single. His score: 68.68 . Maxim Kovtun  proves he's worth a lot to the Russian team with two perfectly landed quads and a 'spot on' interpretation. His silly fall at the end was a mistake that took us all by surprise. He got 81.84  points. Charming, funny and in perfect control of his elements, Han Yan  probably had the best skate he's had so far in his entire life. The music was Viper'...