2012 Four Continents Championships: Free Dance LIVE Coverage

1) Corenne Bruhns & Ryan Van Natten (MEX)
 Music: Harlem Nocturne, My Drag

• This is dragging, I feel like this team needs more upbeat music to inject some more life into their skating
• The lifts are very slow and labored
• There is no sparkle in this program
• I'd like to see more effort, that helps disguise lesser technique
• Was that a fall, or was she just on her knees?
• That upside down lift with her shoulder on his knee is kind of cool
• Oh boy, scary balance lift, her head almost on the ice
• This team has potential and he's a great performer
• They just need to drill these programs to get more and more comfortable with them

32.66 (TES) + 22.98 (PCS) = 55.64
35.93 (SD) + (FD) = 91.57

2) Cortney Mansour & Daryn Zhunussov (KAZ)
 Music: Cirque du Soleil

• Oh boy, a Morozov team
• Is it me or do they look like a mini-me of the Reeds/
• I like the whimsical quality of this piece
• This suits their ages
• That slide under his legs was very cool
• Good twizzle set, his arms were just slightly higher
• Nice back entry and position changes on the straight line lift, great speed
• I think she's a little diva in the making
• A lot of spread eagles already, but it works in this piece
• Great knee bend
• I'd love to see a little more facial expression from him
• That was a pretty weak haircutter compared to what we'll see later
• That little moment where her mussed her hair was cute, very in the character
• Lost a lot of the speed in the spin, but a cool section of the music for it
• They need to work on matching the leg line, his is slightly higher
• Good outing overall, they should be pleased

30.43 (TES) + 22.70 (PCS) = 53.13
25.53 (SD) + 53.13 (FD) = 78.66

3) Anna Nagornyuk & Viktor Kovalenko (UZB)
 Music: Cry me a river/Peter Gunn

• This costume has a major ick factor
• Those twizzles were really fast, maybe a foot down
• Those boot covers are tragic
• It's so hard to watch anything else because my eye keeps going to the boots
• This is such an odd  combination of music
• Good speed on the rotational lift

38.07 (TES) + 30.61 (PCS) -1.00 (DED) = 67.68
39.93 (SD) + 67.68 (FD) = 107.61

4) Alexandra Paul & Mitchell Islam (CAN)
 Music: Tonight

• They are exquisite, the definition of beautiful
• She looks like a little sylph out there
• Oh no, he falls on the first twizzle and then aborts the second
• Something is going on with them this season, the aren't clicking along like last year
• I love this music for them, it's like a modern classic
• I love that transition as they change feet on the spin, they make a moment of it
• They need the summer break to figure out where they're going and move on
• Lovely rotational lift

33.07 (TES) + 37.38 (PCS) -1.00 (DED) = 69.45
48.52 (SD) + 69.45 (FD) = 117.97

5) Madison Hubbell & Zachary Donohue (USA)
 Music: I Put A Spell On You

• I'm buying everything he's selling, but she just gets in the way
• Good flow over the ice, very even and smooth
• That entrance to the first lift comes out of  nowhere
• Oh boy, another fall from him, didn't appear to be on an element
• Good first twizzle, got too close together on the second and appeared to have gotten tangled up
• Come on now kids, don't let go of the performance
• That little pop/lock dance break in the middle is a little tacky, it's corny
• They look wild and out of control here, and though it suits the dance, I think they're running out of steam

40.72 (TES) + 39.55 (PCS) -1.00 (DED) = 79.27
49.93 (SD) + 79.27 (FD) = 129.20

6) Danielle O'Brien & Gregory Merriman (AUS)
 Music: In the Mood, Moonlight Serenade

• Uh oh, somebody coming later in the event is about to do this music much better!
• Very fast and high energy, but a lot of the details are left out
• A lot of the lift positions need to be held out longer
• A little too slow in the middle section here, they're losing my interest
• This couple is really cute, I like their style, they just need more polish

34.93 (TES) + 30.88 (PCS) = 65.81
40.10 (SD) + 65.81 (FD) = 105.91

7) Xiaoyang Yu & Chen Wang (CHN)
 Music: Howl's Moving Castle

• Hard to tell the unison on the twizzles with all that fabric, but seemed on point
• Ohh, she was supposed to step on his boot to end that lift, but she missed it
• I don't like all the stationary movement at center ice
• Nice rotational lift, very lyrical quality overall
• They're starting to run out of steam in this step sequence
• This music suits them very well, ethereal and dreamlike

36.50 (TES) + 33.13 (PCS) = 69.63
45.42 (SD) + (FD) = 115.05

8) Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje (CAN)
 Music: Je Suis Malade

• This opening is beautiful, this is the most romantic of all  these free dances
• Really deep edges, good leg line
• This free skate complements their strong suits much better than last season
• I like the drama in this program
• I'm obsessed with this free dance, the emotion is real and not manufactured
• I think that was their first clean twizzle set of the season
• This is a complete program, you don't even see the elements
• That last lift is so grand
• I love the ending, it's so raw
• 47.42 (TES) + 51.61 (PCS) = 99.03

64.23 (SD) + 99.03 (FD) = 163.26

9) Maia Shibutani & Alex Shibutani (USA)
 Music: Chattanooga Choo Choo, In the Mood

• Very quick and snappy beginning
• This is the polar opposite of Weaver & Poje
• The twizzles are more and more amazing everytime
• The strength it must take on her part in that straight line lift is remarkable
• They are masters at changing lift positions seamlessly while still hitting each
• You can see the elements in this program more than some of the older teams
• They manage to make even the slower pieces look fast
• Great balance and leverage on that curve lift
• She definitely gets to do her fair share of splits
• Oh boy, Alex doesn't look good, he's coughing and can hardly breathe
• I though he was going to pass out

47.06 (TES) + 48.85 (PCS) -1.00 (DED) = 94.91
63.38 (SD) + 94.91 (FD) = 158.29

10) Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir (CAN)
 Music: Funny Face

• I love this dance, it's so theatrical, it's perfection in my book
• This instrumental section in the middle is so clever
• That curve lift was perfectly in time with the musical nuances
• Perfect twizzles
• I don't envy the judges, there is nothing in this program that isn't exquisite
• That final lift is pretty fantastic, the control that must take is out of this world

54.07 (TES) + 57.17 (PCS) = 111.24
71.60 (SD) + 111.24 (FD) = 182.84

11) Meryl Davis & Charlie White (USA)
 Music: Die Fledermaus

• I don't know how to pick this piece apart, it's so fantastic as it is
• They are perfectly at home with one another
• I keep losing my feed so unfortunately it's difficult to comment on it
• I think their twizzles are faster than Virtue & Moir
• I give the edge in performance to Davis & White, I think they include the crowd more
• However, I don't think their lifts change positions as many times as Virtue & Moir

50.01 (TES) + 57.24 (PCS) = 107.25
72.15 (SD) + 107.25 (FD) = 179.40

1	Tessa VIRTUE / Scott MOIR	CAN	182.84	2	1
2	Meryl DAVIS / Charlie WHITE	USA	179.40	1	2
3	Kaitlyn WEAVER / Andrew POJE	CAN	163.26	3	3
4	Maia SHIBUTANI / Alex SHIBUTANI	USA	158.29	4	4
5	Madison HUBBELL / Zachary DONOHUE	USA	129.20	5	5
6	Alexandra PAUL / Mitchell ISLAM	CAN	117.97	6	7
7	Xiaoyang YU / Chen WANG	CHN	115.05	7	6
8	Anna NAGORNYUK / Viktor KOVALENKO	UZB	107.61	9	8
9	Danielle OBRIEN / Gregory MERRIMAN	AUS	105.91	8	9
10	Corenne BRUHNS / Ryan VAN NATTEN	MEX	91.57	10	10
11	Cortney MANSOUR / Daryn ZHUNUSSOV	KAZ	78.66	11	11

1	Tessa VIRTUE / Scott MOIR	CAN	111.24	54.07		57.17	9.46	9.32	9.71	9.61	9.71	0.00	#10
2	Meryl DAVIS / Charlie WHITE	USA	107.25	50.01		57.24	9.54	9.36	9.68	9.61	9.64	0.00	#11
3	Kaitlyn WEAVER / Andrew POJE	CAN	99.03	47.42		51.61	8.50	8.36	8.75	8.71	8.89	0.00	#8
4	Maia SHIBUTANI / Alex SHIBUTANI	USA	94.91	47.06		48.85	8.14	8.00	8.21	8.25	8.21	1.00	#9
5	Madison HUBBELL / Zachary DONOHUE	USA	79.27	40.72		39.55	6.61	6.43	6.54	6.75	6.75	1.00	#5
6	Xiaoyang YU / Chen WANG	CHN	69.63	36.50		33.13	5.68	5.36	5.54	5.54	5.57	0.00	#7
7	Alexandra PAUL / Mitchell ISLAM	CAN	69.45	33.07		37.38	6.29	6.11	6.11	6.36	6.36	1.00	#4
8	Anna NAGORNYUK / Viktor KOVALENKO	UZB	67.68	38.07		30.61	5.18	4.93	5.21	5.18	5.11	1.00	#3
9	Danielle OBRIEN / Gregory MERRIMAN	AUS	65.81	34.93		30.88	5.21	4.93	5.21	5.32	5.21	0.00	#6
10	Corenne BRUHNS / Ryan VAN NATTEN	MEX	55.64	32.66		22.98	4.00	3.64	3.82	4.00	3.79	0.00	#1
11	Cortney MANSOUR / Daryn ZHUNUSSOV	KAZ	53.13	30.43		22.70	3.96	3.46	3.86	4.04	3.79	0.00	#2