2012 World Figure Skating Championships: Ice Dance Qualifying Results

Pl.	Name	Nation	Points	FD
1	Elena ILINYKH / Nikita KATSALAPOV	RUS	92.40	1
2	Xintong HUANG / Xun ZHENG	CHN	79.69	2
3	Irina SHTORK / Taavi RAND	EST	79.17	3
4	Penny COOMES / Nicholas BUCKLAND	GBR	79.09	4
5	Julia ZLOBINA / Alexei SITNIKOV	AZE	77.80	5
6	Sara HURTADO / Adria DIAZ	ESP	76.26	6
7	Lorenza ALESSANDRINI / Simone VATURI	ITA	73.96	7
8	Danielle OBRIEN / Gregory MERRIMAN	AUS	71.37	8
9	Anna NAGORNYUK / Viktor KOVALENKO	UZB	70.88	9
10	Zsuzsanna NAGY / Mate FEJES	HUN	70.84	10
11	Gabriela KUBOVA / Dmitri KISELEV	CZE	70.39	11
12	Federica TESTA / Lukas CSOLLEY	SVK	68.42	12
13	Henna LINDHOLM / Ossi KANERVO	FIN	68.42	13
14	Alexandra ZVORIGINA / Maciej BERNADOWSKI	POL	68.29	14
15	Ramona ELSENER / Florian ROOST	SUI	66.29	15
16	Alisa AGAFONOVA / Alper UCAR	TUR	64.61	16
17	Ksenia PECHERKINA / Aleksandrs JAKUSHIN	LAT	62.15	17
18	Corenne BRUHNS / Ryan VAN NATTEN	MEX	61.11	18
19	Ekaterina BUGROV / Vasili ROGOV	ISR	60.81	19
20	Cortney MANSOUR / Daryn ZHUNUSSOV	KAZ	58.92	20
21	Barbora SILNA / Juri KURAKIN	AUT	57.78	21
22	Alexandra CHISTIAKOVA / Dimitar LICHEV	BUL	55.22	22
23	Lesia VALADZENKAVA / Vitali VAKUNOV	BLR	53.00	23

Pl.	Qual.	Name	Nation	TSS =	TES +		PCS +	SS	TR	PE	CC	IT	Ded. -	StN.
1	Q	Elena ILINYKH / Nikita KATSALAPOV	RUS	92.40	43.00		49.40	8.25	7.93	8.39	8.36	8.46	0.00	#14
2	Q	Xintong HUANG / Xun ZHENG	CHN	79.69	41.07		38.62	6.54	6.29	6.36	6.61	6.46	0.00	#21
3	Q	Irina SHTORK / Taavi RAND	EST	79.17	42.78		36.39	6.21	5.93	6.04	6.07	6.14	0.00	#23
4	Q	Penny COOMES / Nicholas BUCKLAND	GBR	79.09	39.49		40.60	6.82	6.61	6.79	6.82	6.89	1.00	#20
5	Q	Julia ZLOBINA / Alexei SITNIKOV	AZE	77.80	38.85		38.95	6.50	6.29	6.46	6.64	6.71	0.00	#19
6	Q	Sara HURTADO / Adria DIAZ	ESP	76.26	39.06		37.20	6.18	6.04	6.29	6.32	6.29	0.00	#22
7	Q	Lorenza ALESSANDRINI / Simone VATURI	ITA	73.96	36.50		37.46	6.36	5.96	6.36	6.29	6.43	0.00	#15
8	Q	Danielle OBRIEN / Gregory MERRIMAN	AUS	71.37	38.78		32.59	5.39	5.18	5.57	5.50	5.71	0.00	#13
9	Q	Anna NAGORNYUK / Viktor KOVALENKO	UZB	70.88	38.91		32.97	5.57	5.21	5.75	5.50	5.64	1.00	#12
10	Q	Zsuzsanna NAGY / Mate FEJES	HUN	70.84	38.34		32.50	5.57	5.29	5.46	5.46	5.36	0.00	#18
11		Gabriela KUBOVA / Dmitri KISELEV	CZE	70.39	38.71		31.68	5.46	5.04	5.39	5.32	5.32	0.00	#17
12		Federica TESTA / Lukas CSOLLEY	SVK	68.42	36.35		33.07	5.61	5.32	5.64	5.54	5.57	1.00	#8
13		Henna LINDHOLM / Ossi KANERVO	FIN	68.42	38.42		30.00	5.14	4.75	5.18	5.04	5.04	0.00	#6
14		Alexandra ZVORIGINA / Maciej BERNADOWSKI	POL	68.29	38.36		29.93	5.21	4.79	5.07	5.04	4.93	0.00	#11
15		Ramona ELSENER / Florian ROOST	SUI	66.29	34.43		31.86	5.39	5.07	5.39	5.36	5.50	0.00	#16
16		Alisa AGAFONOVA / Alper UCAR	TUR	64.61	37.56		27.05	4.61	4.39	4.50	4.68	4.43	0.00	#3
17		Ksenia PECHERKINA / Aleksandrs JAKUSHIN	LAT	62.15	34.99		27.16	4.96	4.14	4.71	4.54	4.46	0.00	#1
18		Corenne BRUHNS / Ryan VAN NATTEN	MEX	61.11	36.21		25.90	4.29	4.11	4.50	4.46	4.39	1.00	#10
19		Ekaterina BUGROV / Vasili ROGOV	ISR	60.81	33.31		27.50	4.68	4.43	4.54	4.79	4.57	0.00	#9
20		Cortney MANSOUR / Daryn ZHUNUSSOV	KAZ	58.92	34.13		24.79	4.25	3.82	4.29	4.32	4.18	0.00	#7
21		Barbora SILNA / Juri KURAKIN	AUT	57.78	31.64		27.14	4.61	4.32	4.54	4.64	4.64	1.00	#2
22		Alexandra CHISTIAKOVA / Dimitar LICHEV	BUL	55.22	31.20		24.02	4.07	3.86	4.07	4.14	3.96	0.00	#4
23		Lesia VALADZENKAVA / Vitali VAKUNOV	BLR	53.00	29.57		23.43	3.93	3.89	3.96	4.11	3.64	0.00	#5

2011 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating: Cup of China Free Dance

1) Charlotte Lichtman & Dean Copely (USA)
     Music: Austin Powers

• They were let down by their short, they want a strong free to make up for it
• Charlotte needs to be styled differently, the long ponytail is very junior-ish
• This is a great program to push their presentation skills, similar to Cabaret  from Chock/Zuerlein last season
• Solid twizzle sets
• Great straight line lift, keeping the character of the program
• This looks like a different team than I saw out there yesterday, much more confident-looking
• I love the rise and fall of the rotational lift
• They look pleased with that skate
• Does Austin Powers translate to China?

FD Score: 37.65 (TES) + 31.70 (PCS) = 69.35
Total Score: 40.26 (SD) + 69.35 (FD) = 109.61

2) Emily Samuelson & Todd Gilles
     Music: Stairway to Heaven

• I love Stairway but not this version
• Oh hello there Samuelson toe point, I've missed you
• That dress is 100 times more flattering on her than her short dance dress
• They're really lacking in speed, but they're so new together
• Great lift positions, we'll be looking for more seamless transitions as they get more time together
• Really strong curve lift, amazing strength needed form both of them for that
• I like the program as a whole, but I hate the singer 

FD Score: 34.05 (TES) + 32.05 (PCS) - 3.00 (DED) = 63.10
Total Score: 43.64 (SD) + 63.10 (FD) = 106.74

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

• She looks like Cathy Reed
• This is quickly becoming the new "Carmen" in the cannon of overused figure skating music
• I appreciate their aggressive approach to the piece
• That rotational split lift is interesting but she really needs to point the feet
• I like that legs over the head entry into the curve lift, that is different
• The fog is back!
• Technically it was fine, but their performance and lack of chemistry left me feeling cold

FD Score: 38.34 (TES) +36.70  (PCS) = 75.04
Total Score: 45.07 (SD) + 75.04 (FD) = 120.11

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

• Slightly mismatched free leg in the twizzles
• This is really slow
• Straight line lift-very labored position changes, barely hits the final one
• Really lost speed in the spin
• I'm not understanding the story of the piece, perhaps it is something cultural?
• That lift with the woman on her stomach over the man's shoulder is quickly becoming overdone
• Really ran out of gas at the end

FD Score: 33.57 (TES) + 33.66 (PCS) - (DED) = 67.23
Total Score: 48.36 (SD) + 67.23 (FD) = 115.59

5) Pernelle Carron & Lloyd Jones (FRA)
     Music: Jazz Night

• He is such a cutie, I just love it
• They remind me a lot of Tobias & Stagniunas
• Really slow twizzles
• He is the star of this team, must be a theme in French ice dancing
• That curve lift was fairly simple
• I really liked that rotational lift with him in a low position and her in a plank, innovative]
• She has nice upper body carriage
• Really fast spin and they keep that speed going in the position changes
• She gets her legs a bit tangled in the drop splits
• I feel like their losing the finesse right here at the end, it's gotten a little wild and out of control
• Needs some attention to detail, but really nice skate overall

FD Score: 38.19 (TES) +40.37  (PCS) = 78.56
Total Score: 52.41 (SD) + 78.56 (FD) = 130.97

6) Penny Coomes & Nicholas Buckland (GBR)
     Music: Viva Elvis Medley

• Belbin & Agosto did a great Elvis program as youngsters
• Those twizzles were all kinds of off, speed and positions were off
• Really quick in the position changes in the rotational lift, a little sloppy
• Nicholas Buckland is such a diva, he's the star of this team as well
• This program is really speedy but it is sloppy, where is the finesse?
• I don't like his costume, it looks like Ricky Dornbush's western free skate
• He lifts her like it is nothing, he'd be a really good pairs partner
• I don't know if it's the sound system or what but, this arrangement sounds horrendous on my end
• Oh wow, really hard fall from both of them right at the end out of a lift
• That program was messy, didnt' tell a story, did nothing for me overall

FD Score: 39.92 (TES) +39.58 (PCS) - 2.00 (DED) = 76.50
Total Score: 53.89 (SD) + 76.50 (FD) = 130.39

7) Maia Shibutani & Alex Shibutani (USA)
     Music: Glenn Miller Medley

• Maia is beginning to look like an ice diva out there!
• That is how you do a drop split
• I think Maia has grown a little taller this season!
• Great twizzle set as always
• Really great speed and footwork
• They pay close attention to every detail
• Their body positions and carriage have improved as well
• Maia does indeed have the vest red dress of the season thus far
• They have nice edge quality, could go even deeper
• Great rotational lift, same on they've done in the past
• Nice crisp ending pose, finished exactly on the beat and with one another
• If they don't win Gold, I hope they at least win the free

FD Score: 43.14 (TES) + 48.47 (PCS) - 1.00 (DED) = 90.61
Total Score: 57.79 (SD) + 90.61 (FD) = 148.40

8) Ekaterina Bobrova & Dmitri Soloviev (RUS)
     Music: Walpurgis Night

• Poor guy, he can't even see on that lift with her dress over his head
• Why are these costumes necessary?
• Good twizzle set
• She always looks hunched over at the waist, must be a good ab workout
• Her costume is just so distracting, the gloves don't help at all
• This program is fine, but nothing that exciting
• This looks like Russian ice dance of the 1990s
• I can barely stand to watch her pitch forward like that
• Doesn't she can skate into her knees without destroying her whole body  line
• Very awkward final lift, she gets stuck between his legs in he position changes

FD Score: 45.95 (TES) + 51.84 (PCS) = 97.79
Total Score: 65.73 (SD) + 97.79 (FD) = 163.52

2011 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating: Cup of China Short Dance LIVE BLOG

3:24 I'm anxiously awaiting the Live feed, let's hope icenetwork gets it together soon!
3:29 Emily and Todd look very cute, it's great to see Emily back on competition ice!
3:31 We have some wild and crazy costumes from Yu & Wang, where are the maracas?
3:31 I love Charlotte Lichtman's dress, Dean is in solid black as were all the other Zouva & Shpilband-coached me in the short dance
3:34 It seems Igor has traveled with the teams this weekend and Marina is at home

1) Emily Samuelson & Todd Gilles
   Music: Samba, Mambo, Samba

• I don't know how I feel about these costumes, I'd love to see at least a little color or sparkle
• Really nice positions on that straight line lift
• Fabulous toe point and straight leg lines from Emily as used to
• The leg lines are a little broken in the Rhumba sequence, the unison needs work
• Really slow twizzles, some unison issues
• This step sequence looks quite labored to me, they seem to be perhaps under conditioned?

SD Score: 22.51 (TES) + 21.13 (PCS) = 43.64

2) Xiaoyang Yu & Chen Wang (CHN)
   Music: Cha Cha, Mambo, Rhumba

• Nice twizzle sequences
• I'm going to have nightmares about these costumes
• Good speed and attack going into this Rhumba sequence
• They're improved from last season which is great to see
• Very good unison on the circular not-touching step sequence, but the speed could increase for my taste
• Slight stumble by her right before the end but she held on

SD Score: 27.58 (TES) + 21.78 (PCS) - 1.00 (DED) = 48.36

 3) Charlotte Lichtman & Dean Copely (USA)
   Music: Mambo No. 5, Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps

• I love these guys, they're so sassy
• This is a perfect example of Zoueva/Shpilband catering to each team's needs and making them stand out in what they do
• Nice smooth entrance into the 1st Rhumba sequence, good smooth edgework
• Good twizzle work, I appreciate how close together they are
• Charlotte is a little stiff in her upper body today, I'd like to see her relax a little more out there
• Slight stumble by Dean in the circular not-touching step sequence, that will effect the level 
• These guys look just a little bit nervous, understandable for their first Senior Grand Prix but it's been a solid debut thus far
• They look solid, nothing junior-ish about this program

SD Score: 18.79 (TES) + 21.47 (PCS) = 40.26

 4) Penny Coomes & Nicholas Buckland (GBR)
   Music: El Bess del Findl, Let's Get Loud

• They could stand to point their feet harder and really stretch through the free leg in the Rhumba sequences
• And here's our second "Let's Get Loud" of the day; how many more should I expect? I like the small detail work in the circular step sequence from the hand and head gestures to the shimmies
• Very odd ending pose, I couldn't tell if she fell or if that was the choreography

SD Score: 28.85 (TES) + 25.04  (PCS) = 53.89

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

• These costumes are killing me, my eyes!
• She bails a little early on the first twizzle set
• Her free arm is really stiff on this 1st Rhumba set, but their speed is nice
• I missed what happened, but it looked like a botched lift or something going into the circular step sequence
• Nice hydroblade move, I appreciate that people are still doing those, though this one wasn't the best I've seen by any means
• I think they're running out of steam here at the end
• Dramatic final position upside down
• That lift will receive zero points

SD Score: 21.73 (TES) + 23.34 (PCS) = 45.07

 6) Pernelle Carron & Lloyd Jones (FRA)
   Music: Mambo, Rhumba, Mambo

• Slight unison issue in twizzles, but decent speed
• She has a very nice free arm in the 1st Rhumba sequence, expressive and free-flowing
• Something about this program isn't really doing much for me, it's just not dynamic enough, a little flat thus far
• It begins to pick up a little more with the 2nd piece of music
• They're losing a little control in the step sequence, it's getting a bit wild
• I like they're energy, but they need more polish

SD Score: 25.35 (TES) + 27.06 (PCS) = 52.41

 7) Ekaterina Bobrova & Dmitri Soloviev (RUS)
   Music: Samba, Rhumba, Samba

• They have never looked like stars to me, I wonder how long they can honestly hold onto the top spot in Russia?
• Botched exit form the 1st twizzle set
• I love me some theatrics, but she is way over the top in her facial expressions, even for me!
• Their speed is good, but she is flailing out of control
• This program is very 1990s Russian ice dance

SD Score: 32.50 (TES) + 33.23 (PCS) = 65.73

 8) Maia Shibutani & Alex Shibutani (USA)
   Music: Batuca, Skip to the Bip, Jazz Machine

• I like Maia's new dress, much more mature than the old blue dress
• They look like a senior team
• Very quick footwork, precision is key
• That move where Alex flips her around with one arm has improved so much since Finlandia
• Perfectly matched leg line in Rhumba sequence 1
• Nobody twizzles like them, and they do the optional 3rd set
• They pay attention to everything, down to finger and head placements
• Very smooth and even speed throughout
• Maia looks much more mature this season, she is just carrying herself differently this season than at the start of 2010
• This is such a clean program, what a debut for the beginning of the season

SD Score: 27.71 (TES) + 30.08 (PCS) = 57.79