2024 4CC RD - I Wanna Dance With Somebody (in the audience)

[PRlady]

I’ve got photos of me as a new mom in ‘88. OMG those clothes. And I was then a 32-year-old working professional, not a club kid, who had begun buying decent stuff at outlet stores. Yikes the silhouettes and colors and those awful high heels…

 

[Alilou]

Although I was peripherally aware of 80's fashion and pop culture, the 80's for me began with a 4-month overland camping trip from Johannesburg to London via the eastern countries of Africa, turning left at southern Sudan, across the middle and then north through Nigeria, Algeria, Morocco, etc and so to London. Followed by 4 months in London, then 6 months in the far north wilderness of western Canada. Back to Oz for a reckoning of my life - I'm 31, have no husband, home, career, or children. I am a failure in every conventional direction. Less than 18 months later I emigrated to Canada and went back to the far northwest and lived in an isolated village for 6 years, cooking in wilderness big game hunting camps, and later in gold mining and exploration camps.
Piper could wear anything and I'd hardly know the difference.

 

[skategal]

Piper’s outfit was more 80s before she took the arm off the top.

But I had shirts and pants very much like Piper’s (not exact colours or stretchy material) and have a photo of myself with my hair in an updo almost identical to what she wears.

I was a pre-teen/teen in the 80s

YMMV

 

[Wyliefan]

Piper’s outfit was more 80s before she took the arm off the top.

That's exactly what I was thinking. That slouchy off-the-shoulder thing she had going on before was very '80s.

 

[MacMadame]

I was a pre-teen/teen in the 80s

I was in my 20s mostly. Low 30s at the end. But the 80s were my working on career and dating years. Got married in '89 so the nineties were about kids/family.

 

[skatfan]

I’ve got photos of me as a new mom in ‘88. OMG those clothes. And I was then a 32-year-old working professional, not a club kid, who had begun buying decent stuff at outlet stores. Yikes the silhouettes and colors and those awful high heels…

We should compare notes. Lots of skirt suits with hose and heels!

 

[Sally1214]

Is there a thread for the free dance? Maybe I've gone blind after the combination of snow removal and figure skating videos but I don't see it. It starts in just over an hour, right??

Eta: OK, I see it now.

 

[MacMadame]

Is there a thread for the free dance? Maybe I've gone blind after the combination of snow removal and figure skating videos but I don't see it. It starts in just over an hour, right??

Eta: OK, I see it now.

It's the thread for the RD if anyone reading this is still confused.

 

[BlueRidge]

I thought it was the lets talk about the 80s thread

 

[MacMadame]

I thought it was the lets talk about the 80s thread

Same diff.

 

[victorskid]

The Free Dance thread: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/threads/2024-4cc-fd-shang-bye.111547/

 

[Messalina]

I would wear Madonna's Lucky Star outfit today!

In a heartbeat, yes!

 

[thvu]

Finally getting to the RDs...

Uhm, I actually enjoyed Komatsubara & Koleto's RD? They really are improving. He isn't hunching nearly as much, and they've improved their speed and edges.

Other than the disparate skating skills, what really stuck out to me about Zingas & Kolesnik is how much sharper Zingas is in pretty much all her movements. She's so good, that how sloppy Vadim can be really stuck out. Especially in the first half, Kolesnik just wasn't showing any tension in his arms. He also gets lazy with his posture. The best part of the program was still their Level 4 Posing.

Very similar things happening with Lim & Quan, but without the skating skills of Kolesnik. Quan just doesn't know how to lead the team as an anchor to let Lim shine. His skating skills just aren't strong enough. Not surprised to see them behind Harris & Chan at all, which honestly I wouldn't have thought after last year's Junior Worlds.

Lauriault & Le Gac are really making a push. Crazy they would have scored 77+ if not for the Rotational Lift being illegal. Honestly, the call itself is really harsh. The rule is below for what is not allowed in rotational lifts:

lifting partner swinging the lifted partner around without the assistance of hand(s) /arm(s) and the lifted partner holding only with feet around the lifting partner’s neck;

Marie-Jade rotates for about half a rotation with no assistance of the hands/arms. But, Romain does for maybe a quarter rotation, and I would consider this the exit out of the lift? I went over the rules and this is fairly vague. A strict reading justifies the call, because Romain is rotating, and rotational lifts are defined by whether or not the lifting partner is rotating (even if some features apply to the lifted partner rotating.) Crazy to think they'd be medallists here if not for the illegal element call. Another case where I wouldn't have predicted this a year ago, or even at the beginning of the season, (or even last week ).

Green & Parson's opening straightline lift was such a mess all the way through. The entry was a little sluggish, so they fell behind the music, and then Michael was all over the place on that exit. Really generous GOE on the lift. I agree with the general sentiment that Parsons is the weakness of this team. Green is such a performer. Every time she goes out with this program, she just performs better and better. Meanwhile, Parsons is checked out. And then his near twizzle disaster x2. Really not impressed with the 2nd half of this RD overall. It feels like MIDA just picked something from the "Igor Value Bin" they've been holding on to.

Carreira & Ponomarenko are really coming into being the next in line for US Ice Dance. Christina especially is just such a star. I agree with those that Anthony's expressions can sometimes come off a little goofy. In general the US Ice Dance Men really struggle with not being outshined by their partners' performance ability. On the twizzles, Christina didn't get the Group B feature because her free leg dropped below 45 degrees. And then Anthony checked his third set of twizzles so he didn't get the Group C feature. Overall though, I love how confident they are with the element. Just no more hesitation, going for great ice coverage. The curve lift was much sharper at Nationals. This was the version I keep wanting them to get rid of.

Really enjoyed Piper & Paul, even if not necessarily in an aesthetic skating sense. Honestly, so much of their appeal is in their willingness to perform more creative choreography and create different shapes we don't usually see. I especially love the choreographic highlight when they enter the midline no touch steps. Piper's twizzles were kind of a mess so I'm (not) surprised by the GOE. They really have mastered a quirky but palatable vibe. This rotational lift is never going to get great GOE, so they're ceding a third of a point to Chock & Bates just on this element. It's just designed to be too slow in the entry and rotational speed. It fits the music, but it needs more of a wow factor.

I'm surprised the Canadanes had the audacity to show up here. The US judge putting them 1st and Gillies & Poirier 3rd was certainly a political "choice".

 

[quartz]

My favourite things from this event: the young Chinese team who finished last, Hannah’s dress, Piper and Paul winning gold, Caroline Green.

Eta…whoops, this should be on the FD thread.

 

[MacMadame]

Green & Parson's opening straightline lift was such a mess all the way through. The entry was a little sluggish, so they fell behind the music, and then Michael was all over the place on that exit. Really generous GOE on the lift. I agree with the general sentiment that Parsons is the weakness of this team. Green is such a performer. Every time she goes out with this program, she just performs better and better. Meanwhile, Parsons is checked out. And then his near twizzle disaster x2. Really not impressed with the 2nd half of this RD overall. It feels like MIDA just picked something from the "Igor Value Bin" they've been holding on to.

He's 28. Maybe he's ready to move on?

 

[skatingguy]

He's 28. Maybe he's ready to move on?

There is an injury issue - it was mentioned in their mixed zone interview after the event - not sure if you saw that info.

 

[kwanfan1818]

According to their bios, Ian Sommerville is 172cm and Michael Parson is 170cm. I wouldn't put it past USFS to see how Bratti/Sommerville are received by the world judge and tech panels and how Sommerville responds to being at Worlds before suggesting a repairing, and it's not like Belbin and White weren't around when Shpilband pounced on Bates to pair with Chock.

 

[Karen-W]

According to their bios, Ian Sommerville is 172cm and Michael Parson is 170cm. I wouldn't put it past USFS to see how Bratti/Sommerville are received by the world judge and tech panels and how Sommerville responds to being at Worlds before suggesting a repairing, and it's not like Belbin and White weren't around when Shpilband pounced on Bates to pair with Chock.

If you're theorizing on the USFS stepping in and suggesting a new partnership for Caroline then why not have her try-out with Jeffrey who is 175cm per his bio, also at MIDA and much closer in age to her? Yahli's had enough issues this season that unless she's clean at Jr Worlds, I expect Jeffrey to be partner-shopping again this off-season.

 

[MacMadame]

There is an injury issue - it was mentioned in their mixed zone interview after the event - not sure if you saw that info.

I wasn't aware of that. It explains the performance. I'm not sure it explains being checked out though. (Assuming he was -- we're just guessing based on what he put out there.)

 

[kwanfan1818]

If you're theorizing on the USFS stepping in and suggesting a new partnership for Caroline then why not have her try-out with Jeffrey who is 175cm per his bio, also at MIDA and much closer in age to her? Yahli's had enough issues this season that unless she's clean at Jr Worlds, I expect Jeffrey to be partner-shopping again this off-season.

Because I like Sommerville better, but that's possible, too.