U.S. Nationals: Novice Compulsory Dance: Blues

1. Howe/Farmer: 14.12 TES + 14.44 PCS = 19.99
1. I really like the look of this team and they have great lines and make nice use of their long limbs by stretching through all of their movements
2. I think her dress is really elegant and is a nice color on her
3. They have good control over all their edge changes
4. The ending pose was a little awkward, but other than that it was nicely skated
2. Parsons/Parsons: 18.14 TES + 17.57 PCS = 25.00 and into 1st place
1. This team lacks some of the maturity of the first team but they also look younger.  The teams today range in age from 10 to 22.
2. I'd like to really see her stretch through her knee more in all these leg lifts
3. They have good speed and flow and good edge control on the ice
4. I really like his leg positions and his upper body carriage
3. Mancini/Brooks: 17.93 TES + 16.60 PCS = 24.17 and into 2nd place
1. I really like her dress and the way it moves when she skates.  It also is the most bluesy of the costumes we've seen so far
2. This team has great speed but I'd like to see her really straighten through her knees on all these leg lifts
3. This team gets really deep into their edges
4. Oi/Jahnke: 15.46 TES + 15.31 PCS = 21.54 and into 3rd place
1. This is one of the older teams in this field
2. They get great extension on their leg lifts and have great control over their positions
5. Pogrebinsky/Gudis: 16.73 TES + 16.07 PCS = 22.96 and into 3rd place 
1. I like how much she's using her arms in in the into to this dance but I'd like it to be more natural and not be so stiff and placed
2. They have great extension and control through all these leg lifts
3. There are a few places where she needs more extension through her knee and their legs are at different heights
4. Nice rotational lift at the end of their program
6. Deissroth/Mueller: 13.47 TES + 13.03 PCS = 18.55 and into 6th place
1. I'm not a fan of his pairs-esque costume
2. She really needs to straighten her knees through all of these leg lifts
3. They both look very tall but they're not really pushing through these steps and covering the ice surface they could and some of their moves are very small
4. She really throws in the personality here at the end of the program into their ending pose
7. Grant/Skala: 14.34 TES + 13.65 PCS = 19.59 and into 6th place
1. Good extension and control of their lifting leg
2. They have nice use of their arms even within the dance holds
3. There are spots when their legs are not the same height in the leg lifts
4. Nice rotational lift at the end of the program but I'd like to see them hold their ending pose a beat longer
8. DeMaria/Miller: 14.10 TES + 13.78 PCS = 19.52 and into 7th place
1. I'd like to see her have more of a real smile than the fake stage smile here at the top of the program
2. They have some nice use of their arms
3. They both have nice upper body carriage
4. Nice rotational lift at the end of their program and a good exit out of it
5. I like that they were one of the few teams to actually take bows at the end of their program
9. Schmucker/Munday: 15.34 TES + 15.19 PCS = 21.37 and into 5th place
1. It's nice to see one of the guys really getting into the performance
2. They both have nice height in their extensions but sometimes her leg gets above his
10. Moore/Klaber: 16.37 TES + 16.11 PCS = 22.74 and into 4th place
1. I like the way her dress moves on the ice but the pastel pink and orange colors don't really say blues to me
2. I love the way they skate with their whole body in the introduction to this dance
3. I'd like to see her stretch through her knees more in the extensions
4. I'd like to see them really push through some of these steps to cover more of the ice surface and get a little more speed and power
11. Jeandell/Dodge: 12.63 TES + 13.38 PCS = 18.21 and into 11th place
1. I'd like to see him work on his hands because he has a claw position in his beginning pose
2. They both were really into this program in the introduction to the pattern dance
3. They have great height on these leg lifts and nice control
4. I like the way they're using their arms in the holds
5. They have some height matching and timing issues through some of these leg lifts
6. She takes a stumble but he's able to pull her back into the program and they get right back into it
7. They can't sustain their ending pose and come right out of it
12. Hawayek/Bramante: 17.66 TES + 16.76 PCS = 24.09 and into 3rd place
1. I'm kind of in love with her costume and think the cut and color really suit her
2. For being one of the younger girls here, she skates with a lot of maturity
3. They have great control and extension through their leg lifts