Figuring Out the Frankendance

I've been curious about the changes to junior and senior ice dance that go into effect this season. Ice dance had three segments of the competition prior to this year; now there are just two segments. The ISU voted to combine the compulsory dance and original dance into a "short dance" for the junior and senior events. This was supposedly done to keep ice dancing in the Olympics as the IOC wants to have shorter events that do not need to be scheduled over a few days in the Olympics. I think this is an odd reason as sports like the decathlon are in the Olympics which consists of 10 events. I personally think ISU made the move to cut costs of hosting events and judges expenses over an extra event. That's just my opinion.

I've been looking up the short dances from the Nebelhorn Trophy, and I must say I appreciate Ice-Dance.com's term "Frankendance" even more. From my understanding, senior competitors are to skate one full pattern of the Golden Waltz as a required element in their short dance. This required element is the "pattern" portion of the short dance while the rest of the elements are skated in the "creative" portion. (The ISU explains the Frankendance rules in communication 1621 if you'd like to provide further insight to my interpretation.)

I think the Golden Waltz was selected as the pattern for seniors this year as it's the most difficult of the compulsory dances. Here's a clip of the Golden Waltz being performed by Belbin & Agosto and Virtue & Moir side by side. The side by side gives a good example of how the compulsory segment could distinguish skaters of various levels by comparing apples to apples with each team doing the same dance to the same music.


Note both couples are following the same steps which make a pattern of steps around the ice. They complete the pattern at least two times around the rink. Note the pattern begins with steps that involve stepping in between each other's feet while rotating. It's also skated to a rather traditional waltz. Waltzes have a count of 3 so in completing the steps with the rhythm you might be saying in to yourself, "And One, Two, Three, AND One, Two, Three..."

Ok, got that? Now check out how the Golden Waltz is inserted into Pechalat & Bourzat's short dance:


Love the music to Yann Tiersen's Amelie, it starts very waltz-y. They started the program with a wonderful twizzle sequence for part of the required elements in the creative portion the program. Did you catch that they started the Golden Waltz pattern half way through at not with the traditional starting point of the pattern as noted in the previous example? It's allowed by the rules, but looking at the protocal, I think it threw off the judges a bit.

Now let's see the Italian team of Cappelini & Lanotte:


The music is not as waltz-y, but it is soft and lilting like most waltzes. They completed the full pattern from the beginning so it was a little easier to catch right? Wasn't her dress fun and fabulous?

One more, here's the team of Zhiganshina & Gazi:


OK, after you got past the creative skirt, what did you think of this short dance? Incredibly fun music, although I would get rather tired of it if I was practicing at their training rink. Also, they completed most of the creative required elements at the beginning of the program and then went into the traditional pattern of the Golden Waltz.

From these examples, I think we'll see a great deal of variety in the short dance which is exciting. Lots of different music styles too; bringing a bit of a Dancing with Stars element into ice dancing. Different music styles, pieces of compulsory patterns, different interpretations, total Frankendance! I think this variety is going to make the judges compare apples to oranges in all segments of the competition. The beauty of the compulsories was in making a segment completely comparing apples to apples by every executing the same dance. In the short dance, all skaters have a specific pattern to execute, but with the different styles and interpretation, I think it may lead to some crazy judging. I'll be interested to see how this develops through out the year.

The buzz from Champs Camp

Lynn Rutherford's tweets (@LynnRutherford) from the USFSA's Champs Camp are making me dream of crisp fall weather and way early mornings watching skating on the other side of world via IceNetwork. It's the post-Olympic season and anything's possible!

Alissa Czisny has spanking new programs and she reports new coach Yuka Sato has changed her jump technique. I thought Brian Boitano and Linda Leaver had been doing that, but it's the dawn of a new season! Anything can happen! This may be the year Alissa knocks out those superb spins with jumps!

Speaking of Sato students, Jeremy Abbott showed off his new-fangled long program to the powers that be at US Figure Skating and included a fancy quad!

The rest of the Detroit crew in attendance represent the ice dancing discipline. Samuelson and Bates are working are becoming speed demons in Canton, MI while their training pals Davis and White are skating to, wait for it.... Amelie! The Amelie soundtrack is exceptional skating music in my humble opinion. Plus, their coaches, have charted Amelie territory in Belbin and Agosto's post-Torino season and it's one of my fave Belbin and Agosto programs! I can't wait to see this one with the speed and athleticism of Davis and White!

It's going to be a great year for skating and this is only the American side of it! The info out of Canada, Japan, and Russia will start flowing soon too.

World Championship Ice Dance Preview

The compulsory dance gets started tomorrow in Torino, Italy. I'll try to catch some of it after my skating practice as a live stream starts on Universal Sports at 7 a.m. Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto are commentating; they've got to have some unique insight into the skaters and the event.

This season has been a game changer in the ice dancing world with the dominating teams coming from North America. I hope Meryl and Charlie can pull off a victory over their training mates and newly crowned Olympic champions, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. I also excited to see who will skate away with the bronze. The Kerrs are bringing back the kilt with a Scottish themed original dance. The Italians will have homefield advantage on top of their lovely free dance called,  "The Immigrants" to Nino Rota's Godfather music.

Here are further previews:
Ice-Dance.com

Aaron's Axels, Loops and Spins

Golden Skate

North Americans 1-2-4

I can't say it's a New World Order yet, but it feels like the fall of the wall for a longtime skating fan. Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir didn't let the home crowd down. Aren't they fun? That was a sharp flamenco on ice.

Meryl Davis and Charlie White completed their best Bollywood boogie of the year. They skated with such speed and precision. Excellent twizzles with Indian-inspired arm movements. They were ahead until Tessa and Scott skated to a 2 point lead.

Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto closed out the evening with their Moldavian themed dance. New costumes and lots of energy, but after Tessa and Scott the audience took a break. They didn't seem as into it unfortunately. Still, Tanith and Ben are in a close fourth place right behind the Russians, Domnina and Shabalin.

That makes three North American teams in the top five. I can not say that has ever happened in my 30 year existence. What amazing days we live in!

The Global Dance Party Is Under Way

Alright, NBC showed the originaly dance of American's Emily Samuelson and Evan Bates. They look thrilled to be skating at the Olympics. After 23 tangos Friday, here's a reminder of the theme for the original dance if you missed my earlier post:

Any type of folk/country dance music or typical dance of the country can be used. For the chosen type, there are no restrictions on
the number of musical selections. Although the dance may consist of different musical selections – fast and/or slow- there must be a
consistent theme based on a specific country or region.
The arrangement of the chosen music should give a genuine feel for folk/country dance. It should be very distant from the feeling of
the Grand Ballroom.
Same examples: Village, Square, Street, Barn dance, Hoedown, Mazurka, Polka, Tarantella, Hula, Hora, Csardas, Kalinka, Gapak,
Syrtaky, Scottish, Irish, Jig, Reel, Guajira, Cumbia, Jarabe, Fandango, Aborigines Dance, Chinese dances, Lesginka, Country
Waltz, Flamenco, etc.

Here's what to look for tonight:

Delobel & Schoenfelder will be representing France with a Can Can. From practice notes, it looks to be fun. I'm not sure how they'll end up on the podium, but this a team I'm rooting for. After skating together 18 years, they received their first ever world medal and it was gold! They put together the most lovely free skate to music from The Piano soundtrack and integrated sign language into their arm movements as well as the patterns on the ice. Last season, they started strong winning everything but then Isabelle injured her shoulder and got a bun in the oven during her recovery. They are my sentimental favorites for skating together for 20 years and skating four months after giving birth to a son. The NY Times has a great article on them and the pregnancy.

The Kerrs - The brother and sister team skate to Johnny Cash tonight. Too bad they didn't bring back their Scottish OD from the first time the ISU had the folk theme two seasons back. John looks great in a kilt!

Domnina & Shabalin - skate to an aboriginal theme, representing aboriginal people of the world. Rumor has it they have new outfits for this evening. They've been practicing in black all week and a blogger with IceNetwork said the dance actually looks like a great, modern dance in the black. We'll see what they're wearing tonight.

Davis & White - Bollywood comes to Vancouver as they take the ice. They've had huge scores and a bigger reception with this OD, be sure to watch.

The Zaretskys - the other brother and sister team of the evening skate to a traditional Jewish song. I heard the Israeli federation actually chose the music for them. This is a team that has done well over the season and they may make a move in the standings.

Virtue & Moir - I hope they checked the bolts on the roof and BC Place. I expect when this team takes the home ice, the roof will be near blowing off. They skate to a flamenco and have received high scores for the program all season. Risk factor - Tessa skates in this crazy long dress. It looks pretty and flamenco-y but there are times that it looks like it's getting caught between her legs or too much in Scott's face.

Belbin & Agosto - Tanith and Ben close out the evening with their Moldavian dance. I have not enjoyed this dance to much which is too bad as I really like Tanith and Ben. I want them to leave this Olympics with the best souvenir possible, an Olympic medal. I just don't think this program will help them unless one of the top three has a major booboo tonight.

I've got to travel for work this week so I've got to get up early Monday - Thursday. I can't stay up too late, so I'll be catching the blogs and watching the snippets of performances. I'm also missing my skating practice again. I'm going to have to work hard in March to take my Junior MITF test in April. I'm so inspired watching the skaters, there's choreography I'm dying to imitate. I'll have to wait until the weekend and weave through the crowd.

A North American Podium?

Ice Dancing, like pairs, has traditionally been dominated by Soviet/Russian skaters. Ice Dancing has only been an Olympic sport since 1976, but since then all but two of the gold medals have gone to Soviet or Russian teams.

This quadrennium, for the first time ever, North American teams have been competitive and stood on the podium at each worlds since Torino. Vancouver will be the first Olympic ice dance competition where North American ice dancers could sweep the podium.

US Teams

 

US Nationals - Belbin & Agosto 2nd, Davis & White 1st

Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto earned the silver in Torino and immediately followed that up with back to back bronze at the World Championships. They seemed primed to be the next great ice dancing champions, however the past four seasons have also been filled with mid-season program changes, mid-season injuries and a coaching change. They ended last season with a close 2nd place finish at Worlds.

Meryl Davis and Charlie White moved up from the junior ranks after the Olympic season in Belbin & Agosto's shadow. Over the past two years they've become equal competitors and Davis & White defeated them at the US Nationals this year. This team has had success on the fall Grand Prix circuit and have been undefeated this season. Yet they been shut out at Worlds the past few seasons.

Canadian Team

 

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir

 

Canada has one team that has been competitive internationally and also have medaled at Worlds, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. They actually train with Davis & White in the Detroit area. They are the culprits who have edged out Davis & White at Worlds. 

One of the coaches that they share with Davis and White is Marina Zoueva who recently mused on how much Virtue and Moir remind her of the pair skating legends, Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov. Zoueva choreographed for G & G and I'm beginning to find Virtue & Moir's programs to be a dance version of G & G's programs. They're original dance flamenco music is the same cut of G & G's '93-'94 short program. Ice dancing is supposed to be ballroom dancing on ice, but I find Virtue & Moir skate adagio more often than ballroom. Even doing mirror movements common in adagio dancing, they still have beautiful and appealing programs with fascinating dance lifts.

Tango Romantica

Triple Skates, Not Triple Jumps

The ice dancing event consists of three events. The first event is called the compulsory dance, where each team skates the same dance pattern to similar music. To the casual spectator, the compulsory dance can seem monotonous as each couple repeats the same dance. It's not broadcast often other than showing the top three placements aftterwards. If it's shown live, it's generally just to show the favorites. If anything is broadcast, the compulsory dance is a good event to watch because both the casual and fanatic spectator gets to compare apples to apples in this event. When everyone skates the same steps with the same required dance holds, you can distinguish who skates with more speed, who has better edge quality, and who can "dance" the dance the best. I also enjoy it as every summer I would work towards passing a dance test. Dance tests are nothing but compulsory dances, so I also enjoy watching this part of the event. It takes me back to those summers in Aspen and Lexington and skating all day.



Luck of the Draw

The ISU selects 2 - 3 CDs for each season. This year's compulsories are the Golden Waltz and Tango Romantica. One of those dances will be used as the CD during competition and it is generally announced a couple of weeks prior to each competition which CD has been drawn. For the Olympics, the dance is supposed to be selected one week prior to the first official practice at the Olympics. The compulsory dance drawn for the Olympics is the Tango Romantica. 

While it's supposed to be the luck of the draw, there has been buzz all season long that the Tango Romantica would most likely be the CD. It's shorter than the Golden Waltz. Perhaps NBC and the other broadcasters will squeeze in a few more performances.

Tango Romantica

This dance was invented by Ludmilla Pakhomova, Alexander Gorshkov and Elena Tchaikovskaya and first performend in Moscow in 1974. The ISU guidelines say:

This is a romantic sinuous dance which expresses the soft, lyrical interpretive characteristics of the Tango. It must be skated with deep edges. Foot and body movements must be deliberate and convey a sense of dignity approaching arrogance. Very erect carriage, precise timing, and continuous flow must be maintained. The difficulty of the steps should not be revealed in awkward or stressed upper body positions. Finally, coordination of free leg movements is essential to avoid a tangled, confused effect.

Music - Tango 4/4
Temp - 28 measures of 4 beats per minute; 112 beats per minute
Pattern - Optional
Duration - The time required to skate 2 sequences is 1:43 min

Ladies Pattern
Man's Pattern

This was the CD at a few events this season:

• Nebelhorn Trophy
• Rostelecom Cup
• NHK Trophy
• Skate Canada
• Europeans

Skater Advantages

The top three scoring teams over the season have been:

• Domnina & Shabalin 42.78 - Europeans
• Virtue & Moir 40.69 - Skate Canada
• Davis & White 38.09 - NHK Trophy

Domnina & Shabalin's only international event was the European Championships. The big score from the CD kept them ahead throughout the competition. Davis & White have faced Virtue & Moir this year at the Grand Prix Final and won. However, the compulsory is nixed during the final! I'm looking forward to comparing the "apples" between all the teams.

Domnina & Shabalin's CD at Europeans:


Take a gander at Virtue & Moir at Skate Canada:



Dark Horses in the CD
Belbin & Agosto have skated the Golden Waltz at all of their events this season. They train with Domnina & Shabalin and their CDs have dramatically improved since switching coaches two seasons ago. I expect they will earn a score in the 38-42 range as well.

Delobel & Schoenfelder have been out all season. They skated the Tango Romantica the last season it was used at the 2006 European Championships. Their edges were deep and expression smooth, but Olivier fell. Questionable how rusty they will be Friday.

Weather Be Damned!

Seeing tweets from skaters (@TanithJLB, @Ben_Agosto) that they are getting worried that the snowstorm expected for the East Coast may hamper their travel plans to Vancouver. Some think the worst-case scenario will lead to missing the Opening Ceremonies.

There's also tweets from journalists like Christine Brennan (@cbrennansports) and Phil Hersh (@olyphil) that they beat the storms and have landed in a spring-like setting. It's been so warm the Vancouver organizers are having to haul in snow for the alpine events. At least the rinks are indoors. Although the humidity poses its own challenges for maintaining the ice.

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Lost

Stayed up to watch the premeire of Lost and then got up for a 5:50 a.m. session. I'll need a Starbucks run this afternoon. Maybe it's the anticipation of a caffeine jolt, but I'm thinking about some "lost" skaters this season, that seem to be trapped on their own mysterious island from a dangerous mix of hubris and bad decisions while debating their destiny.

Mao Asada

Mao Asada - She can do a triple Axel-double toe combo with one arm over her head. Amazing! However, if she misses that her programs are dead and she lands way far away from the podium. Especially since the triples she goes on to attempt include a triple flip and triple loop. She can fly across the ice with grace, but she's been coming out with these heavy programs that don't use her lightness on the ice to her advantage. This year her long is to Rachmaninoff's "Bells of Moscow." I find the music and the choreography interesting, (a blogger called the music the "Bells of Death") but it's painful to watch Mao laboring through to the music if she misses the initial triple Axel jump passes. It's becomes "Bells of Mao's Dying Olympic Dreams." She's coached by Tatiana Tarasova who helped Alexei Yagudin become a legend. It seems Mao and Tarasova are attempting to recreate a Yagudin highlight reel with her programs. Mao needs to find her own style and inner muse. Jumps are easier when you're happy on the ice and skating for you.

Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto - I lamented earlier on this blog that they're great skaters but, similar to Mao, haven't shown their style this year or created a memorable program for the ages. They also seem to be attempting to channel some former Soviet or Russian champions instead of being Belbin & Agosto, the most decorated American ice dancing team ever. I did get past the gaudy gear they wore at Nationals and saw a beautiful free dance hidden amongst the nude lycra. However, I don't want to go back to it to review sections and nothing stands out but how horrible their costumes looked.

Tanith & Ben: Great Position, Bad Outfits

Jonathan Ferrey, Getty Images

Brian Joubert - Brian has plodded through the season. The spins and footwork are improved which garners more points, but he doesn't look like he's having fun on the ice. As Scott Hamilton commented during the Grand Prix, "He's a meat and potatoes skater, not a lot of parsley on that plate." Brian looks like he's completely weary of the little bit of parsley about him. Brian does have his own style but I also don't think he's used it to his advantage and insteads tries to add some dried, crushed parsley instead of producing a juicy steak covered in a marinade that's got a kick. I've got an exhibition program to Coldplay from a couple of seasons back below. The choreography is similar to the in between jumps moves in his programs, but he seems free to move and enjoy skating. If only he could find this mix during competitions.

A New Storyline Begins, But Is It Wise?

Monday I read several "tweets" from some of the competitive skaters I follow that involved either packing for Tokyo or traveling to Tokyo for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. Tweets from Meryl Davis, Charlie White, Joannie Rochette, Johnny Weir, Jeremy Abbott and Ashley Wagner. I liked Meryl's tweet, "It seems fitting that we're leaving for the land of the rising sun around dawn..."

The Grand Prix Series consists of 6 competitions across 3 continents that take place October through November for senior level skaters. Competitors earn points for their placements in the series. Winners of the event earn 12 points and go home with a snazzy gold medal, second place finishers earn 9 points and so on. The top six in the point standings after the 6 competitions end go on to the Grand Prix Final.

Skaters are selected to compete at the various competitions by their national governing body of the sport. (e.g., the USFSA in the States, Skate Canada in Canada, etc.). Competitors are allowed to compete in 2 of the six events where they earn points. Typically, winning a Grand Prix event gets you into the Final. The other competitors who make it are consistent in placing in the top three in their events.
 
The Final is the cream of the crop in the fall skating season. Performances and placements here are generally a good precursor to the World Championship standings. In an Olympic season, it's an excellent chance to make a statement that you're medal worthy. Plus, by reviewing the judges' marks and how skaters stack up against the narrow field, gives each skater exceptional feedback on what needs to be tweaked before the big championships later in the winter. Especially for those Olympics.
 
It would seem that all skaters would be honored to make it to the Grand Prix Final and want to skate their best. Recent seasons have shown a lot of skaters skipping the stay home and practice.Well, those skaters aren't completely "skipping" there is usually an injury involved. However, several blogs and message boards have been lit up this past week if the injuries are for real. Regardless, the big story leading into the Final is who's not here.

Brian Joubert experienced an awkward landing on a triple lutz last week. He ended up cutting his right foot with this blade. It so bad, he needed surgery to repair a ligament! According to his coach, the surgery went well and a good prognosis is expected. Difficult set back not only effecting the Final, but going into the French nationals and possibly Europeans. 

The ice dancing event would have been a great match up of North American ice dancers, Tanith Belbin & Benjamin Agosto and Meryl Davis & Charlie White represent the US. While Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir sing "O Canada." Ice dance has been a sport dominated by former Soviet countries. Over the past decade that domination is swinging to North America in part by former Soviet coaches who have relocated to the North America. Amazingly, all three of the teams making the Final have been coached by Igor Sphilband at one point in their careers. Each team won all of their Grand Prix events. None of the teams actually had a head to head match up through out the season.

Belbin & Agosto had to withdraw due to Tanith having an impacted wisdom tooth that got infected. I had once of those...ouch! My whole right side of my head from my temple to just below the jaw would throb in the days leading up to the extraction. I feel for her, but I wonder a little about the doctor's orders to stay off the ice for a week. Hopefully, she'll get the time to rejuvenate and then take advantage of not having to travel and compete in Tokyo. Belbin & Agosto's scores were lower in both their Grand Prix wins to the scores of both Virture & Moir and Davis & White.

Finally, there are several players not attending the Final simply because they didn't either didn't compete in more than one event or simply skipped the Grand Prix. Evgeny Plushenko only competed in Rostelecom Cup and neither Sasha Cohen or Stephane Lambiel competed. They may be a factor in Olympic placements.

The streaming times for the Final start Thursday, I think I'll be able to watch a bit over coffee.

Skate America

Ugh, I've not been able to shake an upper respiratory thing... I missed all my skating practices this week due to this pesky cough. I set my alarm and got up at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday as I had been feeling better, and having a scheduled lesson instead of one that was snuck in due to people not showing was motivating. However, as I started to get dressed I could tell my congestion was going to get worse if I exercised in cold air. Oh well. I decided to work from home and spent some break time watching Skate America on IceNetwork. Here are some of my faves from the competition in Lake Placid:

Yu-Na Kim's short program. Love the James Bond-girl theme. She plays it well. Love how the James Bond music isn't overbearing and selections throughout the movies are used. Yu-Na built a large lead coming into the free program. Which she needed as Rachel Flatt rocked her free skate.

Rachel Flatt winning the free skate despite her last two spins not even counting. She did a combination spin, but the steps between her change of foot were too wide. This made the combo spin count as two separate spins. However, since she already completed individual spins she maxed out on spin elements. So her last 10 seconds basically didn't count. She could have just stood there and would have won the free skate. She's solid, but she still doesn't have great pizzazz and panache in her skating. Still I was excited for her.

I also enjoyed Evan Lysacek's dominating performances. The feather-hands in the Firebird short program are growing on me. I've heard they look much better in person. He seems to be focused and building a strong collection of performances in route to the Olympics.

I felt fortunate to be able to experience Belbin & Agosto's Golden Waltz in the compulsory dance. Wow! That is how waltzes on ice are to be done. I hope NBC spends time broadcasting some of the compulsories during the Olympics. The compulsories really separate the skaters, you can truly break down the skill level of the couples.

I also must say I enjoyed Adrian Schultheiss from Sweden skating in a straight jacket to Insane in the Membrane and Pac-Man. Ryan Bradley medaling after landing two quads whilst channeling Scott Hamilton was fun too.

Romping through the Far East and Midwest

A couple of weekends ago, I got up early and let the dog out. Then I plopped in front of my laptop to watch bits of the men's and pairs' competition at Cup of China. Crazy time differences, I was seeing their evening performances in my slippers over the live feed.

Cup of China was a "comeback" comp for Shen & Zhao and comeback they did. I enjoyed the free program, it was easy to watch. The side-by-side jumps were probably a bit too far apart, but overall an excellent skate.

Cup of China was the debut of some of North America's Olympic medal contenders. Belbin & Agosto won the ice dance event, Evan Lysacek medaled in the men's event, and Mirai Nagasu & Rachel Flatt had nice outings in the front of the judges and their international competition. Joannie Rochette of Canada had a disappointing short but bounced back with her superior freeskate to Saint-Saens "Sampson & Delilah."

I must say I was a tad disappointed in the Americans. Evan Lysacek skated well, he was downgraded on a jump in each program, but the programs looked good. While the music was new, his programs have come to have a predictable pattern. I was slightly distracted from that pattern watching the short. He's skating to "Firebird" and has a black outfit, with long black feathers at the end of the sleeves. It kept giving me an image of Edward Scissorhands... all in black with these big, dangling, useless hands... except with feathers. Lose the feathers Evan!

I caught the ladies short and was thrilled that Mirai Nagasu had a good skate. She managed first which was a big improvement over everything last season. I expected more from Rachel Flatt with her "Sing, Sing, Sing" short. The YouTube clip of her performance at a summer competition gave me hope that she added some pizzazz to her consistency. However, the program just didn't seem to fill the big arena their in Beijing. She somehow appeared to be skating on ice twice as big as her competitors.

Belbin & Agosto chose a Moldovian theme for their original folk dance. Then they skated to a version of Ava Maria. The Ava Maria program is beautiful and features interesting lifts, however, I thought it was an odd choice for them. Since changing coaches prior to last season, I feel they have become more confident in their technical skill which especially has helped them in the compulsory portion of the competition. However, I their programs seem like they are coming straight out the Soviet School of Ice Dancing. I don't feel they are really offering anything new to the sport. Of course, skating passionately to Ava Maria is rite of passage in skating and Soviet/Russian ice dancers have demonstrated a winning formula of angst-ridden performances. I just Belbin & Agosto could be legendary with their talent by creating something entirely new. They're playing it conservative to win, while I think if they went outside of the box, not only would they win, they would blow everyone away.

I really think Meryl Davis and Charlie White are skating outside of the box this year with their Bollywood-inspired original dance. Watching Belbin & Agosto and then Davis & White in back to back competitions proves really brings that home to me. Davis and White have excellent technique and speed and I think their originality in their programs demonstrates those skills.

Davis and White completely left their competitors in the dust at the NHK Trophy. I was in Chicago over the weekend. I got to enjoy the weather for a weekend holiday shopping spree but the hotel didn't have free wifi so I missed my morning ritual of watching the live feed from Asia.

So glad to catch up on the NHK Trophy mid-week after work. Brian Joubert is back! He looked Yagudin-like out there. There was such command of the ice and energy in his performances. I haven't really seen that from him for awhile.

Johnny Weir actually put together two solid skates in the same competition. He earned a silver souvenir for that accomplishment. Jeremy Abbott debuted his programs for the season. Love the short, "Day in a Life" awesomeness. Jeremy, note to self, ice shavings are very apparent on black outfits so don't fall on every jump in the long! Daisuke Takahashi was back after injury last season. Wow, I missed him, he's programs fill the arena. Hope those jumps make a complete recovery after injury too.

Enjoyed the Kerrs free dance to Krwling too.

I've been getting the hang of choctaws and my rockers are back to what I could do well 10 years ago. I think I may pass my junior MITF by February!