Crystal Skate

Ice dance at the Grand Prix Series has always been less dramatic than the other disciplines. It's quite rare to see obvious rivals in the same event, and the NHK wasn't any different. That doesn't mean there are no comparisons though. The biggest question on everyone's minds was how Virtue/Moir would perform compared to Papadakis/Cizeron, who set a new world record last week in Beijing. Here are my thoughts not just on the Canadians' routine, but some of the best programmes of the day. Penny Coomes/Nicholas Buckland  marked their return on ice in Osaka. Their routine was enjoyable, although it didn't necessarily stand out to me in terms of musical choice or style. Really difficult change of position for her in the curved lift. They finished the short on 5th place with 65.64  points. Victoria Sinitsina/Nikita Katsalapov 's twizzles were faster than those of the British although Victoria's first position was a bit wobbly. I particularly liked how the R...

The Challenge Cups, the Grand Prix events, the Nationals and even the continental championships have all been a built-up to the most important figure skating event of the year. The World Championships are back in Europe this year, in one of the few capitals of the world that;s often associated with the word cold, Helsinki. So, who am I keeping an eye on this week? MEN Javier Fernandez - the Spaniard's already got two World titles in his bag, and a third one seems pretty likely if we're to judge the array of golds he's already won this season. There was a tiny stumble at the Grand Pix Final, but if he keeps at least one feet firmly on the ice, he's a good bet. Yuzuru Hanyu - opposite Javier, his training buddy is hungry for another World gold after losing the last two. Yuzuru hasn't had the smoothest of seasons, with only a silver at the Four Continents and Skate Canada, but his average is miles better than other skaters' best, so keep him in the rooste...

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...

Figure skating, for all its complexity, is a sport where most athletes play it safe. That's why when two ice-dancers dressed in bright colours emerged from France and skated on a routine they had come up with themselves, the judges were skeptic. Their discipline was, after all, renowned for its renditions of Romeo and Juliet  or The Swan Lake . So what impact could Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat could possibly have in their hilarious costumes and goofy attitudes? If only they had known... Nathalie and Fabian started skating together in 2000. They didn't get along from the very start and initially thought they were a bad fit. However, their relationship gradually evolved from necessity into a beautiful friendship and they discovered that it was the very things that they didn't have in common that made them a great couple. Their first Olympic Games, Turin 2006 Photograph: Getty Images Sport Their rise to fame was slow. For many years, they were only known as Fr...

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 ...

MEN Alexander Majorov never fails to find original stories for his programmes. Skating on Archangel  by T.J. Bergersen, he double-footed the Quad Toeloop, singled both Triple Lutzes and fell on the Triple Flip. His score: 120.90 . Overall: 180.62 Nan Song 's mission in France can be ticked as a success, although he could have used a bit more emotion in the interpretation. He also had a hand down on the Quad Toeloop and double-footed the Triple Loop. He obtained 133.37  points. Overall: 204.73 Michal Brezina  is once more battling his inconsistency demons. Although he did a tremendous job impersonating the infamous Sherlock Holmes , his jumps were rusty at best. He over-rotated the first Quad Salchow and completely failed the second, fell on the Triple Toeloop, singled the Triple Flip and Triple Salchow, and doubled the Triple Toeloop. His score: 134.31 . Overall: 206.22 Florent Amodio 's life might have lost a shade of pink after this performance. Although he stil...

MEN Nan Song 's Guitar Concerto  on ice didn't go as planned here. He had a hand down on the Triple Axel and a faulty landing on the Triple Lutz. The costume he wore, although fit for the music, looked a bit too much like a pair of pajamas. His score: 71.36 Jason Brown proved why skating on music you like is a great advantage. His confident and passionate interpretation of Prince's song left no question about his abilities. Neither did his perfect jumps and incredibly difficult spins, most of which showcased his amazing flexibility. He obtained 84.77  points. Alexander Majorov  went back to roots with Korobushko , but was not his usual charismatic self here. He doubled the Quad Toeloop, landed the Triple Toeloop messily and fell on the Triple Axel. He was too slow throughout the first half of the routine to be able to do any of those jumps properly. His score: 59.72 Han Yan  needs to work on his facial expressions. The choreography was obviously comedic, but...

PAIRS With another failed lift and a couple of dodgy jumps, Margaret Purdy & Michael Marinaro 's Casablanca routine failed to impress. Their score: 91.89 . Overall: 131.39 Paige Lawrence & Rudi Swiegers had a couple of mistakes (she fell on the Triple Toeloop; they both singled the Double Axel combination), but nothing too disastrous. In terms of presentation, they could have sold that epic music a bit better. They got 106.88  points. Overall: 159.82 Mari Vartmann & Aaron Van Cleave 's jumps were a nightmare today (both the side-by-side and the thrown), which is probably why the interpretation was next to nonexistent. The side-by-side spins were also out of sync and quite slow. Their score: 94.51 . Overall: 149.59 Wenjing Sui & Han Cong premiered a Quad Twist today. Although Kalinka  seems an unusual choice for a Chinese couple, they presented it very well. The costumes were adorable. The only mistake was her fall at the end of the Axel. They got 124.75...

LADIES Veronik Mallet might be a new-face, but she's already got the grace of an experienced skater. Gorgeous costume and a good skate. It was such a shame that she fell on the Triple Flip. Her score: 50.71 . An original spin position gave Courtney Hick 's Soul Surfer  programme a bust after she doubled both the Toeloop and the Lutz. She received 50.70 points. Canada's star, Kaetlyn Osmond , might have had the groove, but she lost focus on the Double Axel. Kudos for the white gloves! Her score: 60.32 . Natalia Popova  finished a flawless programme, showcasing that Ukrainian skating talent we've been missing for a while now. She earned 52.36 points. What a performance for Amelie Lacoste ! She started with an amazing combination of Triple and Double Loop, and kept getting better and better. The Double Axel in particular was perfect. Enjoyable presentation as well. Her score: 59.13 . Christina Gao 's programme sure touched some hearts tonight. It was cla...

You simply cannot analyze this season and overlook the Olympic Champions who may be the first skaters in a while to have high chances of winning their second Olympic gold medal. Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir had two beautiful routines this year that I simply can't go on without talking about. In the other corner we've got two Russians who switched to team Azerbaijan and whose debut was brave though a bit junior-ish. Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir started the season with a waltz composed by Sir Anthony Hopkins ( And the Waltz Goes On ), showing us a side to the famous actor that few knew about. Tessa's two dresses for the waltz were absolutely gorgeous, even though the first one caused a few technical problems (remember Skate Canada where Scott got tangled into Tessa's dress?). The programme had a great flow to it, the choreography was very beautiful and the polka steps were so smooth it didn't bother us that they were performed on a waltz. But the real piece of re...