Dance finals were magnificent. Davis and White’s free is a phenomenal rendition of Phantom of the Opera. I shuddered when I heard earlier this season that that was their music choice. It usually overwhelms the skaters. I shouldn’t have worried. I knew from the TV that it was a great program and it was even better in person. Belbin and Agosto were as great as always, but I kind of question their choice of music, esp in an Olympic year. It’s Ave Maria by Guilo Caccini and Amen from Rossini’s Stabat Mater. Yeah…I don’t know them either. They did it fabulously, but the music doesn’t reach into your gut and twist the way you want it to. Their FD score was very good, 106.60 to D&W’s 108.76, but it hasn’t got the audience appeal these two usually get. Anyway, third went to our little shit-kickin couple! YAY! Their long dance was very different, very beautiful, and earned them another spontaneous standing O. Fourth went to a great brother and sister team, Madison& Kieffer Hubbell. They s/b right in the hunt in the next four years.
Ladies went very well. Top three, Rachel Flatt, Marai Nagasu, and Ashley Wagner skated clean and exciting programs to spontaneous standing Os. Sasha sort of lost her jumps…looked to me like she was coming down with her toes pointed, which doesn’t work real well, and she gave up stupid level points on her spin and straightline footwork, but on the strength of her component score managed to hang in for pewter. The ringside moment for me was when Sasha came out to receive her medal and hugged each of the girls before taking her place on the podium. It was really cool. (OSG…did you get any of that? I hope I hope I hope.)
I hope, because the lowest moment for me tonight was taking my poor, dying camera out and discovering I’d left the memory chip at home in the computer. No pics from the Dance or Ladies final. Sigh. I’m sure I can get some online that are better than anything I was getting, but I like having my own. Ah, well.
We had a great time and made some lovely new friends: Hi, Jay, Hi, Judy!
Anyway…I’ll try and get some more of my reactions down before I forget them in the next few days, but I think we’re going to be cleaning house and taking down Christmas decorations tomorrow.
Ja ne!
