Canadian Nationals Dance Results

Senior Dance

Rank	Competitor(s)	Section	SD	FD	Points
1	Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir	WO	68.41	111.61	180.02
2	Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje	NO	68.27	106.26	174.53
3	Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier	CO	62.78	100.76	163.54
4	Kharis Ralph / Asher Hill	CO	58.92	88.59	147.51
5	Alexandra Paul / Mitchell Islam	CO	57.30	89.18	146.48
6	Nicole Orford / Thomas Williams	BC/YT	56.58	88.95	145.53
7	Tarrah Harvey / Keith Gagnon	BC/YT	53.87	83.54	137.41
8	Larissa Van As / Troy Shindle	BC/YT	38.52	71.28	109.80
9	Mélissande Dumas / David Mackay Perry	QC	39.40	66.82	106.22
10	Shanna René De Cotret-Laporte / Alexandre Laliberté	QC	42.60	63.42	106.02
11	Anoushka Ritchie-Hervieux / Philippe Massé	QC	39.02	66.13	105.15
12	Olga Lioudvinevitch / Benjamin Mulder	WO	38.37	66.12	104.49
13	Helene Letourneau / Kevin Boczar	EO	37.21	59.30	96.51
14	Jazz Smyl Joly / Nicholas Jesionek	AB/NT/NU	31.60	54.75	86.35

Nebelhorn Trophy Free Dance Results

Pl.	Name	Nation	TSS =	TES +		PCS +	SS	TR	PE	CC	IT	Deduction -	StN.
1	Madison HUBBELL / Zachary DONOHUE	USA	84.19	43.30		40.89	6.89	6.61	7.00	6.75	6.96	0.00	#14
2	Nelli ZHIGANSHINA / Alexander GAZSI	GER	82.63	43.51		39.12	6.71	6.36	6.57	6.64	6.39	0.00	#11
3	Kharis RALPH / Asher HILL	CAN	81.91	42.79		39.12	6.57	6.36	6.46	6.61	6.71	0.00	#10
4	Cathy REED / Chris REED	JPN	77.64	40.58		37.06	6.25	6.00	6.21	6.29	6.25	0.00	#12
5	Isabella TOBIAS / Deividas STAGNIUNAS	LTU	76.18	36.23		39.95	6.57	6.46	6.68	6.93	6.82	0.00	#13
6	Anastasia OLSON / Jordan COWAN	USA	73.58	39.49		35.09	5.86	5.64	5.89	5.93	6.07	1.00	#8
7	Sara HURTADO / Adria DIAZ	ESP	72.72	39.53		34.19	5.79	5.46	5.64	5.82	5.93	1.00	#6
8	Tarrah HARVEY / Keith GAGNON	CAN	70.86	37.56		33.30	5.75	5.21	5.71	5.46	5.82	0.00	#9
9	Kira GEIL / Tobias EISENBAUER	AUT	68.80	37.50		31.30	5.36	4.89	5.29	5.46	5.29	0.00	#7
10	Alisa AGAFONOVA / Alper UCAR	TUR	63.17	34.65		28.52	4.96	4.61	4.79	4.96	4.50	0.00	#4
11	Olesia KARMI / Max LINDHOLM	FIN	62.80	36.36		26.44	4.32	4.29	4.39	4.64	4.50	0.00	#3
12	Louise WALDEN / Owen EDWARDS	GBR	62.62	32.66		29.96	5.07	4.82	5.00	5.04	5.14	0.00	#5
13	Gabriela KUBOVA / Dmitri KISELEV	CZE	61.14	32.80		28.34	4.68	4.54	4.86	5.00	4.68	0.00	#1
14	Henna LINDHOLM / Ossi KANERVO	FIN	60.21	34.72		25.49	4.64	3.89	4.46	4.21	4.21	0.00	#2

FPl.	Name	Nation	Points	SD	FD
1	Madison HUBBELL / Zachary DONOHUE	USA	139.01	2	1
2	Nelli ZHIGANSHINA / Alexander GAZSI	GER	137.66	1	2
3	Kharis RALPH / Asher HILL	CAN	133.94	3	3
4	Cathy REED / Chris REED	JPN	125.54	5	4
5	Isabella TOBIAS / Deividas STAGNIUNAS	LTU	125.24	4	5
6	Anastasia OLSON / Jordan COWAN	USA	119.42	6	6
7	Sara HURTADO / Adria DIAZ	ESP	117.61	7	7
8	Tarrah HARVEY / Keith GAGNON	CAN	114.70	8	8
9	Kira GEIL / Tobias EISENBAUER	AUT	111.10	10	9
10	Louise WALDEN / Owen EDWARDS	GBR	106.45	9	12
11	Alisa AGAFONOVA / Alper UCAR	TUR	104.28	11	10
12	Gabriela KUBOVA / Dmitri KISELEV	CZE	102.09	12	13
13	Olesia KARMI / Max LINDHOLM	FIN	98.41	14	11
14	Henna LINDHOLM / Ossi KANERVO	FIN	96.46	13	14

Nebelhorn Trophy Short Dance Results

Pl.	Name	Nation	TSS =	TES +		PCS +	SS	TR	PE	CC	IT	Deduction -	StN.
1	Nelli ZHIGANSHINA / Alexander GAZSI	GER	55.03	29.85		25.18	6.25	6.18	6.25	6.39	6.36	0.00	#2
2	Madison HUBBELL / Zachary DONOHUE	USA	54.82	29.57		25.25	6.36	6.11	6.25	6.39	6.39	0.00	#4
3	Kharis RALPH / Asher HILL	CAN	52.03	28.00		24.03	6.25	5.96	5.93	5.89	6.00	0.00	#11
4	Isabella TOBIAS / Deividas STAGNIUNAS	LTU	49.06	23.77		25.29	6.36	6.18	6.18	6.39	6.43	0.00	#10
5	Cathy REED / Chris REED	JPN	47.90	24.43		23.47	5.86	5.82	5.93	5.96	5.79	0.00	#3
6	Anastasia OLSON / Jordan COWAN	USA	45.84	25.36		21.48	5.43	5.18	5.36	5.46	5.39	1.00	#9
7	Sara HURTADO / Adria DIAZ	ESP	44.89	25.15		21.74	5.32	5.32	5.21	5.71	5.54	2.00	#8
8	Tarrah HARVEY / Keith GAGNON	CAN	43.84	24.35		20.49	5.39	5.00	5.32	5.18	4.82	1.00	#1
9	Louise WALDEN / Owen EDWARDS	GBR	43.83	24.57		19.26	5.00	4.64	4.75	4.96	4.71	0.00	#5
10	Kira GEIL / Tobias EISENBAUER	AUT	42.30	23.72		18.58	4.86	4.61	4.64	4.64	4.50	0.00	#6
11	Alisa AGAFONOVA / Alper UCAR	TUR	41.11	21.64		20.47	5.14	4.96	5.11	5.25	5.11	1.00	#14
12	Gabriela KUBOVA / Dmitri KISELEV	CZE	40.95	22.64		18.31	4.75	4.39	4.57	4.68	4.50	0.00	#7
13	Henna LINDHOLM / Ossi KANERVO	FIN	36.25	18.51		18.74	4.93	4.46	4.75	4.68	4.61	1.00	#12
14	Olesia KARMI / Max LINDHOLM	FIN	35.61	18.27		17.34	4.57	4.04	4.36	4.39	4.29	0.00	#13

Canadian Nationals: Free Dance

1. Crone/Poirier: 50.08 TES + 48.33 PCS = 98.41
1. They executed a Level 4 Dance Spin, Level 4 Straight Line Lift, Level 3 Diagonal Step Sequence, Level 4 Twizzles, Level 4 Serpentine Lift, Level 3 Serpentine Step Sequence and Level 4 Rotational Lift with all positive GOEs.
2. Weaver/Poje: 50.83 TES + 46.71 PCS = 97.54
1. They executed a Level 3 Circular Step Sequence, Level 4 Twizzles, Level 4 Dance Spin, Level 4 Rotational Lift, Level 4 Curve Lift, Level 4 Straight Line Lift, Level 4 Diagonal Step Sequence, and Level 4 Rotational Lift with all positive GOEs.
3. Paul/Islam: 48.67 TES + 43.66 PCS = 92.33
1. They executed a Level 4 Rotational Lift, Level 3 Circular Step Sequence, Level 4 Twizzles, Level 4 Straight Line Lift, Level 4 Spins, Level 4 Rotational Lift, Level 3 Diagonal Step Sequence and Level 4 Curve Lift with all positive GOEs.
4. Ralph/Hill: 45.49 TES + 40.81 PCS = 86.30
1. They executed a Level 4 Spin, Level 3 Diagonal Step Sequence, Level 4 Reverse Rotational Lift, Level 3 Twizzles, Level 4 Stationary Lift, Level 3 Circular Step Sequence and Level 4 Straight Line Lift with all positive GOEs.
5. Harvey/Gagnon: 41.58 TES + 39.03 PCS = 80.61
1. They executed a Level 3 Circular Step Sequence, Level 4 Straight Line Lift, Level 4 Twizzles, Level 1 Rotational Lift, Level 4 Straight Line Lift, Level 3 Dance Spins, Level 3 Diagonal Step Sequence and Level 4 Curve Lift with no negative GOEs.
6. Arnold/Trojek: 43.16 TES + 35.43 PCS = 78.59
1. They executed a Level 4 Curve Lift, Level 4 Twizzles, Level 3 Circular Step Sequence, Level 4 Rotational Lift, Level 4 Dance Spin, Level 4 Straight Line Lift, Level 3 Diagonal Step Sequence and Level 3 Rotational Lift with no negative GOEs.
7. Dupont/Connolly: 39.17 TES + 28.17 PCS = 67.34
1. They executed a Level 3 Circular Step Sequence, Level 4 Dance Spins, Level 4 Straight Line Lift, Level 2 Diagonal Step Sequence, Level 4 Curve Lift, Level 3 Twizzles, Level 4 Curve Lift and Level 4 Rotational Lift with only one negative GOE.
8. Arrotta/Nickel: 34.34 TES + 29.61 PCS -2.00  = 61.95
1. They executed a Level 4 Spin, Level 4 Straight Line Lift, Level 3 Circular Step Sequence, Level 4 Rotational Lift, Level 3 Diagonal Step Sequence, Level 4 Curve Lift, and Level 2 Curve Lift with only one negative GOE.  They received no credit for their twizzles
9. Letourneau/Boczar: 34.07 TES + 27.28 PCS = 61.35
1. They executed a Level 4 Straight Line Lift, Level 4 Rotational Lift, Level 4 Twizzles, Level 1 Circular Step Sequence, Level 4 Combination Lift, Level 3 Dance Spins and Level 2 Diagonal Step Sequence with three positive GOEs.
10. Bissonnette/Chatham: 26.74 TES + 22.84 PCS = 49.58
1. They executed a Level 4 Straight Line Lift, Level 1 Circular Step Sequence, Level 2 Dance Spin, Level 3 Twizzles, Level 4 Curve Lift, Level 1 Diagonal Step Sequence, and a Combination Lift with Level 4 and Level 1 sections with no positive GOEs.

Total Scores:

1. Crone/Poirier: 164.21
2. Weaver/Poje: 163.18
3. Paul/Islam: 153.90
4. Ralph/Hill: 143.57
5. Harvey/Gagnon: 135.95
6. Arnold/Trojek: 125.72
7. Arrotta/Nickel: 108.93
8. Dupont/Connolly: 108.66
9. Letourneau/Boczar: 100.91
10. Bissonnette/Chatham: 83.80

Canadian Nationals: Short Dance

1. Vanessa Crone / Paul Poirier: 35.17 TES + 30.63 PCS = 65.80
1. They received Level 3 and Level 4 on their Golden Waltz and executed a Level 4 Rotational Lift, Level 4 Twizzles and Level 3 Midline Step Sequence with all positive GOEs.
2. Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje: 35.09 TES + 30.55 PCS = 65.64
1. They received Level 3 and Level 4 on their Golden Waltz and executed a Level 4 Straight Line Lift, Level 4 Twizzles and Level 3 Midline Step Sequence with all positive GOEs.
3. Alexandra Paul / Mitchell Islam: 33.70 TES + 28.40 PCS = 61.57
1. They received Level 4 and Level 2 on their Golden Waltz and executed Level 4 Twizzles, a Level 4 Rotational Lift and Level 3 Midline Step Sequence with all positive GOEs.
4. Kharis Ralph / Asher Hill: 31.58 TES + 25.69 PCS = 57.27
1. They received Level 3 and Level 4 on their Golden Waltz and executed a Level 3 Rotational Lift, Level 4 Twizzles, and Level 3 Midline Step Sequence with all positive GOEs.
5. Tarrah Harvey / Keith Gagnon 30.17 TES + 25.17 PCS = 55.34
1. They received two Level 3s on their Golden Waltz and executed a Level 2 Midline Step Sequence, Level 4 Curve Lift, and Level 4 Twizzles with all positive GOEs.
6. Sarah Arnold / Justin Trojek: 23.99 TES + 23.14 PCS = 47.13
1. They received Level 1 and Level 3 for their Golden Waltz and executed a Level 2 Midline Step Sequence, Level 4 Twizzles, and a Level 4 Rotational Lift with two positive GOEs.
7. Alexa-Marie Arrotta / Martin Nickel: 26.75 TES + 20.23 PCS = 46.98
1. They received Level 2 and Level 3 for their Golden Waltz and executed Level 4 Twizzles, Level 3 Midline Step Sequence, and Level 4 Rotational Lift with two positive GOEs.
8. Audrey Dupont / Marcus Connolly: 24.25 TES + 17.07 PCS = 41.32
1. They received a Level 2 and a Level 3 on their Golden Waltz and executed a Level 4 Rotational Lift, Level 4 Twizzles and Level 2 Midline Step Sequence with one postive GOE.
9. Helene Letourneau / Kevin Boczar 21.24 TES + 18.32 PCS = 39.56
1. They received a Level 1 and a Level 3 on their Golden Waltz and executed Level 4 Twizzles, Level 3 Midline Step Sequence and Level 1 Rotational Lift with one positive GOE.
10. Anne Chloe Bissonnette / Dylan Lockey Chatham 19.61 TES + 14.61 PCS = 34.22
1. They received Level 3 and Level 2 on their Golden Waltz and they executed a Level 4 Rotational Lift, Level 1 Twizzles and Level 2 Midline Step Sequence with one positive GOE.

Canadian Nationals: Dance Preview

Canada has 3 spots at 4 Continents and 3 spots at the World Championships.

NOTE: Virtue and Moir announced on January 17th that they will not compete at nationals.  They still plan to compete at Four Continents and Worlds. 
If Virtue and Moir do decide to compete, I don't think they'll have any problem taking gold here.  Crone and Poirier haven't been able to come close to Davis and White's scores and Virtue/Moir had a 40 point lead over Crone/Poirier at nationals last season.  I don't expect the gap to be that big this year, but even out of shape I think they'll win.  They are very genuine in their performances and their program components alone should keep them ahead.

I'm not crazy about Crone/Poiriers short dance but they've been receiving acclaim for their free dance this season.  They won two Grand Prix medals and won a medal at the Grand Prix Final for the first time.  There will be a battle for the silver medal, but I think they have the edge based on their results this season.

Weaver and Poje are one of my favorite teams and I adore their short dance.  There seems to be something off about their free dance and while it's entertaining, it doesn't seem to suit them as well as their elegant short dance.  I think they can pull off the upset and beat Crone and Poirier if they've worked on their free dance.  I think they're also hungry to pull off the upset, having lost out on going to the Olympics by only .30 last season.

Ralph/Hill and Paul/Islam will likely battle it out for 4th place.  Ralph and Hill have some decent programs but still come off a bit junior.  I think the edge goes to Paul and Islam.  They've been called Virtue and Moir 2.0 and their free dance is enchanting.  While I like their short dance, the judges don't seem to and they had a disastrous outing at their second Grand Prix and had to withdraw due to injury.  If they're back to top form, they should finish 4th here.

The teams:

Dupont/Connolly: They qualified with a 4th place finish at Challenge.

Letourneau/Boczar: They qualified with a 3rd place finish at Challenge.  They finished 13th at nationals last season.

Bissonnette/Chatham: They qualified with a 5th place finish at Challenge.

Harvey/Gagnon: They finished 5th in their last international assignment at JGP Golden Lynx 2008.  They qualified with a 2nd place finish at Challenge.  They finished 6th at nationals last season. 

Arrotta/Nickel: They finished 4th as juniors at nationals last season.

Paul/Islam: They are the reigning World Junior silver medalists.  They finished 4th at Skate Canada and withdrew from Cup of Russia.  They are the reigning junior national champions.

Arnold/Trojek: They finished 7th at Skate Canada.  They finished 10th at nationals last season.

Ralph/Hill: Ralph and Hill placed 6th at the Four Continents Championships.  They finished 7th at Cup of China and 6th at Trophee Eric Bompard.  They are the 2008 junior national champions.  They qualified with a 1st place finish at Challenge.  Their best finish at nationals was last season when they placed 4th.

Weaver/Poje: Weaver and Poje are the reigning Four Continents champions.  They are the 2007 World Junior Bronze Medalists.  They finished 5th at the Grand Prix Final after winning silver at NHK Trophy and finishing 4th at Skate America.  They are the 2007, 2009 and 2010 national bronze medalists and 2008 national silver medalists.

Crone/Poirier: They finished 14th at the Olympics and 7th at the World Championships.  They won bronze at the Grand Prix Final after winning gold at Skate Canada and silver at Skate America.  They are the 2007 junior national champions.  They are the 2009 and 2010 national silver medalists.

Virtue/Moir: Virtue and Moir are the reigning Olympic and World Champions.  They sat out the Grand Prix season due to injury.  They are the 2006 World Junior Champions.  They are the 2006 and 2007 Four Continents Bronze medalists, 2009 silver medalists, and 2008 champions.  They are the 2009 World Bronze medalists and 2008 silver medalists.  They are the 2004 national junior champions, 2006 national bronze medalists and 2007 national silver medalists.  They are competing for their 4th consecutive national title.

Cup of China Short Dance

1. Isabella Cannuscio/Ian Lorello, USA

•  This is a great piece of music (Piano Man) and they really grab your attention from the beginning
• I think Isabella throws her head a little too much in some of the transitions
• Simple but elegant rotational lift at the top of the routine
• Nice jump into the twizzles for extra points and a difficult twizzle sequence without a step in between the twizzles
• Sometimes it looks like his arm positions are too high for her to grab
• Nice step sequence on the music change but their edges could be a little deeper
• Golden Waltz looked a little clunky and they didn't cleanly hit all the positions
• Her leg could be more parallel to the ice in the shoot the duck position
• The over the head lift into the rotational lift looked labored here but should be nice with a bit more practice
• The back walkover into the ending pose needed straight knees from her and made getting into the ending pose difficult
• Overall a good program from a young team.  They have some nice elements but have room to improve.

Xueting Guan/Meng Wang, CHN

• She drops her foot in the first set of twizzles so they may lose a level there
• She could use crisper positions and more extension through her legs in the Golden Waltz
• Pretty but simple rotational lift with a change of position
• I like where the footwork is placed musically but she leans forward too much during it and needs to work on her arm positions
• Nice lift where he swings her at different heights--something I haven't seen before
• Ending pose hit right on music

Xiayang Yu/Chen Wang, CHN:

•  She doesn't quite get her foot in between his on some of the turns in the Golden Waltz which is required
• Her arms look very placed and there isn't a lot of flow between movements
• She needs to keep her knee high through the whole attitude section
• Good speed through the Golden Waltz--there are places where they seem to float through it and it would be great if all the sections had that same quality
• Twizzles were solid and they did the third set for extra points on levels and grade of execution
• She needs more arch in her back on the rotational lift and I'd like to see her grab her foot
• The transition into the tango is still awkward and doesn't seem to go with the music
• Step sequence is together but feels a little slow and I really want them to attack it
• Last lift doesn't do much for me and she kind of flops back down on the ice
• I think they performed here much better than at NHK Trophy

Nora Hoffman/Maxim Zavozin, HUN

• I love the color of her dress, how it looks and the way it moves when she skates
• Great speed and coverage of the ice in the midline step sequence
• I love the way she uses her arms but some of the holds in the Golden Waltz could be more effortless
• Nice shoot the duck and attitude positions from Nora
• Awkward transition into the glide with her in a split position but once that gets worked out this could be a lovely move
• Fast twizzles but he doesn't grab his blade in the second set
• Her legs are in a really awkward position in the rotational lift but the entrance into the lift was nice
• This program had a lot of nice elements and I can't wait to see it progress

Kharis Ralph/Asher Hill, CAN

• These costumes are heinous
• She needs to really extend her free leg throughout her footwork 
• They really glide across the ice in the Golden Waltz, have great speed and nice coverage.  The use of her arms is the finishing touch on a lovely section.
• Great shoot the duck and attitude positions for Kharis
• Nice rotational lift but she needs to arch her back more; beautiful change of position
• Hop into the twizzles with some interesting arm positions, but they lost speed in the second set
• Midline step sequence is lovely but seems to lose a little steam midway through
• Death spiral into a dance spin into the world's most awkward ending pose

 Ekaterina Bobrova/Dmitri Soloviev, RUS

•  They start off with a bang and really grab your attention
• He almost falls out of his second set of twizzles but saves it
• The step sequence seems to slow considerably but shows off some great edges
• Great Golden Waltz sequence.  The steps go well with the music but I don't really like their song choice.  It's almost distracting
• LOVED the death drop.  It was really breathtaking.
• The rotational lift is fine but it's distracting to have her dress up over her head like that
• Loved this program.  Very impressed by a team I didn't know much about going into this competition.
• They received one deduction.  Will have to wait for the protocol sheets to see what for--likely an extended lift

Xintong Huang/Xun Zheng, CHN: 

• I really didn't get the beginning.
• Performed three sets of twizzles but their unison was off.
• They are making some awkward arm movements in their step sequence that must go with the story of the program (which I still don't understand) but are distracting from the actual steps.
• She doesn't get her foot between his on the turns
• Lift is fine but very simple
• Backwalkover to overhead lift and then he drops her between his legs and puts her down which is exactly as awkward as it sounds.  Also doesn't really look like a dance lift to me.

Madison Hubbell/Keiffer Hubbell, USA

• I love that they enter the ice in character
• Maybe we shouldn't kiss her shoulder if we're brother and sister
• Nice rotational lift with her leg in scorpion position and free leg fully stretched
• Good edges and positions throughout the Golden Waltz--she could be clearer about attitude vs arabesque positions
• He goes down on the footwork and she trips over him.  It takes them 5-10 seconds to get back into the choreography.
• Jump into the twizzles but he is significantly slower on the second set
• The fall plus the deduction (likely for an extended lift) really took the wind out of this team.  Their routine is good but I'm not sure it's good enough to compete with the other top American teams

Frederica Faiella/Massimo Scali, ITA:

• What a horrid costume for her.  Generally all white costumes past the knee do not work well with the white ice.
• Jump into the twizzles with great positioning and look effortless but he finishes before her on both sets
• Gorgeous Golden Waltz sequence
• He steps on her dress and can't get his skate unstuck
• Interesting lift but the entrance looked labored
• She's turning on the performance in the second half
• Awkward back walkover at the end of their program

Nathalie Pechalat/Fabian Bourzat, FRA:

• They are in performance mode the second their names are called
• Love the look up through her eyelashes she does on the first beat of the music
• Twizzles seemed clean and they did three sets
• It looked like she had a bobble on the midline step sequence
• Their Golden Waltz looks a little choppy and it seems as if they don't quite finish all their steps
• Nice lunge straight into the lift
• I'm not sure I understand why they have such a big lead over the Italians