Crystal Skate

The free dance of the Cup of the China 2015 starts with a withdrawal: Kaitlin Hawayek/Jean-Luc Baker from the United States have had to call it quits. In their absence, there is an opportunity for Testa/Csolley to make a lasting impression, although given that the Americans were never threatening the podium, the Slovaks can't possibly get a medal. Shiyue Wang/Xinyu Liu  are first to skate. This is the second time I see their Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon  routine, and I still really like it. You can tell they're more comfortable doing something culturally relevant than the Ravensburg waltz. The twizzles are out of sync though. Their score: 76.09 . Overall: 126.73 . Federica Testa/Lucas Csolley 's Malena  seems really long, but not in a bad way. The medley of songs make the routine complex and tell the full story from the merry beginning to the tragic end. They get 82.27  points. Overall: 136.17 . Elena Ilinkyh/Ruslan Zhiganshin 's costumes are great. You can i...

The man's event in Beijing doesn't seem set up to produce any major surprises, but past experience has taught us figure skating is often disguised as a certainty, only to end in shocking results. We start with someone I don't know skating to a song I've never heard of:  Grant Hochstein   and Due Tramonti  by Ludovico Einaudi. The music is beautiful and the presentation, delicate. Unfortunately, he messes up the quad and steps out of the triple Toeloop. His score: 74.27 . I don't know what happened When Michael Met Mozart , but when Nan Song  met Beijing 2015, he aced it. Love the intricate choreography and how it mirrors the many nuances of the music. The only mistake is doubling out of the triple Toeloop. He gets 76.46  points. It used to be that when a new Russian skater made his debut, alarm bells would ring in our heads. That's not the case here with Moris Kvitelashvili , who falls on the triple Axel and steps out of both the quad and the triple Toeloo...

Whenever a legend returns to the ice, the event is watched by hundreds of eyes - the rivals, who wonder if their own positions are threatened, the fans, who await impatiently to see their favourite shine again, and the judges, who get ready to witness something great. I have no doubt that a lot of eyes are turned towards Beijing today, as Mao Asada prepares to get back in the game. But before that happens, let's see how the other contestants perform: Rika Hongo is Japan's newest start Photogaph: Lintao Zhao / Getty Images Asia This is a big day for Lu Zheng as well, as she debuts on senior ice. Unfortunately, she doesn't yet have the grace to express the beautiful fragility of Amelie . Her score: 47.23 . Ziquan Zhao 's interpretation of Caravan  is practically nonexistent. She is technically a little sharper than her co-patriot though. She gets 48.66  points. Zijun Li  is China's favourite skater, and you can see why. She is the only Chinese to actually p...

Cup of China sets off as the first important competition of the season for not just two big names, but four: Anna Cappellini/Luca Lanotte of Italy and Elena Ilinykh/Ruslan Zhianshin of Russia. I'm very curious about their new routines, and I can't wait to see how they perform against the USA's best. Yue Zhao/Xun Zheng 's routine looks taken straight out of a fairytale. I love his green velvet costume, but not so much her dress (it doesn't look as sophisticated). Good twizzles and lift, even though the latter isn't very difficult. Their score: 51.02 . Shiyue Wang/Xinyu Liu 's short dance takes a whole different direction. Their costumes look more fit for a Latino song, and although the song is one of the best ever written ( Piano Man  by Billy Joel), they do not interpret its sadness at all. They get 50.64  points. Federica Testa/Lucas Csolley 's presentation is miles away from that of the Chinese. The Slovaks are graceful and elegant, a gentleman a...

Has anyone else noticed that some Grand Prix events are changing their name? You probably have, and you're probably already aware that it's because the sponsors are changing. So Hilton HHonors Skate America became Progressive Skate America, and the Lexus Cup of China has switched to the Audi Cup of China. The name change doesn't really have much importance unless you want to discuss finance and politics, which I really don't, but I thought I'd at least acknowledge it. Another change we'll witness this season in Beijing, where the competition is held, has to do with German pair skating. No, it doesn't concern Aliona Savchenko/Bruno Massot (both officially German skaters now), but another, less troubled pair: Mari Vartmann/Rubert Blommaert. The two got together at the beginning of the season, after splitting up with their former partners Aaron van Cleave and Annabelle Proelss. The rest of the pair rooster doesn't bring any surprises on the ice. Wenji...