OH, CANADA. You certainly threw us some curveballs this weekend. I'm glad I was home and able to watch the whole event, because if not, I would have been *very* confused. I'm not sure that I have yet to even process all that happened, but I'll do my best. DANCE:
Canada could not have been happier to welcome Virtue and Moir back to competition on home ice, and they gave the crowd a win in return. I personally have no strong feelings, about this team either way, but I think their short dance to Prince was a winner in terms of music selection. The free dance is a good program, but I wonder if lyrical was a good choice when both the Shibs and Papadakis/Cizeron are doing lyrical as well this season in the free? The short stands out so much more because of its tempo and style. Tessa and Scott weren't perfect, but after two years off, you couldn't ask for much more than coming back with a win. Their battle with Papadakis/Cizeron at NHK is one of the most anticipated matches of the year. Last season, everyone was saying Chock/Bates needed to try a new style, and I give them credit for finally going for it this year. I can't really get behind the "Bad to the Bone" choice in the short, but I their "Under Pressure" free dance served them well here. As I mentioned above, with so many top teams doing lyrical in the free, Chock/Bates program will be a nice change of pace in comparison. It's not guaranteed to work in their favor, but it could. I like faster tempo sections of their free, but the slow part in the middle lost me. After a rough couple of preseason events, this was a good boost to their season. They have a tough challenge ahead of them this week, as they skate back-to-back events at Rostelecom, where they face Weaver/Poje and Bobrova/Soloviev in a great matchup. Cheers to Gilles/Prior to pulling off an upset here and getting the bronze. While the short dance is hokey and not really my style, it embraces their quirky personalities and they get into it. (The mustache I could do without though). I am not a fan of choosing tangoes in a season when they aren't required (because we see too many of them,) but you could see how happy they were with their skate. At least it's a different look from last year, and the judges really liked it here. This was a big medal for them. They skate next in France against Papadakis/Cizeron and Hubbell/Donahue. This was not such a good result for Cappellini/Lannotte whom many picked for bronze (myself included). To me, they keep sticking with the same style season after season and are in a bit of a rut. If they keep these programs, they may lose some ground this year internationally. They have a tough second assignment at NHK and are going to have a tough time making it to the Final this year. Also at NHK will be Hawayek/Luc Baker. I really like their free dance this season, and I thought they should've placed above Stepanova/Bukin, whom were totally unmemorable for me here. Last post to come in a few!
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November 2017
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