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!
I was happy with all of the disciplines this season :^)
The top ladies impressed me, other than Sasha. I can’t figure what happens to her in the long programs! I’d really like to have seen her demonstrate that 25 is far from too old to be competitive. I’d also like her to demonstrate, some day, that she can choose music that shows a but more imagination. Good grief. Moonlight Sonata? However, I confess I’m glad she didn’t take one of the Olympics spots. WIth the lovely talent of the other top ladies, it would have been a shame to leave Flatt or Nagasu at home next month. I’d have reversed the order to the top two, but I’m glad they are both on the team. I really wish there’d been room for #3 as well–she delighted me. Rachel Flatt was wonderful in the short. The biggest problem I’ve always had with her was that she didn’t put a lot of personality into her skating. That short program was brilliant, and showed a facet of her we haven’t often seen on the ice. I wish a bit more of that had been allowed to show in her long.
I loved Davis and White. If they skate like this in Vancouver, they should have a realistic shot at that gold medal. However, I did *not* like Belbin and Agosto. I’ve always loved them, but this year they hit a giant clunker, IMO. First, their costumes were absolutely dreadful. Overwrought and messy. She looked rather like someone had stuffed a lot of mismatched, dirty rags into a bazooka and opened fire! And I hate “religious themed” programs–they are always pretentious and tedious. This one was no exception. I thought the choreography (and the performance) was flat and really lacking in nuance. The music was also poorly chosen, especially the “Amen” piece. With all the glorious religious music out there, surely they could have chosen better than this.
I keep trying to see if I can spot you and Carolyn in the crowd LOL! So far no luck ;^)
Although she’s said nothing, I really suspect Sasha was skating injured. She had problems earlier this season, had to drop out of the ISU comps that would have prepped her for Nats, and I don’t think that was “faked, not the incredible shape she’s in now. She was serious about a comeback. But her practice sessions were kept very minimal and her warm up before both short and long was non-existent, comprised of going through it mentally but without the jumps, or just gloriously beautiful singles or doubles, tho not many of those. She landed all her triple jumps in practice stunningly, but only a couple of times each, and there was much conferencing between her and Nicks. I think she’s pointedly making no excuses, but I think injury was at least part of it. And, maybe, an underlying feeling that, like you, these girls deserve their chance. I really think, from everything her peers say about her, that she might truly feel that way. Not that I’m implying she threw the competition at all, but skating is an incredible head game. And if you’ll notice, Nicks, at least before the short (I haven’t seen the coverage of the long yet) really doesn’t say much to her before she takes the ice. None of the pep talks most of the other top skaters are getting.
I agree, however, she’s had her time at the Os (As, frankly, have Evan and Johnny, but I won’t go there. There’s no denying they’re still fully capable of competing) and Nagasu can use the international experience. She s/b stunning come next Os. She’s still getting her luts and flip edges solidified. (I believe she got marked down for incorrect edge takeoff and a short landing or two, tho I haven’t been up to see her actual printout.) Sharon says there’s one Junior coming up (we missed them) that’s really something, but not much else at this point.
Frankly, I agree about B&A. (And about religious-themed music. I think that’s one thing that killed Johnny’s enthusiasm with his program in 2007.) Their OD is amazing, and I could wish they had a long to match it! The long works better in real life where you see the movement across the ice, but it’s by far my least fave of all their programs I’ve ever seen. It scores well enough, but it’s a real shame. They are so incredible and capable of so much more. And those costumes…eeewwww. I think those are supposed to be feathers on their arms! I mean…yuck. Angels? But they come across just, as you say, busy.
But, frankly, I think D&W’s two routines w/b hard for them to beat. They are the absolute best I’ve seen under the new scoring system…and they were only ten times better with the added dimension of flow across the ice. I think they get pretty much top value for level and GOE on everything. I never thought I’d see anyone skate to Phantom and like it, and this is just breathtakingly dynamic. Every nuance of the music is exactly punched.
Speaking of flow across the ice…I really wish the coverage would begin to give us an “overview” window. Do all their artsy stuff with the closeups, but give us one, stationary view to watch the program as the judges actually see it, complete with the entire arena. I never really appreciated Todd E until I saw him in RL and realized how stunning his rink coverage and patterns were.
Sheesh…I’m making another post here! :D
That would certainly explain a lot about Sasha’s long program. She’s always had trouble getting through a long program without losing focus somewhere and messing up a jump or two, but I don’t recall her ever having this much trouble. And Scott Hamilton remarked the moment she started her short program that she looked tight. Also, though this could just be due to the small number of exhibition performances they show to us, but it seemed like she was not part of that program, and no matter where she placed, I can’t imagine they wouldn’t have *asked* her to skate. If she were ill, it would explain why she didn’t skate. (Or maybe she did and we just didn’t get to see it :^( )
I’m kind of afraid Tanith and Ben have fallen victim to a syndrome I’ve noticed in some other dance couples who reach the top levels–a task which usually takes a long time. Sometimes they start thinking of themselves as Important Ice Dance Couples. And this leads to the belief that their programs–especially the free dance–must be Meaningful. And if they start to skate Meaningful, too often they give up skating Joyeous. That’s one of the things I found so impressive about Davis and White–as serious and emotional as the theme of their dance was, you never doubted that they skated every minute with great joy. I really hope Belbin and Agosto can recapture that feeling. I love them, and I was bitterly disappointed with this program :^(
Oh, and I hope they can find a new costume designer LOL!
Sorry, Jane — not surprisingly, my “ice-shots” are: 1) blurry,or 2) too far away to see much of anything, or 3) both #1 & #2. waaaa!
Ah, well. I’ll get you what I have…both from 2007 and this year. I’m sure we can find something onLine from Saturday. There were enough cameras going. Next time you get over here, would you bring your camera? I’ve got to get a picture of mine for the blog. It’s very sad. Toward the end on Friday, I was having to take the batteries out to reset it so it would take a picture. :*(
OMG I’ve been catching up on your/CJ’s/Lynne’s blogs, and I watched Davis & Whites’s “Phantom” free dance—INCREDIBLE! URL below, FYI :)
http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/assetid=2a4b1cc2-063e-411a-b389-c2fcb80a0c13.html#u+s+nationals+davis+white+free+dance