Crystal Skate

The calmest discipline of this season's Cup of China was the pairs'. Although we didn't see a lot of drama or unexpected plot twists, the competition was a warm-up for what is sure to be a more tumultuous season for the pairs. Here are how the top five pairs in Beijing performed: SHORT Valentina Marchei/Ondrej Hotarek  finished the short programme in 5th place. They skated to Tu vuo fa l'Americano , a comedic song that went viral a couple of years ago. At first I thought the routine wasn't as funny as advertised, but they picked up the comedy in the second half of the programme, once the difficult technical elements were out. With a bit more practice, I'm sure they'll manage to spread out the fun throughout the programme rather than concentrate it in the second half. Their score: 68.48 . Kirsten Moore-Towers/Michael Marinaro  were in the perfect position to 'steal' a medal after the short. They skated to Sweet Dreams , a blues song that would h...

Figure skating is often about momentum. When the favourites make errors, it's up to their rivals to grab the chance to skate away with a gold medal. In Marseille, Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov are given the rather rare opportunity to defeat world champions Meagan Duhanel and Eric Radford. Will they rise to the occasion or will victors' experience win the title? Before all that, Julianne Seguin/Charlie Bilodeau  start the competition with a much better performance than yesterday's even if he falls on the side-by-side triple Toeloops. Elements like the side-by-side spins and the throw jumps are beautifully set to the rise and fall of the soundtrack of Cinema Paradiso . Their score: 125.99 . Overall: 186.85 . Natalia Zabijako/Alexander Enbert  make great use of the epic intro of Cry Me a River  to set their triple twist against a dramatic musical background. Unfortunately, their presentation doesn't convince me - not sure smiling all the way through the routine...

Do you remember that awkward season when Ilinykh/Zhiganshin and Sinitsina/Katsalapov had just switched partners? Well, we're experiencing that in the pairs' event this season. The swap between Peng/Zhang and Yu/Jin seemed to have been a good decision at the Cup of China, at least for the Yu/Zhang pair, but how will their fare against rivals from Canada and Russia? Let's start with their former partners, Cheng Peng/Yang Jin , who are not doing badly at all. I really like their short routine - it's funny, the costumes are great, the choreography is interesting, the technical is pretty good as well... The only problem is that they don't really look at each other unless they must. I imagine it's not easy being told one day you've a new partner, so it's natural that chemistry will take some time to develop. Their score: 70.84 . The unlikely winners of the short programme, Evgenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov Evgenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov look like t...

The pairs' short programme is the third event of the competition. Historically, this has been the least prone to surprises from the four disciplines of figure skating, and today is unlikely to change that. There are simply no pairs on the list who can shockingly defeat Stolbova/Klimov or Kavaguti/Smirnov or even Peng/Zhang. The centre-rink battle, therefore, will be held among these three power houses. We're off with a brand new pair: Hayleigh Bell/Rudi Swiegers . I'm not sure their music, November Rain  by Guns and Roses, is very 'skatable.' The first half of the song seems hard to follow because of the monotonous pace of the music; the second has a lot more nuances. He falls on the triple Toeloop. Their score: 46.53 . I have to say I'm not as excited about Natalja Zabijako/Alexander Enbert 's routine as everyone else. Maybe it's because I don't understand Russian (although that's never stopped me before), but I find their song very disengag...

The pairs' final is undoubtedly the one China has been waiting for the most. Pairs is, after all, the discipline in which they thrive. If that's not enough of a reason, today is the last competitive day of Qing Pang and Jian Tong. The whole of Shanghai is going to be willing them to retire with a third World title, but it is more likely that they will finish their careers with a second World silver medal. The gold medal looks to be heading to Canada, in which case we will witness Duhamel & Radford's first World victory. Harry Potter on ice, but not really Source: Xialo Ghu/Getty Images Asia Amani Fancy/Christopher Boyadji  bring an all-British story on ice: Harry Potter. It is a story I never thought I'd see in figure skating despite the gorgeous soundtrack, because it's too complex to condense in three and a half minutes. There's barely any elements of it in the choreography, which proves my point. They make a mess of it on a technical level as well:...

The pairs' competition is bringing back on ice two accomplished skaters who decided to keep going after last season despite early reports claiming they wouldn't. Yes, I'm talking about two of China's greatest: Qing Pang & Tong Jian. But how will they fare against their younger country men and, especially, against the record-breaking Meagan Duhamel & Eric Radford? THE SHORT PROGRAMME Pang/Tong's tango routine Photograph: Chung Sung-Jun / Getty Images Asia Qing Pang/Jian Tong  decided to return to competition because the Worlds will be organised by their homeland this season. For the short, they prepared a selection of tangos which stands out by being romantic rather than passionate. They are dressed impeccably, as always, her in a fiery red dress and him in a dashing vest and tie ensemble. Technically though, he puts a hands down on the triple Toeloop and they can't keep their side-by-side spins in unison. Their score: 66.87 . Meagan Duhamel/E...

Last time we saw the pairs, Canada's Duhamel & Radford proved that they shouldn't be underestimated, not even when they're going up against Russian excellence. Sui & Han also proved that sometimes having a clean programme is all you need to get to the top. Will they manage to keep those standings after the free? Cheng Peng/Hao Zhang 's Alegretto  isn't really as cheerful as the name suggests; on the contrary, it is filled with angst, which they could express more. They're so much better than yesterday though with only two mistakes: in the side-by-side double Axels and in the side-by-side spins. Their score: 129.33 . Overall: 191.79 . The pairs' podium Photograph: David Ramos/Getty Images Europe I wish Wenjing Sui/Cong Han 's choreography was more specific so that we could get a glimpse of the story behind Tchaikovski's Francesca da Rimini . The way they present the routine instead is by emphasizing the different nuances of the music ...

The one discipline the Chinese are acing at their own Grand Prix is the pairs. Leading are Cheng Peng/Hao Zhang, followed by Xuehan Wang/Lei Wang, who are ahead of Xiaoyu Yu/Yang Jin. But Vera Bazarova/Andrei Deputat's fourth place is just close enough to snatch a place on the podium. Arina Cherniavskaia/Antonino Souza-Kordyeru  are first to go with a fun Glenn Miller song. However, what should look like a window into a 1930 party, is just elements done to a song. No worries though, they are a new couple and they've got plenty of time to improve their chemistry. Their score: 86.71 . Overall: 133.45 . Lots of passion from Nicole della Monica/Matteo Guarise  as they skate to The Mask of Zorro . They have lots of errors though; in fact every single element has some sort of flaw. They get 102.42  points. Overall: 155.90 . Jessica Calalang/Zack Sidhu  have plenty of technical errors in addition to the interpretation of Romeo and Juliet  not being anywhere near ...

The short programme of the pairs' event ended with Yuko Kavaguti/Alexander Smirnov in first place. Although no one doubts they'll still be there at the end of the free skate, the same cannot be said about Cheng Peng/Hao Zhang (second) and Haven Denney/Brandon Frazier (third). Let's see what happens: Unless you know Phantom of the Opera  very well, it's hard to tell that's what Miriam Ziegler/Severin Kiefer  are skating to until Gerard Butler starts singing. And that's my biggest problem with the Germans' routine. The mistakes, after all, can happen anytime, but the presentation is never bad accidentally. They should interact more with each other and dig dipper into the tragedy of the story. Their score: 90.56 . Overall: 135.83 . Annabelle Prolss/Ruben Blommaert  have the same problem as their countrymen. If it weren't for the elements they must do together, they wouldn't look like much of a couple. But they're young, so there's plenty of ...

PAIRS Anastasia Martiusheva/Alexei Rogonov  have a beautiful choreography, but they need to work on their presentation, especially Anastasia. The side-by-side Double Axels were just Singles, the thrown Triple Flip failed and the thrown Triple Loop was double-footed. Their score: 96.40 . Overall: 145.37 Narumi Takahashi/Ryuichi Kihara  took out all the drama, patriotism and love out of Les Miserables . Technically, she singled the Double Toeloop and double-footed both thrown jumps. They obtained 86.59  points. Overall: 138.13 Paige Lawrence/Rudi Swiegers 's routine was beautifully structured, but would have been enhanced by more epic costumes. She fell on the Triple Toeloop, singled the Double Toeloop and fell again on the thrown Triple Lutz. The side-by-side spins were in sync, but too far way from each other. Their score: 100.77 . Overall: 153.55 Marissa Castelli/Simon Shnapir  aim to defy belief in their careers. Although he doubled the Triple Toeloop and s...

Stefania Berton/Ondrej Hotarek finally found their true calling after years of unsatisfactory results as single skaters. In the process, they've also put Italy on the pairs skating map for the first time in history.The European Bronze Medalists have just got to be on the Best List this season. Both music choices suited them very well ( Paint It Black by The Rolling Stones for SP and Poeta en el viento  by Vincente Amigo for LP), which proves that they can interpret any role. They still have a lot to learn about executing their elements flawlessly and being synchronized in the side-by-side spins, but the Italians (or so to speak, given that Ondrej is Czech) are on their way to success. True, they may find an obstacle if Vera Bazarova/Yuri Larionov ever get back to the program quality that made them famous, but that only means figure skating will get even more interesting to watch. An honorary mention to their friendship with Michal Brezina, who has been helping them wi...