Skate Canada International 2018 - Ice Dance Final

Skate Canada International 2018 - Ice Dance Final - Having Fun

October 28, 2018

The ice-dance podium

The Rhythmic Dance left us all with bright hopes for this season, as couples who have been in the shadows until now took the first step to making a name for themselves. However, it was the final that validated those newly formed reputations as the future of ice dance.

We were off to a good start with Carolane Soucisse & Shane Firus from Canada. Skating to Earned It and Dirty Diana, they stayed perfectly in sync with the music throughout the routine, which made all their transitions and elements really good. The only tiny problem happened during the second position of the twizzles, when Shane struggled with balance. Score: 99.64 -> 156.74.

Haley Sales & Nikolas Wamsteeker also used contemporary music, but with Celine Dion behind the microphone, theirs was a more romantic routine. They had a bit of trouble with synchronicity during the second part of the twizzles. Also, apart from the last one, none of their lifts were what I would call picture-perfect. Score: 93.14 -> 150.23.

Anastasia Skoptcova & Kirill Aleshin looked super cool skating to music by Michael Jackson. I would honestly wear her look to a party; the dress, the make-up, the hair, everything was amazing. Unfortunately, their performance didn't quite match that as they actually fell during the curve lift. Score: 85.31 -> 147.99.

Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier were my favourites in Laval, so this might sound biased, but their free dance was poetry on ice to me. They were expressive, soft and daring, as they always are, may I add. The song is called Vincent and if I tell you that's a hint, can you quickly guess the painting her costume looks like? Score: 120.02 -> 186.97.

Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier - her costume was inspired by one of the most famous paintings in the world

Robynne Tweendale & Joseph Buckland were even better in Laval than they had been in Everett. I loved how the changes in positions during the straight-line lift followed the changes in the song. They were also really good at expressing the love story between their two characters. Score: 99.85 -> 162.50.

Marie-Jade Lauriault & Romain Le Gac got the arena dancing with their collection of contemporary hits like Uptown Funk. They made really good use of her flexibility during the spin, but the last positions of the twizzles looked completely different from one another - I'm not sure whose wasn't quite right. Score: 111.42 -> 180.32.

Shiyue Wang & Yang Jin completely changed the atmosphere with their intense, dark programme set to Meant by Elizaveta. I don't think I've ever seen them skate better. They are definitely an improved couple. Their transitions were great - complex body language and interpretation. Score: 98.92 -> 165.88.

The storytelling in Madison Hubbell & Zachary Donohue's programme was phenomenal. From the meeting at the very start to the falling in love, the struggles and then the tragic finale, you could follow the entire tale of Romeo and Juliet while watching them skate. Score: 120.27 -> 200.76.

Spain's Smart & Diaz looking the part while skating to The Beatles

Olivia Smart & Adrian Diaz's lifts are already something to look forward to. The dismount from the curve lift was incredibly smooth, while the straight-line lift was truly acrobatic. They skated to songs by The Beatles, so the artistic impression was not as overwhelming as for some of those before them. Score: 104.22 -> 176.57.

Victoria Sinitsina & Nikita Katsalapov ended the event with the only classical piece of the day: Suite in D Air by Bach. I always appreciate how balletic they are in their movements, particularly their arms. You can tell they come from the Russian school of figure skating. Score: 120.51 -> 195.17.

There was one dramatic change of ranking in the final, but I'm sure we all expected it: Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier left the rhythmic dance behind them and got themselves a bronze medal. Victoria Sinitsina & Nikita Katsalapov almost won the competition, but their total score saw them settling for the silver medal instead. As they did in their home country last week, Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue won the gold.

Quote of the competition is: