Skate America 2015 - Tiny Moments of Glory (Pairs' SP)
Don't you just love that tinniest second before the boy throws the girl across the ice, when everybody in the audience gasps and holds their breath simultaneously? And then the girl lands perfectly, knee bent, free leg fully extended and the crowd erupts into cheers. Be ready for plenty of such moments - the pairs' short programme is about to begin.
We see the consequence of last season's rule change immediately, as Jessica Pfund/Joshua Santillan skate to Sara Bareille's Gravity. Lovely song, but the presentation is quite dull. There is also a shaking moment in the step sequence where he struggles to get up from a kneeling position. Still, overall, not bad. They get 50.20 points.
Another relatively new pair to perform very well are Xuehan Wang/Lei Wang. Skating to Romance, the Chinese skaters ace every single element. Their score: 64.95.
I really love the way Kristina Astakhova/Alexei Rogonov use words to set the scene for their programme. Really appropriate costumes too. Technically, the only error is her touching down with her free leg out of the thrown Triple Lutz. They get 58.25 points.
I have to admit Julianne Seguin/Charlie Bilodeau are slowly becoming one of the pairs I'm really looking forward to every time they compete. They're cheerful, creative with their choice of music and technically flawless. Their score: 64.85.
Tarah Kayne/Daniel O'Shea managed to get in the right mindset to pull off a decent Espana Cani, but after seeing all the ice-dancers' extraordinary paso dobles last year, this feels flat to me. They get 58.38 points.
'Team black' is back, and they're awesome! Alexa Scimeca/Chris Knierim's routine, set to the first Nothing Else Matters with lyrics I've heard, is intense and technically amazing. Their score: 69.69.
Someone recently told me that I'm missing out on how good Wenjing Sui/Cong Han are. Let me clarify something: they're my favourite Chinese pair. I love their flexibility in choosing programmes and their chemistry. Today they prove me right. Their Spanish dance - a genre that seems to have caught on after being last season's compulsory ice-dance music - is way better than anything else we've seen here so far. Unfortunately, their spin is disastrous. They get 68.28 points.
Ksenia Stolbova/Fedor Klimov just upgraded their level of sexiness with I Put a Spell on You. Unfortunately, I don't remember the last time I saw them skate this badly. He has trouble catching her out of the triple twist, and she falls on the thrown triple Lutz and trips during the step sequence. Their score: 63.41.
It doesn't really surprise me that the world has been turned slightly upside-down because that's the way life is in figure skating. However, the Russians' fifth place is definitely not something I thought I'd see. Maybe they'll make a miraculous comeback, but for now the first position goes to Scimeca/Knierim, followed by Sui/Han and Wang/Wang.
More coverage of the event here: http://crystalskate.blogspot.co.uk/
We see the consequence of last season's rule change immediately, as Jessica Pfund/Joshua Santillan skate to Sara Bareille's Gravity. Lovely song, but the presentation is quite dull. There is also a shaking moment in the step sequence where he struggles to get up from a kneeling position. Still, overall, not bad. They get 50.20 points.
Another relatively new pair to perform very well are Xuehan Wang/Lei Wang. Skating to Romance, the Chinese skaters ace every single element. Their score: 64.95.
I really love the way Kristina Astakhova/Alexei Rogonov use words to set the scene for their programme. Really appropriate costumes too. Technically, the only error is her touching down with her free leg out of the thrown Triple Lutz. They get 58.25 points.
I have to admit Julianne Seguin/Charlie Bilodeau are slowly becoming one of the pairs I'm really looking forward to every time they compete. They're cheerful, creative with their choice of music and technically flawless. Their score: 64.85.
Tarah Kayne/Daniel O'Shea managed to get in the right mindset to pull off a decent Espana Cani, but after seeing all the ice-dancers' extraordinary paso dobles last year, this feels flat to me. They get 58.38 points.
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| USA's Alexa Scimeca & Chris Knierim (or Team Black as I like to call them) might just be on the way to their first important international victory as seniors Photograph: Streeter Lecka / Getty Images North America |
'Team black' is back, and they're awesome! Alexa Scimeca/Chris Knierim's routine, set to the first Nothing Else Matters with lyrics I've heard, is intense and technically amazing. Their score: 69.69.
Someone recently told me that I'm missing out on how good Wenjing Sui/Cong Han are. Let me clarify something: they're my favourite Chinese pair. I love their flexibility in choosing programmes and their chemistry. Today they prove me right. Their Spanish dance - a genre that seems to have caught on after being last season's compulsory ice-dance music - is way better than anything else we've seen here so far. Unfortunately, their spin is disastrous. They get 68.28 points.
Ksenia Stolbova/Fedor Klimov just upgraded their level of sexiness with I Put a Spell on You. Unfortunately, I don't remember the last time I saw them skate this badly. He has trouble catching her out of the triple twist, and she falls on the thrown triple Lutz and trips during the step sequence. Their score: 63.41.
It doesn't really surprise me that the world has been turned slightly upside-down because that's the way life is in figure skating. However, the Russians' fifth place is definitely not something I thought I'd see. Maybe they'll make a miraculous comeback, but for now the first position goes to Scimeca/Knierim, followed by Sui/Han and Wang/Wang.
More coverage of the event here: http://crystalskate.blogspot.co.uk/
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