Skate America 2013 Highlights
The Joe Luis Arena might not have been blessed with the roar coming from a full ice-rink, but that didn't stop skaters from starting the Grand Prix 'marathon' at full speed. Here are the highlights of the first grand prix competition.
MEN
Tatsuki Machida was the surprise of the event. Skating on the soundtrack of East of Eden, a 1955 film starring James Dean, he plummeted to the top after a flawless programme in the short, defeating his two more experienced countrymen, both of whom were favourites for the podium. The long programme featured Igor Stravinski's Firebird and a tacky costume, but was otherwise delivered beautifully. His score: 91.18 (Short Programme), 174.20 (Long Programme), 265.38 (Overall).
Jason Brown's astonishment when he saw his SP score proves just how much talent this 19-year old has. He skated on Prince's The Question of U and managed to finish the short on second place despite lacking a quadruple jump. Unfortunately, his failed Triple Axel and other minor mistakes in the long programme caused him to finish the competition on sixth place. His score: 83.78 (SP), 147.25 (LP), 231.03 (O).
Adam Rippon promised us a quad Lutz and he proved to be a man of his word. This is not the first time Rippon tries something challenging - he is also famous for his ability of jumping with both hands above his head. His music was the oh-so-popular Carmen, which he paired with a costume that made us realize high-waist pants may be the season's fashion trend for men. For the long, he used Claude Debussy's L'apres midi d'une Faune, which helped him climb a step and go home with the silver medal. Rippon also goes home with the painful memory of having the worst fall of the competition (he never said all Quad Lutz jumps would be perfect). He got 80.26 points in the short, 160.98 in the long and 214.24 overall.
The man who ended up taking home the Bronze medal was Max Aaron. His long programme saved the day after an unfortunate short, on the familiar rhythms of Carmen (seriously, am I the only one getting sick of this theme?) and got him from place six to the podium. His score: 75.78 (SP), 162.45 (LP), 238.36 (O).
There were a couple of disappointments, the biggest ones being Daisuke Takahashi and Takahiko Kozuka , who finished the competition on the fourth and fifth position. Nonetheless, they gave us a lesson of class when they literately laughed the affair off. Champions know bad days can and will happen to you!
DANCE
Meryl Davis & Charlie White knew perfectly fine they had this in the back pocket. The matter of them taking the lead with an astronomical (and well deserved) score was almost as known a fact as "water boils at 100 degrees". The only thing that could have perhaps been better was Meryl's short dance dress - as lovely as it was, it didn't really say My Fair Lady. As for their Scheherazade costumes, there were none better in the entire competition. The programme itself was well put together and even better skated. Their score: 75.70 (SP), 112.53 (LP), 188.23 (O).
Anna Cappellini & Luca Lanotte were fun and cheerful and perfectly dressed and simply adorable. In the short they skated on 42nd Secret, a Broadway musical that debuted in the 1980s and in the long, Overture from The Barber of Seville, an opera composed by Gioacchino Rossini. They got 69.88 points for the short, 98.61 for the long and 168.49 overall.
Maia Shibutani & Alex Shibutani seem to be back in form. They opted for a Michael Buble short programme, which worked absolutely fine, but I wish Maia dared to be a bit more adventurous with her costumes. The long programme was a tribute to Michael Jackson, which is always fun to watch, but once more the costumes were just the tiniest bit disappointing. Their score: 61.26 (SP), 93.21 (LP), 154.47 (O).
There is another couple worth mentioning as they seem to be stuck in a pattern: Julia Zlobina & Alexei Sitnikov delivered a short programme that was supposed to be Pink Panther, but ended up being a strange combo between the iconic song and Sing Sing. This is exactly what they did last year in their short programme, when they got our hopes up with Valse Violente just to crush them with The Dolly Song. Creating a personal pattern is not bad, but when the pattern is patched like that, the story of the programme gets lost and you end up with a lot of confused people wondering what is it you were trying to do? They finished the competition on eighth place.
PAIRS
This was just another opportunity for Tatiana Volosozhar & Maxim Trankov to look absolutely brilliant. The fact that they went and learnt waltz steps, which they incorporated in their short programme not only shows their commitment, but also gives the routine a feeling of authenticity. Their Masquerade Waltz checked all the boxes and might just make dance steps more approachable to pair skaters. As for the long, the costumes were a smash, the performance as flawless as ever and the theme, Jesus Christ Superstar, was definitely a novelty (I don't think anyone's ever played Jesus on ice before). They got 83.05 points in the short, 154.66 in the long and 237.71 overall.
Although usually a 'recycled' programme is not a good idea (remember Brian Joubert's Matrix?), Kirsten Moore-Towers & Dylan Moscovitch are an exception. With no real hopes of an Olympic podium, they can afford to stick with last year's amazing short programme and improve it to perfection. Their new programme, Nino Rota's Fellini, showed their potential as Canada's rising stars and received a loud cheer from the audience. The only big problem was the side by side spins. Their score: 71.51 (SP), 136.94 (LP),, 208.45 (O).
Ksenia Stolbova & Fedor Klimov still have a lot to learn from their compatriots, but they're on their right path to success. They skated on Spanish Flamenco in the short, a song many would call tedious and uninspired. However, in the hands of these two it turned into a brilliant programme that was full of that Hispanic passion we love. The long programme was another recycled one, but just as with the Canadians, we won't mind. In fact, we're glad we got to see the beautiful Addams Family routine again. Extra kudos for the beautiful costumes! They earned 64.80 points for the short, 122.55 for the long and 187.35 overall.
Speaking of costumes, Stefania Berton & Ondrej Hotarek's costumes for the short were the star attraction that shined in the brightest of yellows. Yet, as much as I loved Ondrej's high-waist trousers and the attire as a whole, Stefania's dress did seem to be ruined by the yellow fabric at the bottom. They finished the competition on a disappointing fifth place.
LADIES
Mao Asada proved us all that experience weighs heavily in sport by conquering everything in this competition. She didn't have an entirely clean skate, but she handled the pressure well and she did it with a fistful of grace. Her two classical programmes (by Sergei Rachmaninoff and Frederic Chopin) were paired with beautiful costumes, as she's got us used. Her score: 73.18 (SP), 131.37 (LP), 204.55 (O).
Ashley Wagner couldn't defend her title, but delivered two strong programmes we can't wait to see improved. Her Romeo and Juliet in special, avoided the grandness trap lots of skaters fall into and was instead a charming new way of telling a story as old as time. She got 69.26 points in the short, 124.55 in the long and 193.81 overall.
You can't really criticize Elena Radionova because she is just too adorable. Unfortunately, her age and inexperience didn't stand a chance against an Olympic silver medalist and a skater with almost ten years of experience ahead of her. Her short programme featured the soundtrack of Anna Karenina, while the long one featured the soundtrack of Frida. She only had one fall throughout the competition, which is astonishing for a 14-year old and should be applauded. With a bit of hard work and more experience, she'll soon join the likes of Adelina Sotnikova and Elizaveta Tuktamysheva in taking European and World championships by storm.
MEN
Tatsuki Machida was the surprise of the event. Skating on the soundtrack of East of Eden, a 1955 film starring James Dean, he plummeted to the top after a flawless programme in the short, defeating his two more experienced countrymen, both of whom were favourites for the podium. The long programme featured Igor Stravinski's Firebird and a tacky costume, but was otherwise delivered beautifully. His score: 91.18 (Short Programme), 174.20 (Long Programme), 265.38 (Overall).Jason Brown's astonishment when he saw his SP score proves just how much talent this 19-year old has. He skated on Prince's The Question of U and managed to finish the short on second place despite lacking a quadruple jump. Unfortunately, his failed Triple Axel and other minor mistakes in the long programme caused him to finish the competition on sixth place. His score: 83.78 (SP), 147.25 (LP), 231.03 (O).
Adam Rippon promised us a quad Lutz and he proved to be a man of his word. This is not the first time Rippon tries something challenging - he is also famous for his ability of jumping with both hands above his head. His music was the oh-so-popular Carmen, which he paired with a costume that made us realize high-waist pants may be the season's fashion trend for men. For the long, he used Claude Debussy's L'apres midi d'une Faune, which helped him climb a step and go home with the silver medal. Rippon also goes home with the painful memory of having the worst fall of the competition (he never said all Quad Lutz jumps would be perfect). He got 80.26 points in the short, 160.98 in the long and 214.24 overall.
The man who ended up taking home the Bronze medal was Max Aaron. His long programme saved the day after an unfortunate short, on the familiar rhythms of Carmen (seriously, am I the only one getting sick of this theme?) and got him from place six to the podium. His score: 75.78 (SP), 162.45 (LP), 238.36 (O).
There were a couple of disappointments, the biggest ones being Daisuke Takahashi and Takahiko Kozuka , who finished the competition on the fourth and fifth position. Nonetheless, they gave us a lesson of class when they literately laughed the affair off. Champions know bad days can and will happen to you!
DANCE
Meryl Davis & Charlie White knew perfectly fine they had this in the back pocket. The matter of them taking the lead with an astronomical (and well deserved) score was almost as known a fact as "water boils at 100 degrees". The only thing that could have perhaps been better was Meryl's short dance dress - as lovely as it was, it didn't really say My Fair Lady. As for their Scheherazade costumes, there were none better in the entire competition. The programme itself was well put together and even better skated. Their score: 75.70 (SP), 112.53 (LP), 188.23 (O).
Anna Cappellini & Luca Lanotte were fun and cheerful and perfectly dressed and simply adorable. In the short they skated on 42nd Secret, a Broadway musical that debuted in the 1980s and in the long, Overture from The Barber of Seville, an opera composed by Gioacchino Rossini. They got 69.88 points for the short, 98.61 for the long and 168.49 overall.Maia Shibutani & Alex Shibutani seem to be back in form. They opted for a Michael Buble short programme, which worked absolutely fine, but I wish Maia dared to be a bit more adventurous with her costumes. The long programme was a tribute to Michael Jackson, which is always fun to watch, but once more the costumes were just the tiniest bit disappointing. Their score: 61.26 (SP), 93.21 (LP), 154.47 (O).
There is another couple worth mentioning as they seem to be stuck in a pattern: Julia Zlobina & Alexei Sitnikov delivered a short programme that was supposed to be Pink Panther, but ended up being a strange combo between the iconic song and Sing Sing. This is exactly what they did last year in their short programme, when they got our hopes up with Valse Violente just to crush them with The Dolly Song. Creating a personal pattern is not bad, but when the pattern is patched like that, the story of the programme gets lost and you end up with a lot of confused people wondering what is it you were trying to do? They finished the competition on eighth place.
PAIRS
This was just another opportunity for Tatiana Volosozhar & Maxim Trankov to look absolutely brilliant. The fact that they went and learnt waltz steps, which they incorporated in their short programme not only shows their commitment, but also gives the routine a feeling of authenticity. Their Masquerade Waltz checked all the boxes and might just make dance steps more approachable to pair skaters. As for the long, the costumes were a smash, the performance as flawless as ever and the theme, Jesus Christ Superstar, was definitely a novelty (I don't think anyone's ever played Jesus on ice before). They got 83.05 points in the short, 154.66 in the long and 237.71 overall.
Although usually a 'recycled' programme is not a good idea (remember Brian Joubert's Matrix?), Kirsten Moore-Towers & Dylan Moscovitch are an exception. With no real hopes of an Olympic podium, they can afford to stick with last year's amazing short programme and improve it to perfection. Their new programme, Nino Rota's Fellini, showed their potential as Canada's rising stars and received a loud cheer from the audience. The only big problem was the side by side spins. Their score: 71.51 (SP), 136.94 (LP),, 208.45 (O).
Ksenia Stolbova & Fedor Klimov still have a lot to learn from their compatriots, but they're on their right path to success. They skated on Spanish Flamenco in the short, a song many would call tedious and uninspired. However, in the hands of these two it turned into a brilliant programme that was full of that Hispanic passion we love. The long programme was another recycled one, but just as with the Canadians, we won't mind. In fact, we're glad we got to see the beautiful Addams Family routine again. Extra kudos for the beautiful costumes! They earned 64.80 points for the short, 122.55 for the long and 187.35 overall.
Speaking of costumes, Stefania Berton & Ondrej Hotarek's costumes for the short were the star attraction that shined in the brightest of yellows. Yet, as much as I loved Ondrej's high-waist trousers and the attire as a whole, Stefania's dress did seem to be ruined by the yellow fabric at the bottom. They finished the competition on a disappointing fifth place.
LADIES
Mao Asada proved us all that experience weighs heavily in sport by conquering everything in this competition. She didn't have an entirely clean skate, but she handled the pressure well and she did it with a fistful of grace. Her two classical programmes (by Sergei Rachmaninoff and Frederic Chopin) were paired with beautiful costumes, as she's got us used. Her score: 73.18 (SP), 131.37 (LP), 204.55 (O).
Ashley Wagner couldn't defend her title, but delivered two strong programmes we can't wait to see improved. Her Romeo and Juliet in special, avoided the grandness trap lots of skaters fall into and was instead a charming new way of telling a story as old as time. She got 69.26 points in the short, 124.55 in the long and 193.81 overall.You can't really criticize Elena Radionova because she is just too adorable. Unfortunately, her age and inexperience didn't stand a chance against an Olympic silver medalist and a skater with almost ten years of experience ahead of her. Her short programme featured the soundtrack of Anna Karenina, while the long one featured the soundtrack of Frida. She only had one fall throughout the competition, which is astonishing for a 14-year old and should be applauded. With a bit of hard work and more experience, she'll soon join the likes of Adelina Sotnikova and Elizaveta Tuktamysheva in taking European and World championships by storm.
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