Crystal Skate

I previously said the pairs' competition was the calmest out of all Cup of China events, but one could argue that title could have gone to the ice-dancers' instead. After all, the top rankings didn't even slightly change here; but as it is always the case with dance, there was drama behind the surface. In ice dance, there's always a battle for the silver medal between equally talented couples and newbies waiting to assert themselves. And that's exactly what we had at Cup of China. So let's have a look at the top dance couples. SHORT Lorainne McNamara/Quinn Carpenter  were one of the newbies to debut at senior level in Beijing. They've been together for over 10 years, but it's the first time I've seen them. My first thought was that they haven't found a trademark style yet. Also, their twizzles were not in sync and the elements were not that difficult. They earned 63.65  points, and finished on 5th place. The second newbie couple to stand ou...

The ice dancers got the party started in Moscow, quite literally, with tunes from the likes of Elvis Presley and  Grease  that got people moving their feet. Let's see what the top five couples of the competition brought to the game. Tiffany Zahorski/Jonathan Guerreiro  ended up in 5th place with music by Christina Aguilera and Parov Stelar. I have to say I'm not a big fan of this musical combo. The first part was super sexy, but the second was silly and completely destroyed the vibe they had going at the beginning. They also still need to work on their chemistry, but this is their debut at the Grand Prix Series, so there's time for that. Their score: 64.28 . Madison and Evan's dance was the grittiest of the day Charlene Guignard/Marco Fabbri 's concept was at an entirely different level. They chose to skate to the soundtrack of Grease , and everything about the concept, from the costumes to the rock 'n roll touches of the choreography, was perfect. Absol...

Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte are very, very close to a second European title, but their victory is very far from assured with Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron breathing down their backs. And what about Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev - will they keep their third place, rise higher or be overrun by another couple? Isabella Tobias/Ilia Tkachenko  are now competing for Israel. They skate to Polovetsian Dances . Love the costumes, but based on what I've seen from other skaters before, I think they might be a bit too ballroom for the theme. Correct me if I'm wrong. Technically, he loses the first position of the twizzles, but the straight-line lift with her upside down and him on one leg is astonishing. Their score: 87.21 . Overall: 151.67 . Italy's Guignard/Fabbri have the most emotional performance Charlene Guignard/Marco Fabbri  will sure leave a mark in Bratislava. I love the way they express all the pain of Schindler's List  throughout the rou...

European ice dance has never been this good. There are three couples who called themselves European champions in the last three seasons competing here. This is a battle between the sophistication of the French, the charisma of the Italians and the technical prowess of the Russians. Victoria Sinitsina/Nikita Katsalapov  are the first Russians to impress. I really love their Swan Lake  waltz. It's good to hear the happier parts of the ballet too, not just the tragedy. The diagonal step sequence is probably my favourite part of the programme. Twizzles are slightly out of sync. Their score: 68.33 . Alexandra Stepanova/Ivan Bukin  take us to another era, one that's glitzier and a lot more fun, but less intense. The Ravensburg waltz is sharper and the twizzles are, as always, phenomenal. Still, I enjoyed their countrymen's waltz more. Maybe it's because this one seems to lack a background story. They get 66.65  points. Charlene Guignard/Marco Fabbri  might not b...

The waltz part of this event left us dreaming about handsome princes spinning their ladies in brilliant ballrooms, but the competition gets real tonight. Canada, the US and Russia are the top three couples right now. Will their order change? Elisabeth Paradis/Francois-Xavier Ouelette  skate to the peaceful Bridge Over Troubled Water . Their minimalist outfits go very well with the style of the music. Their score: 83.28 . Overall: 131.05 . Another simple routine, from Laurence Fournier Beaudry/Nicolaj Sorensen . Their is more dramatic, but the lifts and step sequence could be more difficult. He messes up the twizzles again. Unluckily, he also cuts his finger. They get 81.29  points. Overall: 134.94 . This is the first time Ksenia Monko/Kirill Khaliavin  have stood out for me. The routine is dark, but uplifting, modern, but epic. The lifts are daring even though they are not very complicated. Their s 90.13 . Overall: 147.57 . Kaitlyn & Andrew look at the Canadi...

It's time to get ourselves in the ballroom! This season's imposed rhythms for the ice-dancers' short programme are waltz combined with march/polka, so expect to see lots of gorgeous gowns and men in tuxedos and military uniforms. Cue sadness! Elisabeth Paradis/Francois-Xavier Ouelette  tell the story of a soldier who dies in battle and the girl left at home waiting for him. The first half of it is quite touching, but the song they use for the march takes something away from the melancholy mood. The lift is also messy as he loses his balance mid-way - luckily, no fall. Their score: 47.77 . Ekaterina Bobrova/Dmitri Soloviev  skate very early due to missing last season entirely because of a serious injury. Their waltz is beautiful, but because they do classical music 90% of the time, I feel like I've seen it before. It just doesn't stand out to me. They get 64.38  points. Best waltz costumes of the season? Yes, I believe so! Photograph: Skate Canada Internatio...

It's official! The 2014 Figure Skating World Championships have begun, and if previous competitions held in Japan show us anything, is that they're hosted by one of the greatest, if not the best audience in the world. As it usually happens in an Olympic season, most of the Olympic champions have decided to skip the Worlds, understandably so - after winning the most supreme of medals, they are entitled to a well deserved holiday. The only victor who will compete is Yuzuru Hanyu, probably because the Championships are held in his native country. The other notable absentees are either Olympic medalists (the same right to a holiday applies) or skaters for whom the Olympic Games were the final chapter in their skating careers. Patrick Chan and Brian Joubert are missing from the Men competition, with the Frenchman clearly retiring and the Canadian unsure about his future in figure skating. Another favourite of the audience who won't be attending is Florent Amodio due to lac...

Figure skating is becoming more jaw-dropping with every edition of the Olympic Games. This time, the biggest surprise comes from the winners of the Bronze Medal, which have so far been skaters nobody expected on the podium. Will the Dance final follow this new trend or is this the one discipline where experience matters more? Tanja Kolbe/Stefano Caruso must have fallen in love with New York. Yesterday they paid it a tribute and today they skate on the soundtrack of Enchanted , the story of a fairytale princess who literally falls into our world and well, you know what happens afterwards. Taking a Disney theme is not something many skaters do despite the gorgeous music that comes with these movies, so we're glad to see these two haven't shied away from it. There are however some bits with just bird chirping which don't sound that pretty. As mistakes go, she stumbles during a transition. Their score: 76.13 . Overall: 130.56 . Alexandra Paul/Mitchell Islam skate on t...

Canadian friends versus American friends, French quirkiness versus Russian classics! This edition of the Olympics has four incredibly talented couples fighting for the podium and who will win which medal is anyone's guess. Cathy Reed/Chris Reed almost paint a picture of sparkling champagne and high society parties with their programme. Very good twizzles and great costumes! Their score: 52.29 . Pernelle Carron/Lloyd Jones take us to Broadway with a "delightful, delicious and delovely" routine. Unfortunately, as it's happened all season long, their twizzles are not entirely in synch. They get 58.25 points. Victoria Sinitsina/Ruslan Zhiganshin are bound on having fun today and pull off an amazing lift, in addition to an innovative twizzle position. They have however moments when they are not in synch. Their score: 58.01 . Tanja Kolbe/Stefano Caruso take a trip to New York in a pair of costumes that couldn't fit the theme more. The Finnstep however is ...

DANCE Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron  put the mishap from the short in the past, and did a terrific job in the free. Their somewhat futuristic concept features the music of Woodkip ( Iron  and Run Boy Run ) and Olafur Arnalds ( Brotsjor ). Their score: 79.78 . Overall: 124.27 Siobhan Heekin-Canedy/Dmitri Dun  skated on one of the most beautiful tangos, El Tango de Roxanne . Her dress was gorgeous, but his shirt looked a bit like a waiter's. The real problem was that although she tried her best to express the music, he was not feeling it at all. Where there should have been anger and passion, there was nothing. They obtained 78.57  points. Overall: 123.57 Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier  have really struck gold with their Hitchcock  theme. Unfortunately, Paul lost his balance in the twizzles. The costumes were superb and the way his is both symbolic for Hitchcock and makes hers stand out is brilliant. Their score: 82.52 . Overall: 133.66 Ksenia Monk...

DANCE Ksenia Monko/Kirill Khaliavin  had a little stumble during the step sequence, but were otherwise dynamic and pleasant to watch. Their score: 55.83 Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier  were fun and had great twizzles. The choice of costumes was very clever as it relates to the first song. They obtained 51.14  points. Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron 's flame was significantly less bright than in Paris. He messed up the twizzles and lost focus on the presentation from that moment on, then fell at the very end of the routine. Their score: 44.49 . Ekaterina Riazanova/Ilia Tkachenko  brought the atmosphere of Chicago  to Moscow. It was fast, very well presented and had complex steps. They obtained 58.59  points. Madison Chock/Evan Bates  dug their hands into the showmanship bucket, but didn't get the best out of it. The twizzles were fine, but the first song just didn't seem to get them in the mood. Their score: 57.80 Kaitlyn Weaver/Andrew Poje...

MEN Peter Liebers delivered an almost flawless programme. He had only two tiny mistakes on the second Triple Axel and on the Triple Flip. His interpretation was patched, showing only when he didn't have jumps to do. His score: 131.46 . Overall: 200.80 Nan Song has a bright future ahead of him. Technically his routine was almost perfect, although he lacked a quad jump. The silly mistake was tripping during one of the transitions. As for his presentation, he expressed the pain in Enio Moriccone's  The Mission  very well. He obtained  128.12  points. Overall:  196.80 Maxim Kovtun 's rendition of Tchaikovski's Piano Concerto no. 1  had something majestic about it. He only jumped two quads, not three as he had planned, which is still impressive. His score: 156.81 . Overall: 238.65 Han Yan  couldn't control the pressure all the way through. He had a dodgy landing on the Triple Axel and tripped out of the Triple Flip, ending up falling. These mistak...

MEN The first out of three Chinese skaters, Yi Wang  skated on A Beautiful Storm . Overall, it was a good, enjoyable skate, but he double-footed the Triple Axel and singled the second Triple Flip. His score: 63.27 . As beautiful as the music was, Peter Liebers'  routine lacked smoothness. The jumps were perfect though, except for the Triple Toeloop. He got 69.34  points. China's national champion, Nan Song , brought his inner rock star on ice, skating beautifully on Guitar Concerto . Unfortunately, his Quad Toeloop was messy and the Triple Toeloop ended up being a Single. His score: 68.68 . Maxim Kovtun  proves he's worth a lot to the Russian team with two perfectly landed quads and a 'spot on' interpretation. His silly fall at the end was a mistake that took us all by surprise. He got 81.84  points. Charming, funny and in perfect control of his elements, Han Yan  probably had the best skate he's had so far in his entire life. The music was Viper'...