Crystal Skate

Kaitlin Hawayek & Jean-Luc Baker took the gold for USA The ice dance competition was the land of opportunity in Hiroshima. All the skaters were couples that had never really been in the spotlight before. The short ended with Russia and USA in podium positions, but so close to one another, no one was safe. The event started with the host's Misato Komatsubara/Tim Koleto . The two skated to Une histoire d'amour  and made no errors. My favourite thing about their choreography was how it put each of them individually in the spotlight, particularly in the mid-line step sequence - you don't often see this in ice dance. Score: 94.87  -> 154.27 . Alexandra Nazarova/Maxim Nikitin  followed with a crazy balance on their curve lift, but the first positions of the twizzles not in sync. They wore very glitzy costumes that matched the Charlie Chaplin theme, but I found her boots too chunky-looking. Score: 93.02  -> 153.22 . Troubles with the twizzles continued ...

Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibon from Great Britain completely stole the scene for me Photograph: Lindsey Wasson/Getty Images North America First thing's first: someone decided to name the short dance, the Rhythmic Dance while I've been away from figure skating. I don't really have much of an opinion about it; ice-dancers have had their short routines changed so many times, it hardly matters what it's called anymore, in my opinion. It does help to differentiate it from the other short programmes, as the Rhythmic Dance is unique in its musical regulations. Now, moving onto Skate America 2018, the ice-dancers list was again full of relatively new faces. This is always the case after an Olympic season, so let's dive right into the five best performers of the newly-renamed Rhythmic Dance. Madison Hubbell & Zachary Donohue  have no rivals in Everett, so it's no surprise they finished in first place. Their chosen songs were Alevare and Tangata de l'Alba. Th...