Skate Canada 2013 Highlights (Short Programmes)
LADIES
Veronik Mallet might be a new-face, but she's already got the grace of an experienced skater. Gorgeous costume and a good skate. It was such a shame that she fell on the Triple Flip. Her score: 50.71.
An original spin position gave Courtney Hick's Soul Surfer programme a bust after she doubled both the Toeloop and the Lutz. She received 50.70 points.
Canada's star, Kaetlyn Osmond, might have had the groove, but she lost focus on the Double Axel. Kudos for the white gloves! Her score: 60.32.
Natalia Popova finished a flawless programme, showcasing that Ukrainian skating talent we've been missing for a while now. She earned 52.36 points.
What a performance for Amelie Lacoste! She started with an amazing combination of Triple and Double Loop, and kept getting better and better. The Double Axel in particular was perfect. Enjoyable presentation as well. Her score: 59.13.
Christina Gao's programme sure touched some hearts tonight. It was classy, it was beautiful, it was flawless. She earned 62.82 points and snatched the lead from Osmond.
Changing the coach has not affected Gracie Gold at all. With a sparkling costume and challenging music, she delivered as good a skate as ever. Her score: 69.45.
Julia Lipnitskaia has already made a name for herself in the Grand Prix competitions and rightly so! She wins 'best presentation' and 'most flexible girl' (seriously, wow!) of the day. She earned 66.89 points.
The best costume of the night belongs to Akiko Suzuki, but that's not really a surprise. The Japanese proved once more that experience weighs a lot in figure skating and gave us a lovely routine. Her score: 65.76.
PAIRS
Wenjing Su & Cong Han are stepping into their older compatriots' steps. Elegant and artistic, their only mistake was a minor problem with the footwork during the lift. Their score: 69.02.
Margaret Purdy & Michael Marinaro tried to deliver a romantic programme, but the many mistakes (the failed lift, in particular) made it almost impossible. They earned 39.50 points.
Mari Vartmann & Aaron van Cleave skated on a beautiful piece of music, but they didn't make the best out of it in terms of interpretation. His fall on the Triple Toeloop didn't help either. Their score: 55.08.
Paige Lawrence & Rudi Swiegers's programme had rhythm and pretty costumes, but she touched the ice on the side by side Triple Toeloops and fell on the thrown Triple Lutz. They earned 52.94 points.
Stefania Berton & Ondrej Hotarek's lifts defy gravity. This version of their Mask programme was so good, even her costume seemed to have improved. Great job! Their score: 69.38.
Meagan Duhamel & Eric Radford's programme might not have been clean, but it was absolutely magical. The song they used is called Tribute and was composed by Eric himself, which proves he's a multi-talented man. The song exceeded my expectations and the story behind it is that it is indeed a tribute to their former coach. They earned 69.57 points.
MEN
Despite the failed quad, Nobunari Oda's routine was fun and classy and got the audience going. He earned 80.82 points.
Jeremy Abbott is as inconsistent as ever, even though he did jump his Quad Toeloop. His score: 74.58.
Patrick Chan has classic programmes in his back pocket, but just like other skaters before him, he seems to be uncomfortable with the size of the ice rink. His Triple Toeloop came too close to the barrier and ended in a dodgy landing. He earned 88.10 points.
Yuzuru Hanyu kept last season's SP, which says something about his aspirations for the Olympics. He didn't have lots of mistakes here, the biggest one being jumping a Single Lutz. "Just relax," said Brian Orser, his coach, about the silly mistake. His score: 80.40.
DANCE
Charlene Guignard & Marco Fabbri couldn't have chosen a better theme than Cabaret. They were fun and completely in character, giving us quite the show! Their score: 52.03.
Alexandra Paul & Mitchell Islam looked lovely and dashing in their elegant costumes. The finnstep looked at times out of sync with the music, but otherwise the routine was well skated. They earned 53.74 points.
Alexandra Stepanova & Ivan Bukin started the programme with big smiles. They delievered the most modern of quickstep, which felt a bit strange, but made for an interesting watch. Their poses were beautiful, but she didn't seem to enjoy it as much as he did. Their score: 55.63.
Nelli Zhiganshina & Alexander Gazsi were as delightful to watch as always, but they had some technical mistakes. The biggest one was Alexander messing up the twizzles. They earned 55.91 points.
Ekaterina Riazanova & Ilia Tkachenko's costumes might not have portrayed Chicago as well as they should have (pink is not really the best of colours for this music), but their skating surely did. The best part was the last part of the choreography matching the music perfectly. Their score: 59.79.
Madison Hubbell & Zachary Donohue had an unlucky mistake right at the end when he fell, but honestly, it sort of fit the music. Up until that point the programme was flawless. They earned: 60.92 points.
It's impossible for Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje to deliver a bad performance. Their 42nd Street routine was elegant, difficult and well skated. Their score: 70.35.
Impeccably dressed, Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir have once more given us an example of how a perfect short programme should be put together. Their twizzles got a bit messy in the second half, but that didn't hurt the overall feeling of the routine. As far as Finnstep goes, it doesn't get better than theirs! They earned 73.15 points.
Veronik Mallet might be a new-face, but she's already got the grace of an experienced skater. Gorgeous costume and a good skate. It was such a shame that she fell on the Triple Flip. Her score: 50.71.
An original spin position gave Courtney Hick's Soul Surfer programme a bust after she doubled both the Toeloop and the Lutz. She received 50.70 points.
Canada's star, Kaetlyn Osmond, might have had the groove, but she lost focus on the Double Axel. Kudos for the white gloves! Her score: 60.32.
Natalia Popova finished a flawless programme, showcasing that Ukrainian skating talent we've been missing for a while now. She earned 52.36 points.
What a performance for Amelie Lacoste! She started with an amazing combination of Triple and Double Loop, and kept getting better and better. The Double Axel in particular was perfect. Enjoyable presentation as well. Her score: 59.13.
Christina Gao's programme sure touched some hearts tonight. It was classy, it was beautiful, it was flawless. She earned 62.82 points and snatched the lead from Osmond.
Changing the coach has not affected Gracie Gold at all. With a sparkling costume and challenging music, she delivered as good a skate as ever. Her score: 69.45.
Julia Lipnitskaia has already made a name for herself in the Grand Prix competitions and rightly so! She wins 'best presentation' and 'most flexible girl' (seriously, wow!) of the day. She earned 66.89 points.
The best costume of the night belongs to Akiko Suzuki, but that's not really a surprise. The Japanese proved once more that experience weighs a lot in figure skating and gave us a lovely routine. Her score: 65.76.
PAIRS
Wenjing Su & Cong Han are stepping into their older compatriots' steps. Elegant and artistic, their only mistake was a minor problem with the footwork during the lift. Their score: 69.02.
Margaret Purdy & Michael Marinaro tried to deliver a romantic programme, but the many mistakes (the failed lift, in particular) made it almost impossible. They earned 39.50 points.
Mari Vartmann & Aaron van Cleave skated on a beautiful piece of music, but they didn't make the best out of it in terms of interpretation. His fall on the Triple Toeloop didn't help either. Their score: 55.08.Paige Lawrence & Rudi Swiegers's programme had rhythm and pretty costumes, but she touched the ice on the side by side Triple Toeloops and fell on the thrown Triple Lutz. They earned 52.94 points.
Stefania Berton & Ondrej Hotarek's lifts defy gravity. This version of their Mask programme was so good, even her costume seemed to have improved. Great job! Their score: 69.38.
Meagan Duhamel & Eric Radford's programme might not have been clean, but it was absolutely magical. The song they used is called Tribute and was composed by Eric himself, which proves he's a multi-talented man. The song exceeded my expectations and the story behind it is that it is indeed a tribute to their former coach. They earned 69.57 points.
MEN
Despite the failed quad, Nobunari Oda's routine was fun and classy and got the audience going. He earned 80.82 points.Jeremy Abbott is as inconsistent as ever, even though he did jump his Quad Toeloop. His score: 74.58.
Patrick Chan has classic programmes in his back pocket, but just like other skaters before him, he seems to be uncomfortable with the size of the ice rink. His Triple Toeloop came too close to the barrier and ended in a dodgy landing. He earned 88.10 points.
Yuzuru Hanyu kept last season's SP, which says something about his aspirations for the Olympics. He didn't have lots of mistakes here, the biggest one being jumping a Single Lutz. "Just relax," said Brian Orser, his coach, about the silly mistake. His score: 80.40.
DANCE
Charlene Guignard & Marco Fabbri couldn't have chosen a better theme than Cabaret. They were fun and completely in character, giving us quite the show! Their score: 52.03.
Alexandra Paul & Mitchell Islam looked lovely and dashing in their elegant costumes. The finnstep looked at times out of sync with the music, but otherwise the routine was well skated. They earned 53.74 points.
Alexandra Stepanova & Ivan Bukin started the programme with big smiles. They delievered the most modern of quickstep, which felt a bit strange, but made for an interesting watch. Their poses were beautiful, but she didn't seem to enjoy it as much as he did. Their score: 55.63.
Nelli Zhiganshina & Alexander Gazsi were as delightful to watch as always, but they had some technical mistakes. The biggest one was Alexander messing up the twizzles. They earned 55.91 points.
Madison Hubbell & Zachary Donohue had an unlucky mistake right at the end when he fell, but honestly, it sort of fit the music. Up until that point the programme was flawless. They earned: 60.92 points.
It's impossible for Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje to deliver a bad performance. Their 42nd Street routine was elegant, difficult and well skated. Their score: 70.35.
Impeccably dressed, Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir have once more given us an example of how a perfect short programme should be put together. Their twizzles got a bit messy in the second half, but that didn't hurt the overall feeling of the routine. As far as Finnstep goes, it doesn't get better than theirs! They earned 73.15 points.
Comments
Post a Comment