Jan. 3
Novice Free Dance Practice
I must say I quite enjoyed the Novice dancers, perhaps more than Senior, since they were all new to me. It was fun to see so much energy, some dramatic outfitting, and personality emerging that was even noticeable in a practice session. They seemed freer with their music choices and quite into and happy with skating and dancing.
Ones to Watch: This is hard because there were so many teams that showed strengths and promise. I'll definitely say watch Jane Summersett and Elliot Pennington, Elizabeth Palmer and Ryland Stucke, Madeline Masten and Jared Ramsdell, and Suzanne Lazarowitz and Nathan Jarmuth.
Novice Free Dance Group A:
Adrienne Koob-Doddy/Robert Antonelli - She wore a leather skirt, and he wore a matching leather vest and pants.
They danced to Bad to the Bone and Johnny B. Good. This team's brightest positive was presentation style. They were equally matched in the energy they gave out and how immersed they were into the program music and execution. They were just more into it than you will see from most of the senior teams. Sometimes in ice dance, the woman is more into presenting the program than the man, but they were both captivating. They were natural entertainers and always looked like they were having a lot of fun. This rock n' roll style music really fit them and gave them an opportunity to shine. They also skated well to the beat of the music, which not all dancers do.
Suzanne Lazarowitz/Nathan Jarmuth
They skated to a James Bond movie soundtrack, The Spy Who Loved Me, which included the 007 James Bond theme and Nobody Does It Better (Baby, You're the Best) song. These dancers reminded me of Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat. Okay, okay, so the first reason is obvious: She has bright red hair, and he is blond. It does go a little deeper than that. They both had a dramatic intensity on the ice. Even with the more contemporary James Bond theme over Romeo and Juliet or Carmina Burana, they demonstrated capability for drama and seriousness. They had a nice line and extension together on the ice. And, their costuming, particularly hers, showed a bit of the European penchant for hanging and flowing things and a flair for the interesting.
Blake Rosenthal/Calvin Taylor
Do you want to go to the Jazz festival? This team skated to a jazz and rock medley. Their selections included a jazzy instrumental of Heartbreak Hotel and other songs. They skated very upbeat and also had a sense of timing.
Kaitlyn Weaver/Charles Clavey
Their musical selection included a Malaguena piano piece. This music also had a jazzy sound. They skated very fast. They showed they could well match the drama and spirited nature of the Malaguena piece.
Novice Free Dance Group B:
Megan Calhoun/Kevin Miller
He looked like a rock star with long hair and a flashy style. They appeared like an ice dance team in the hair and costumes. They got into the starting position and had to stop. The music stopped playing and was restarted later. They skated to Latin music. They seemed to enjoy what they were doing.
Lauren Capehart/Stephen Chasman
He reminded me of a young Sergei Sakhnovsky, also in the way he presented his partner and concentrated on her for the highlights. They skated to a Riverdance, Braveheart type folkish medley. If I'm not mistaken, Galit Chait and Sergei Sakhnovsky skated to similar theme music and costumes in their 1998 Olympic free dance. Capehart and Chasman both used dramatic facial expression. Hers, while not as intense, appeared to come a bit more naturally than his. They had a decent bodyline. And, I remember them for having strong lifts and highlights, the caliber you would see attempted at a high level competition. In practice, they were executing a low balance lift in which they fell.
Isabel Elliman/Dmitriy Serebrenik - They wore all black.
Their music sounded a little like swing and included an instrumental of Someone to Watch Over Me. Isabel always had a big smile on her face in the presentation. They did some twizzles that were out of unison and had some touching down by her.
Jane Summersett/Elliott Pennington
I have seen the future of American ice dance, and it is in the form of Summersett and Pennington. No pressure here.
They embodied the perfect mix of technique and presentation. They were very sure footed and had smooth edges. They possessed a beautiful and extended bodyline, and both had great knee bend and got down in their knees very well. They made eye contact with each other while skating quite regularly. During the general warm up, they started with the kilian unison stroking. Their selection sounded like 'music box' music, light and soft, but became jazzy and drum heavy. The pattern of their circular footwork was so big that they very nearly clipped the boards a bit as they went. Their skating was powerful and fast. They bowed to the judges' side at the end.
Novice Free Dance Group C:
Annie Maguire/Charlie Hill
Their music is Riverdance. She fell after a twizzle sequence.
Madeline Masten/Jared Ramsdell
Madeline reminded me of British ice dancer Marika Humphreys. I know, I know, practically everyone has a name association to me. Just the technical approach and traditional, classic style made me associate the two. Masten and Ramsdell had a deep knee bend and lean to their skating. They also showed nice unison on their kilian stroking. The musical selection included Last Dance by Donna Summer which really was quite well done as far as use of the music. After they struck their starting position for the run-through, Madeline called out as two other teams on either side of them were about to converge for a possible three-way collision.
Elizabeth Palmer/Ryland Stucke
Right when I've declared the future of American ice dance, Palmer and Stucke want to challenge me. Elizabeth Palmer is the best U.S. ice dancing personality I have seen since Jamie Silverstein. Elizabeth was very into expression, both facially and through dance moves. She showed capability in expressing drama as well as vivaciousness. She just filled the building. I would love to see what she could do teamed up with Angelika Krylova as a coach or choreographer. As far as her partner, Ryland, did I like his skating at all? Yes, he definitely held his own. He had a style that commanded attention, yet he presented his partner very well. He was also expressively involved, so they compliment each other. He did well at portraying the dominance done often in the Latin dances, so their free dance choice went over nicely. Their music is The Gotan Project and Latin medley. So, score some points for using Gotan's Santa Maria as I like that selection quite a bit. Gotan opened their selection, and they did several moves including one where she slipped under his legs while they were gliding backward. It is a closely choreographed exit for her to clear before he closed the space of his legs. In a lift, he swung her by one arm and one leg. As the music turns into a more traditional tango, they showed dramatic body movements. They gave 100 percent even at practice.
Emily Samuelson/Evan Bates
Speaking of 100 percent, these two could turn on the charm. They smiled throughout their program and were quite lively. They skated to very upbeat disco music. I can't place the specific selections. These two wanted to capitalize on their dancing qualities. Dancing specifically, not just ice dancing. They began the program with dancing and shaking in the choreography and had a sense of rhythm and beats. They snapped their fingers to the beat during portions of the dance. They had a change of edge spread eagle lift that showed nice balance. They had good speed and were the last to leave the ice in their session.
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