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Mel's Editorial#19: November 1, 2005Highlights and Not-so-high-lights of the Grand Prix, Part 1 My JGPF predictions really didn't pan out that well, so I think I'm going to refrain from predicting the Grand Prix Finalists, at least at this point in the season. Instead, I'd like to offer my esteemed opinion on what has transpired thus far in the Grand Prix. We've already seen our first costume malfunction, our first big dance upset, what happens when one coach is responsible for half of the field, and attempts at triple axels by a lady and a pair. Who knows what the rest of the season will hold, but for now, allow me to bring you the highlights and not-so-high-lights of Skate America and Skate Canada. And please remember, as a dear friend of mine always says as a disclaimer, "I snark because I love." Highlight: Turns out that it is possible to create programs within the Code of Points that don't feel like they jump from element to element. Proof: Marcoux & Buntin's free, Dubreuil & Lauzon's free, Fumie Suguri's short, Wing & Lowe's free, Joannie Rochette's free, Matt Savoie's short, Wakamatsu & Fecteau's free, Delobel & Schoenfelder's free, and those are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head. I definitely do not remember liking this many programs so well this early in the season last year. Lowlight: Apparently, the ISU did not get my memo: Latin dancing focuses on side to side movement much more so than traditional ballroom dancing. Therefore, Latin dancing does not translate well to the ice. I mean, most of the teams have great highlight sections where they stop skating and really get into the rhythms, but that's not skating. And a lot of the teams can come up with some sassy footwork in time with a mambo or salsa or samba, but that's not really Latin dancing. The result is that the dances lack flow and continuity and more often than not, I find myself checking the time several times while watching a dance, wondering if the back and forth motion that's giving me seasickness is almost over. That being said, honourable mention goes to Wing & Lowe for being the team to best convince me that Latin rhythms are supposed to happen on the ice, but then again, I always say that they can interpret any rhythm. And I really wish that CTV had bothered to show original dances, because it sounds like Dubreuil & Lauzon have a bit of a different take on the OD and I'm intrigued. But overall...if we had to go Latin flavoured, why couldn't we have done the tango/flamenco route? I know that's what the last Olympics was, and maybe it's a rule that every other Olympics has to have a really wretched set of original dances? I'm going to stop beating this dead horse and move on, though, before I start having flashbacks to the Jive OD, a part of skating history that I would much rather continue to block from memory. Highlight: The real Emanuel Sandhu stood up (literally) at Skate Canada, leaping from a sixth place short to a top-ranking free that was enough to edge out that other Canadian who gets high component scores for the gold medal. No, it wasn't perfect, but a free that included six triples and a quad was more than enough for the doubters to shut their mouths for a few minutes, until they started questioning that he'd be able to pull something like that off again. We'll see what happens this weekend in China. Other standouts in the men's event were a duo of Japanese, one, a symbol of the past eight years in Japan, the other, a symbol of the future. World Junior champion Nobunari Oda vaulted himself onto the podium with an inspired freeskate and although Takeshi Honda dropped a spot in the free to place fourth overall, both of his performances were personal successes, after coming back from repeated ankle injuries. Lowlight: Even if you're not proudly referring to yourself as "Jeffy's Jailbait," you had to feel sorry for Jeff Buttle on Saturday night. The world silver medalist landed only two triples cleanly, fell twice, and on top of that, ripped the inseam of his pants along his thigh. He did finish, though, and actually hung onto the silver medal. Johnny Weir was also not at his best, and actually sustained a foot injury that left him in a cast and on crutches after the competition. Yes, it was very courageous of him to finish skating his program even through so much pain, but come on...it was brave of him to step out onto the ice wearing that costume in the first place! Highlight: For the most part, the free dance costumes at Skate America were phenomenal, especially on the part of the ladies. From Siobhan Karam's folk dress (modeled after one worn by Liz Punsalan, I might add) to Lauren Senft's tango number, from Laura Muņana's criss-cross gem to the sophisticated dress worn by Jamie Silverstein, the dancers at Skate America had mad style. Best free dance costumes without a doubt, however, go to Delobel & Schoenfelder's ornate carnival costumes, complete with gloves painted to look like masks. And for the record, I love Megan Wing's doll dress. I think it suits the dance, I don't think it looks frumpy or unflattering, and I think she's beyond adorable, gosh darn it. Lowlight: Yankees on acid, need I say more? Since when does the Yankee Polka compulsory dance call for the most hideous neon dress you can come up with? I'm a Yankee and although I don't polka, I definitely don't wear neon. Really, the idea of a "Yankee" polka is kind of ridiculous anyway. I know very few Yankees that polka. The majority of those that I know are ice dancers, so can I really count them? I didn't think so. At Skate America, we got boys in coattails! The Ravensburger Waltz may be dreadfully dull, but at least no one bothered to broadcast it and the pictures were fun to look at. Highlight: At Skate America, Elena Sokolova and Alissa Czisny lit up the ladies' event, both delivering two dynamic programs. Sokolova re-entered the scene as a favourite and Czisny announced her arrival, something she backed up by winning Skate Canada the following week. Equally exciting as Czisny at Skate Canada was Joannie Rochette who, once again, has one of my favourite programs of the season. Lowlight: Fumie Suguri's dismal long program at Skate Canada, Carolina Kostner's long program at Skate Canada, Yoshie Onda's uninspired long program at Skate America and, in fact, a lot of uninspired skating from the ladies. Even Bebe Liang, who can usually be counted on to add some spunk, wasn't her usual fiery self. Overall...great highlights, and some fantastically low lights, but at least the first two events have been interesting! If nothing else, this season is better already because PPLive is letting inordinate numbers of skating fans watch CCTV5 at the same time without it freezing every time a skater goes up for a jump. Did anyone else ever find that to be unusually fishy? I mean, everything would be fine, but as soon as your favourite skater picks in for a triple lutz, bam! The whole feed freezes up. It's like someone is sitting in front of a computer, clicking 'pause' and laughing at all of us. I'm looking forward to getting up at 3 in the morning to watch Cup of China coverage live. Who has the last laugh now? Archives -- Contact -- Features -- Guestbook -- Links -- Webmistress (c)2004-7 Melanie L. Hoyt All rights reserved. |