2011 US Figure Skating Championships: Senior Short Dance

Hey y'all so here we go, its about time to start the senior short dance. Look for the integration of the golden waltz compulsory dance  into free skating movement. Check back with me after each team for my thoughts on their performance and and feel free to leave me comments!

1) Alison Carey & Ryan Van Nathan

  Music: Ordinary Day/Do Your Thing

• Unison issues on the twizzles, a little too close to each other
• Her upper body is very stiff, she should loosen up a little
• The transition from Golden Waltz to free skating was a little awkward
• The straight line step sequence  is pretty good
• I liked the cartwheel ending
• SD Score: 18.49 (TES) + 15.86 (PCS) = 34.35

2) Rachel Tibbetts & Colin Brubaker

   Music: At Last/Hallelujah I Love Her So

• Here is another Brubaker Brother
• They have nice smooth edge qualities
• A very quiet lyrical couple, at least in this dance
• Her shoot the duck could have been lower and she could have had a higher leg in the attitude
• I've seen worse, but that musical transition was a bit awkward
• I would like to see more joy on their faces
• The distance between them changed on the mid-line step sequence, it should stay the same
• Slight unison issues on the twizzles
• SD Score: 20.43 (TES) + 22.43 (PCS) -1.00 = 41.86

 3) Ginna Hoptman & Pavel Filchenkov

    Music: Dark Eyes

• Twizzle in opposite directions, that was interesting to see and nice unison
• Nice speed and precision on the Golden Waltz
• This musical selection works very well
• She shows nice flexibility in the rotational lift
• Nice midline step sequence
• I like their look together on the ice
• Very crisp and clean
• They have a nice lilt to their movements
• SD Score: 26.57 (TES) + 21.80 (PCS) = 48.37

4) Katherine Pilgrim & Alexander Lorello

   Music: 

• Little loss of unison on twizzles, not super fast
• She needs to extend a lot more in her free legs
• They got very close to the boards at one point
• The waltz mixed with a tango just does not work for me
• They need to point their feet a lot harder
• They definitely ran out of steam toward the end
• SD Score: 15.43 (TES) + 17.36 (PCS) = 32.79

5) Isabella Cannuscio & Ian Lorello

   Music: Piano Man

• They improved a great deal from their first senior grand prix to their second, so we'll see if they can keep that up here
• They have a nice look on the ice, very elegant
• Unison issues in their twizzles, but they were much faster also
• The choreography works well with they music
• Nice midline step sequence, good flow
• I like that they integrate the Golden Waltz with the free skating into one piece of music
• Nice one-arm rotational lift, he makes her look so light
• I don't like when the ending poses are so involved, its just unnecessary
• I don't really get how the 
• SD Score: 28.93 (TES) + 25.50 (PCS) = 54.43

6) Madison Hubbell & Keiffer Hubbell

   Music: The Addams Family Values

• The movements are choreographed nicely to the music
• Haircutter rotational lift is a little overdone at this point
• They are nice and close together in their holds
• The Golden waltz seems a little slow
• Keiffer stumbled out of his first twizzle at the end of the step sequence
• She also lifts her leg a lot higher than he does
• SD Score: 30.64 (TES) + 27.27 (PCS) = 57.91

7) Meredith Zuber & Kyle Herring

   Music: Fallin by Alicia Keys

• They are really close in height, they look nice in holds
• Not the speed of the other teams
• Nice unison in twizzles and midline step sequences
• They look more comfortable together than most new teams do
• I know they want to show off her legs, but sometimes they looked a bit like they were flailing
• SD Score: 24.95 (TES) + 19.47 (PCS) = 44.42

8) Madison Chock & Greg Zuerlein

   Music: Edith Piaf's Waltzes

• Here comes one of my favorite teams
• Madison has such great expression on her face
• This is already the best speed we've seen so far
• These Zoueva/Shpilband teams really use every not of the music
• Nice transitions between the individual waltzes
• These are the best twizzles we've seen so far
• Padam, Padam works very well for this Golden Waltz sequence
• Very smooth, speed staying basically the same throughout
• Great speed in the rotational lifts, very fast
• SD Score: 32.00 (TES) + 29.74 (PCS) = 61.74

9) Katharine Ziegler & Baxter Burbank

   Music: Hallelujah

• Love the musical selection
• Loss of unison in the twizzles
• He rocked back onto his heel of his skate and fell
• She could really stretch out her limbs more
• He seems very unstable on his feet
• They seem very slow overall
• They finish after the music
• They have a very nice look together on the ice
• SD Score: 16.15 (TES) + 17.14 (PCS) -1.00 (DED) = 32.29

10) Maia Shibutani & Alex Shibutani

     Music: The Carousel Waltz

• I love them so much!
• The Carousel waltz is one of my favorite pieces of music in the world
• Some of the best twizles in the world, they do a sequence
• This is probably my favorite short dance of the season
• PERFECT unison on the midline step sequence
• They are very well matched in terms of height
• They use their knees so well, they skate into the ice rather than on top of it
• They cover so much ice
• The curve lift is fantastic as is the rotational lift
• Nice big fist pump from Alex!
• They are so pleasant to watch, they just warm my heart
• SD Score: 38.43 (TES) + 32.04 (PCS) = 70.47

11) Kristen Nardozzi & Robert Cuthbertson

     Music: Fallin

• This is like the song of the season apparently
• They look a little choppy, they skate above the ice, not really into it
• Definitely lacking in speed a lot
• He gets tripped up in some steps in the Golden Waltz
• SD Score: 20.08 (TES) + 18.45 (PCS) = 38.53

12) Meryl Davis & Charlie White

     Music: La Boheme & La Traviata

• This is a very European looking program
• I'm glad Meryl went back to the peach dress
• Slight twizzle issue
• The weaving midline sequence is wonderful
• This program has grown so much since the debut at NHK, specifically in terms of performance and drama
• Wonderful speed and deep edges in the Golden Waltz sequence
• Gorgeous ending, and they don't lose any speed throughout
• SD Score: 38.78 (TES) + 37.26 (PCS) = 76.04

13) Shannon Wingle & Timothy McKernan

      Music: 

• Major unison issues on twizzles
• Are they really another Zoueva/Shpilband team?
• SD Score: 31.15 (TES) + 23.92 (PCS) = 55.07

14) Alissandra Aronow & Zachary Donohue

      Music:

• This blue color is like the color of the day
• Their edges aren't nearly deep enough
• Major unison issues on the twizzles, she lost her position
• This is a new team and they have a lot of room to grow
• SD Score: 19.95 (TES) + 20.89 (PCS) = 40.84

15) Lynn Kriengkrairut & Logan Giulietti-Schmitt

     Music: The Trouble With Love Is

• This is a nice team, they connect well with each other on the ice
• They have pretty nice leg lines
• They seem pretty slow today, the music is dragging them down
• SD Score: 32.08 (TES) + 26.51 (PCS) = 58.59

Standings After the Short Dance:
Davis/White                                 76.04
Shibutani/Shibutani                      70.47
Chock/Zuerlein                             61.74
Kriengkrairut/Giulietti-Schmitt   58.59
Hubbell/Hubbell                            57.94
Wingle/McKernan                        55.07
Cannuscio/Lorello                         54.43
Hoptman/Filchenkov                    48.37
Zuber/Herring                               44.42
Tibbetts/Brubaker                        41.86
Aronow/Donohue                          40.84
Nardozzi/Cuthbertson                   38.53
Carey/Van Nathan                        34.35
Pilgrim/Lorello                              32.79
Ziegler/Burbank                           32.29

ISU Grand Prix: Rostelecom Cup Free Dance

1) Alexandra Paul & Mitchell Islam (Canada)**
   Music: As Time Goes By

• FD Score: (TES) + (PCS) =
• 45.75 (SD) +  (FD) =

2) Lucie Mysliveckova & Matej Novak (Czech Republic)
   Music: Let My People Go/Money/Jessica Rabbit/Venus

• FD Score: (TES) + (PCS) =
• 48.45 (SD) +  (FD) =

3) Elena Ilinykh & Nikita Katsalapov (Russia)
   Music: Don Quixote

• FD Score: (TES) + (PCS) =
• 49.14 (SD) +  (FD) =

4) Madison Hubbell & Keiffer Hubbell (USA) **
   Music: Selections by Yello and Art of Noise

• FD Score: (TES) + (PCS) =
• 50.59 (SD) +  (FD) =

5) Kristina Gorshkova & Vitali Butikov (Russia)
   Music: Cha Cha/Manada de Carneval

• FD Score: (TES) + (PCS) =
• 51.97 (SD) +  (FD) =

6) Nora Hoffman & Maxim Zavozin (Hungary)
   Music: Gypsy Witch

• FD Score: (TES) + (PCS) =
• 57.24 (SD) +  (FD) =

7) Federica Faiella & Massimo Scali (Italy) **
   Music: Manolete-The Passion Within

• FD Score: (TES) + (PCS) =
• 57.65 (SD) +  (FD) =

8) Elena Bobrova & Dmitri Soloviev (Russia)
   Music: Melody of the White Lights

• FD Score: (TES) + (PCS) =
• 60.80 (SD) +  (FD) =

Final Standings:

ISU Grand Prix: Rostelecom Cup Short Dance

1) Alexandra Paul & Mitchell Islam (Canada) **
   Music: La Cumparsita-Amor por el Tango

• This was the surprise ice dance team from Skate Canada, they have a lovely style on the ice and people are already calling them Virtue/Moir 2.0
• Their Skate Canada short dance was good, but where they really shine is in their free dance so if they are not stellar here, do not be alarmed as they will surely turn it on tomorrow
• At 19 and 20 they are a very young team
• As you know, I'm  not a big fan of the tango with the golden waltz in these short dances but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt
• She seemed to step out early on the second set of twizzles
• Their golden waltz seems very slow and they could get a lot deeper into their knees; their edge quality could also use some work, but as I said, where they shine is in the free dance
• Like the other couples using the tango this season, the transition from waltz to tango is awkward and disjointed here
• Oh wow she  cot caught up in the footwork and took a fall, she never really catches up with him on that step sequence and the unison suffers
• She also completely jumped out of performance mode
• She looks very upset, but they should keep their chins up knowing how special their free dance is
• SD Score: 25.71 (TES) + 23.04 (PCS) -3.00 (deduction) = 45.73
• **TES stands for Technical Elements Score, PCS stands for Program Components Score

2) Elena Ilinykh & Nikita Katsalapov (Russia)
   Music: Agony/Tango

• SD Score: 26.98 (TES) + 23.16 (PCS) -1.00 (deduction) = 49.14

3) Lucie Mysliveckova & Matej Novak (Czech Republic)
   Music: Battagliero/Alexander's Ragtime Band

• SD Score: 24.86 (TES) + 23.59 (PCS) = 48.45

4) Kristina Gorshkova & Vitali Butikov (Russia)
   Music: Russian Waltz

• Ok I apologize for missing the last two, I'm back now
• Here is an up and coming Russian team that hopes to restore Russia's place atop the ice dancing world
• Russians are normally the masters of compulsories, but this looks very slow to me
• These costumes are also too loud for me to the point where they are distracting
• Overall that was just okay for me, it didn't do much for me on the whole
• SD Score: 27.29 (TES) + 24.68 (PCS) = 51.97

**Group 2 six minute warm up**


5) Elena Bobrova & Dmitri Soloviev (Russia)
   Music: Delilah

• I like their speed here right off the top
• This is a strange music choice for a Russian team but it works for them
• Their unison is wonderful
• Ok here we go into the golden waltz portion
• They have nice deep knees
• Of the three Russian teams here, these two are the most exciting to watch and seem to be the best technically and in terms of precision
• That death drop where he spins her low on the ice always scares me but it is so exciting to watch
• Their rotational lift is a standout
• This team beat Faiella & Scali at Cup of China and if the Italians stumble again, I think they could challenge them for gold
• SD Score: 31.22 (TES) + 29.58 (PCS) = 60.80

6) Nora Hoffman & Maxim Zavozin (Hungary)
   Music: Sleeping Beauty/Skaters Waltz

• I love her costume, if floats beautifully without being distracting
• They seem a little stiff here in the Golden Waltz portion, I would love to see a little more freedom in their movements
• Her twizzles seem much slower than his but they ended at the same time, did he do more revolutions?
• SD Score: 29.21 (TES) + 28.03 (PCS) = 57.24

7) Madison Hubbell & Keiffer Hubbell (USA) **
   Music: The Addams Family

• What is it with these brother/sister teams skating to the Addams Family this year...the Reeds, the Hubbells
• I love that opening rotational lift with her foot touching the back of her head
• She does some kind of weird stumble, but her butt doesn't touch so there shouldn't be a fall deduction
• This is a fairly strong American team, but you can definitely tell the difference between who trains with Zoueva/Shpilband and who doesn't
• They had the stumble in the middle and a bobble on the last twizzle sequence, but overall a much better performance than at Cup of China
• Why isn't their coach with them in the Kiss and Cry?
• SD Score: 26.21 (TES) + 24.38 (PCS) = 50.59

8) Federica Faiella & Massimo Scali (Italy)**
   Music: My Fair Lady

• I see they haven't shortened the dress that caused them to fall at Cup of China
• If they can stay on their feet, they should have no trouble winning this competition
• Some unison issues on their first twizzle sequence, she is not spinning as fast as he is and her leg is not as high
• They look good here in the Golden Waltz portion
• I really like this program, and they have well established characters and great theatricality
• Federica's costume is really growing on me
• Their free skate is spectacular if they can stay on their feet
• SD Score: 26.93 (TES) + 30.72 (PCS) = 57.65

Current Leaderboard:
Bobrova/Soloviev (Russia)                     60.80 

Faiella/Scali (Italy)                                57.65

Hoffman/Zavozin (Hungary)                   57.24
Gorshkova/Butikov (Russia)                   51.97 
Hubbell/Hubbell                                     50.59
Ilinykh/Katsalopov (Russia)                    49.14 
Mysliveckova/Novak (CZE)                     48.45

Paul/Islam (Canada)                              45.75