US Nationals: Junior Free Dance

1. Glastris/Allison: 23.43 TES + 24.38 PCS = 47.81 Total: 84.02
1. They are skating to West Side Story and are currently in 12th place
2. Their first set of twizzles were nice but the second set was slow and off unison
3. Nice fast rotation lift with her in a hair cutter position
4. A nice position for her in the backwards straight line lift but he struggles to keep his back leg up
5. The Dance spin really showed off her flexibility
6. I feel like they don't have enough connection to the music or each other and she has a huge grin on her face which is nice but doesn't convey the complexity of the story
7. A nice straight line lift with him in a spread eagle position and her held parallel to the ice
2. Wojton/Soyfer: 23.91 TES + 23.19 PCS -1.00  = 46.10 Total: 82.95 and into 2nd place
1. They are skating to Triplets of Belleville and are currently in 11th place
2. She's in a rainbow brite costume
3. Nice twizzles
4. Rotational lift with her in a hair cutter position.  I'd like to see a little more innovation in the lifts since this position has already been used 3 times in two programs
5. They both really need to stretch through their free leg in these step sequences and extend all the lines
6. They seem to have difficult with the dance spin since she's taller than him
7. On the straight line lift at the end I'd like to see more speed from him and more core strength from her
3. Dzierzanowski/Dispenza: 27.93 TES + 22.38 PCS = 50.31 Total: 75.67 and into 3rd place
1. They are skating to Lola and are currently in 13th place
2. She's skating with her shoulders hunched forward through the first section and even in the holds in the step sequence
3. She needs to really extend through her leg when its lifted in the air
4. Decent dance spin
5. Curve lift with her suspended over the ice
6. Awkward music change with a fade in the middle of a phrase
7. Interesting lift with him in a spread eagle and her with her leg over his shoulder
8. They start out very far apart on their twizzles and on the second set their free leg is barely off the ice
9. Nice one arm hold rotational lift with her held away from his body
4. Buckner/Taylor: 28.35 TES + 26.10 PCS = 54.45 Total: 93.96 and into 1st place
1. They are skating to Grease and are currently in 10th place
2. I like that they've really tried to embody their characters not only in the costumes but the hair and makeup as well
3. This step sequence seems kind of slow with this music and she has a slight bobble in one spot
4. A nice change of position in their rotational lift
5. I'd like to see her arch her back more in the two positions in the combination lift and really increae the dramatic wow value of the element
6. I'd like to see them having a lot more fun through the Greased Lighting section and really turn on the performance
7. He seems very wobbly in the twizzles
8. Really slow dance spin and in the arabesque position their legs are crossing oddly
5. Olson/Cowan: 40.01 TES + 32.91 PCS = 72.92 Total: 121.12
1. They are skating to Zoot Suit Riot and are currently in 6th place
2. Nice rotational lift with a variation on the hair cutter position
3. She is such a performer and this piece seems to really suit her
4. This is a really nice step sequence with good changes of hold and nice difficult and variation in the steps
5. A nice curve lift close to the group and she has a nice position
6. Nice fast dance spin with good changes of position
7. Nice twizzles with good speed and good positions
8. Flip into a lift that goes around his head and changes position
9. A nice variation on a swing lift at the end with her going over his head and through his legs
6. Heritage/Fast: 32.40 TES + 28.58 PCS -2.00 = 58.98 Total: 103.24
1. They are skating to Come What May and are currently in 7th place
2. There are some really nice moments at the top of the piece
3. They aren't very together on their twizzles but they were executed nicely
4. Great entrance into their first lift and he hold her by her foot and swings her around.  I like that there was no big set up for the lift and it takes you by surprise
5. She needs to really get into her knees on the step sequence and make her steps bigger so it doesn't look like shes bouncing on the ice
6. They're traveling a lot on the dance spin
7. She also has a tendency to sickle her free foot which destroys the leg line
8. Nice arch in this lift with him in a spread eagle and a nice transition into the rotational lift with one arm hold
9. I'd like to see them really connect to each other in this piece because the choreography is really nice and they have some really nice elements but they don't really portray that they're a couple in love
10. A Davis and White esque lift at the end of the program
11. Not really sure what happened but they both fall to the ice at the end of their program and it takes them a little bit to get up
7. Gamelin/Gamelin: 34.28 TES + 35.44 PCS -1.00 = 64.72 Tota: 108.67 and into 2nd place
1. They are skating to Smooth and are currently in 8th place
2. Nice opening lift with her upside down and he in a spread eagle and I like that she adds a little personality to the lift with a shimmy
3. Nice fast twizzles with some difficult, interesting positions
4. Interesting dance spin variatiojns with good speed and centering
5. They tend to not have the cleanest transitions out of elements and I'd like to see them work on these
6. Nice split rotational lift
7. She needs to really stretch through her free leg to get it all the way straight
8. This program seems to really suit her as she performs it well and her body looks very natrual executing the elements
9. A very fun program and nicely done
8. McNamara/Carpenter: 32.59 TES + 30.60 PCS = 63.19 Total: 102.99 and into 4th place
1. They are skating to Charlie Chaplin and are currently in 9th place
2. They start off with their twizzles, both sets done on the same foot and good unison
3. Their first lift is a straight line with her extended out over his legs
4. Rotational lift in the hair cutter position
5. Some nice positions from them in the dance spin
6. They will be 12 and 15 next month--their programs lack a little of the polish of some of the older teams but they are very advanced for their age
9. Bonacorsi/Mager: 38.72 TES + 36.28 PCS = 75.00 Total: 127.39 and into 1st place
1. They are skating to Cuban Pete and Business of Love and are currently in 3rd place
2. Really great speed in their dance spin and nice positions
3. Good unison on their twizzles, they do 3 sets for the level
4. Good speed and flow through their step sequence
5. Nice one arm hold rotational lift
6. Great lift with her on one of his skates and almost laying on the ice
10. Aldridge/Eaton: 35.78 TES + 33.95 PCS -1.00 = 68.74 Total: 120.64 and into 3rd place
1. They are skating to Dramatico and are currently in 5th place
2. I love her dress and I like that their costumes match each other in terms of time period but aren't matchy matchy
3. Really nice lift with her over his shoulder and leaning back and he skating on one foot
4. They hop into thier twizzles and are very close together and have very fast rotations
5. She takes a fall on some transition movements and he has trouble getting her back up
6. They recover nicely into their next lift with him in a spread eagle
7. A nice one arm hold rotational lift
8. Some nice positions in their dance spin
9. They have some really nice edge work in their step sequences
11. Cannuscio/McManus: 35.36 TES + 35.25 PCS = 70.61 Total: 122.86 and into 2nd place
1. They are skating to Carmen and currently in 4th place
2. Nice opening lift with a good position change
3. Their step sequence goes really well with their music and they have some nice arm nuances that accent the character of their piece
4. Nice upside down variation of the hair cutter position for their second lift
5. Nice positions in their dance spin but they're a little slow, they have some really unique variations that are lovely
6. I love the contrast between the two step sequences and how well each one shows off the nature of the music
7. A nice one arm hold rotational lift near the end of their program
12. Lichtman/Copely: 39.57 TES + 37.48 PCS = 77.05 Total: 132.28 and into 1st place
1. They are skating to Beetlejuice and are currently in 2nd place
2. Really unique first position in their dance spin and I like that there's not a huge break before the change of direction
3. They have nice speed through their first step sequence
4. He stumbles out of the second set of twizzles
5. Flip into their first lift with a nice exit--one of the things I like most about Zoueva/Shpilband teams is that the entrances and exits to the lifts are always innovative and a highlight
6. This step sequence is really intresting in that they have varied steps
7. She's doing a needle in this lift
8. Haircutter variation around his body with fast rotations
9. This lift at the end is really neat and looks very difficult
13. Yang/Baker: 29.86 TES + 34.04 PCS -1.00 = 62.90 Total: 118.99 and into 6th place
1. They are skating to Windmills of Your Mind and are currently in 1st place
2. They have nice positions in their dance spin
3. She falls on their twizzles halfway through their first set and can't get up in time to do the second set, they'll lose major points on that
4. Flip into a nice spread eagle lift with change of position
5. One armed rotational lift
6. I find this music distracting--I almost wish they would cut the speaking voice and just use the instrumental
7. Nice attitude position in their next lift for her
8. She has really nice quality of movement and a very lyrical expression
9. I didn't really love this program but they have so much potential and so much talent that I think if they can find the right vehicle they could be pheonomenal