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Thursday, the 27th: OD and Men LP

Thursday was the only day at this event where we got up rather early, because I wanted to watch some OD practice. Luckily at this event none of my favorite dancers ever practices very early in the morning, so we had not get up at some ugly time like 5:30 like at Worlds. We saw the practice group with Israel and then the one with the Ukrainians and Grebenkina & Azrojan and Golovina & Voiko.

Afterwards there would be men’s practice, but since we had had no breakfast yet and we also were kind of sick of all the sweet breakfasts we had had at café’s so far (lots of croissants/brioches filled with chocolate or some kind of cream), we went to the nearby supermarket to buy some stuff. The rink only sold some packed in sandwiches (apart from sweets and cakes) that I found pretty disgusting, besides the snackpoint in the rink only opened about 1 hour before the competition, so you couldn’t get anything in the mornings. After we got back from the supermarket, there were a lot of security people and a police car standing next to the entry and we were told we can’t get back because of some security problem. Steffi at first thought there probably was some kind of security test or whatever, but we then learned that there actually was some kind of strike (as we learned by now, something about industry workers – from FIAT?! - demonstrating against some jobs being outsourced to the Iran, instead of keeping them in Torino) that also kept the skaters from entering from their usual entry. Luckily after about 20 minutes and after more fans had gathered in front of the entry, we were let in again and even more luckily Jamal Othman’s practice group hadn’t started yet, even though we certainly missed some valuable minutes of watching him warm up off ice :P

II don’t remember much about the actual practices, except for that I took a lot of photos of Jamal and I was surprised by Roman Serov’s (cool) LP music, because I don’t think he had that program at Skate America. Or my memory is really really really bad :P We also saw the 2nd best and best group of the men, but I swear I don’t remember a single thing :P

Original Dance:

Kauc & Zych opened the OD, their rhythms were Quickstep and Foxtrot and their music choices included “Steppin Out”. They had a nice Ballroom feeling and good choreography, but they need to improve their speed and they also looked very cautious with rather weak ice coverage.

I really liked Julia Golovina’s dress, pink flowers on a dark blue background. G&V also had Quickstep and Foxtrott. They were slow, but they skated with more attack and I also thought with more polish than Kauc & Zych. They executed their dance nicely, their lifts looked a bit labored maybe, but the step sequences were nice. Personally I don’t really see what was so much better about K&Z’s OD, but well.

I did not really like all of Pechalat & Bourzat’s music choices, but they were fast over the ice. They had some messy twizzles in their SLSS.

Grebenkina & Azrojan also had Quickstep and Slow Foxtrot, but they had a really strange music choice for the Foxtrot, it was a mood killer IMO and they weren’t light enough on their feet for the Quickstep. I really like this team (well I really like her), but I did not like this program and the fast rhythm was not good for them.

Gudina & Beletski’s OD looked really good for the first 20 or 30 seconds, until their SLSS, but then everything went totally wrong :( The SLSS was very messy and there were at least 2 moments that didn’t look right at all, then they fought on, but where lacking any flow and they did an awfully slow diagonal footwork sequence towards the end that nearly seemed to come to a complete stop after about 3/4 of it. I think their whole OD was probably the worst performance I’ve ever seen from a good dance team and it is really a pity, because they had looked perfectly fine in the morning practice run-through, I had really enjoyed that and was surprised how nice their OD looked live after I had not liked it on tape. I was into a million depressions for them and couldn’t concentrate on the next team properly.

Aureli & Vaturi skated well I think, but I had lost focus and then I also spotted Galit Chait warming up/watching them and got further distracted :P

O’Connor & O’Dougherty have a great music choice and a cute program, but they were not as impressive as at Bofrost and then this time I found the audience kind of distracting, those school-children were making so much noise (not noise in terms of cheering for the dance team, but noise in the sense of background noise, talking and stuff).

Janostakova & Prochazka had a fall on a spin, but I liked that they were light on their feet during their dance. Steffi was bothered by him being much stronger than her, but since I don’t really care how successful he is and I think she’s cute and nice to watch, they can keep skating together as far as I am concerned :P

Hoffman & Elek skated well, except for some shaky exit on the last lift. They had a lot of nice lifts and spins in their program.

The Keller’s were one of the few teams who used all 3 rhythms. They didn’t have much difficulty, but good flow over the ice and I thought their first rotational lift was interesting. Their Charleston was very cute, I enjoyed it. They have the same disadvantage as the Rauers had, they are very similar in height and barely higher than the rink border (ok that’s a tad of an exaggeration :P )

The Beiers had nice speed and flow in their OD and skated this program much better than they had at Bofrost.

Galcheniuk & Krupen had a shaky lift exit and were generally fighting a bit, but after having seen some practices and this OD, I can say that their programs definitely are a lot stronger than their Compulsory Dance. I liked that they had nice expressions and displayed musicality and they generally look good as a team, because they are both tall.

Grushina & Goncharov were clean and had good interpretation and choreography, but their step sequences keep being awfully slow. We had already noticed at the practice that directly before their SLSS he does some really strange posing, where he is bowing down and going in a circle, I don’t remember this has always been in the program???? It kind of looks like he has a stomach cramp or something more than anything else :P and it cracked us up; LOL.

Fraser & Lukanin seemed to look kind of shaky when I watched them, but I wasn’t able to pay 100% attention to them.

I think C&S were next, even though I don’t have their names noted down anywhere in my OD notes, LOL , but as far as I remember they skated before Denkova & Stavisky. I was very happy that they skated so well, I really like their OD, the fast rhythm is great for their energy and their execution of this dance is really polished. I’m glad they got a very good OD this year, after the one from last year had been a bit of a let-down.

I actually thought that Denkova & Stavisky didn’t skate that bad, there was some problem with their SLSS, but I thought their skate was better than at Bofrost overall. I still find their dance to look very messy in comparison to all the other top teams and they don’t interpret those rhythms well at all, I think they have the weakest program of the Top 5 teams overall.

I thought Domnina & Shabalin were very good and had a nice program, I really enjoyed them. Stefka and I were wondering how it is possible that the same choreographer came up with this nice well constructed and ballroom-ish OD AND Denkova & Stavisky’s program. I mean those rhythms might not be so good for Denkova & Stavisky, but still I think it should have been possible for them to have a better program from their choreographer, when Dom & Shab have such a good one.

Navka & Kostomarov were not perfect, they had a problem with the SLSS, but they were very fast and smooth and had much better flow than any of the other teams.

The Kerr’s were good, except for their last spin, it looked a bit slow and labored. Their OD is ok, but not as special as last years.

I thought Faiella & Scali had the worst costumes in the whole competition, I don’t like Massimo’s suit at all to begin with, but on top of that IMO it doesn’t go together with the color of Federica’s dress at all. They skated well, but I was disappointed with their program (had not seen it yet), the music choices were very boring and the dance itself not very interesting either, I just would have expected them to be able to do something more ballroom-ish and interesting with those rhythms. I also thought Dom & Shab skated better in the OD, faster and smoother, and I think in another country Faiella & Scali would have had problems beating Dom & Shab in the OD (in Russia I guess they will have problems anyway, LOL ).

Delobel & Schönfelder also don’t appear in my notes, but I know they skated somewhen behind Navka & Kostomarov and IIRC last. They skated well, but their movements looked a bit “small”.

Men LP

Paolo Bacchini landed most of his triples, even if he did a single axel again and a 2lutz at some point. He skated with a lot of energy, it was much better than the SP. The music (Pirates of the Caribbean) was nice and even though the program was a bit empty, I liked it much better than the SP.

Lukas Rakowski wore a black costume with some gold. He popped the loop, had a touchdown on 3f-2t and had a 2f (or t, can’t read my notes properly), but he also landed quite some stuff and overall I think he had more good than bad. His program was plain, but he had a nice style.

John Hamer’s “Lord of the Dance” LP was the first real highlight of the men’s LP, he doubled 3 jumps or so, but also landed some good triples. He had a cool and energetic SLSS and generally was very expressive and entertaining, especially when he did steps. He also did some moves with his Freedom blades again.

Vitaly Danilchenko skated to “Toccata & Fugue”. He only did a 2axel first, but managed a 3axel later, however he had lots of other problems in his skate: 3l step out, 3f touch down, 3s-step out-2t and a 2f. It was definitely more bad than good overall and he also needs to vary his speed more and improve his stamina. I thought he had kind of strange arm movements with his steps in this program and the whole choreography was kind of strange, I definitely liked the SP better!

Jurai Sviatko had some good jumps in his program, but he also landed some doubles. It was kind of an inconsistent performance. He was using some kind of Gypsy music with chanting, the program had some nice moments, but didn’t really draw me in all the time.

Martin Liebers landed a very nice 3z and also a 3f-3t, but he singled the axel twice and had a fall on some triple towards the end. His jumps are very good when he lands them, but his presentation leaves much to be desired and his spins are also rather weak.

Ari-Pekka Nurmenkari skated to “Once upon a Time in Mexico”, which btw was a very popular music in this competition, I think except for in pairs it was used in every discipline. He started with a nice 3z-2t, but then the program pretty much fell apart: 3axel fall, nearly fell on another triple, 2s, 3f step out, 2z, 3t fall out. One of his combo spins was slow and he always seems to have bad stamina.

Viktor Pfeiffer had chosen Plushenko’s and T&M’s “Art on Ice” music from last year, a quite ambitious choice…he started off great: 3z-2t, 3f-3t, 3s into 3l, but later he doubled a jump and did a 1axel. He was getting slower and slower throughout the program and I think he lacks power and presence on the ice, but I really like how light and effortless his jumps look when he lands them.

Vakthang Murvanidze had some good and some bad stuff in his program, I didn’t note down all his jumps, but what I got is: 3a step out, 3z saved, 3s-3t nice, 3f slightly 2footed, 1z. For his standards it wasn’t a bad skate and his “Natural Born Killers” LP has some fun parts. I think he could use some more energy and speed in his step sequences. He definitely was much better at this competition than at Worlds 04.

Roman Serov managed two clean 3axels in his program, one of them in combination with 3t and also completed most of his other jumps successfully, IIRC his only problem was when he did a sequence of 2z into a shaky 3loop, but then it’s not like that is too bad either, LOL (in warm up or practice I had seen him do the 3z into 3loop sequence nicely). That was definitely a very good skate and another highlight in the competition. His music is some techno/trance stuff, that includes “Sandstorm” from Darude and if I recognized it correctly “Children” from Robert Miles. It was a cool program with cool music and I especially also enjoyed the posing/dancing on the spot movements. He’s not the fastest skater, but he has a lot of power. I’m pretty sure he still had another LP at Skate America, I neither remember having seen the costume nor the program on my tape. It’s really too bad he had a bad SP skate, otherwise he surely could have made the Top 10, hopefully next year.

Andrei Lezin started out great: 4t, 3a-3t, 3f-3t. Unfortunately after this the program went rapidly downhill: popped axel (or maybe it was a 2), 2l, 3z-near fall-2t, step out of another triple, 2f. I don’t find his Circus Princess program too exciting and only the 1st half of the skate was enjoyable here.

The best jump element of Trifun Zivanovic was a 3a-2t and he was nearly clean, except for one double somewhen in the program. His music was Phantom of the Opera and he was certainly skating very well, but IMO he lacks some presence and personality on the ice, so he didn’t leave much of an impression on me.

Jamal Othman fell on his 2nd 3lutz, but otherwise he was absolutely gorgeous! Nothing else needs to be said :D It was one of the greatest thing of Euros that he skated so well in both competition portions :) And definitely a great result for him at his first big senior international.

Silvio Smalun started with a 3axel attempt that looked very good, but he fell on it late anyway. I think he did a 3t-3t where the 2nd jump was 2footed, but screwed up all other jumps one way or the other. His mistakes always look totally unnecessary, like the jumps look good all the way until the landing and you think he should be able to land them, but then he steps out anyway. His new LP is interesting, but I don’t think it’s as good as the Haendel one was.

I missed most of Frederic Dambier due to the horrible bathroom situation at the rink :P

Gheorghe Chiper only did a 3toeloop at the beginning, but managed a 3a-3t. Later he doubled a lutz and might have had another mistake, but I don’t remember. His skate wasn’t as interesting as the SP.

Samuel Contesti stepped out of his first 3a, but managed 3a-3t later. He had some mistakes though: 3loop with extra turn, 3f-2t with a stumble in between and 2salchow with a stumble. I love his music choice (Jewish folk music and I think the theme from Schindlers List) and it’s a fun program, but he needs more presence and power and seemed to run a bit out of steam towards the end. Still he’s definitely one of my favorite French male skaters.

Kristoffer Berntsson managed 3axel and 3a-2t, but fell on the quad attempt, did only a 2z-3t and fell on a 3lutz. It wasn’t a bad skate, but his ice coverage wasn’t very good and I don’t care for the music of his new LP (“Prince Igor”), it was too bombastic. The SP is way more fun.

Sergei Davydov still has his old program and it’s another one where I have the feeling of having seen it a million times. He had some good stuff, but also some problems: 3a-3t (2footed), 3a bad fall, 3z step out, 3f step out. Overall I was a bit bored by his skate, but I’m sure the old program plays a big role in it.

Brian Joubert stepped out of the second jump in his 3-3 combination and stepped out of the second 3z. His other jumps were clean. It wasn’t as good a performance as the SP, since he seemed kind of nervous today. I liked the program better than at the beginning of the season.

My jump notes on Stephane Lambiel are messy, but I remember he started out great, but lost it in the middle and he even stumbled out of some spin IIRC.

Kevin van der Perren went back to his old LP, supposedly with some changes, but it’s not like I’d notice them. The highlights of his program were a 3axel and a 3-3-3 combination, but he also had some problems. It was not bad, but I don’t like that program, but then it’s not like I had liked the new LP he used earlier in the season any better :P

Andrei Griazev landed his 4t, which was just great for him, wheee (he also had landed one in the morning practice). He also had a 3s-3t and one or two 3axels (one for sure), but I think he doubled a lutz and popped a flip. So it was not great, but definitely good enough. I still don’t like all this shoulder rolling in the LP, but I liked the program better than on tape and I enjoyed the nice edgy footwork. Yet with all the music recycling that tends to go on in Tarasova/Platov’s group I hope Platov doesn’t get any strange ideas about choreographing a “The Feeling Begins” FD for C&S for the Olympic season :P Luckily that’s hopefully kind of unlikely. Oh and K&N don't need a TFB FD either :P I was very happy that Griazev had such a good competition and result, after his season so far had not been too stellar.

Evgeny Plushenko’s only mistake was a 2loop late in the program. Otherwise he had a great skate to “The Godfather”. I don’t like this program as much as the one from last year, but it is still great fun, especially the circular footwork is just brilliant and so exciting. However I think the last part of his LP is kind of anticlimactic, the program calms down again after the circular instead of culminating in a climax IMO. But there was no doubt that he was the best and most charismatic skater tonight.

Stefan Lindemann landed the 4t-3t and his 3axel, but he later fell on a 3lutz and stepped out of the second 3axel. So it wasn’t as good a skate as his LP at Worlds in Dortmund, but it was still very good and enough to win the bronze medal. I think it’s great for him that he managed to repeat his success from last year :)