Who Killed It and Who Fell Off the Combo: The Free Dance

Killed It!: These teams brought the beauty, the excitement, the intrigue

• Papadakis and Cizeron for captivating my attention and leaving me hypnotized 
• Ilinykh as the heavyweight diva of contemporary ice dancing 
• Madison Chock chewing the scenery
• Weaver & Poje leaving it all on the ice 
• The smoothness of the Shibs' skating
• I'm living for Paul & Islam's free skate, that contemporary feel was on point
• Monko & Khaliavin's controlled upside down lift 
• The long, lithe bodies of Stepanove and Bukin, plus the sitting twizzles, oh the abdominal control! 
• The exuberance of Guignard and Fabbri was entertaining at least
• The chemistry of Hubbell and Donohue, plus their rotational lift 
• The quiet fabulousness of Marie-France 
• The ease with which Andria Diaz moves, it's all so effortless
• The joy on Yinyu Liu's face 

Fell Off The Combo: These teams missed the mark

• Ilinykh's twizzle mishap
• Marina's reign at the top
• The Russian obsession with Sarabande 
• Self-indulgent entrances of any kind
• Enough bent legs and lazy feet to last a lifetime
• Hot mess interwoven twizzle patterns 
• Mozart Rock Opera....enough said
• An a la seconde twizzle at 45 degrees......it's 90 or bust! 
• That moment when the Ukranian team destroyed Bach
• Carolina Moscheni's dance team smile during a dark piece

Who Killed It and Who Fell Off the Combo: The Short Dance

Killed It!: These teams brought the beauty, the excitement, the intrigue

• Every blessed thing about Guillaume Cizeron
• If you take off the skates, Cizeron is the only natural dancer in the entire event
• The choreographic specificity of the entire group 5
• Andrew Poje's entire presentation 
• The fire and precision of the Shibutanis
• Madison Chock's perfect bun
• The dramatic build up to group 6
• Paul & Islam's rotational lift 
• Paul Poirier's amazing butt
• Hubbell & Donohue's smoothness 
• Stepanova & Bukin's sit spin twizzled.....that abdominal control! 
• Monko & Khaliavin's matching free leg in the twizzle sequence
• The grace, poise, and carriage of Marie-France 
• The Hurtado and Diaz counterbalance 
• Federica Testa's strapless number 
• Barbara Fusar-Poli 
• Elena Ilinykh's overall diva qualities
• The energy and spunk of Wang and Liu 
• Juri Karakin's hairography 

Fell Off The Combo: These teams missed the mark

• Gabriella Papadakis' detached-looking bun 
• Kaitlyn Weaver's saggy bun
• Marina's political clout
• Anna Cappellini's carriage-simultaneously stiff and wild 
• So many women with sloppy, uneven buns 
• Guignard & Fabri falling on the choreographic spinning movement 
• Gilles & Poirier's overly dramatic entrances and exits
• Piper Gilles' drag queen eye makeup 
• Donohue's damn twizzle
• Elena Ilinykh paired with Ruslan Zhiganshin who looks like little brother
• Kirill Minov's hair.....honey please  
• Any low or intermediate team doing interweaving twizzle patterns 
• Viktoria Kavaliova's "Whatever Lola Wants" gloves
• Smart & Buckland's twizzles
• The Finnish team's twizzles 
• Natalia Kaliszek's hideous dress/croptop getup 
• Bent free legs (multiple offenders) 

2013 Skate America: Short Dance Recap

What else is there to say about Davis & White (USA)? If I'm speechless, you know it's real and it's deep. This piece was really about Charlie for me. My eye went to him and Meryl was kind of there in the background. Is it just me or is his extension improving along with his performance quality? Love, love, loved it. I could have just as easily been watching the Grand Prix Final as the first major event of the season...they are in that good of shape. Short Dance Total: 75.70

Cappellini & Lanotte (ITA) put the DANCE in Ice Dance. I'm OBSESSED with this choreography! This is a perfect example of skating a full piece from beginning to end. They really told a complete story. I'm partial to a good show tune, but regardless, they are on my radar for the Olympic podium. Short Dance Total: 69.88

Shibutani & Shibutani (USA) rose to the occasion and brought it tonight. Alex is really catching my eye this year, but I want her to step it up and pull focus. I'm loving this piece and the fact that they didn't pick the most obvious Michael Buble pieces. Marina does it again, the woman can do no wrong. This piece has potential and they are going places with it. Short Dance Total: 61.26

Hubbell & Donohue (USA) just don't totally have it for me. I'm not sure why, but they are just a little B-team for me. Zach is awesome, but Madison doesn't do so much for me. She's a little cash for clunkers. He is all over my radar, and for his sake, I hope she can amp up the excitement. Short Dance Total: 60.71

I had no strong feelings about Zlobina & Sitnikov (AZE) tonight. They do have a nice flow and smoothness to their work, but the choreography and themes of the program did nothing much for me. Short Dance Total: 54.53

Reed & Reed (JPN) were just meh for me. Twizzle issue aside, the whole piece just looked too calculated and not nearly dancy enough. They were too stiff and the ending just felt out of control for me. It felt like it was about to unravel at any moment...a little Roughtown USA. Short Dance Total: 54.28

Carron & Jones (FRA) had me with their musical selection, and they're delightful to look at, but the program didn't build or really go anywhere. They are charming and the piece has potential if they can build up the excitement throughout the season. Short Dance Total: 54.10

Tobias & Stagniunas (LTU) have a great look and this was a cute program, but she needs to amp up the vavavoom. That, or they need to do A Chorus Line because she's obviously Val. His posture seemed a little clunky today, as did that rotational lift. I hope they clean that up. Short Dance Total: 53.17

2013 Skate America: Ice Dance Preview

And now for my favorite event of them all...Ice Dance! I'm a dancer and a dancer dances, so obviously this is my jam. Short dance kicks of tomorrow (Friday) at 8:45 and we'll see that free Saturday night in the money spot at 9:00.

Detroit is in for a treat as hometown kids and reigning World Camps Meryl Davis & Charlie White (USA) grace us with their presence. You know they are going to be in Olympic form already, so lord only knows how phenom they will look by February. Around here, we are 100% thrilled with their program choices and can't wait to see them perform the heck out of them. They haven't lost an event since the 2012 Worlds and I have a strong suspicion they will continue their winning streak all through Sochi in February.



Anna Cappellini & Luca Lanotte (ITA) are the

most likely silver medalists, but they are know to be streaky. Their switch to Igor Shpilband seems to have really settled them and they are forming their identity as artists. I cannot wait to see their 42nd street Short Dance! They are certainly one of the hottest Ice Dance couples around, so that's never a bad thing. I'm looking forward to seeing them.

Maia Shibutani & Alex Shibutani (USA) are scaring me with their program choices this season. Michael Buble for the short is perfect for them. That is classic Shib Sib style. However, the Michael Jackson free dance? When I think of a Michael Jackson free dance I think of that epic Bourne & Kraatz fail in Salt Lake in 2002. This just doesn't seem like it will suit their classical style and elegant lines, which is a huge risk to take in an Olympic year. But, I'm an artist and I love risk here in there, and I trust Marina, so more power to them. I bet you anything that this is one of those programs that undergoes major changes in composition, choreography, and costuming by Sochi.

Madison Hubbell & Zach Donohue (USA) are the bubble team in US

Ice Dance. The top three are very clearly established in Davis/White, Chock/Bates, and Shibutani/Shibutani, but if one of those team would happen to have an injury or a rough GP series, they could have a shot at the Olympics. It's an outside shot, but still a shot nonetheless. Their strength is their chemistry, which is the one thing that Marina & Igor's teams have been criticized for. The Big Bad Voodoo Daddy short seems perfect for them and I expect that their Nocturne free should be quite sensual. They have an outside shot at the podium if they are perfect and others have problems.

Podium Predictions:
Gold: Davis & White (USA)
Silver: Cappellini & Lanotte (ITA)
Bronze: Shibutani & Shibutani (USA)

The Rest of the Field:
Zlobina & Sitnikov (AZE)
Carron & Jones (FRA)
Reed & Reed (JPN)
Tobias & Stagniunas (LTU)
Hubbell & Donohue (USA)

Skate Canada: Ice Dance Preview

Friday October 26th at 9:10pm-Short Dance
Saturday October 27th at 4:40pm-Free Dance
I should be Live Blogging both of these events!

Every year we have this debate. Will it be the year of Davis & White or Virtue & Moir (CAN)? My question is this, is a sport like ice dance that is all about innovation, should you really win a World title skating to Carmen? We'll see, but it's going to have to be a pretty spectacular Carmen for me to get behind a musical selection like that. I cannot wait to see how the lack of Igor's presence changes the look of both top teams.

Cappellini & Lanotte (ITA) are now being coached by Igor Shpilband which could make all the difference for them. This looks to be a breakout year for them. They could become contenders. Igor's old team Virtue & Moir and his new team are both skating to Carmen for the free. Coincidence? I think not.

The real battle is for bronze. I give the edge to Hubbell & Donohue (USA) as they have a full year under the belt and already have a top-10 finish at Worlds. They have really steamy chemistry and that will only get better with time. Look for them to up the technical ante and avoid some of the silly errors that they made on twizzles last season.

The team hot on their heels for the bronze will be Gilles & Poirier (CAN). They are a new team and oddly enough, Piper used to skate with Zach Donohue. They skated together last season as well, but not Internationally as Piper had to wait a full year to be completely released from USFSA. They have such energy and a great look together. I think Paul is a beautiful ice dancer, but he never looked quite right with Vanessa Crone for me, so hopefully this new pairing will do the trick.

My Podium Predictions:
Gold: Virtue & Moir (CAN)
Silver: Cappellini & Lannote (ITA)
Bronze: Hubbell & Donohue (USA)

The Rest of the Field:
Zlobina & Sitnikov (AZE)
Ralph & Hill (CAN)
Carron & Jones (FRA)
Riazanova & Tkachenko (RUS)