2011 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating: Trophee Eric Bompard Free Dance LIVE BLOG

1) Sara Hurtado & Andria Diaz (ESP)

     Music: Tristan and Isolde

• I love her braid but hate the rest of this ensemble
• They are very athletically built skaters
• Nice speed in and out of the curve lift
• This is very 1990s ice dance, very high drama
• Interesting counter-balance move, the exit was very scary though, I thought he was going to tep on her head or hand or something
• He falls on the twizzle
• Interesting twizzle variations
• Kind of sloppy overall

FD Score: 26.71 (TES) + 33.33 (PCS) -2.00 (DED) = 58.04
Total Score: 45.71 (SD) + 58.04 (FD) = 103.75

2) Kristina Gorshkova & Vitali Butikov (RUS)
     Music: Tango

• These are equally heinous costumes, just as in the short
• They start right off with their dance spin
• Everything is very choppy and stiff
• Pretty good twizzle set
• I don't understand these costumes at all
• This whole thing is very messy
• Very slow through the footwork
• I just can't get into this program because nothing is crisp and clean, its all very muddled
• This high drama nonsense is very 1990s Ice Dance

FD Score: 34.71 (TES) + 35.00 (PCS) = 69.72
Total Score: 48.77 (SD) + 69.72 (FD) = 118.48

3) Xintong Huang & Xue Zheng (CHN)
     Music: Libertango

• Slight unison issue in twizzles
• A few awkward transitions the the big lift
• Some of their transitions are a bit strange
• Very slow in the dance spin
• That haircutter lift is very common, lacks creativity
• This program just isn't doing it for me today, there was no spark

FD Score: 38.03 (TES) + 37.95 (PCS) = 75.98
Total Score: 50.71 (SD) + 75.98 (FD) = 126.69

4) Madison Chock & Evan Bates (USA)
     Music: Prelude in E Minor by Chopin

• This is a very romantic program
• The technique and the connection between them has improved with every event
• She has fantastic upper body carriage as does he
• The height difference bothers me less and less each time I see it
• That lift with Evan in an arabesque is fantastic
• I still don't know if I like this muzak feel in the middle section
• Nice speed
• Same speed in and out of the straight line lift, very good
• They get way too close on the twizzles and Madi sits it down, too bad about that
• I love the speed and positions of the rotational lift
• Her upside down camel position is very nice in the dance spin 
• Aside from the freak twizzle fall, a very nice outing for them
• I'm obsessed with her hair, I have no idea how she gets it like that, its's very Romeo and Juliet

FD Score: 39.29 (TES) + 40.64 (PCS) -1.00 (DED) = 78.93
Total Score: 52.01 (SD) + 78.93 (FD) = 130.94

5) Elena Ilinykh & Nikita Katsalapov (RUS)
     Music: Ave Maria

• She always crosses herself going onto the ice
• They carry very nice speed
• I love how deep they get into the knees
• I'd prefer her hair down and flowing
• I really like the twizzles facing one another, it's nice visually
• Sometimes he looks really unsteady lifting her, but she's so small
• I love the position on that dance spin, but the speed is nearly gone by the end
• The pace is so fast, that they always look a little wild by the end trying to keep up
• I do believe that was better than at NHK though

FD Score: 37.65 (TES) + 44.50 (PCS) = 82.15
Total Score: 58.17 (SD) + 82.15 (FD) = 140.32

6) Anna Cappellini & Luca Lanotte (ITA)
     Music: La Strada

• This program was gorgeous at Skate Canada, if they just do it the same way
• This character piece looks lovely on them
• I love that headtap lift, it's very unique
• Very good speed throughout
• That hand in the crotch lift is just awkward all around
• That straight line lift takes so much strength
• Tanith lift, I don't know the man has any idea where he's going when she is right in his face like that
• They'll get very high marks for that skate

FD Score: 42.43 (TES) + 46.71 (PCS) = 89.14
Total Score: 64.62 (SD) + 89.76 (FD) = 153.76

7) Nathalie Pechalat & Fabian Bourzat (FRA)
     Music: The Feeling Begins, Passion, In The Garden

• Very nice opening lift
• I still don't htink that the costuming looks World Class, but I don't know how else you make somebody look like a Mummy
• He is fantastic, I could just watch him all day
• This is a very complete program, it tells a story from beginning to end and they carry the theme throughout
• I don't think you could get more of a contrast from thsi to Virtue & Moir
• All of the music goes together so well, nothing is choppy
• They  have fantastic speed, I think the home crowd is really propelling them and this is a piece that the audience can really get into
• And they end the way they started
• They loved that at home and they should be proud

FD Score: 47.33 (TES) + 50.71 (PCS) = 98.04
Total Score: 66.52 (SD) + 98.04 (FD) = 164.56

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

• They are the class of the field
• This piece is classic Virtue & Moir
• A little problem with that overhead lift, choppy transitions
• They make this look so easy
• Its so classic old Hollywood
• They take a lot of risk with these lifts
• Very nice, clean program
• They're very happy with that

FD Score: 50.96 (TES) + 55.79 (PCS) -1.00 (DED) = 105.75
Total Score: 71.18 (SD) + 105.75 (FD) = 176.93

Pl.	Name	Nation	Points	SD	FD
1	Tessa VIRTUE / Scott MOIR	CAN	176.93	1	1
2	Nathalie PECHALAT / Fabian BOURZAT	FRA	164.56	2	2
3	Anna CAPPELLINI / Luca LANOTTE	ITA	153.76	3	3
4	Elena ILINYKH / Nikita KATSALAPOV	RUS	140.32	4	4
5	Madison CHOCK / Evan BATES	USA	130.94	5	5
6	Xintong HUANG / Xun ZHENG	CHN	126.69	6	6
7	Kristina GORSHKOVA / Vitali BUTIKOV	RUS	118.48	7	7
8	Sara HURTADO / Adria DIAZ	ESP	103.75	8	8

Pl.	Name	Nation	TSS =	TES +		PCS +	SS	TR	PE	CC	IT	Ded. -	StN.
1	Tessa VIRTUE / Scott MOIR	CAN	105.75	50.96		55.79	9.32	9.00	9.43	9.46	9.50	1.00	#8
2	Nathalie PECHALAT / Fabian BOURZAT	FRA	98.04	47.33		50.71	8.39	8.11	8.61	8.71	8.71	0.00	#7
3	Anna CAPPELLINI / Luca LANOTTE	ITA	89.14	42.43		46.71	7.75	7.46	7.96	7.93	8.07	0.00	#6
4	Elena ILINYKH / Nikita KATSALAPOV	RUS	82.15	37.65		44.50	7.57	7.04	7.61	7.54	7.57	0.00	#5
5	Madison CHOCK / Evan BATES	USA	78.93	39.29		40.64	6.86	6.54	6.64	7.04	6.93	1.00	#4
6	Xintong HUANG / Xun ZHENG	CHN	75.98	38.03		37.95	6.46	6.07	6.43	6.57	6.25	0.00	#3
7	Kristina GORSHKOVA / Vitali BUTIKOV	RUS	69.71	34.71		35.00	6.21	5.46	5.89	5.93	5.86	0.00	#2
8	Sara HURTADO / Adria DIAZ	ESP	58.04	26.71		33.33	5.68	5.25	5.50	5.93	5.61	2.00	#1

2011 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating: Trophee Eric Bompard Short Dance LIVE BLOG

1) Madison Chock & Evan Bates (USA)
   Music: Chick Chick Boom, Doom Diggy Diggy

• This opening section has smoothed out a lot since they debuted at Finlandia
• Good twizzle set, I'm impressed their timing is so on in their debut season
• Madison's facial expressions are the best
• They are nice and close in the holds
• Their speed has improved drastically
• Their connection to one another is so much stronger than it was earlier in the season
• That straight line lift is fantastic, great position changes
• This music is very well edited, no strange cuts between pieces
• Very specific hand gestures in the step sequence
• Very nice dance from them!

SD Score: 26.15 (TES) + 15.86 (PCS) = 52.01

2) Sara Hurtado & Andria Diaz (ESP)
   Music: Mas Que Nada, Magdalenha

• My eyes, these costumes!
• She does not have large hips, but that costume is doing her no favors in that area
• The headpiece is too much
• The costumes distract from the actual skating
• That straight line counter balance lift was very cool
• I'm having trouble focusing on anything but the costumes
• She goes down to her knees right before the end, he pulls her up
• That was a decent program, but unfortunately I hardly watched the skating

SD Score: 23.28 (TES) + 23.43 (PCS) -1.00 (DED) = 45.71

3) Kristina Gorshkova & Vitali Butikov (RUS)
   Music: Rhumba, ChaCha

• Did she borrow this costume from Alena Leonova?
• I love that twizzle variation
• They have nice speed
• Very flamboyant gestures to match the costumes and the music
• Again, these over the top costumes pull my focus and keep me from paying my full attention to the skating

SD Score: 24.72 (TES) + 24.05 (PCS) = 48.77

4) Xintong Huang, Xun Zheng (CHN)
   Music: Mambo, Rhumba, Samba

• This costume is bad too, but I'm almost slightly used to it because I saw it in China
• She was slightly behind on the twizzles
• Nice positions in the lift
• Good speed throughout
• I love a good hydroblade move
• The choreography in the step sequence fits the music quite well
• Love the ending, but is that necessary?

SD Score: 26.43 (TES) + 24.28 (PCS) = 50.71

5) Elena Ilinykh & Nikita Katsalapov (RUS)
   Music: HipHip ChinChin, Mas Que Nada, Mujer Latina

• I wonder how Virtue & Moir feel about hearing this music when they're not out there skating to it
• They look so nice together 
• She has her stank face on
• I love this opening section
• Their twizzles look better than usual today
• I feel like I want them to be so much better than they actually are
• The pace of this music is almost too fast for them to keep up with it without looking wildly out of control
• Nice rotational lift, but sloppy exit

SD Score: 27.78 (TES) +30.39 (PCS) = 58.17

6) Anna Cappellini & Luca Lanotte (ITA)
   Music: Volveras, El Chupacapra

• Not as fast as other teams, but very clean synchronized twizzles
• Very smooth through the rhumba, very clean edge work, oops there's some snow!
• She pulls her face as well as anybody
• I love that even though she is such a diva, he still stands out too

SD Score: 33.78 (TES) + 30.84 (PCS) = 64.62

7) Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir (CAN)
   Music: HipHip Chin Chin, Temptation, Mujer Latina

• This is the real HipHip Chin Chin
• Is this opening section different?
• So much speed going into the 1st rhumba sequence
• Just a hair off from one another on the twizzles
• I wish they'd bring a little more heat
• Scott is totally the star of this team
• Amazing curve lift
• I'd like to see more face from Tessa
• outstanding footwork section
• For some reason I feel like she's not giving 100% today, not sure why I feel that way

SD Score: 34.64 (TES) + 36.54 (PCS) = 71.18

8) Nathalie Pechalat & Fabian Bourzat (FRA)
   Music: Mas Que Nada, Batacuda, Real in Rio

• Huge applause from the home crowd
• I like this short dance a lot because it's different from a lot of the others
• They look a little wobbly on this rhumba sequence
• Fabian's kick over her head was a little rough looking
• Nice shimmy at the end of the twizzles
• I totally forgot about his back walkover
• They are pleased, and to do it at home!

SD Score: 33.43 (TES) + 33.09 (PCS) = 66.52

Pl.	Name	Nation	Points	SD	FD
1	Tessa VIRTUE / Scott MOIR	CAN	71.18	1
2	Nathalie PECHALAT / Fabian BOURZAT	FRA	66.52	2
3	Anna CAPPELLINI / Luca LANOTTE	ITA	64.62	3
4	Elena ILINYKH / Nikita KATSALAPOV	RUS	58.17	4
5	Madison CHOCK / Evan BATES	USA	52.01	5
6	Xintong HUANG / Xun ZHENG	CHN	50.71	6
7	Kristina GORSHKOVA / Vitali BUTIKOV	RUS	48.77	7
8	Sara HURTADO / Adria DIAZ	ESP	45.71	8

Pl.	Name	Nation	TSS =	TES +		PCS +	SS	TR	PE	CC	IT	Ded. -	StN.
1	Tessa VIRTUE / Scott MOIR	CAN	71.18	34.64		36.54	9.00	8.93	9.18	9.21	9.29	0.00	#7
2	Nathalie PECHALAT / Fabian BOURZAT	FRA	66.52	33.43		33.09	8.36	7.89	8.39	8.36	8.32	0.00	#8
3	Anna CAPPELLINI / Luca LANOTTE	ITA	64.62	33.78		30.84	7.54	7.36	7.86	7.79	7.93	0.00	#6
4	Elena ILINYKH / Nikita KATSALAPOV	RUS	58.17	27.78		30.39	7.64	7.32	7.64	7.75	7.61	0.00	#5
5	Madison CHOCK / Evan BATES	USA	52.01	26.15		25.86	6.57	6.11	6.54	6.50	6.54	0.00	#1
6	Xintong HUANG / Xun ZHENG	CHN	50.71	26.43		24.28	6.25	5.79	6.04	6.39	5.89	0.00	#4
7	Kristina GORSHKOVA / Vitali BUTIKOV	RUS	48.77	24.72		24.05	6.14	5.82	6.07	6.11	5.93	0.00	#3
8	Sara HURTADO / Adria DIAZ	ESP	45.71	23.28		23.43	5.82	5.64	5.89	5.96	5.93	1.00	#2

2011 Trophee Eric Bompard: Ice Dance Preview

Ice Dance is the headlining event at Trophee Eric Bompard as it is the France's best chance of winning a medal. This is a strong field, 4 of the 8 having medaled on the Grand Prix this season thus far. The short dance wraps up the short programs this Friday November 18th at 2:00 p.m. EST and the free is the final event of the competition on Saturday November 19th at 2:30 p.m. EST.

Olympic champs Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir (CAN) are the clear favorites in this event, hands down. They won't face serious competition until they meet Davis & White at the Grand Prix Final. Their programs this season are nice, but the're safe, while some of the up and coming teams are taking risks. One of the risk-taking teams is Natalie Pechalat & Fabian Bourzat (FRA), the home favorites and likely Silver medalists. Their short dance is very fun, very Carnaval, but their Egyptian-themed free, though technically exquisite, is a bit garish. I commend them for verging into new territory, but their over the top Halloween-looking costumes just aren't World Class. Bronze will be a tight race between two teams that already have Bronze medals from their first Grand Prix of the season, Anna Cappellini & Luca Lanotte (ITA) and Elena Ilinykh & Nikita Katsalapov (RUS). Both teams have great sets of programs, very different in nature, but the Italians have about a 5 point advantage over the Russians when comparing scores from their first events. It's difficult to compare across events sometimes, but the Italians were cleaner overall. Madison Chock & Evan Bates (USA) were a last minute substitution and though they likely won't medal here, they look to improve their scores and overall performance at each competition with the hope of medaling at US Nationals in January and qualifying for Worlds.

My Podium Predictions:

1) Virtue & Moir (CAN)

2) Pechalat & Bourzat (FRA)

3) Cappellini & Lanotte (ITA)

Competitive History:

Anna Cappellini & Luca Lanotte (ITA)-3rd at 2011 Skate Canada, 8th 2011 Worlds, 1st 2011 Mont Blanc Trophy, 5th 2010 NHK Trophy, 2nd 2010 Nebelhorn Trophy; PB: 154.87 at 2011 Worlds

Madison Chock & Evan Bates (USA)-4th at 2011 Skate Canada, 3rd 2011 Finlandia Trophy; PB: 136.88 at 2011 Finlandia Trophy

Kristina Gorshkova & Vitali Butikov (RUS)-5th 2011 Finlandia Trophy, 1st 2011 Winter Universiade, 2nd 2010 Golden Spin, 4th 2010 Cup of Russia, 6th 2010 Skate Canada, 3rd 2010 Finlandia Trophy, 3rd 2010 Mont Blanc Trophy; PB: 127.47 at 2010 Rostelecom Cup

Xintong Huang & Xun Zheng (CHN)-5th at 2011 Cup of China, 17th 2011 Worlds, 6th 2011 Four Continents, 1st 2011 Asian Winter Games, 5th 2010 Trophee Eric Bompard, 5th 2010 Cup of China; 130.29 at 2011 Four Continents

Sara Hurtado & Andria Diaz (ESP)-7th 2011 Nebelhorn Trophy, 23rd 2011 Worlds, 15th 2011 Europeans, 3rd 2011 Bavarian Open, 4th 2011 Winter Universiade, 11th 2010 Golden Spin, 8th 2010 Junior NRW Trophy, 5th 2010 JGP Germany, 10th 2010 JGP England; PB: 120.411 at 2011 World Juniors 

Elena Ilinykh & Nikita Katsalapov (RUS)-3rd at 2011 NHK Trophy, 7th 2011 Worlds, 4th 2011 Europeans, 3rd 2010 Rostelecom Cup, 4th 2010 NHK Trophy; PB: 154.50 at 2011 Worlds 

Nathalie Pechalat & Fabian Bourzat (FRA)-2nd at 2011 Skate America, 4th 2011 Worlds, 1st 2011 Europeans, 2nd 2010 Grand Prix Final, 1st 2010 Trophee Eric Bompard, 1st 2011 Cup of China, 1st 2010 Finlandia Trophy, 1st 2010 Nebelhorn Trophy; PB: 167.40 at 2011 Europeans

Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir (CAN)-1st at 2011 Skate Canada, 1st 2011 Finlandia Trophy, 2nd 2011 Worlds, 1st 2010 Worlds, 1st 2010 Winter Olympics; PB: 181.79 at 2011 Worlds 

2011 Finlandia Trophy: Short Dance Results

Pl.	Name	Nation	TSS =	TES +		PCS +	SS	TR	PE	CC	IT	Deduction -	StN.
1	Tessa VIRTUE / Scott MOIR	CAN	68.74	33.10		35.64	8.80	8.65	8.90	8.95	9.15	0.00	#8
2	Maia SHIBUTANI / Alex SHIBUTANI	USA	58.45	28.00		30.45	7.70	7.60	7.75	7.55	7.50	0.00	#3
3	Madison CHOCK / Evan BATES	USA	53.91	25.90		28.01	6.90	7.00	6.95	7.15	7.00	0.00	#1
4	Charlene GUIGNARD / Marco FABBRI	ITA	51.05	26.00		25.05	6.15	6.20	6.35	6.30	6.30	0.00	#7
5	Kristina GORSHKOVA / Vitali BUTIKOV	RUS	49.68	28.10		21.58	5.60	5.30	5.45	5.40	5.25	0.00	#5
6	Tanja KOLBE / Stefano CARUSO	GER	43.71	23.90		19.81	4.95	5.00	4.90	4.90	5.00	0.00	#4
7	Olesia KARMI / Max LINDHOLM	FIN	40.31	23.30		17.01	4.40	4.10	4.35	4.15	4.25	0.00	#6
8	Nadezhda FROLENKOVA / Mikhail KASALO	UKR	38.91	21.80		18.11	4.75	4.45	4.60	4.40	4.45	1.00	#10
9	Henna LINDHOLM / Ossi KANERVO	FIN	37.22	20.60		17.62	4.50	4.25	4.60	4.40	4.30	1.00	#2
10	Kira GEIL / Tobias EISENBAUER	AUT	36.62	20.74		15.88	4.05	4.00	4.10	3.90	3.85	0.00	#9

Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir (CAN) 68.74

Maia Shibutani & Alex Shibutani (USA) 58.45

Madison Chock & Evan Bates (USA) 53.91