Crystal Skate

Comebacks haven't quite risen to expectations in the past two seasons, but Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir's return is unlike any other. After breaking the world record in the short programme, they're looking more likely than ever to win the gold. On second, the Shibutani siblings have just finished ahead of World champions Papadakis and Cizeron for the first time in their career. Can they hold onto the silver medal? Madison Chock/Evan Bates  probably didn't expect to start the final as 6th place holders. They skate to Queen's Under Pressure , keeping the rock style they showed in the short. Their free is not smooth either, but they make no errors per se, just little moments of hesitation in lifts and such. Their score: 108.45 . Overall: 179.32 . Ekaterina Bobrova/Dmitri Soloviev  have some original twizzle positions, but their lifts are not at all impressive when compared to the difficulty level of the others. Also, they didn't manage to get into the right posi...

Different is always exciting, and I can definitely appreciate how unique each and one of the couples competing in Marseilles are. So although I can't say if the winners of this competition come from Canada, France or the US, I can at least be sure all routines will leave their mark on the viewers. Madison Chock/Evan Bates are grungy, but have it rough not just metaphorically. She falls during a transition, which must be why she messes up the twizzles. Their score: 70.87 . Tessa Virtue/Scott Moir go with a pop classic and a ballad from Prince. Every element of their routine flows into the next naturally. I've said it tens of times before, and I'm happy I get to say it again: their chemistry is the best in ice-dance. They get 80.50  points. It's seduction and a swing party for Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron . I actually like the first part more than the routine of Tessa and Scott, but the swing comes out of nowhere and kind of ruins the mood. There ar...

The Shibutani siblings are on a roll after the extraordinary season they had in 2015/2016. They're leading the ice dance competition here at Skate America, with co-nationals Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue hot on their heels. On second, Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev, whom I'm happy to see back in competition. It's bound to be tough tonight with this three going head to head, so let's get on with it. Yura Min & Alex Gamelin  start us off. Having seen Cinema Paradiso  recently, I can tell you the love story is not as dramatic as the music might imply, but they present the angst well enough. The twizzles are slightly wobbly, but altogether not bad. The stationary lift is my favourite element from this. Their score: 85.25 . Overall: 141.50 . Kana Muramoto & Chris Reed  skate to music by Vincente Amigo. I really like the flamenco details they added to the spin, and the lifts are all innovative. Again, his twizzles are a bit shaky. They get 91.18  p...

We've been talking about and anticipating the Worlds all season long. Now they're finally here, and they're bound not to disappoint. As it's become custom, the ice dancers are opening the event with their short skate. France's champions are here to defend their world title, with Canada's finest as their main rivals. The US and Italy are also looking to acquire a good spot for the final. Before we get to all that, the UK's Penny Coomes/Nicholas Buckland  are sharper and more refined than ever. Their routine has a classic set up with two alert sections and a lento in between. Difficult entry into the rotational lift. Their score: 68.23 . Hallelujah  is the strongest short programme of Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue  so far. The presentation is emotional without struggling to appear so, and the music changes pace just in time to avoid monotony. No mistakes here. They get 68.44  points. Penny Coomes and Nicholas Buckland from Great Britain waltzing to D...

The Four Continents usually get overlooked by a lot of top skaters because they'd rather 'focus on the Worlds.' This is why in recent years this competition has proven to be the place for the underdogs to shine in every discipline but ice-dance. Ice dancers, no matter how high they get on other podiums, seem bent on not over-looking the Four Continents, and thank God for it. It provides them with a chance to compare their routines against some of their toughest rivals' and therefore polish whatever rusty parts they may still have. For the people in the stands (and in front of the screens), it's a spectacle not to be missed. Couples like  Emi Hirai/Marien de la Asuncion  are one of the reasons I enjoy watching the Four Continents. It gives me the chance to become familiar with some skaters I otherwise rarely see on ice. She loses her balance during the twizzles, which is probably why she seems rather rigid during the Ravensburger waltz section. Their score: 47.09...

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...

The short dance of the ice dancers began as most figure skating competitions do, with a well-defined if predictable idea of who should end on which place. Weaver & Poje had come to Seoul to take the gold, after all, and they were unlikely to be satisfied with less. But something quite inexplicable made the judges put them on third place at the end of the event. Thus, the first stage of the competition ended, ironically so, in a predictably unpredictable result. Why predictably unpredictable? Because this has happened so many times this season, I've learnt to expect it. Let's see how the three best couples did: The Shibutani siblings dazzle with their waltz Photograph: Streeter Lecka / Getty Images North America There are apparently 25 pages of rules in the short dance guideline, but  Kaitlyn Weaver/Andrew Poje  looked like they knew every single one of them by heart. From where I stood, they did nothing wrong with the paso doble. The judges however were less enthu...

Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje are very close to accomplishing their lifelong dream of winning a Grand Prix Final. Starting the final on second, Madison Chock & Evan Bates can do little to prevent the Canadians' win, but they will try. Meanwhile, the Shibutanis are back up there with the top couples and will hope to remain in that position. Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron  are not just dancing to Mozart's Adagio from Concerto No. 23 , they've created a love story to go with it. It is complex by being both uplifting and heartbreaking. Their score: 100.91 . Overall: 162.39 . Is this podium a preview of the World Championships? Photograph: David Ramos/ Getty Images Europe It doesn't get closer to a ballroom atmosphere than Maia Shibutani/Alex Shibutani 's waltz. And perhaps that's a bit of a problem; the music doesn't really allow them to express any real emotions (unless you're counting the smiles glued to their faces like a Halloween...

We kick off the second day of the Grand Prix Final with the ice dancers' first event - the short dance. The game hasn't changed much since last year, given that Canada and the United States are still the two main rivals, but the players are definitely new. Let's see if Chock/Bates and Weaver/Poje manage to continue with the legacy of Davis/White and Virtue/Moir. When you're skating with your sibling, you can't really present love stories, which is why Maia Shibutani/Alex Shibutani 's paso doble looks a bit colder than others. However, being limited means they have to work harder to find other ways to approach the music, which shows versatility. It also helps that they know the technicalities of the dance in and out. Their score: 63.90 . Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje are leading comfortably Photograph: Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images Asia Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron 's dance is much sexier, but also filled with errors: he stumbles during a t...

The order of the top three couples after the ice dancers' short programme was definitely unexpected. Thus the World champions, Cappellini and Lanotte, fell to second place after a set of bad twizzles. The lead was taken by the Shibutani siblings and on third came France's newest couple, Papadakis and Cizeron, after defeating Ilinykh and Zhiganshin at their first event together. Yue Zhao/Xun Zheng  kick off the competition with a selection of tangos. I find it enjoyable, although I think they could've attacked the Assassins' Tango more. Their elements are not that difficult, but their last circular spin is very pretty. Their score: 61.56 . Overall: 103.44 . Yiyi Zhang/Nan Wu 's Prince of Egypt  benefits from a good choreography, but it isn't interpreted with as much emotion as the tangos were. He does an extra rotation right at the end of the twizzles. They get 63.76  points. Overall: 103.44 . Shiyue Wang/Xinyu Liu  are far better than their countrymen. Ska...

The three most popular musical genres in figure skating are represented on the first podium of Skate America 2014: contemporary, classical and soundtrack. How appropriate! Here's some thoughts on the top performances: Maia & Alex Shibutani - picture perfect on rhythms of waltz Photograph: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images North America Alexandra Stepanova/Ivan Bukin  deliver some very difficult lifts with plenty of position changes, while keeping their costumes and presentation simple. Sometimes I do wish their choreography expressed more of the story instead of being just arm waving. Not that we don't need that too. The music is Eleanor Rigby  by The Beatles. Their score: 87.50 . Overall: 143.87 . Waltz works best with the delicate, classy style of Maia Shibutani/Alex Shibutani . However, because there is no background story, merely dancing to Johann Strauss's strings, it doesn't come across as impressive as other routines. They get 96.13  points. Overall: 160....

The 35th edition of Skate America starts with variations on the ardent rhythms of paso doble. Though there's not enough competition here to keep you on the edge of your seat, it will still be interesting to see each couple's take on this fierce Spanish dance. Elisabeth Paradis/Francois-Xavier Ouellette  are first to go, with an obvious musical pair: paso doble and flamenco. His step sequence is a bit wobbly, but otherwise, this is a pretty good routine. Their score: 52.11 . Anastasia Cannuscio/Colin McManus  are a bit more aggressive in their interpretation and pull off some great twizzles, but you can still see they're beginners. They get 55.14  points. Don Quixote  by Madison Chock/Evan Bates Photograph: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images North America Slovakia might have a bright future in ice dance with Federica Testa/Lucas Csolley . Their paso doble keeps to the handbook, proving that sometimes the best way to interpret Spanish music is to keep it simple a...