Ice Musings: Skate America Short Dance

Group 1

Hubbell/Donohue, USA: 24.65 TES + 25.06 PCS = 49.71

She is wearing an animal print dress with a cut out back
They are really throwing out the Latin dance moves here early in the program and their moves are really sharp
This season the teams must complete a non-touching circular step sequence, and there's looks really nice but they could have a little more closeness and mixing up of the pattern; there arms also could be a little more alike through the sequence
There is a few places in their Rhumba where there legs don't seem to quite match up but it's only a small difference
Lift with him in a spread eagle and she is leaning back over his leg
I'd like to see her have more extension through her free leg through the rhumba sequence
Very nice twizzles with the free leg extended straight to 90 degrees and a change of arm position within the twizzles
Very solid skate in their Grand Prix debut

Cannuscio/Lorello, USA: 21.43 TES + 21.62 PCS -1.00 = 42.05 and into 2nd place

She is wearing a black and white halter style dress with a feathery skirt
I would like to see her have a little more abandon at the top of the program and really relax into some of the movements
Their step sequence is very smooth with very nice unison
Really nice lift with him in a spread eagle holding her up by her stomach as she holds a parallel position
She needs to watch her free arm in some of the hold positions that it doesn't just hold a blade position
They could use a little better music editing in the middle of their program
He takes a bad fall on their first set of twizzles but catches right back up
A nice over the head kick to a rotational lift

Tobias/Stagniunas, LTU: 28.14 TES + 23.69 PCS = 51.83 and into 1st place

She is wearing a gold beaded costume with black illusion fabric in the middle of the dress
Nice hop into their twizzles--the second set slows considerably and they moved away from each other
They take the split rotational lift upside down with her bending over her leg away from him instead of over his shoulder--very different
They could use deeper edges and softer knees through this rhumba sequence and both could work on stretching through their free legs
Some of the spots in their step sequence seem a little slow and like they're working too hard

Paul/Islam, CAN: 19.57 TES + 20.93 PCS -3.00 = 37.50 and into 4th place

I like her elegant blue dress. It makes her stand out among the Latin sexy costumes
She takes an unfortunate spill on some of their opening steps and it takes them a bit to get back into their program
A nice flip around his head into a lift with him balancing on one foot as she leans back and a nice twist exit
They have nice lines through their rhumba and much cleaner edges than the first three couples
She is such an adorable performer and has a really nice smile
I like all the arm changes in their twizzles and they were very well timed
Their step sequence is really well put together with good speed and ice coverage and good unison but he puts his hands down during one part and she takes another fall
In their bonus lift I can't tell if there was an error as her feet seem to hit the ice randomly in the middle

Group 2

Ralph/Hill, CAN: 27.79 TES + 24.89 PCS = 52.68 and into 1st place

They are both in blue and she has some kind of bead headpiece hanging down onto her forehead
They have good power and ice coverage through their step sequence but they are really far away from each other, but they made nice use of transitions between their positions
Straight line lift with him in a lunge and she stands on his skate and arches backwards
Sort of a slow awkward entrance to their twizzles but their unison was good; they were slightly slow and she might have come out of the second set one rotation early
Their rhumba is not as deliberate and they don't show off each position the way the top teams will

Zhiganshina/Gazsi, GER: 29.14 TES + 26.52 PCS = 55.66 and into 1st place

She is wearing a black and red top that is cut to the midriff with a dark red wrap skirt
I like how nicely their lines match each other in the rhumba sequence
A little loss of unison through their circular step sequence
Nice jump entry into their twizzles with not a lot of prep, very good unison and nice distance between them
A little bit of an awkward moment in the middle--it seemed like their program was wrapping up and people began clapping before their second piece of music started up
Rotational lift with her in a hair cutter position

Pechalat/Bourzat, FRA: 29.51 TES + 31.56 PCS = 61.07 and into 1st place

She is in a green and yellow dress and he is wearing green pants
Lots of changes in position through their lift with flips and twists
They get very close to their boards in the rhumba; I like how they're adding their own flair to the arms
Very playful through their step sequence but I think she's trying too hard with some of her facial expressions and he takes a fall during the sequence
There are a few places in the rhumba that he is kicking his leg higher than hers
Good distance between them on their twizzles, it looks like she put her foot down a little early on the second set
She flips him backwards at the end of the program

Davis/White, USA: 34.19 TES + 36.19 PCS = 70.33 and into 1st place

She is wearing an orange dress with lots of sparkle and he is wearing his signature all black outfit
I appreciate that Marina and Igor have a matching tie and scarf
I love that she is performing well before the program starts
This is the first program that feels genuine and doesn't seem like they're trying to hard to be Latin
Their twizzles are very fast but seemed a little far apart
Their leg extension has really improved and they have great stretch through their free legs with nice toe point
I would like to see her do more with her free arm in the rhumba section to really get into the character of the program
Apparently Icenetwork decided that I needed to see an ad for the Rugby World Cup instead of the last half of their short dance..........................

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